ADA

Lights flicker across the bright blue climbing wall I'm clinging to for dear life. My heart wallops so hard inside my chest it aches. Which has nothing to do with the legion of photographers documenting every second of this fake date Liam insisted we go on and everything to do with the fact that I'm probably seconds away from plummeting to my death.

"Are you planning on moving anytime soon, or are we just going to hang here all night?" Liam's smug voice calls from somewhere below me.

"I don't want to hear it, Chris Evans," I shout, clutching the handholds so tight my fingers begin to cramp. "This was your idea."

"Well, it's a hell of a lot more convincing than your idea was," Liam mutters.

I wanted to get this whole kissing thing over with as quickly as possible. But when I suggested Liam just give me a quick peck in front of my brownstone and go straight back home, he sprung this Brooklyn Bridge Park date on me. Now I realize the egomaniac was plotting to murder me here all along.

"I am so haunting you after I fall off this death wall."

"You're three feet off the ground." I can almost hear Liam rolling his eyes.

"Well, people can drown in less than two inches of water," I say as my arms start to tremble.

"That has literally nothing to do with anything right now."

"Look, we don't all have millions of dollars to spend on personal trainers and the upper body strength of a superhero." I look over my shoulder to glare at him, which is a huge mistake. Three feet might not seem very high when you're safely on the ground, but from up here, it might as well be a mile. Panic floods through me, making my already sweaty palms even slicker. My fingertips slip from the handholds, and I let out a shriek, certain this is the death. But Liam's broad palm catches me by the left butt cheek, shoving me back against the wall.

"Get your hand off my ass," I growl as my hands scrabble to get a hold of the ledge again.

"I think you mean, 'thanks so much for saving my life, Liam,'" he says, keeping his hand firmly in place.

"Hand. Off. Ass," I growl.

"If I let go, you're going to fall on your damn face."

The fingers of my right hand clasp onto a plastic grip, and I swing out with my left to slap Liam's hand away. But, after twenty minutes of dangling from this stupid ledge, I don't have the strength to support my body weight with one arm. I topple from the wall, crashing into Liam and taking him down with me. I'm vaguely aware of the shouts from the watching photogs as we hurtle toward the ground.

I land on top of Liam as we hit the thick padding of blue, recycled rubber tire scraps with a heavy whump. The frenzy of the flashing cameras doubles as I frantically try to untangle my limbs from Liam's. I can feel his body trembling underneath me, and I'm sure he's either A) dying or B) so pissed he's shaking. But when I'm finally able to push myself off him, I see he's laughing. His shoulders quake, and silent tears stream down his cheeks.

I blink at him. He takes one look at my confused expression and busts up all over again. I watch him rolling around, clutching his stomach, and the sheer ridiculousness of the situation hits me. A giggle bubbles up out of me, and then suddenly I'm laughing so hard my eyes are watering, and I can barely breathe.

Briggs rushes over. "Anders, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Liam wheezes between bouts of laughter. He sits up, looking over at me and scrubbing his forearm across his face. "You're a menace to society. You shouldn't be allowed out around other human beings."

"I told you that thing was a death wall." I swipe a finger under my eyes.

"No. Uh-uh. Don't try to blame the wall." Liam shakes his head at me as he pushes himself to his feet. "That's the second time you've tried to maim me this week." He holds a hand out to me, and I let him pull me to my feet.

"Are you always this dramatic?" I ask.

Liam doesn't let go of my hand. I glance up at him, and I'm struck all over by how tall he is. I have to crane my neck to look at him. "Are you, like, allergic to apologies or something?" he asks.

"Only if they're to you."

He snorts, and I hate that making him laugh has me feeling all floaty. I tug my still damp hand from his and wipe it on my pants. I glance back at the paps, who're practically salivating as their cameras blaze.

"So, how do we do this?" I turn back to Liam. "Are you just going to, like, plant one on me or something?"

"Plant one on you?" Liam's lips twitch. "You've got a real way with words there. You sure you don't have a boyfriend already?"

