Page 29 of The Apparent Trap

“You thought if you told me in advance that this was your plan, I couldn’t have acted surprised when you asked me?”

He raises his eyebrows, his tiny smirk an indication of his faith in my acting abilities.

“Fine,” I huff. “I have no better ideas at the moment, so we’ll have to make this one work.”

“And we’ll have plenty of opportunities in Sweden too,” he says, surfacing the one topic we haven’t broached.

I purse my lips. “We’re not going to jeopardize the shoot. I’ve put too much work into it, and it’s a great moment for me to show the higher-ups how much I can do on my own. And you shouldn’t want to mess it up for Carmen either. It’ll show her off for them too.”

His expression softens. “I wouldn’t dream of jeopardizing the shoot. I’m just pointing out that we should probably also give some consideration to how to make sure nothing is romantic for them on this supposed work trip.”

I put my head in my hands at the image. “This is all going to be impossible, isn’t it? We’re doomed to fail.”

“Nah,” he says, that lilt of a smile focused and sincere. “We’re doing the right thing. This would be the result eventually anyway. We’re just trying to speed it along and make it hurt less. We’re like . . . the anesthesiologists of age gap disasters.”

I snort a laugh. “Or we’re like Julia Roberts, selfishly trying to break people up.”

“Good people in an unsustainable relationship that will only harm them in the long run. And besides, everyone loved Julia in that movie.”

“Yeah, but I can’t do things behind people’s back and have them still like me! I’m not as charming as Julia Roberts!”

I’m so confused by the look he gives me. It’s warm and direct, like there’s something he wants to say but he’s holding himself back. That frisson that exists between us seems to crackle, as much as I keep pushing it to the side. I want to dislike him. I want to be mad at him. But all I see every time he looks at me is someone who sees right under my skin.

“Start with Thanksgiving,” he says softly. I find myself leaning into him to hear the words, and it’s jarring having his height above me, like I’ve let myself get too close and now leaning back is making it harder to breathe. “We’ll see how tonight goes. We’ll gauge what’s working and what’s not, and then we can talk about Sweden. You’re in charge of all the segments we’re filming on the trip, right?”

“Yeah . . .”

“So we can make some plans,” he says.

I take a step back. “Alright,” I concede, and he smiles.

“Can’t wait to see you in your snow boots,” he teases.

“Excuse me?”

I can see even he’s surprised, but by what I’m not sure. “Never mind. Ignore me. Sweden planning is for later. For now, just make sure to show up at six o’clock and bring that geezer of a dad with you.”

“Some might point out that you’re also a geezer of a dad.”

“Nah,” he says, turning around to walk away. “No one knows it but you!”

Chapter 10

“Well, we’re certainly getting our cardio in today!” my dad huffs with a smile as we round the banister on another set of stairs.

Lee didn’t tell me he lives in a fourth-floor walk-up. His building is one of those cast-iron lofts with giant windows that started out as nineteenth-century factories and now is home to bougie condo owners. I can so see him picking style over practicality.

True to expectation, my dad was delighted at the idea of spending Thanksgiving with Carmen. And Lee was probably right about one thing—the ask had to come from me, since otherwise I think he probably would’ve pretended a little harder that a movie and Chinese food was a precious tradition. But since I seemed okay with it, he was immediately happy to change course.

I have to chide myself for letting that bother me.

“Have you . . .” I pause, maybe from being out of shape or maybe from not knowing how to broach this level of awkwardness. “Have you met Lee?”

“He swung by the office that one time.” How could I forget? “And Carmen talks about him a lot.” I wish my first thought wasn’t feeling hopeful on Lee’s behalf. “But it’s nice that he invited us today, isn’t it?”

“So nice,” I say, not sure if I should be laughing or grimacing.

We finally get to the top and knock. The door swings open, and Carmen is now right in front of me. “You’re both here!” she says, giving me a quick obligatory hug and then lingering a bit longer with my dad. Ugh. Still too impossible for my brain to compute. I walk into the kitchen to get away from it.