Page 22 of Between Takes
“You’re lying on a filthy floor with a half full bottle of whisky, hiding from your assistant and dodging a meeting with already cranky producers. You couldn’t even be bothered to go to your lockable and comfortable trailer.” My eyes hovered over his pity party for one. A mixture of disgust and disappointment dripped from my words “This is what you call trying?”
When my ex and I had finally broken up, I celebrated. Had the worst hangover of my life, but I embraced my new singlehood with relish. Shaun’s prickly bear, woe-is-me routine was a grating contrast. Who was the actor here?
Shaun groaned and focused that brilliant green gaze on me. It wasn’t fair. Someone so handsome shouldn’t have the power to cut you in half with a look. He was disarming. But this time, I wouldn’t let my guard down.
“What would you have me do, Ms Perfect?” His hard eyes drilled into me, daring me to contradict him. “I’m here. I didn’t want to be, but this is what I get for letting friends decide what’s best for me.”
Maybe this had been a bad idea. Nobody had prepared me for this man. My armour wasn’t thick enough to withstand six months of barbs. The thought of telling Sherry she’d been wrong to trust my sister’s judgement made my stomach hurt, but Isla would understand. Once she knew the kind of man she’d pitted me against, she’d beg me to move home.
“Well?” he drawled, staring at me in challenge. “Finn, Jackson and Nathan think they know it all too, but the three of them are on the other side of the world while I’m stuck here with you.”
All I had to do was get him to the meeting. After that, I could call Sherry and tell her it wasn’t going to work. I could bare my soul for imminent freedom.
Sighing, I leaned my squatted weight against a flight case and prepared myself to open a painful compartment.
“When I dumped my ex, he and all of our friends expected me to fall to pieces. My sister knew better, but to them, failing at a relationship after four years of effort was supposed to devastate me.” I swallowed, the memory of my ex’s parting smile front and centre. It had been full of pity. He hated the fact I beat him to the punch, but he still thought that splitting up would finally break me, that he’d win. “And it did, but I’m not a girl who buries herself in a duvet and takes my heartache out on everyone around me.”
I forced myself to meet Shaun’s gaze. At some point, he’d sat up. He leaned towards me, avidly hanging off my words. He was such an enigma.
“Instead, I carried on as normal. I was polite to him when I saw him but avoided him whenever I could. I hung out with my family, had fun, partied with my sister, talked so loud no one had a hope in hell of shutting me up. I held onto the me he’d tried to snuff out, and I made sure the world at large knew that losing one man hadn’t changed a thing.”
“And it worked?” Shaun asked, his voice hoarse.
“He was pissed.” I grinned. “I pretended I was fine and happy until I believed it. Once it became a truth for me, it didn’t matter if anyone doubted my smile.”
He wiped his hands over his dusty jeans, his eyes focused on the movement. Silence held us in its grip, and my thighs started to burn. If he didn’t get a move on soon, I’d be walking like I’d done a thousand squats.
“Losing Lily was a pretty big blow for me,” he whispered. He peeked at me from beneath his lashes, assessing my reaction but braced to share all the same.
I’d been his lackey for two weeks, dealt with every single jibe. This was only the second time he’d looked at me with that uncertain edge. It was confusing the first time and I still didn’t know what to do with it. I schooled my features, forced the discomfort to the back of my mind and settled in.
“Not in the way the media seems to think. I owe her for my career, but her impact on my work fizzled out years ago. I’ve proven myself. I don’t need a woman, even her, to get me jobs.” He swallowed, his subdued gaze fixing on the shelving unit opposite us. “My dad wasn’t a pleasant person to be around. He didn’t believe I’d amount to anything, especially not in something as soft as acting.” His sharp gaze caught mine before skittering away. “His words, not mine. Sorry, I don’t really talk about this anymore.”
“I get it. Family’s hard sometimes. You don’t need to tell me.”
He shook his head, rubbing his eyes. “Lily was the only person who understood, who believed in me. Or at least that’s how it felt. So, I didn’t just lose a girlfriend. I lost my best friend and my crutch.”
“So as a result, you drink yourself stupid and self-destruct your career?”
His eyes narrowed as he considered my blatant disbelief. “Come on, then. Seeing as you understand me so fucking well, what would you do?”
I ignored the harsh bite in his tone. “Weren’t you listening, Hotshot?” I wasn’t sure if I was teasing him or baiting him. The whole situation unsettled me. I didn’t know what to do with a wounded Shaun. At least when I thought he was nothing but an asshole, I could resist him. “I’d prove them all wrong and win something bigger and better.”
The arrogance fell from Shaun’s features, leaving me with a clear view of his insecurities.
“What if I can’t do it?” he asked, his voice quiet and hesitant.
“You’re an actor. Act.”
Shaun wore a bewildered but thoughtful expression, and something inside me caught fire. I’d done something good for a guy who’d given me nothing but a hard time. I should have felt ill for helping him. Instead, something about the softening lines around his eyes filled me with warmth.
Certainty emboldened me. I stood and held out my hand to him.
“Come on. You can start showing the world the new you by showing the producers you mean business.”
Shaun stared at my hand, his lips pursed. I wiggled my fingers, silently taunting him. He grabbed hold and climbed to his feet, putting no weight on me – a good thing too. I’m fairly certain he’d have pulled me over if I’d truly had to support him.
He slung his arm over my shoulder and together we walked off set. I escorted him to the meeting and sat myself down at a table nearby to make sure he didn’t make a run for it.
But one heart-to-heart between us did not equal trust. He was still on my shit list. The fact he hadn’t scoffed at me or belittled my story and had shared some of his with me helped a little – although not enough to stop me quitting. He could flutter those green eyes at me all he liked. But once this meeting ended, I was done.
