Page 139 of Love Unscripted
Headlines screamed:
ON-SCREEN ROYALTY BECOMES REAL-LIFE ROMANCE
DID KING AHASUERUS WIN ESTHER’S HEART FOR REAL?
Entertainment sites ran with it first. Within minutes it had spread everywhere.
Clips from their press tour flooded social media. Slow-motion edits of their interviews. The lingering looks. The laughter. The way Aaron always seemed to lean toward Camille without realizing it.
Now everyone had an explanation.
Aaron sat on the couch in his living room scrolling through his phone. Madison sat playing with her dolls nearby. The television played quietly in the background with yet another news segment discussing the engagement. He sighed.
Camille sat beside him with her legs tucked under her, watching the screen with an expression that was equal parts bemused and resigned.
“‘Cortelli falls for leading lady,’” Aaron read aloud.
She winced. “That one’s actually mild.”
He scrolled again. “Oh this one’s good.” He cleared his throat theatrically. “‘Has Camille Carlucci found another on-set romance?’”
Camille leaned her head back against the couch and groaned. “Here we go.”
Aaron turned the phone toward her. “Apparently I’m part of a pattern.”
She glanced at the screen briefly. Then shook her head and looked away.
“You okay?” he asked quietly.
She folded her arms. “I knew this would happen.”
“What?”
She gestured toward the television. “That they’d speculate. Act like they know us. They don’t.”
Aaron set the phone down. “They’ll speculate for a while. Then they’ll move on to the next scandal.”
Camille turned toward him. “Well,” she said, eyes twinkling, “at least we’re being accused of something wholesome.”
Aaron laughed. “That’s true.”
She nudged his shoulder. “Besides,” she added, “if they think we fell in love duringEsther, they’re not wrong.”
Aaron smiled. “Yeah,” he said softly.
The television cut again to a clip of them on the press tour.
The host’s voice rang out from the screen.“You two have incredible chemistry.”
Camille muted the TV and looked at Aaron. “Think the movie will do well?”
He grinned. “With this much publicity?” He squeezed her hand. “Absolutely.”
Chapter 22
Simon contacted Camille a couple of days later.
She had just gotten off the phone with Aaron, stretching out a conversation neither of them ever seemed ready to end. They had fallen into the habit of calling each other throughout the day—quick check-ins, small jokes, nothing urgent, just the comfort of hearing the other’s voice. It felt safer that way. Easier than spending too much unchaperoned time together.
