FOUR
AUDITION HELL
I rub my eyes.
It’s been a long-ass day. If I never hear another verse of iambic pentameter, it’ll be too soon. We’ve seen thirty-two Romeos today, and most of them had no clue what the hell they were doing. If auditions were people, this one would be Charlie Sheen. It was a disaster.
Beside me, our director, Miriam, is rubbing her temples.
“How?” she says, in a whiny tone. “In this massive city where every second waiter is a goddamn actor, how can we have zero serious Romeo candidates? I don’t understand.”
“Maybe we have to throw our net a little wider. Try some of the students at The Grove?”
“What about your brother?” Miriam asks. “I know he auditioned for Mercutio, but if I can’t find someone else to do Romeo, I may need to switch him around.”
“Oh, no,” I say as I shake my head. “Ethan doesn’t have a romantic bone in his body.” His track record with relationships is even worse than mine. “Plus, he despises Romeo. I think you’d have a fight on your hands there.”
Miriam groans. “Well, unless this final candidate blows me away, it may be a fight I’m willing to have.” She picks up the piece of paper in front of her. “Oh, God. This next kid has no agent and no experience. He doesn’t even have a headshot, for God’s sake.”
She slaps the paper back down onto the desk and sighs. “Go bring him in, would you? Might as well get it over with, so I can open a bottle of wine and drown my sorrows.”
I pat her on the back as I head toward the door. When I open it and look into the waiting room, there’s only one person there, and he’s not an actor.
“Liam?” How did he know where to find me?
He takes off his headphones and looks up at me. He’s even hotter in the daytime than he was last night. How is that possible?
“Hey, Liss.” He stands and walks over to me, and I don’t miss the way his gaze travels down the length of my body and back up. “I half expected not to find you today. Last night was so amazing, I started to believe I dreamt it.” He studies my face. “I’m glad to see you actually exist. And you’re even more beautiful than I remember.”
I’m searching for a response when Miriam calls out, “Elissa? Is there a problem?”
“No. Be right there!” I half close the door and lower my voice as I turn back to Liam. “Look, I’m happy you exist, too, but you can’t be here. I’m working.”
“I know. I’m on the list.”
“You’re kidding me.”
“I’m really not. Check it.”
I look down at the clipboard in my hand, and sure enough, over the page and right down at the bottom is “Liam Quinn.”
I glare up at him. He gives me a panty-melting smile.
“Elissa, I might not have been entirely honest with you last night, but I swear it was for all the right reasons.” He slides past me, pushes open the door, and walks into the room. “Hi, Miriam. I’m Liam Quinn, and I’ll be auditioning for the role of Romeo.”
As soon as Miriam lays eyes on him, her mouth drops open. It takes her a few seconds before she can form words. I know how she feels.
“Uh, hi, Liam. Great to meet you. Do you need the pages?”
He puts his phone and headphones on a chair and gives her a smile. “No, thanks. I have it memorized.”
“Okay, then. Just take your time, and start when you’re ready.”
I take my seat in a daze as Liam draws in a few deep breaths to prepare.
Next to me, Miriam whispers to herself, “Dear almighty Gods of Theater, I’ll never ask you for anything else as long as I live, but please, please, please let this man be able to act. I’m begging you.”
I’m still too shocked by Liam’s presence to even laugh.
He rolls his neck and shakes out his hands, then he closes his eyes for a few seconds. When he opens them, he blows us away by delivering the most incredible interpretation of Romeo I’ve ever seen.
Bastard.
Miriam is gushing. I’ve never seen her do that. Most of the time she’s terse and straightforward, but right now she’s spouting compliments all over Liam.
Can’t say I blame her. Not only did he deliver an amazingly intelligent performance, it was also hot as hell. When he was done, Miriam applauded. She asked him to read some more, but he said he hadn’t brought his glasses and couldn’t see the script without them.
It didn’t matter. By then he had the role in the bag.
I’m still reeling that he’s here. Wait, reeling isn’t the right word. “Furious” is more like it. I’m so angry, I’m shaking.
What breed of asshole lies to someone’s face? Oh, that’s right, an asshole actor. I really do have the worst taste in men.
“Elissa.” Miriam comes over to me. “Can you get all of Liam’s details and take his measurements? I have to run. Make sure he’s back here Monday to read with our Juliets. We’ll have to see who has the most chemistry with him.”
I have no doubt Liam could have chemistry with a brick wall if he tried.
She pats me on the arm. “See you both soon. Great job today, Liam!”
Liam waves as she leaves, then turns to me. He looks so self-satisfied, I want to smack him.
I walk over with my clipboard and measuring tape. “What the hell was that?”
