Page 14 of Broken Romeo

My heart all but stops. Did he just—

“I want you to be my leading lady.”

I blow out a breath, deflating as I realize I misinterpreted him. Jesus, what is wrong with me?

Outside, a fire engine roars by, blaring its siren. The blasting noise vibrates my sinuses, rattling my brain. I shake my head, trying to get my thoughts in line.

Beneath the small, circular table, Holden spreads his legs wide, casual and comfortable, taking up space like he’s on his couch in his very own living room. Whereas I sit here with my legs crossed, elbows tucked into my ribs, trying to not be in the way. Trying to be invisible.

I hinge at the waist, leaning over the table, and clasp my hands in a calculated movement. “I’m going to need you to repeat that.”

His lips remain in a straight line, neither smiling nor frowning. But his eyes—those eyes spark as he repeats, “I want you to be my Skyler.”

My eyes flutter closed. It’s everything I ever wanted to hear. It’s my dream come true. And yet, it still feels so completely false; so unattainable. “Why do I sense a but coming?”

“Because you’re a smart girl.”

“I’m a smart woman,” I correct him.

I don’t tell him it’s his eyes that give him away. He may think he knows me best, but the truth is, I know him just as well. Perhaps better than anyone else. It’s my secret weapon. Power lies within this knowledge, and I’ll guard it, protect that secret, until I can wield it to my advantage.

Five years may have passed, but the essence of who Holden is remains the same. His tells are the same—from the lift of his left brow to the way he fiddles with his ring.

A frenzy of raw, brash emotion whips around us, unsettling the molecules in the air.

“Simon Davis loved your audition.”

I gulp, half of me not wanting to ask the question that I’m burning to know the answer to. “And what about you?”

“I think you gave me a half-assed version of what you think an apology looks like.”

“Now, how can I give an honest performance of an apology when I’ve never gotten one?” Sarcasm drips thicker than molasses from my voice.

Holden’s jaw ticks. “And what about your other fuck-ups? You forgot lines, fake cried—”

“I fucked up my lines because you were glaring at me the whole time!” I blurt out.

His eyes go wide for a moment before a smile breaks out over his annoyingly handsome face.

“What?” I ask while sitting back in my chair.

With a shake of his head, he says, “I just don’t know that I’ve ever heard you say the word fuck before. You used to never cuss.”

“Yeah, well things change.” I’m not going to give him the satisfaction of a returning smile. I’m not going to sit here while he goes for a stroll down memory lane.

“You could have warned me, you know,” I say. “Told me outside of the bathrooms that you were directing the show that I was literally walking into the audition for. I walked into a lion’s den thinking it was a petting zoo.”

His lips part, and the angle of his jaw sharpens. “You thought walking into a Reid Bradley audition was going to be a petting zoo?”

I lower my voice to a hoarse whisper. “Compared to auditioning for you? It would have been a cakewalk.”

He snorts and shakes his head. “If you had auditioned for Reid, no one would be sitting here offering you this opportunity. He wouldn’t have gotten the raw performance I got out of you. You would have just been another fine audition. Good… but not good enough to get yourself out of this shithole.”

I glare at him, my voice dangerously quiet as I say, “You don’t know that.”

“I do know that. Your audition was good. But it was far from great. This is New York. I can throw a rock and hit a good actress.”

Any hope that had been blossoming in my chest deflates with his harsh words. Because they’re true. I know they are. That’s what hits so damn hard.

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