Page 6 of The Grumpy Actor

Julian throws his head back in laughter as he stands up. He walks toward the door, picks up an apple from the bowl of fruit on the counter, and bites into it.

“You get someone who’s willing to work for you, and you still want to interview her? How cute.” Julian scoffs and struts out the door.

“At least tell me who it is and if they have any experience,” I yell, but Julian is already out of the suite.

I groan, rolling my eyes.

There’s every possibility whoever he’s hiring won’t have any experience working in the film industry or even working as a personal assistant at all.

I’m definitely going to have a harder time doing this project than I expected.

I glare at the script in my hand, my eyes burning holes into the front page. Even the title makes me want to puke.

Baked With Love, really? Could it be any more obvious that this rom-com is about bakers and they’re going to fall in love while baking together?

Romance movies are predictable, yet people still enjoy them for some reason. I flip through the script, and just like my first read-through, I can’t stop myself from cringing at every cliché word and action.

What makes this even more annoying is how unrealistic it is. No one actually falls in love this way in the real world. What rom-coms package as love is just lust that’ll eventually wear off.

Well, not every desire dissipates, considering I still find myself attracted to Sophie even after all these years. However, Sophie is the exception, and even that isn’t love.

And that’s the real reason I avoid cheesy movies like this. They’re the reason a lot of women are so delusional they expect love from a man who just wants to have a good time.

After much effort on my part to understand the story better despite the script’s refusal to make sense, I give up and retire for the night.

***

I slap my hand over my phone to switch off the blaring alarm. I glare at my phone, hoping that it was acting up and it isn’t actually morning yet.

I barely had any sleep last night. And there’s no one to blame for that except Sophie.

She wouldn’t leave my mind, so I spent the majority of the night reliving the brief moment we met again outside the bakery.

It was a pretty torturous experience because I know seeing her again can’t change anything, but it’s like my mind refuses to acknowledge that.

I let out a yawn as I stretch my arms overhead. Without wasting any more time, I slip out of bed and enter the adjoining bathroom.

I have to be on set this morning for the first on-scene reading before we officially start shooting at noon.

Even though I’ve done this several times already, the prospect of becoming a new character still excites me. Even if it’s a character I’d punch in the face in real life.

Once I wash my face and brush my teeth, I step out of the room. Clattering sounds from the kitchen reach my ears, and I smile.

The resort staff must be here to prepare breakfast. Julian was right; Royal Crest Hotels & Resorts is definitely the best.

As I turn the corner into the open kitchen, I stop dead in my tracks.

My eyes glide over the small frame of the woman by the coffee machine as my heart beats wildly. Brown curls tied together at the nape of her neck slip down her slender back. My palm itches as memories of my hands digging into those curls fill my mind.

The reaction that consumes me is primal and natural as every fiber of my being rises to attention.

She’s here in my kitchen pouring a cup of coffee. Or am I hallucinating right now?

I wouldn’t put it past me, since all I did was think about her all night long.

However, there’s no way I could be hallucinating so vividly. My eyes catch on the slope of her hips. The dark blue jeans she’s wearing hug her curves so perfectly that I forget how to breathe.

Images of her curled up beside me flicker through my mind, and suddenly, the room feels way too warm. I scrub my hand down my face, trying to pull myself together before I make a complete fool of myself.

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