“Don’t take that tone with me, Yangyang,” his mother says, batting him on the arm. “If you would take a bodyguard with you when you go outside, I wouldn’t have to worry so much.”

“I’m not having this conversation with you again,” Emmitt says, scrubbing a hand over his face.

His mother’s face pinches. “Why do you always—” She cuts off suddenly, looking over at me, before she sighs, shaking her head. “Are you going to introduce us, at least?”

Emmitt gives me a helpless look and I give him an encouraging smile in return. It seems to bolster him somewhat because he straightens his shoulders, meeting his mother’s eyes. “I told you I was out with my girlfriend. This is Mina Rahman.”

I jolt, remembering that we’re pretending to date.

“Mina,” his mother says, holding out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Emmitt’s mother.”

I force myself to move, shaking her hand lightly. “It’s an honor to meet you, Mrs. Gong. I’m a huge fan of your work.”

“Call me Claire,” she says, offering me a smile. Then she gives Emmitt a curious look. “You went to the movie theater. You hate going to the movie theater.”

Emmitt’s jaw tenses and he looks away, his eyes on the ground. Some part of me is frozen in shock—he hates movie theaters but he still came here for me. The rest of me recognizes Emmitt is upset, so I force myself to get it together and reach over, taking his hand in mine.

His fingers immediately squeeze mine, and I return the gesture. “Mina loves films,” he says quietly, and my heart bursts into butterflies inside my chest.

When Claire Gong looks at me again, her gaze is entirely different, more assessing and...more approving? “I see. Maybe she’ll be a good influence on you, then.”

I try not to make a face at those words, especially when Emmitt’s grip tightens on my hand. “I think he’s the one who’s a good influence on me,” I say, my voice light. “He’s taught me so much about capturing the world on film.”

At my words, Claire’s gaze drops to the camera hanging around Emmitt’s neck, her eyebrows furrowed in something akin to bemusement.

Emmitt doesn’t seem to notice, his expression soft as he looks down at me. “You don’t have to say that, sweetheart.”

“Of course I do. It’s true,” I say.

Claire observes us for a moment, a thoughtful quality to her gaze. “It seems you two are well suited, then.” She takes a step back, gesturing to a black car farther down the street. “However, we should call it a night. Yangyang, you have business calls in the morning.”

Emmitt sighs, running a hand through his hair. “All right. Let me walk Mina to the subway, and I’ll be back. Give me ten minutes?”