Page 23 of The Grumpy Actor

“Oh, that’s your cue to leave then,” John says.

I shake my head. “No, it’s my cue to attend to my snobby boss.”

John glances toward Liam and snickers. I pick up a bottle of water and a new towel, then wait for Liam to walk over.

For some reason, Liam seems to be fuming more than usual. Why? I thought the scene went well.

“I should leave, then,” John says as Liam stops in front of me. “I’ll pick you up from your place at eight.”

“Alright.” I smile.

John nods at Liam, but all Liam does is glare at him. John doesn’t even see it because he’s already halfway off the set.

I turn to Liam, handing him the water. “Is something wrong?”

Liam snatches the water out of my hand, his hardened gaze fixed on me.

“What do you think?” he snaps.

I roll my eyes. “I don’t have the energy for this right now.”

“That’s not surprising, since you spent all of your energy chatting away and flirting with your boyfriend.” He bites out the wordboyfriendwith venom.

“Flirting? Boyfriend? What are you talking about?”

He uncaps the water. “Oh, don’t feign ignorance. I couldn’t care less what you do outside of work, but this isn’t the place to bring your date. I don’t think you see anyone else bringing their boyfriends to set.”

“Okay, you’re being ridiculous right now,” I snap, getting frustrated. “I wasn’t having a date. It was just a normal conversation with a friend.”

“Yeah, right. A friend who happens to be picking you up for something at eight.”

“And how is that any of your business?” I retort. “I can do whatever I want on my own time.”

Liam’s brows furrow sharply as he squeezes the bottle in his hand. The water spills out, and I gasp, quickly reaching out for it.

He lets go of the water angrily and storms away.

“You can leave right now, then. I wouldn’t want to keep you from yourdate.”

He throws the words at me without even looking back. I watch with my mouth agape. What is wrong with him?

If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he was jealous.

Hold on,couldhe be jealous?

My cheeks heat up.

Liam is jealous of my interaction with John. Could that really be possible?

No. I shake my head, firmly putting the cap back on the bottle.

There’s no way Liam is jealous. He didn’t care about me even when we were dating, and he definitely doesn’t care now. So this wasn’t jealousy on his part; he was just being his usual self—a big jerk.

I won’t let him ruin this evening for me. The first and last time I dined at the Royal Crest Restaurant was on my birthday last year, and it was because my mom urged me to. Now I’m getting a chance to have a free meal there, and I’m not going to miss it.

I quickly wrap up my last few work tasks. I take Liam’s things to the trailer, but when I get there, he’s nowhere to be found.

So I just head home. While I’m excited about this evening, I can’t shake off my worry about Liam and all that’s transpired between us since he arrived in town.

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