Page 19 of The Grumpy Actor

Tim pauses. “You didn’t know. Weren’t you practicing hard for it?”

“Of course I was.”

That’s a lie. He said I looked lovelorn while I was staring at Sophie and thinking about her.

That doesn’t make any sense. This director probably doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

Which is proven when we try the shot again, and it still isn’t good enough.

According to him, I lost the perfect expression.

We try a few more times before Tim just gives up.

“I think we should go for a break,” Tim says, pushing aside his frustration. “Maybe after you get some rest, we can try again.”

My jaw tightens with anger as I nod. I storm toward my trailer, breezing past Sophie. I ignore the water she’s holding out to me without bothering to glance at her.

This has never happened to me before. I’ve never had to take a break because the director couldn’t get the perfect shot.

Directors love working with me because my acting is flawless.

Yet here I am, struggling with a cheesy rom-com movie.

“Liam,” Celeste calls, rushing toward me.

I frown. “What?”

“I was wondering if you’d like to practice with me. I can show you a few tricks to—”

“You?” I scoff, giving her a once-over. “Show me a few tricks?”

Her brows snap together in anger as she glares at me.

I ignore her and continue toward my trailer.

What a joke!

Celeste, who does nothing but take roles in sappy romance movies, wants to teachmehow to act.

I throw open the door of my trailer and begin to pace.

Sophie enters not too long after me. I turn around to dismiss her, only to see a smug look on her face.

Is she deriving joy from my frustration right now? Or perhaps she’s mocking my failed attempts at acting out this role.

“Trust me, I’m not a bad actor. The script just has a lot more issues than the director is willing to admit.”

“It is just like you to do everything but accept your own faults,” Sophie taunts, not hiding her grin now. “Just face it, Liam. You’re a great actor, but you can’t play the role of a man in love because you don’t have a heart. How do you expect to fake emotions you’ve never felt?”

Anger surges within me as those words leave her mouth.

“Just stick to what you usually do. Romance movies are for people who actually appreciate the art and know the value of love.”

She sounds just like Lara Jones right now. It’s almost like she’s reading out Lara Jones’s article to me.

“You just don’t want to accept that romance movies shouldn’t even be a thing. Love doesn’t exist, for heaven’s sake, but because Hollywood keeps packaging lust as love to you people, you’ve lost sight of the truth.”

“No, you’re the one who has no idea what the truth is. You think everything that doesn’t go along with your narrow-minded worldview is illogical,” Sophie snaps. “Like back there with how you treated Celeste. She definitely knows how to help you get over your failed acting attempts, but because you’re biased against people who act in romance movies, you believe there’s nothing she can teach you.”

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