Wicked Heart (Starcrossed #3)(66)

“You’re welcome,” he says, before giving me one of those soft, intimate smiles that I know he doesn’t give to anyone else. “Okay. I’d better get out of your hair. You should call Anthony. To thank him, or . . . whatever.” It’s clear that contemplating me doing “whatever” with Anthony makes him want to barf.

As he grabs the door handle, I stand. “Liam.” He turns back to me. “For the record, there’s no comparison between you and Anthony, no matter how much money he spends. Your present is perfect. For me, anyway. The only thing Anthony has over you is that he’s single.”

He nods and looks at his feet. “Yeah. Kind of an important trait in a potential relationship, I guess. So, you’re going to date him?”

“No.”

He studies me for a second. “Why not?”

I shrug and try not to look like the lovesick idiot I am. “He’s not my type.”

He gives me a bittersweet smile that tells me he sees right through me, then opens the door and disappears down the hallway.





FOURTEEN


CALL FOR HELP


It’s the Sunday night before our third week of rehearsal, and I’ve just settled in for a quiet night stuffing my face with cheese when my phone goes off. A quick look at the screen shows a pretty brunette with the caption—Cassie Taylor, Brother Wrangler and Ethan Tamer. As I answer it, an excited voice squeals, “You’re on TV!”

I pull the phone away from my ear. No wonder my brother’s fiancée is a great actress. Her vocal projection could shatter glass.

“Hi to you, too, Miss Taylor.”

“No, but seriously,” Cassie says, and lowers her decibels a little. “Look at you on my TV. You look amazing.”

“I’m in the background.”

“Yes, but looking gorgeous in the background. They’ve had a couple of shots of you.”

The first episode of Angeliam: A Fairy Tale Romance airs tonight. Josh is watching it in the living room with a six-pack and a pizza, certain this show will be the beginning of his fifteen minutes of fame.

“There I am!” he yells at the same time Cassie squeals, “Josh! There’s Josh!”

“Damn, I look good,” Josh calls, and Cassie echoes, “Tell Josh he looks good. Hot geek at his finest.”

Who knew a stupid reality show could get people so excited?

I hear my brother’s voice mumble something, followed by a cry of pain. Cassie comes back on and says, “Ethan said to tell you that you looked like less of a short-ass on TV, and wanted to know what sort of cutting-edge special effect they’re using to make that happen. Don’t worry, I’ve already hit him for you.”

I laugh. “I have so much more free time now that you’re around to kick his ass twenty-four/seven. Thanks for that.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I enjoy punishing your brother. A lot.”

I hear Ethan call out, “Please don’t talk to my sister about our sex life. That shit is private.”

Cassie tells him to shush. “Ooh, another shot of you! And there’s Marco behind Angel! Aw, we miss you guys.”

I’m avoiding watching. I’m glad Liam got my X-rated rant about him cut, but I still don’t need to watch an hour of television about his undying love for Angel. Not when I see their intimate exchanges every day, up close and personal.

“Okay, so,” Cassie says, reminding me I’m supposed to be talking to her and not contemplating my nonexistent love life. “Dinner, next Sunday. Since you left our show, Ethan and I have hardly seen you, and I need my Elissa snuggles, dammit.”

“Fine. Sunday,” I say, “but only if Ethan’s cooking. Not you.”

Cassie is quite possibly the worst cook on the face of the planet. Actually, no, she and her college roommate Ruby would tie. They once invited me over for dinner when we were all studying at The Grove, and I swear to God, my intestines have never been the same.

“Elissa Holt. Are you dissing my culinary expertise?”

“Not at all. Your food does that all by itself.”

Cassie gasps dramatically. “Hey! Your mother has been giving me lessons. My cooking is improving, thank you very much.”

I doubt it. My mom may run her own catering company, but she’s no miracle worker.

“Yeah, Mom told me the fire department was called the other day when she was teaching you how to make toffee.”

“That’s true, but in my defense, that melted sugar turned to fiery lava in a fraction of a second. I only took my eyes off it long enough to kiss your brother.”

“Oh, gross. I can just imagine the grope-fest that was going on while that poor toffee was going up in flames.”

Cassie laughs. “I blame Ethan. If he didn’t keep distracting me with his hotness, I’d be a gourmet chef by now. Your mom has now banned him from being in the kitchen with me. Man, Maggie can be a killjoy sometimes.”

I smile as I imagine how much Cassie’s pouting right now. “So to clarify, Ethan is cooking on Sunday, right?”

“If you insist. Seven o’clock at our place?”

“Done.”

“How are rehearsals going? Is Liam Quinn as gorgeous in person as he is on-screen?”

“Cassie, you’re going to marry my brother. You shouldn’t be noticing other men.”