“According to your director, the perfect mix of romantic passion and masculine power.”
“You lied to me last night!”
“No. I told you the truth. I work in construction with my dad and have never set foot onstage. This is my first audition. Technically, I wasn’t an actor until just now.”
“Oh, what crap. No one is as good as you were the first time at bat.”
He holds up his hands. “I swear to God, I’m not lying. I’ve wanted to act for years, but life got in the way. I saw the audition notice for this a few weeks ago and decided to give it a try.”
“So this is just some crazy coincidence? Please.”
“No, it’s not coincidence. It’s fate. I keep telling you that.” He takes a step forward, his expression serious. “I know you feel it, too. Or do you not remember how close we came to committing an illegal public act last night?” He winds an arm around my waist. I clench my jaw to stop myself from pressing against him. “We could finish what we started, you know. That table looks pretty sturdy.”
Everything slows down as I watch his mouth get closer, but thankfully, my sense of professionalism overpowers my insane attraction, and I find the strength to step away.
“Let’s just get these measurements done so we can get out of here,” I say in my most no-nonsense tone. I put down my clipboard and unfurl the measuring tape. “Arms up, please.”
He raises his arms. Because he’s so broad, I have to press against him in order to wrap the tape around his chest. When my nipples harden in response, I huff in frustration.
“Listen, Liss,” he says softly. “I’m sorry I bent the truth last night, but if I’d admitted I wanted to be an actor, I’d have missed out on the most incredible kiss of my entire life, and I have zero regrets about that. Let me take you out to dinner to make it up to you.”
“I can’t.” I write down his chest measurement on my clipboard.
“Sure you can.”
I look him in the eye. “No, I really can’t. Apart from anything else, you’re now in a show I’m running, so you’re totally off-limits to me.” I wrap the tape around his neck. When I graze his throat with my hand, he sucks in a quick breath. Thank God I’m not alone in being hot and bothered by our proximity. “And even if I was stupid enough to consider a workplace romance, which I’m not, you’re onstage, and I’m backstage. You might as well be a Montague and me a Capulet.”
“What, so actors can’t date crew?”
I wrap the tape around his waist, then move to his hips. “It’s not that they can’t, but most don’t. A lot of actors consider themselves above the crew and don’t date down.”
“I don’t consider myself above you. No, wait. . . .” He thinks for a second. “Last night there were several times I imagined myself above you. It was hot as hell.”
When I hear the smile in his voice, I look up from writing on my clipboard. “This isn’t funny.”
“It is, a little. I mean, come on.”
I squeeze my eyes shut and pray for patience. I don’t know if I’m more pissed with him for deceiving me, or with myself for wanting him anyway.
“Liam, this is my first professional gig, and I can’t screw it up. Please don’t make things hard.” I take the outside seam of his legs, then try to keep my cool as I kneel in front of his crotch to take his inseam.
He moves his feet apart, but when my hand grazes his inner thigh, he blows out a tight breath. “I can’t make things hard, but you can? Doesn’t seem fair.” When I stand and glare, he shoves his hands in his pockets. “FYI, glaring at me also makes things hard. You’re sexy as hell when you’re angry.”
I give up trying to reason with him. “Shoe size?”
“Twelve.”
“Head?”
His eyebrows pull down. “Uh . . . are you offering, or—”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “What’s your hat size?”
He shrugs. “Big?”
I scribble “large” on the form, and then hand him a folder of information and his script. He caresses my fingers as he takes the documents, but I step away.
“Elissa, come on. . . .”
“We’re done here.”
“This is crazy. I like you. You like me. Can’t we go somewhere and talk about this?”
“No point. It won’t change our situation. I’ll see you back here Monday night at six to read with our Juliets. Any questions?”
He stares at me for a few seconds. I stare back as impassively as I can.
“So, this is how it’s going to be between us now?”
“Yes. Is there anything else, Mr. Quinn?”
He gives me a bitter smile. “No, ma’am. You’ve explained everything very clearly.” He grabs his gear from the chair, but before I can walk away, he steps in front of me. He’s so close, I feel the heat of him in every inch of my skin. “Just so you know, I’m going to respect your work ethic and keep my distance while this show is happening, because I agree that working and romancing aren’t the best mix. But in two months, when this production is over, all bets are off, and then . . .” He licks his lips. “Well, by then I’m sure we’re both going to have so much sexual frustration, we’ll be begging for relief. And I intend to relieve you, Liss. Over and over again. You can trust me on that.”
When he strides out and the door closes behind him, I collapse into a chair. I don’t know if I’m trembling from disappointment or relief. But I do know Liam Quinn isn’t going to give me up without a fight, and that thrills me way more than it should.