Page 33 of The Grumpy Actor

Right. We’re done with the emotional part, and we’re supposed to shoot the kiss scene now.

Anger builds inside me. The thought of erasing Sophie’s kiss with a fake one doesn’t sit well with me.

Honestly, now that things with Sophie are looking good, I hate the idea of sharing my body with another woman, even if it’s just acting.

For the first time in my life, I want to call for a stunt double.

It would be a thousand times better if the stunt double was Sophie. Then, we could continue from where we stopped.

I stop that train of thought as I try to remain in the present.

“Action!” Tim calls out as the clapper’s sound signals the start of the scene.

“Jared…” Celeste breathes out, grabbing me by the arm.

I slide my hand around her waist and pull her closer. I imagine she’s Sophie as I tilt my head to the side.

Celeste closes her eyes, and at the last minute, I hold my head still and keep my lips a few inches apart from hers.

That works. We’ll just mime the kiss, and I’ll convince the director not to take a close shot.

“And cut!” Tim calls out.

I pull away from her and notice the slight frown on Celeste’s face.

“What was that?”

I shrug. “A better way to shoot kissing scenes.”

I steal a glance toward Sophie, and I’m met with her furious glare. And she isn’t glaring at me alone, but at Celeste, too.

It makes sense she’d feel jealous over this, seeing as I went mad with jealousy when I saw her just talking to another man.

Honestly, it makes me happy to know she feels deeply enough for me to get jealous.

I fight back a smile as I walk toward her.

Sophie straightens up as she sees me approaching. She banishes the look of anger on her face and stares at me blankly instead.

She picks up a towel and hands it over without looking at me. I move closer to her, cornering her between the table and my body.

She turns around swiftly and frowns when she sees how close I am.

“I’m an actor, Sophie. I’ve kissed plenty in movies, and I’m always going to do that.” I trail a finger down her jawline. “It doesn’t mean anything.”

Sophie’s cheeks flush as she glances away from me.

“I know it doesn’t mean anything.” She pushes my hand off and moves away from me. “And you don’t have to explain yourself to me. I mean, there’s no reason to.”

That statement angers me more than I expected.

She’s clearly brushing off what happened between us earlier, like it didn’t mean anything. But it did. At least to me. That kiss stirred up more than I’m willing to admit—and I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t wondered if it meant we still had a chance.

Even though I still don’t have forever in mind, I at least want to try my best.

“How about lunch before the next scene?” Sophie asks, successfully changing the topic. “The next shoot today isn’t til nightfall.”

I let go of what I’d been meaning to say and nod instead. “Alright.”

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