Two weeks later I was in possession of a brand-new wardrobe, an expensive new haircut, and a makeup bag full of the most luxurious beauty products money could buy. The rent on my apartment had been paid for the next six months, and my Louis Vuitton suitcases were packed and ready to go.

“This is crazy,” I told my sister Paige, who had stopped by to see me off. “I’m crazy to be doing this, right?”

She was the only person who knew the whole story—that this was all a lie for the paparazzi. Because if anyone could understand faking something for the public, it was Paige, who had to watch her boyfriend pretend to date a dozen other girls on a nationally televised dating show.

Everyone else thought that this was for real, and that Jax had returned to my life after years apart and swept me off my feet. I hated that I couldn’t tell Mia the real story, but because of her job, there were too many risks involved in telling her the truth. She could unintentionally slip up and then the whole thing would be ruined.

“It feels wrong to lie like this,” I told Paige, flopping down on the bed.

“You don’t have to do it,” she responded. “You can call him and tell him that you changed your mind.”

I stared at her. Paige had always been the person in my life encouraging me to step out of my comfort zone—to do something crazy and spontaneous. I had expected to get the “take life by the horns and do it” speech.

“I thought you would be proud of me for doing this,” I commented.

“I am,” she said, patting my arm. “Really, I am. But I also know that it’s really hard to pretend to be in a relationship with someone. Or, in my case, it was hard to pretend that I wasn’t in a relationship. Things have a tendency to get complicated really fast.”

“I know,” I told her. “But this isn’t like you and Dash. I’m going into this with my eyes wide open.”

Paige had been unaware that Dash was the suitor on the reality show she was working on. When they first hooked up, he had just been some guy she met on a plane. She had no idea that they were going to be thrown together for the next several weeks. I knew exactly what the plan was with Jax. There was a timeline, there were rules, there were plans. There weren’t going to be any surprises—as far as our fake relationship went.

“I hope you’re right,” Paige said. “Just be careful.”

“I always am,” I responded.

My phone buzzed and I saw that my ride to the airport was downstairs.

“I should go,” I told her, getting up off the bed.

She did the same and enveloped me in a hug. “Have fun,” she told me. “Spend lots of his money.”

I laughed and grabbed my things.

Two hours later I was on my way to London.

I’d never flown first class before, but I could already tell that going back to economy after all of this would be damn near impossible. From the moment I sat down, I was showered with things. There was a welcome kit with an eye mask and ear plugs, as well as an extra pair of socks, toothbrush, toothpaste, and moisturizer. I was given a piece of delicious chocolate and a glass of champagne as we took off, and the moment the plane reached its cruising altitude the stewardess came by to take my meal orders for the duration of the flight.

“Would you also like a set of complimentary pajamas?” she asked.

I blinked at her. “Pajamas?”

She nodded. “They’re very comfortable.”

I was never one to turn down free comfortable pajamas, so I nodded. A few minutes later she had returned with a pair of cozy flannel jammies.

“We’ll be dimming the lights after dinner,” she said. “It helps to get everyone onto the London time zone so you can avoid being jetlagged.”

After an amazing four-course meal, the lights dimmed, and I snuck into the bathroom to change into what was hands down the most comfortable pair of pajamas I had ever worn. Then again, I usually slept in a pair of raggedy boxer shorts and an old T-shirts, so pretty much anything that matched and didn’t have holes in it was a step up.

I headed back to my seat and found the everyone around me had reclined their seats. And that our seats reclined completely, giving each of us a little bed in our individual first-class pods. I settled into my new bed, unable to believe that this was my life. I was pretty sure that when I woke up, I would be back in my apartment.

But several hours later as the plane began its descent into London, I confirmed, for sure, that this was not a dream. I changed back into my clothes and gathered my things. Waiting for me in baggage claim was a driver holding a sign with my name on it.

My bags were loaded into the town car and we headed to Jax’s hotel in London, where we would be staying for a day or so before heading out to the countryside where they were filming. I was pretty sure my eyes were going to pop out of my head as I stared out the window, trying to take in all of London as it sped by. There was the London Eye, the Shard, the Tower of London, the London Bridge . . . I’d always planned to travel after college, but I’d been so busy working and getting my career on track that I’d never been able to justify the expense. Now, I couldn’t get enough of it.

The driver pulled up in front of a luxurious-looking hotel and helped me out. I immediately felt underdressed for the place, in my plane-wrinkled jeans and sweater. I smoothed them down self-consciously as I headed into the lobby, and found Jax waiting. With a woman.

“You’re here!” he said, sweeping me up into his arms and giving me a big kiss on the cheek. “Welcome to London.”

“Thanks,” I told him, feeling more self-conscious than ever. He looked amazing, of course, in dark-washed jeans and a plan white T-shirt that hugged his torso, and from the swooning looks everyone in the lobby sent in his direction, the ladies of London approved.

I wondered what they thought of me.

“This is Stella,” Jax introduced me to the woman standing with him.

She had a severe gray bob, very Miranda Priestly from The Devil Wears Prada, and just as intimidating. She was giving me a slow once-over. I wiped my palms on my jeans. They were suddenly sweaty.

“I suppose she’ll do,” Stella said, reaching out and shaking my hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“Don’t mind her.” Jax put his arm around my waist and led me towards the elevator. “She grows on you.” He grinned. “Like a fungus.”

