Page 39 of When I Had You

Lying brown eyes.

Each strand of hair strategically placed.

Smarmy grin that makes me sick to my stomach.

“Cut.” The director strides across the set to stand in front of me. “You’re supposed to be in love with him, yet I’m getting black widow vibes instead. Do you need a break, Marina?”

Although a break would give me a brief reprieve from looking at the asshole formerly known as my boyfriend, I choose to be a professional. “No. I’m ready.”

His brows pinch together. “You sure?”

“I’m sure, Gerald.”

Patting Corbin on the back, he tells him, “Great job. Keep it up.”

“I will,” Corbin replies with a fake-ass smile on his lying face. Turning to me, he whispers, “I’m the jilted lover here, so you better pull it together.”

“Jilted?” I balk in his face, then whisper, “You? You’re an assh—”

“Quiet on the set,” a voice rings out, the clapboard slamming closed right after.

Corbin dips his head and then looks up slowly. For a method actor, he sure did struggle to believe he was already taken. “I love you, Debra.”

“What is love but something hopeless romantics speak of?”

“Love embodies us, perfumes the air, and . . .” His goofy grin falls as he looks back at me. “Love is all I have to give.”

I turn my back to him and close my eyes, lowering my head solemnly just as I remember the script instructing. “Love isn’t enough when I’ve already said yes to another.” Turning around, I poke him in the chest. “Why couldn’t you tell me before I said yes to Nathaniel? Why did you lie when I asked you if you felt anything for me at the lake last summer? Why did you date Rosie if you loved me so much? Why, Clark?”

“Because I was too shy, too weak, too confused, so I let you go, hoping it would pass. But it hasn’t.”

Looking him straight in the eyes, I say without hesitation, “You’re too late. My heart already belongs to another.”

“Cut.” Gerald’s footsteps echo in the space between us until he appears in the spotlight with us. “Great job. How are you feeling about it?”

“Better than ever.” I smirk because I’m not perfect and since sarcasm isn’t appropriate, it comes out in my facial expression.

Corbin says, “There was a line that I feel Marina could have delivered—”

“Have a great night, Gerald,” I say, walking away.

Gerald announces, “That’s a wrap for the night.”

Grabbing my water from my chair, I hurry toward the sound stage exit.

“Marina?” Corbin calls out, closing in on me. “Wait up.”

Why the heck would I wait on his command? He’s so out of touch with reality. Picking up my pace, I head toward my trailer. I open the door, but it stops hard in his hand before I can close it. Glaring at him, I grind my teeth. “Let go.”

“We need to talk.”

“We don’t need to do anything. If you’d like to say something to me, have your people contact mine.” I bat my eyelashes with a fake-as-he-is grin on my face, then reach down and yank the door. When he doesn’t release the door, I snap, “Leave before I scream.”

Staring at me, he dares to take a step up. “You wouldn’t—”

“And then security escorted him to his trailer,” I tell Poppy over dinner later that night.

We’re sitting at my favorite burger place in Vancouver and keep eating as if this is normal for our everyday lives. It’s not, but it’s nice not to carry the burden of caring so much.

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