The Grumpy Actor

1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Sophie

T he line outside the local bakery has never been this long. I’ve spent over twenty years of my life in the small beach town of Surfside Haven—my college years excluded—so I know this for a fact.

So why is there a line as long as the local beach itself on a random Thursday afternoon?

My teeth graze my bottom lip as I stand on my tiptoes to peek through the large glass windows. Shockingly, an even larger crowd waits inside the bakery itself. A large number of these people have their phones out, while some have papers in hand.

One would think the president of the United States was visiting or something.

I dig my phone out of my small purse and quickly dial Lily, my best friend’s, number. I’m supposed to meet her here to get some quick snacks. She picks up on the third ring.

“Hey, girl. I’m outside the bakery, and there’s a crazy line. Where are you?”

“Oh, really. You’re here?” The background noise echoing from my phone and my surroundings are pretty similar, which means Lily is here already. “Where? I can’t find you…oh, there you are!”

I turn around to see my short, pretty friend easing her way out of the crowd and toward me. A wide grin sits on her face as she pulls me to the side.

“What’s going on?”

“You won’t believe the angel who just landed in Surfside Haven,” Lily gushes. I roll my eyes, urging her to hurry up and explain. “A freaking celebrity is here, Sophie.”

“Oh.”

The word celebrity sends a familiar chill down my spine. Teenage Sophie might have been excited at the prospect of a celebrity in our little town, but adult Sophie knows all too well the dangers that come with associating with those fame-grubbing individuals.

“Just ‘oh?’” Lily gasps, leaning closer to feel my temple. “Did you hear me? I’m saying a celebrity is in our town. And not just one of them, several of them.”

I frown.

The thought of our little town being exposed to those kinds of people doesn’t sit well with me. Yes, we get the occasional tourists every year who are fascinated by the idea of a picturesque beach community, but aside from that, Surfside Haven is a safe harbor, just as its name suggests.

“What are they doing here?”

“They’re shooting a movie in our town. Can you believe it? Our little town will be featured in a movie!”

“Shh, stop squealing! People are staring.”

“I can’t stop!” Lily squeals even louder. “How can I when Liam Ryder will practically be living in our town for the next few months?”

“Liam What ?”

My heart sinks at the mention of that name. I gulp, hoping I heard her wrong. Of all the celebrities to show up here, Liam can’t be one of them.

“You can’t say you don’t know Liam Ryder. That hot-as-sin award-winning actor.”

Oh, I know him all too well. Much more than I want to let on right now.

My sweaty palm tightens around the strap of my bag as a pounding ache graces my head. The image of the man I once called mine saddles my mind as that familiar, painful jab slices through my heart all over again.

“What? You can’t say you don’t like Liam Ryder. He’s the best actor I’ve ever seen.”

“Yeah, right,” I scoff. “The only good thing about him is his face, and that’s the reason you like him. He’s an even worse actor than a human being, and that’s saying something.”

“Oh, I bet he is.”

I nearly jump out of my skin.

That voice doesn’t belong to Lily because her mouth doesn’t move, and she clearly doesn’t possess a deep baritone.

There’s a familiar edge to the voice I don’t want to acknowledge. The heat emanating from the intimidating figure behind me explains the shocked look on Lily’s face.

My breath hitches in my throat as I turn around and I’m forced to stare up into a deep blue gaze. I fight back a gasp.

I’d recognize those eyes anywhere. The hoodie, hat, and face mask he has on don’t exactly give him the anonymity he must be seeking.

After seven years, Liam Ryder is standing in front of me, and he looks every bit as shocked as I feel.

“Oh my God! It’s Liam!” Lily squeals behind me. “She doesn’t mean it. Sophie isn’t exactly crazy about movies.”

Liam doesn’t pay attention to Lily’s words. His eyes are fixed on me, shining with deep-seated shock and curiosity.

My hand subconsciously slides through my brown curls, and I wish for the first time in a long time that they were even a little bit manageable.

But I’m so not trying to look good for Liam right now. I’d just prefer not to look like a country bumpkin for our first meeting after seven years, especially when he looks like a Greek god and the last time he saw me, I looked my worst—heartbroken, red-faced, puffy-eyed, and pleading with him to give me a reason why we needed to end things.

I cringe, hating how vulnerable I’d been back then and how I can still vividly remember that day when I swore I was over Liam and everything to do with him.

Even though all I can see is his eyes right now, I know Liam has only grown more handsome over the years.

My insides riot as I stare into his eyes. Just like back then, when I was a na?ve college freshman, I find myself lost in those deep blue eyes…eyes that are suddenly devoid of the earlier shock I saw in them.

Tension curls through my body as my throat runs dry.

What do I do? What do I say to him?

The silence between us as we stare at each other gets awkward, and I can feel Lily hyperventilating behind me.

“Uhm, what’s going on here?” Lily asks breathily. “Do you guys know each other?”

Oh, Lily, you don’t want to know.

Liam wrenches his eyes off me for the first time and turns to Lily. “No, we don’t.”

I almost gasp as those words slip out of his mouth.

“I’m just surprised to hear such a passionate criticism of my work from a stranger,” Liam says flatly. “Let’s just say I’m used to people praising me. So don’t blame me for trying to figure out what kind of creature she is.”

Creature? I scoff. Great, I’m a creature to him.

Lily chuckles, slipping her hand around my waist. “Oh, believe me, I sometimes wonder if my best friend is from a different planet. I’m a really big fan, Liam.”

“Great to know. Got to go.”

Liam breezes past us without waiting for a response. All I can do is stand there in shock as I try to process what just happened.