“Play to your strengths, Jax.” Stella followed us into the elevator, my bags and a bellhop coming with her. “You’re no comedian.”

“I thought I could be whatever I put my mind to,” he teased, obviously mimicking her.

Stella rolled her eyes. “Let’s go to the room, and we can discuss everything.”

The suite was incredible. Just like the one Jax had bragged about in New York, it was enormous, decorated in a chic, understated style, and my entire apartment could have probably fit in the living room section with room to spare.

Jax tipped the bellboy generously. The door had barely been shut behind him before Stella was pulling out a copy of the NDA I had signed.

“OK,” she said, gesturing for me to sit down. “We need to go over who you told and what you told them.”

I sat on the edge of the sofa, feeling like I was being interrogated. Jax lounged next to me, clearly not feeling the same way.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, as if he could read my mind. “She takes a little getting used to, but she’s going to do everything to make sure this works out the way we planned.”

He patted my hand casually, and my pulse kicked.

“This only works if we’re all on the same page,” Stella said.

“It’s going to be fine,” Jax reassured her.

But I felt as skeptical about all of this as Stella looked.

“OK,” she said. “I’m assuming you told your family?”

I nodded. “They all remembered Jax and believed me when I said we ran into each other, and that he invited me to spend some time with him on the set in London after I was fired from my job.”

Stella nodded and made a note. “We’re going to find a way to spin your firing into a good thing,” she said. “Get you set up to find a bigger and better position when you get back to the States. My PR company has plenty of contacts in the tech field.”

“Oh.” I blinked, surprised. “Thanks. That’s really nice of you.”

“It was Jax’s idea,” Stella replied. “In fact, it was a condition of this whole gig.”

I glanced over at Jax, who gave me a smile. “I thought it was the least we could do,” he said.

Considering that he was already paying my rent and promised to treat me like a princess on this trip, getting help with my job search seemed like a more than generous offer.

“What about your friends?” Stella asked. “You know someone who works for FastFeed, right?” She looked down at her paper. “Mina somebody?”

“Mia,” I corrected. “She met Jax at the junket. She was a little suspicious when I told her the news, but in the end I think I managed to convince her that this was all real.”

It hadn’t been easy. Even though I worked the “but you’re always telling me to be more spontaneous” angle, I had been able to tell that Mia wasn’t completely buying it. That was until I told her that I had always had a crush on Jax and was using him as a rebound. She had been completely in favor of that plan.

“Just don’t fall in love with him, OK?” she had made me promise.

“Of course not,” I had said, hoping that she wouldn’t freak out too much when she saw tabloids saying that I was doing that exact thing.

At least I wouldn’t be doing it in real life. And eventually I’d be able to tell her the truth. I hoped.

“Good.” Stella was scribbling things in her notebook. “All of this sounds good.” She looked up. “OK, now we need to go over the plans for the next few days. We’ve tipped off some paparazzi, some local papers, and we’ll be planting blind items in the press during the duration of the shoot. We need you two to make sure that when you’re together in public, you’re attached at the hip. It needs to look like you’re falling in love.” She turned to Jax. “That means no flirting with the other actresses or women on set.”

I looked over at Jax, who drew a cross over his heart.

“Not a problem,” he said. “My eyes are for Penny only.”

“Good,” Stella said, though I was having a hard time believing that Jax would be able to rein his flirting in.

“You’re due on set in a few hours, Jax,” Stella continued, looking at the schedule in her lap. “The press will be there, so we can have Penny tag along and get seen.”

I tried to stop myself, but I couldn’t help yawning. Even though I had slept on the flight, it still hadn’t completely cured my jetlag. I was exhausted.

“Why don’t we give Penny the day off?” Jax suggested. “She’s probably tired from traveling.”

I was so grateful that I almost hugged him. But Stella didn’t immediately agree.

“I don’t know,” she said. “The sooner we can get this in the news, the better.”

“I agree,” he told her. “But Penny’s no good to any of us if she’s too tired to be in love with me. Because I know it’s hard work,” he said with a wink.

Stella rolled her eyes.

“Fine,” she finally said. “We’re going to be moving hotels tomorrow anyways, so we’ll just make sure the paparazzi finds out that you’re sharing a room with someone at our next location. They’ll take it from there.”

Stella stood and glanced over at me. “Things are going to be a little hairy for a while,” she said. “Are you prepared for that?”

I nodded, even though I knew I wasn’t. How could I be? This wasn’t like anything I’d ever experienced before. Would anyone even believe that Jax—a huge movie star—would fall head over heels for Serious Penny?

“She’ll be great,” Jax said with more confidence than I had. He gave my hand a squeeze this time. “You get some rest,” he advised, as they prepared to leave. “I’ll see you in the country tomorrow.”

They left, and then I was alone in the enormous, luxurious suite, my head spinning. Was I going to be great? Could I pull this off?

I looked at myself in the mirror. My exhaustion was evident, but I didn’t feel worn down, the way I always looked when I headed out the door to a job that had made me miserable. Sure, it was crazy, but I had the opportunity of a lifetime in my hands. I was stepping way out of my comfort zone, but for once, I wasn’t terrified. I felt excited, ready to step into the unknown.

It was time for me to take charge of my life. And I was more than ready.