Wicked Heart (Starcrossed #3)(5)
“Elissa Holt.” Liam says my name as if I’m some sort of mythical being he never expected to encounter. I try to keep my smile steady as he blinks in surprise. “You’re our stage manager?”
I nod. “Yes. Hello, Mr. Quinn. Good to see you again. And it’s nice to meet you, Miss Bell.” I hold my hand out to Angel. “Please let either me or Josh know if you need anything.”
Angel takes my hand and tilts her head at me. “You and Liam know each other?”
Her suspicion is clear. I go into evasive maneuvers. “Not really. Josh and I worked on Mr. Quinn’s first Broadway show, many years ago. He just has a good memory.”
She relaxes a little and gives me a smile. “He does. Sometimes I envy it. Especially his ability to learn lines.”
I glance at Liam to find him staring at me. I can’t decipher his expression. Anger? Bewilderment? A bit of both? There’s a heat in his gaze that makes me think he’s not entirely unhappy to see me, and I fluctuate in deciding whether or not that’s a good thing.
Josh steps up beside me. “Hi, Mr. Quinn,” he says as he clasps Liam’s hand. “Welcome back to New York.”
Liam gives him a quick smile. “Josh. Hey. How’ve you been, man?”
“Not as good as you, Mr. Hollywood. Congrats on all the stardom and adulation, dude.”
A wry grin lifts Liam’s lips. “Yeah, well, it’s not as much fun as it seems. Believe me.”
Liam glances at me, and when Josh moves over to talk to Angel, I offer my hand. Liam looks at me for a moment before he grasps it. Then he steps forward and towers over me as his fingers curl around mine, warm and electric. I try to hide the shudder that runs through me. No one needs to know what a single touch from this man can do to me. Especially not him.
I plaster on a smile as the heat of his skin sinks into my bones. “We’re thrilled to have you and your fiancée starring in our show, Mr. Quinn. I’m sure it’s going to be a huge hit.”
“God, Elissa, I . . .” His fingers tighten, and I shiver as he rubs his thumb over my knuckles. He looks down at our hands and then back up to my face. “I’m a bit lost for words here. Seeing you again is . . .”
I wait for him to finish the sentence, but he seems to be struggling to express himself.
By now, my hand is burning, so I pull it back and try to swallow around my too-thick tongue. “It must be nice to be back in New York. I understand you haven’t been home for a while.”
He fixes me with those incredible aqua eyes. His expression seems way too intimate, considering how long it’s been since we’ve seen each other, not to mention that his fiancée is standing right next to him. He catches himself staring and clears his throat. “Uh . . . no. I haven’t been home for a long time. Too long. Every day I’ve been away, I’ve missed it.”
He looks like he’s about to say something else when the rest of the cast starts arriving.
Thank God.
I use the distraction to move away. It’s not easy. I feel like a spaceship escaping the inexorable pull of a black hole.
As people fill the room, I go on autopilot. I sign people in, hand out information sheets and rehearsal schedules, and busy myself dealing with anyone who isn’t Liam.
It doesn’t escape my attention that an hour later when we’re ready to begin rehearsals, Liam still seems shell-shocked by my presence.
There’s an air of excitement in the room as Marco talks the cast through his ideas for the show. Everyone listens and nods, and most people jot notes onto their scripts. Liam, however, isn’t holding a script, but leaning forward and frowning in concentration.
He has an energy about him these days that’s new. Sort of an aggressive simmer, like there’s a dark cloud following him around, drawing down his brows and putting tension in his jaw. I know it’s become part of his sex appeal, but I’m intrigued to know what’s causing it.
He sits next to Angel without touching her. In fact, when she leans over to whisper something in his ear, a flash of irritation passes over his face before he pulls away. Angel looks around to see if anyone noticed. When she glances in my direction, I diplomatically go back to tapping notes into my laptop.
It’s heartening to know they’re not always as blissful as they seem in their pictures. It makes them seem more human.
I can’t even imagine what it must be like to be engaged to the world’s most lusted-after man. It’s no secret that Angel regularly receives death threats and abuse on social media from Liam’s more rabid admirers. If I were her, I’d be paranoid as hell, but she always seems perky and upbeat. It must be exhausting to stay as positive and put-together as she does. Even when she’s caught exiting a spin class, she looks like she’s just stepped out of the pages of a glamorous fitness magazine.
Fitness is just one more thing she and Liam have in common. I know they’re in the business of looking good, but really, no one needs to exercise as much as they do. It’s wrong and unnatural. My idea of working out involves yoga pants without the actual yoga. In fact, my yoga pants should be called “sitting around eating cheese pants.” A longer title, sure, but more accurate.
“My final point is this,” says Marco. “Even though Taming of the Shrew is a play which can easily be seen as chauvinistic, we’re aiming to dispel that perception. Angel will portray a Katherine whose bitterness stems from her unwillingness to conform to society’s definition of a woman’s role, as well as a reaction to her father’s blatant favoritism toward her sister. Petruchio will not be her tamer as much as her partner in crime. My goal is to show our audience a couple who brings out the best in each other, who feeds upon each other’s unusual sexual desires, and who manages to poke fun at those who are trying to make them something they’re not.”