Irritation crackles through me at his mocking tone. I fold my arms. "What if I do?"

"Wait." Liam's forehead creases. "Do you?"

"Do you care?"

Liam stares at me for a beat, then he clears his throat, looking away. "Of course not." Reaching for my hand again, he jerks his chin toward the walkway that runs along the waterfront. "Come on. I've got a spot in mind."

We walk down the paved trail in silence, fingers twined together. I try to ignore the paparazzi jogging backward in front of us, cameras clicking away. I focus instead on the sound of the East River lapping against the rocky beach as we pass beneath the steel beams of the iconic Brooklyn Bridge. There's a vague scent of saltwater lingering in the air that's mostly masked by the roasting almonds from the stand across the way.

"So do you?" Liam asks, breaking the silence. "Have a boyfriend, I mean."

The fact that he's still thinking about that has a smile tugging at my lips.

"No," I admit. "I don't."

Liam nods, looking almost pleased, which stirs up a fizzy feeling I don't want to think about. So I concentrate on using this opportunity to try to get intel for Agnes.

"So, what about Mia? Are you guys really done, or was that an act too?"

Liam looks down at me, gaze guarded. I force an indifferent shrug.

We walk a few more steps, loose pebbles grinding beneath our feet. "That wasn't an act," he says. "We're definitely done."

"What happened?" I ask.

Liam glances out at the river, not meeting my eye. "We're just very different people." I can tell from the closed-off tone of his voice that he isn't going to tell me anything else.

We lapse back into silence. The sun is starting to set, and I notice a glow of golden light coming from ahead of us on the trail. Strains of up-tempo, tinny music drift through the muggy air, reminding me of the circus my dad took me to when I was a kid, and I realize where Liam's taking me.

"Jane's Carousel? Isn't that a tad cheesy?"

"Cheesy?" Liam repeats, shaking his head. "God, do you have a romantic bone in your entire body?"

"Not a one," I say, following him inside the massive glass enclosure that surrounds the carousel and looks out over the water. The security team trails after us, forcing the paps to stay outside. They press themselves against the translucent partitions, firing away. I'd better get a ridiculous amount of points for this.

We step onto the circular platform, and my heart rate goes into hyperdrive. I've only kissed a handful of guys before—none of which were the sweep-you-off-your-feet kind of kisses you see in movies. And now I'm supposed to kiss Liam freaking Anders in front of the whole world and make it look believable.

My hand, which Liam's still holding, starts to perspire again, making me self-conscious. I shouldn't care if Liam notices. I don't care. It doesn't matter if he realizes I'm a normal person with normal sweat glands. Unlike Mia, who I'm sure has had hers Botoxed into submission.

"Do you want to, like, pick a horse or something?" Liam scratches the back of his neck, looking like he feels almost as uncomfortable as I do.

"Oh, um, sure." I turn in a circle, examining the rows of gorgeous, hand-painted horses. Children dart around the carousel shrieking as they select their steeds, oblivious to Liam and me. Their parents, however, are not. They don't even bother trying to hide the fact that they're openly staring at us. My cheeks flame, and my fingers reach for the charm of my necklace.

"Maybe choose one that's stationary?" Liam suggests. "The others could make this...difficult."

"Right. How about this one?" I pat the shimmery silver mane of a white horse at the edge of the carousel.

"Uh, yeah. Looks great."

I step forward to hop on the horse at the same time Liam reaches to lift me into the polished, wooden saddle. We smack into each other, noses bumping.

Liam sighs, glancing up at the intricately-decorated canopy. "You've seriously got to be the most awkward person on the planet."

Before I can snap back at him, he grips either side of my hips and hoists me easily onto the horse, so I'm sitting side-saddle, facing the park. He's standing directly in front of me, my legs on either side of his waist. I notice the faint scar running across his chin again. Weirdly, I want to run my fingers over it, but I ball them into fists instead.

The woman operating the ride dings a bell, and the carousel jerks to life, music pouring through the speakers. We start to rotate, and the lights of the city come into view, sparkling across the river.

