Who on earth had I been partnered with? Luca used to be well respected in the industry—hell, everyone had a crush on him when we were at school. Lily even had this huge poster of him on her wall from one of the many teen films he’d featuredin.
A sudden vibration from my phone startled me, so I swiped it off the vanity and cringed at the text.
Mum:Call me as soon as you’re assigned your partner.
Groaning, I slid my phone into my hoodie pocket, too overwhelmed to deal with my mother rightnow.
I had bigger things to worry about. In a few short hours, I was going to meet my partner for the next sixteen weeks.
How Jack had persuaded meto take part in a fucking ice-skating show was beyond me.
Actually, that was a lie. A strong dose of best friend/agent blackmail, emotional blackmail, and career blackmail had played a huge role.
Jack was a horrible person.
“Come on, you big dope, turn that frown upside down.” He smiled like a clown from the driver’s seat.
I answered him with a glare, even though he was solely focused on the road and the heavy rain hitting the windshield. In typical England fashion, the weather was miserable despite the fact it was July. It suited my mood perfectly.
“You’re about to meet your new besties for potentially the next sixteen weeks. You don’t want to give them a bad impression, do you?” Despite his living in the States for over ten years, Jack’s British dialect and accent stood strong. He’d moved to L.A. when he was nineteen to shadow my then-agent but flew back and forth frequently to see his family. Jack loved the busy lifestyle, which was why he was happy to follow wherever my work tookus.
I groaned and stared at him across the console. “For fuck’s sake, Jack, don’t call them my besties.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m a grown man and don’t use the term ‘bestie.’ I’m also not here to make friends.”
“Your toxic masculinity is really shining through there, my friend. Not only are you afraid of making friends, but you’re also afraid of using feminine words.”
“I am not afraid of either of those things.”
“Then why can’t we use it, huh? Am I not your bestie?”
“Nancy used the word at the end of every sentence, and it still sends shivers up my spine when I think about her.” It would have been too kind to liken my ex-girlfriend to Satan. I avoided thinking about her at all costs.
“Hmm, fine. I’ll give you that this time.” He patted my knee, and I rolled my eyes. “But still, you do have to be friendly with these people, Luca. That’s the whole point of being on the show.”
To fix my image,he’d explained, when he’d told me that I was going to be busy for potentially the following four months. I hadn’t done much of anything since moving to the UK with Jack and my mother. Other than exercise and cooking, I’d kept my head down, soStars on Icewas going to be a shock to the system.
“I am here to make thepubliclike me again, not the camera crew and skaters.”
“God, you’d have thought twenty-three years in show business would have at least taught you something.” He shook his head, glancing at me like I was a moron. “The people behind the scenes are the ones that will make you look good. The camera crew, the judges, the hosts? What they think will be what makes or breaks you on this show. If you pull one of your stunts and piss them off, you’ll make it easy for them to turn the public against you.”
I ignored the ugly twinge I felt when Jack saidone of yourstunts—as if I’d known that my ex-girlfriend was going to sell my secrets to the media.
“Fair enough, but being nice to them and befriending them are two different things.”
“Why are you being so fucking stubborn about this, Luca? Do you not want that audition?”
“Of course I want it. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be on the way to a damn ice rink.”
“Then stop your moping and accept that you might have to make friends with some of them. Fake it if you need to; I don’t give a shit. But you’d best put on a good fucking show because your getting the part depends on this.”
“I know it does, all right?”
As my manager and best friend, Jack had my best interests at heart, I knew, even if his words were harsh. That was just how we were.
We drove through two rounds of security, then followed the guards’ directions to Studio Twelve. The place washuge. Massive beige warehouse-type studios lined both sides of the clean tarmacked roads. A few cars and golf carts were driving between the studios, which Jack explained were home to the training ice rinks, carrying crew between the buildings. I watched them pass without a flicker of emotion, unable to find it within myself to be excited to be back on aset.
