Not If I Date You First

Chapter 28

LIAM

"This is all happening so fast. You're going to think I'm crazy, but I—" I break off, trying to work up the courage to say those earth-shattering words. "I'm falling in love with you."

Her bright, amber-colored eyes glisten beneath the lights, reflecting the sentiment back at me. I hear her sharp intake of breath. My eyes dip to her soft, pink mouth, and I lean toward her, careful not to step on the body lying on the floor between us. Her face is inches from mine. My lips part and—

Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzzz.

My phone starts vibrating from inside the pocket of my jeans loudly enough I'm certain the microphones picked it up.

"Cut!" Paul shouts. I can't see his face through the haze of lights, but judging by the tone of that single syllable, he isn't happy. "Is it too much to ask for you all to leave your phones in the dressing room?" he yells.

"Wasn't me." Ariani takes a step back from me, holding her hands up as the buzzing abruptly cuts off.

"Traitor," I mumble, reaching to turn off my cell. As soon as my fingers close around it, it goes off again. Paul groans in frustration.

"Take five. Apparently, Liam has more important things to do today than shooting this scene." I cringe. The last thing I need is for Paul to tell Ackerman I'm not taking my role on Cipher seriously enough. I've been keeping my phone glued to me at all times in case my dad texts again asking for money. I'm terrified he'll go to the press with his bullshit stories if I take too long to respond.

If I'm honest, I may have also been hoping Ada would call or text. Thinking about last night is driving me to distraction. That kiss...goddamn. It obliterated any lingering doubts I had about whether or not what I feel for her is real.

That girl makes me crazy half the time. She's infuriating, and passionate, and fierce, and so fucking beautiful. But she's also still a photog. I have no idea if I can trust her or how we'd ever make something work between us. But all I can think about is seeing her again. It's taken every bit of the focus I've honed over years of immersing myself in this character to get through the shoot today.

"Well, if you guys are taking a break..." The extra stretched out on the floor between me and Ariani sits up, fake dagger sticking out of his chest. The blood the special effects team rigged to pump steadily out of the artificial wound near his heart spurts, spraying a trail of crimson droplets all over Ariani's white skinny jeans.

"Jesus Christ," Paul mutters as Ariani jumps back, squealing in disgust. "Someone take care of that."

My phone picks up its persistent buzzing yet again, and I heave a sigh, pulling it from my pocket. Ruby's name flashes on the screen. What could possibly be so urgent she couldn't leave a voicemail?

"Hello?" I press the phone to my ear as I stride off the set, dodging the crew scrambling to adjust lighting and boom mics. One of the costume designers hustles over to Ariani with a pair of clean pants.

"Big news!" Ruby chirps. "You got an audition!"

My footsteps cut off as adrenaline spikes through me. If Ruby is this pumped, it has to be for the part. I'm breathless with excitement, hardly daring to let myself hope. "For Where There's Smoke?"

"Obviously," Ruby says. "I just got off the phone with Ackerman's assistant, and everything's all set. All the work you've been doing to repair your reputation is paying off, Liam."

"Oh my God, Ruby! This is amazing. This is...I don't even know. Just thank you! Seriously. I really needed this today."

"Good, because you're flying out to L.A. tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow?" My head jerks back in surprise. "I thought you and Julian wanted me to go to the StarTracker event."

The tabloid magazine throws this huge party every year. They invite all of New York's brightest stars, showering us with gift bags worth obscene amounts of money. It's their way of staying in our good graces, so we'll sell them exclusive stories despite the ugly rumors they print about us. It must work since I know a lot of celebs who've cut deals with them to publish their wedding photos and tell-alls.

I was planning on asking Ada to go with me. Disappointment needles me at the thought of not seeing her.

"Oh, you're still going to that party," Ruby says. "This is only an audition, not a guaranteed part. If you want to lock this down, you need to keep selling the story about dating the paparazzi girl. The media and fans are absolutely eating it up. This is the most brilliant publicity scheme I've come up with if I do say so myself."

I contemplate telling Ruby my relationship with Ada is more than some publicity stunt, but she and Julian are already too involved in my love life as it is.

"What time does my flight leave?" I ask. The party doesn't start until seven, and only B-listers arrive before nine.

"You fly out of JFK at one."

"In the morning? What time is my audition?"

"Eight A.M. So you better get some sleep on the plane, 'cause you need to nail this."

I rub a hand over the back of my neck, shutting down the string of complaints that want to come pouring out of my mouth. I should be grateful to have this audition at all, not whining about how tired I'm going to be.

"Will do." I force some confidence into my voice that I'm not feeling. My entire career is riding on this. Showing up on two hours of sleep seems like a bad idea.

"Call me the second the audition's over. Good luck." Ruby hangs up, leaving me staring at my cell, trying to keep the stress descending on my shoulders from swallowing me. I crane my neck to the side, trying to release the tension.

At least I'll still get to spend some time with Ada. If she'll agree to go to the party with me, that is. I wince, realizing I probably should've given her more notice for an event like this. If Ruby's right, then being photographed with her on the red carpet could help me secure this role. I need any advantage I can get.

I start to message Ada. My fingers hover over my phone, but I hesitate. Somehow, it feels different using our relationship for a part now. But that's stupid. The reason this whole thing started between us in the first place is because it was beneficial to both of our careers. Ada would do the same thing in my situation. I shouldn't feel bad about it.

I shake my head, trying to clear the guilt itching at the back of my mind and type out the message.