He’d completely missed that. “Sorry, what were you saying?”
“I said I sent out your mother’s regular check. Have you heard from her lately?”
“Not really.” That wasn’t such a bad thing. Mom didn’t communicate much unless she needed something.
“That’s good, I guess.”
He didn’t want to talk about his mom. “How’s Gwenn feeling? She’s gotta be due soon.”
“Not soon enough for her. She’s still a few weeks away.”
“You ready for that—two kiddos?”
Spencer chuckled. “Can’t wait. Nolan’s eager to meet his new sister. He keeps talking to her through Gwenn’s belly. It’s the cutest thing.”
Liam’s chest constricted at the image. What a life his friend had. Liam wasn’t jealous of Spencer exactly. But he envied the place where he was in life. His obvious contentment. Liam had a feeling if Spencer’s career was stripped away, he’d still be content with only his little family.
Liam wasn’t sure he’d ever have that. He didn’t even know how to go about getting it. He’d started thinking he might be able to have that kind of life with Chloe. And look how wrong he’d been. He’d begun entertaining those feelings. Had thought she was falling for him—the real him. He’d held out his heart and Chloe had stomped on it—albeit unknowingly. There was a reason he avoided relationships. He needed to remember that—especially where Chloe Anderson was concerned.
***
The kiss had somehow changed things between them—and not in the ways Chloe had hoped. Liam hadn’t called all week and they hadn’t hung out except to run lines. There were perfunctory texts to handle details. And beyond that... radio silence.
When they ran lines she got the focused, businesslike Liam who appeared on set. No, not even that. After all, he joked around with the cast and crew between takes.
There was no joking between Liam and her. Not anymore. Chloe wasn’t sure what had happened. He was getting exactly what he’d wanted. That kiss, as he’d no doubt planned, had certainly furthered his cause. His fans were swooning over Chliam, and their fake relationship was changing the narrative about him on the gossip sites.
Now he was depicted as a warm, caring man in a steady relationship. She had helped create that image, but now it only ticked her off. Because she hadn’t seen hide nor hair of that warm, caring man since that stupid strategic kiss. Never mind that she’d initiated it.
He must be avoiding her because he’d seen through her. They both knew she was no good at hiding her feelings. He’d deduced she actually wanted the kiss and pulled back. Her cheeks burned.
The whole thing left her feeling like a fool.
So it was no surprise she was feeling a little testy as she approached him Friday morning at Waterfront Park. Because yes, since that uncomfortable kissing scene they’d rehearsed at her house, they’d only run lines in public.
He lounged in the freshly mown grass, knees up, arms resting on them, staring toward the sea. He wore sunglasses and a red ball cap pulled low. A script and water bottle sat beside him. Was he going over his lines in his head or plotting their next phony kiss?
She crossed over to the shaded patch of grass. The park was deserted this time of day, and the sun, hiding behind fluffy clouds, hadn’t yet hiked the temperature. A squirrel scrambled across the sloped lawn, scaring a pair of seagulls into flight.
He straightened as he spotted her. “Hey.” A week ago he would’ve stood. Maybe taken her hand or hugged her.
“Hey.” She settled on the grass a safe distance away, trying to think of something to say. The next scenes, filming tonight, werefrom earlier in the script. They took place at a street fair, which unfortunately Chloe wouldn’t witness since she had to work.
She cut him a glance. He was too handsome for his own good with his unshaven jawline and lips that were made for kissing. She didn’t want to notice any of those things. She didn’t want to feel the things he made her feel. Or remember the way his mouth had felt on hers, demanding yet reverent.
She shook the thoughts from her head.
He grabbed the script and opened it. “This one’s fairly straightforward, I think.”
He was doing perfectly fine with these scenes. She rarely had constructive criticism for him anymore. He had the part of Ledger down cold. Why was she putting herself through this? Oh well, she was here. They might as well run through it.
“Let’s start at the top.” She opened her script to one of the scenes that would film today. It was between Ledger and his brother. Liam began, playing off the complex family dynamics with target precision. Chloe did her best to match his skillful reading, but of course his performance outshone hers. He was Ledger in all the ways that mattered. He could put on the part and take it off again like a T-shirt. But that’s what actors did.
It was a long scene, and Liam, unhappy with the first reading, wanted to run through it again. Chloe acquiesced.
In the middle of the scene he interrupted his own dialogue. “What’s wrong?”
She blinked at him. “Nothing.”
