Bad Romeo Christmas: A Starcrossed Anthology (Starcrossed #4)(35)

"Ohhhhh," says the brunette, as if a light bulb went off. "That makes more sense. I mean, yeah. You and him?" She laughs, and the redhead joins her. "As if, right?"

The redhead finally finishes up with her wad of tissue paper and hands me my bags. "Well, if you ever see him again, tell him he's always welcome to shop here. We'll give him a special discount."

I wonder if slapping a smug store clerk would get me another entry on Liam's naughty list. If he'd witnessed this little exchange, I'm sure he'd cheer me on. I push down a flash of anger and fix them both with my fiercest glare. Within a second, their smiles drop.

"Actually," I say. "I'm going on a four-week vacation with Liam tomorrow." I hold up my left hand and waggle my massive diamond ring. "And this chunk of ice is what he gave me the day he asked me to marry him. Pretty freaking awesome, right?"

The brunette blinks for a few seconds before stuttering, "No. No way."

The redhead doesn't even bother trying to speak. She just gapes.

"Yes way, Chastity." I give her a smile. "So, Merry Christmas to me." I stride toward the door, but just before I reach it, I turn back to them. "Oh, and to answer your question, yes, he's an amazing kisser. Better still, he f*cks like a god." They both gasp. "Goodnight, ladies, and thanks for your help. Enjoy that commission, won’t you?"

With that, I pull the door open and step out into the freezing weather. Unfortunately, my triumphant exit is marred when I slip on a patch of ice on the sidewalk and fall heavily onto my ass.

Dammit.

Like a true badass, I climb to my feet and proceed to strut down the sidewalk like I'm a six-foot-tall supermodel with three percent body fat, rather than a five-foot-three stage manager with a cheese addiction.

Looks like I was wrong about pretty underwear. It can make you feel powerful after all.





FOUR


I'm Telling You Why




December 1st

The Apartment of Liam Quinn

New York City, New York



"Lissa, would you stop pacing? You're giving me motion sickness, which is ironic since I'm not the one going on a trip."

I flop down on the couch next to Josh and sigh. "I'm sorry. I've never taken a trip where I haven't planned out every detail. I'm nervous. "

"You're hiding it well. I couldn't tell by the way you circled the apartment fifteen times while you rearranged your luggage, or by the twenty times you checked your passport." He pushes his glasses up his nose. "I know it's not midday yet, but maybe you should have some wine. Or a Valium." Josh taps something into his tablet and squints at the screen. "Goddamn sonuvabitch."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Sure, you always swear at technology and glare like you want to murder it. Spill, please."

He leans back and tilts the screen so I can see. It shows an entertainment website featuring a dozen photos of Angel in Australia, apparently sharing an intimate night out with her leading man. They're laughing and hugging, and in one, it looks like they're about to kiss. The headline reads, "Hollywood's Sweetheart Finds Love Down Under with New Prince Charming."

"Josh—"

"I know you're going to tell me it's not what it seems, and they're just working together, but f*ck, Lissa. I can't stand seeing her with him. I really can't." He slams the tablet onto the coffee table and strides into the kitchen.

"Why so jealous? You weren't like this when she was pretending to be in love with Liam."

"That was different." He opens the fridge and grabs a beer. "Back then, I didn't think I had a chance with her, so I had nothing to lose. Now, I have everything to lose, and it freaking terrifies me." He rips the cap off the beer and takes a long swig. "Watching her lust after that guy on set every day ... seeing her kiss him and have sex with him—"

"Pretend to lust. Pretend to have sex. She's just doing her job, honey. You know that."

"Lissa, you don't understand. This guy, Julian ..." he takes another swig of beer. "I've never wanted to beat up someone so much in my life."

"Why? Is he an *?"

He laughs. "Not at all. And that's the problem. He's seems like a nice guy. Funny. Friendly. Has a killer collection of comic books. He even agrees that Captain Kirk would destroy every other Starfleet captain in the Star Trek universe."

"And, that's bad because ...?"

He walks over and sits beside me. "Don't you see? He's me. He's the tall, handsome, hot-bodied version."

"Josh, you're six-feet tall. That’s not exactly short. And you’re handsome."

"Yeah, but I'm normal-person handsome. He's movie star handsome. Why would Angel stay with me when he has everything I have and more? He's a hot geek in the body of Greek god."

"That's ridiculous. Angel was with Liam for years and didn't lust after him once, and yet from the day she met you, she wanted to jump your bones. Have you considered that she doesn't go for the Greek god type? Maybe she likes her hot geeks ... well ... geeky."

He takes a breath and lets it out. "I suppose."