Fake Dating My Ex's Hockey Star Brother (Maya Scott) novel Chapter 268

Epilogue 3

ALLISON’S POV

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“Are you sure he’s still coming?” Bryan asks, glancing at his watch. “If he’s late, he might miss some

scenes.”

It’s about fifteen minutes before my first film as an actress starts, and Justin promised he’d be

here. He’s at the Boston Bruins development camp, his first as a signed prospect, so I get it if he

can’t make it.

Still, I really want him here.

I want him beside me when my scenes come on.

“Let’s wait a bit more,” Katy says, and I nod. “More people might come.”

The promotion for the film has actually been going really well. I’m still a minor character, so I didn’t

do the full press tour or any TV appearances, but I did my part: posted on TikTok, rode the wave of

that one meme that somehow blew up, and now I’ve got over two hundred thousand followers

who actually recognize me.

And somehow, I convinced at least a hundred people from Cadston to show up tonight.

They’re already inside the theater, waiting. And I’ve never felt this proud.

The only thing that could make it better is Justin being here.

glance down at my phone one more time. The last text is still unread, but I type another one

anyway.

ME: We’re about to go in. Can you still make it?

I stare at it for a second, my thumb hovering, then hit send before I can overthink how desperate a

third text looks or whether I’m just distracting him.

Katy pretends to scroll through something on her own phone and Bryan’s gone quiet.

“Let me give him another call,” I say, already dialing, even though the timestamp on my last

unanswered call says eight minutes ago.

The phone rings and rings.

And, just like before, it goes unanswered.

“Okay,” I say, shoving my phone into my pocket. “Let’s go in.”

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Katy hesitates, her expression soft as she studies me. “We can still wait a little for him if you want.”

I shake my head once. “It’s fine. He’s just busy.”

I turn away.

I’m barely five steps toward the entrance when-

“Allison!”

I stop.

The voice isn’t Justin’s, which is why I turn slowly. A guy I don’t recognize is waving me down from

near the entrance, grinning like he knows me. I’m halfway through deciding he has the wrong

person when Justin steps out from behind him.

My eyes widen.

Justin is in a grey henley and black pants, his hair ruffled like he didn’t get a chance to do anything

with it. As he draws closer, his expression is caught between relieved and please don’t be mad.

I don’t even let him get the look fully out. I close the distance, throwing my arms around his neck, and he catches me swiftly.

“You didn’t pick up,” I say into his shoulder.

was on the highway.”

“You could’ve texted.”

“I was driving, Allison.”

I pull back just enough to look at him. He’s got this expression he gets sometimes, when he’s

checking that I’m actually okay and not just performing okay. I’ve learned to recognize it.

“You made it,” I say.

“Obviously.” He responds. “How many scenes do I have left to see?”

“All of them, if we go right now.”

He nods, glancing past me and his smile widens.

“Hey, Kiddo.” He says to Katy. “How are you doing?”

Katy puts a hand on her hip. “Don’t kiddo me. Does being an NHL player make you feel grown, huh?

“That actually reminds me,” Justin says, ignoring her entirely as he turns slightly. He gestures to the

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guy beside him, the one who called my name earlier. “This is Bryce, but call him Loki. He’s in the rookie league with me.”

He then turns back, pointing as he introduces everyone. “Loki, this is my girlfriend, Allison.” His hand moves. “My sister, Katy.” Then to Bryan. “And their friend, Bryan.”

Loki raises a hand with an easy grin. “Hey. Nice to meet all of you. And-” his eyes land on me specifically, “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Justin immediately nudges him with his elbow.

I narrow my eyes. “What does that mean?”

Loki glances at Justin, the corner of his mouth lifting. “I’ll tell you later.”

Then he turns to Katy and Bryan. “Nice to meet you guys.”

“Likewise,” Bryan replies.

Katy gives him a quick smile before clapping her hands, looking at all of us. “Okay, we seriously need to go in right now.”

“Alright, alright, let’s go,” I say.

We all start moving at once, spilling through the theatre doors in a slightly chaotic rush after the

usher checks our tickets.

Inside, the space is dim and buzzing with low conversation and rustling seats. Loki and Bryan

immediately fall into some conversation behind us, Katy already moving ahead. Justin is holding

me, his arm tight around my waist.

“Congratulations,” he says quietly, mouth near my ear. “Superstar.”

I bite the inside of my cheek to not smile too wide. “You almost missed it.”

“Almost.” He squeezes my waist. “But I didn’t.”

We make our way down the aisle toward the front, and I’m so focused on not tripping in the low

light that I don’t hear someone clapping.

Until another person joins. Then another. Then the whole section ahead of us erupts and I stop walking entirely because it takes me a full second to understand that it’s for me.

Even in the dim room, I can make out Aaron jumping to his feet, then Chioma. Almost everyone from the drama club is here, well, except Celeste, and they’re all looking at me, cheering, and my

heart swells with so much joy.

“Go on,” Justin urges, a smile already in his voice.

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I lift a hand in a small wave, and it only makes them louder.

“Thank you,” I manage, my voice carrying through the space. “Thank you guys, all of you.”

Katy makes a sound that’s very suspiciously close to a sniffle beside me.

I point at her without looking. “Don’t.”

“I’m not doing anything,” she says, doing something.

“Thank you!” I call again as the cheering slowly settles, the energy softening into scattered applause before everyone finally sits back down.

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With a smile so big it reaches my ear, I hold Justin as we find our seats and I settle in between him and Katy.

Then the lights go all the way down and the theatre goes quiet, my hands finding each other in my lap.

The title card appears on screen: Between You and Tomorrow.

My heart does a full stop and restart, just from the font. From seeing it up there, real and large and final.

Justin leans over. “You okay?”

“Ask me in two hours,” I whisper.

The first scene begins with Priya, and something about seeing her face that large and that lit up

makes my stomach flip because I know this. I was there. I watched Anthony fumble his line in this

scene four times before he nailed it on the fifth take, and now it looks seamless, like it could never

have gone any other way. Marcus appears and I forget, for a moment, that I’m watching something

I was part of.

The editing, the score underneath everything and the colour is warmer than I expected. Wyatt had

talked about the look he wanted and I nodded along, understanding maybe sixty percent of it, and

now I’m seeing the other forty and it’s making my throat tight.

About twenty minutes in, my first scene is finally about to roll and my stomach drops straight to

the floor.

“Is it almost time?” Justin asks quietly.

I nod, not trusting my voice. I sit up straighter without even realizing it, my hands locking together

in my lap.

Then the camera pans and there I am.

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Somehow, everyone loses their minds.

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Nobody cares that they are sitting in a cinema. I can hear Aaron’s voice as he hollers, higher than everyone. People get on their feet and the noise is so big and so sudden that I press a hand over my mouth because I was not prepared. I was genuinely not prepared for any of this, and now I’m

crying, which I also was not prepared for.

On screen, I tilt my head slightly, a small smile playing at the corner of my mouth, and deliver my

first line. “What kind of books does a frat boy like you read?”

Deon turns to look at me and we’re both so… we look so good. The lighting is generous and the