"This would be a lot more convincing if you actually touched me, Ace," Liam says.

I meet his eyes, and my stomach plunges like we're on a rollercoaster instead of a glorified merry-go-round. It would be awesome if my body would stop being such a traitorous traitor.

"Oh my God," I grumble. "Not everyone wants to touch you." But I uncurl my fists, setting my palms flat against Liam's chest. I can feel his heart pounding beneath my fingertips.

"You know, for someone who always acts like they don't want to touch me, you seem to do an awful lot of it," Liam says.

"Pretty sure you're the one who wanted to do this." I slide my hands up, pinching the back of Liam's neck as I lace my fingers together.

He winces, his grip flexing on my hips. "Want's a strong word." His eyes travel down to my lips, and his Adam's apple bobs. He starts to lean in, and a wave of nervousness floods my chest.

I jerk back. "So what are you going to do?"

Liam makes a frustrated sound in the back of his throat. "What do you mean, what am I going to do? Please tell me you've kissed someone before."

"Obviously, I've kissed people before." I scowl into his face that even this close up is so perfect it looks photo-shopped.

He raises his eyebrows like he isn't convinced, and I pinch him again. He rolls his eyes and bends toward me.

But before his lips can make contact, an avalanche of words comes tumbling out of my mouth. Apparently, I ramble when faced with having to kiss an international celebrity on camera. "I mean, are you thinking, like, a peck, or is there going to be tongue involved? And if there is going to be tongue, will it be, like, church tongue, or am I going to have to wash my mouth out after this is over?"

"Holy shit. Do you ever stop talking?" Liam huffs out a breath, resting his hands on his hips and staring down at the wooden planks of the carousel like he's searching for some patience down there. "Ada," he says, looking up. His blue eyes drill into mine, "is it okay if I kiss you now?"

Hearing him say those words makes all the salty words on the tip of my tongue evaporate. In fact, my vocabulary has failed me entirely. All I can do is nod. Slowly, Liam leans in, and every muscle in my body tenses as he presses his mouth to mine.

His lips are tight, and at first, it's every bit as awful as I expected. We're both completely rigid. It's like kissing my brother or cousin or something. Until suddenly...it isn't.

Liam's lips soften as his hands trail up my back, pulling me closer against him. I forget about the paparazzi, about the security team, about everyone watching us. My lips part as though they've got a mind of their own. Liam draws my bottom lip into his mouth as our tongues slide against each other. And holy lord, my head is spinning, and I don't think it's because of the carousel.

Liam pulls back, and when I look up at him, his face is flushed. "Well, that was terrible." His words come out sounding breathless.

"So bad. I can't believe they allow you to kiss people on that show of yours," I say, trying to get my own breathing under control.

"Let's never do that again," Liam says as his eyes linger on my lips.

"Not even once," I agree, unwinding my hands from his neck. My fingers skim across his biceps as I lower them to my sides.

The carousel slows to a stop, and Liam helps me slide down off the horse. "So that party I told you about at the Rainbow Room is tomorrow night," he says.

"Sounds fancy." I tug on my tank top, straightening it out.

Liam sounds almost nervous as he says, "I was thinking you and Elodie might still want to go."

My eyes snap up to his. "Why?"

Liam sighs. "Do you have to make everything difficult? It's a party. Do you want to come or not?"

I scrunch my lips to the side, thinking. I'm pretty sure Elodie would never forgive me if I said no, and a party at the Rainbow Room does sound amazing. With all the stars there, I could probably get some incredible pictures too. There might also be a teeny, tiny part of me that's curious to see if Liam will try to kiss me again. Not that I want him to, obviously.

"Alright, fine. but I need a promise that I can get some shots of you and your friends while we're there."

Liam's mouth twists. He's clearly not crazy about the idea, but I'm not budging on this. Getting points for photographs of the two of us together isn't enough. I need to get some exclusive photos of my own to put distance between myself and the other interns.

Liam sighs and holds out his hand. "Deal."

I go to shake on it, but he threads our fingers together instead and doesn't let go.