When I woke up this morning, I thought it would be another normal, boring day in Surfside Haven. But now everything has changed. My ex-boyfriend, who’s a freaking celebrity actor, is in town for the foreseeable future, and he just pretended not to know me.

I can’t imagine anything worse than this happening to me.

My pretty normal world is getting ripped apart all over again by Liam Ryder.

“Okay, what was that?”

“What was what?” I reply to Lily absentmindedly.

She steps in front of me, a mischievous smirk on her face. “Don’t feign ignorance. There was some kind of tension between you and Liam. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you guys had some kind of relationship. But then, where would you have met a celebrity?”

“There wasn’t any tension.”

She raises a brow. “That’s a lie.”

“You’re reading too much into what isn’t there. Like you said, where would I have met a celebrity like him?”

“That’s right.” She nods. “You two are worlds apart.”

Yeah, we are. But back then, I thought we were living in the same world. He’d just been Liam, the acting graduate student who swept me off my feet, not the big-time playboy actor the world has come to know.

My heart tightens and I try to ignore it, but it’s hard when I feel like I’m reliving the past all over again.

I thought he was behind me, but it turns out he isn’t.

“Come on, let’s get out of here. Getting lunch from here is clearly impossible with the crowd.” I pull Lily along by her arm as I head down the street. “I’m helping my mom at the diner today.”

“Oh, so you still haven’t gotten any freelancing gigs lately?”

“Yes, and as long as I stay under my mom’s roof, I have to pull my own weight and help with the diner.”

“Keep saying that like it’s a bad thing. Your mom is literally the best cook in town.”

I scoff loudly in Lily’s face, and she bursts out laughing. We make our way to Grant’s Diner, which has been in our family for as long as this town has existed.

The diner is packed, which isn’t surprising. Most of the tourists who come to town often make my mom’s diner their go-to place for lunch, then stick to the fancy resorts for a high-end dinner. The locals, however, come in at any time.

As soon as we enter, Mom calls out to me from behind the counter. “Sophie, man the counter. Lily, you take orders.”

“I only followed Sophie here,” Lily replies.

Mom throws her a sharp glare. “And?”

“I’ll get on it, Mom,” Lily says quickly.

I hold back a laugh as I head to the counter. My mom and Lily have a relationship where I often wonder if Lily isn’t actually my sibling. Lily’s mom has been my mom’s best friend since before we were born, so we’re practically family.

We get swamped with work pretty quickly. When my mom’s part-timer, Susan, shows up later in the evening, I leave the counter to her and join Lily in taking orders.

I grab a notepad and head over to the two men who just walked in. “Good evening. May I take your orders, please?”

The brown-haired man sighs heavily and picks up the menu on the table. “Just choose something, Ben. I’m exhausted.”

Ben takes the menu and begins to peruse it. They don’t look like tourists. Tourists are usually hyper about exploring the town and gushing about trying the food here. And they’re clearly not locals, since I’ve never seen them in my life, and I can proudly say I’ve met everyone in this small town.

They must be part of the movie crew, then. That has to explain their exhaustion.

“I can’t believe she really quit at the last minute. Who does that?” the brown-haired man laments.

The second man, Ben, lowers his menu. “I’m guessing she heard the rumors about how hard it is to work with him and bailed.”

“This isn’t a joke.”

“Sorry, Julian,” Ben apologizes, but from his sly smile, I can tell he isn’t the least bit sorry. “But we both know the only person who can handle Liam’s nonsense is Kaylee. It’s so unfortunate she’s on maternity leave.”

Liam? Goodness, are they talking about my Liam?

Why do I even care?

“I mean, all he needs is a temporary personal assistant. Is that so hard to find? One would think people would be thrilled to work with a celebrity,” Julian laments.

It’s clear now that they’re talking about the same Liam.

So, not only is he a jerk who breaks hearts brutally, but he’s also an impossible person to work with. Why am I not surprised?

“Are you ready to place your order now, or should I come—”

“Did you say you needed a personal assistant?” Mom’s high-pitched voice interrupts me. I turn to her as she stops beside me with a tray clutched to her chest.

Why does she sound so excited?

“Mom, it’s rude to eavesdrop on your customers,” I whisper through gritted teeth.

“Not when they clearly need my help,” Mom retorts sweetly. She turns to Julian. “You do need a personal assistant temporarily, right?”

“Yes, I do.” Julian nods. “Do you know someone you can recommend?”

“Oh, I know someone. She’s a virtual assistant, so I’m sure she’ll do just fine as a personal assistant.” Mom smirks.

Dread washes over me. “Who, Mom?”

“What do you mean who?” Mom fixes me with a sharp glare, then smiles at Julian and Ben and points at me. “My lovely daughter here is a certified virtual assistant.”

What’s my mom thinking? I can’t be Liam’s personal assistant. It would be a nightmare.

Julian’s eyes light up. “Really? Would you be willing to work as a temp assistant?”

“No, I have a lot of projects I’m handling currently and—”

“No, you don’t. That’s why you’re assisting me here,” Mom says. She stares at me suspiciously. “Is there any reason you don’t want this job? You can even add it to your portfolio and get better gigs from now on. I don’t see why you should reject this.”

Well, there’s the fact that Liam is my heartless ex-boyfriend who I’d rather never see again.

I can’t tell my mom that, though. As far as she knows, the Liam I was crazy about in freshman year had been just a normal student.

“I guess it’s settled, then.” Mom grins.

Julian gives me an expectant look, and I bite down on my lip to stop myself from groaning.

“Yes, I’ll take the job.”

This is going to be a disaster.