Page 12 of The Wrong Costar

My words were tumbling over each other as I rushed to get them out, but these were all valid concerns. Liam Black may have had an IMDb page, but what did we really know about the guy?

Miss Appleby waited patiently until I finished my rant before giving me a reassuring smile. “Why don’t you give him a chance? He might surprise you.”

I had serious doubts about that. I’d seen more than enough tabloids to know that Liam Black was bad news. He had a different girl on his arm every week, and photographs of him stumbling out of nightclubs surfaced on an almost constant rotation. At seventeen, he had already had problems with alcohol and drugs. What he needed was a stint in rehab, not a part in our school play.

Miss Appleby had never let me down before though, so I knew I should at least try to listen to her now. I’d do as she asked and give him one chance, but that was it.

I let out a long breath and nodded. “Okay, you’re right. I’ll give him a chance.”

The door behind me opened. “Is this the drama room?” I froze to the spot as I recognized Liam’s deep voice. It sent shivers down the back of my neck, and I was again struck by the familiarity of it. He was a complete stranger, but somehow, he also felt like someone I’d known my whole life.

Miss Appleby jumped up, a beaming smile covering her face as she waved him in. “Liam, come in,” she said. “Yes, you’re in the right room. I’m Miss Appleby, your drama teacher.”

I didn’t turn to face him. For some reason, my body just refused to move. I had been indignant about him only moments ago, but now that I actually had to meet him, I was filled with nerves. How was I supposed to act around someone so famous?

I listened as he approached until he came to a stop at my side. He was standing so close I could smell the musky scent of his cologne, and as I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, I had to dig my nails into my hands to stop myself from reacting. Liam was huge. He was at least a foot taller than me, and his muscles looked like they’d been carved from stone.

I might have likened his aura to that of a king when I’d seen him enter the assembly earlier, but seeing his perfect face from this close made me realize the brutal truth. Liam Black wasn’t a king. He was a god.

“Nice to meet you, Miss Appleby,” Liam said, taking her hand in his to shake it.

I think Miss Appleby was also feeling the effects of Liam’s godlike powers because she started to blush bright red. “You’ve joined us at a good time, Liam,” she tittered as he released her hand. “Rehearsals start for our stage version ofBeauty and the Beastthis week, and you’ve been cast in one of the lead roles, Beast.”

Liam’s calm and cool expression revealed none of his thoughts about the news.

“This is your costar, Teagan.” Miss Appleby gestured toward me. “She’s playing Belle.”

Liam folded his arms across his chest and lifted one eyebrow as he glanced at me for the first time. “Costar, huh?” His voice betrayed enough of his disapproval that I very much got the picture he wasn’t interested in being co-anythingwith me.

I bristled at his words. The guy was so conceited, and I desperately wanted to put him in his place. Miss Appleby shot me a look though, her eyes speaking what her words could not. I’d told her I’d give him a chance. Apparently, one minute of interacting with him wasn’t chance enough.

I let out a sigh. “It’s nice to meet you. I look forward to working together.” There, I’d been totally pleasant and chance giving.

The corner of his lips lifted just a fraction. If I hadn’t been watching them, I might not have caught it. He clearly found something about my words amusing, but I wasn’t sure why. All I knew was that I didn’t want to amuse Liam Black. I didn’t want to do anything with him—and that included acting together in our play.

I suddenly realized I was focused on his lips, and I quickly lifted my gaze toward his eyes. But looking into his eyes was a mistake. His expression may have seemed bored and aloof at a glance, but his eyes were different. They were the color of a tropical forest in the depths of a storm, and they almost seemed to glow brighter as I looked at him. They were charged with an intensity that the rest of his expression seemed to hide.

His eyes entranced me and were almost impossible to look away from. It felt like I was getting a rare glimpse into the soul of the smug guy before me, but as I searched his eyes, I couldn’t see his arrogance at all. He was looking intently at me too, and I wondered if he could tell that I was hiding just as much behind my forced smile as he appeared to be with his air of disregard.

The bell rang, waking me from the spell he’d held me under, and I quickly looked away. My heart was racing, and I felt a little breathless. One intense look from him and my heart was aflutter. It was mortifying.

“Can I start looking over the script, Miss Appleby?” I asked. My voice was light and barely louder than a whisper. With a few words, Liam had crippled me, and with one look, he’d left me feeling completely exposed. I’d been prepared to meet the bad boy of Hollywood, but I hadn’t expected that he would get to me so much.

Miss Appleby smiled and passed over my copy of the script before I quickly retreated from the stage to go sit in one of the chairs facing it. Liam also took a script and went to sit in one of the chairs at the far back of the room. I was glad he hadn’t chosen to sit close to me. I’d already held my tongue around him once today, and I wasn’t sure I could do it again.

Students slowly began to file into the room, and I felt some of my equilibrium return as the drama room filled with chatter. Evan was one of the first ones to arrive, and he immediately came to sat next to me, flinging an arm across the back of my chair.

“You snuck out of math early,” he said with a disapproving tut. “Do I even want to know why?”

“It’s math. Do I need a reason?”

He started to respond, but as he did he finally noticed Liam sitting at the back of the room and his eyes widened. “Hello,reason.”

I poked him in the stomach, drawing his attention back to me. “He’s not the reason,” I hissed. “Well, he is, but not for the reason you might think.”

“And what might I think?” Evan asked, whispering like we were conspirators.

“Probably something insidious.”

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