5. Chapter 5
Chapter 5
Sophie
I squint at the scene in front of me, trying to adjust to the bright lights.
It’s so crazy that they use this many lights to shoot a scene even though it’s bright out today.
According to the assistant director who’s been willing to answer my questions so far, they apparently need artificial light to give the effect of direct sunlight on camera without ruining the shot.
Not that it makes any sense to me, so I’m not trying to understand it.
I’m just looking forward to this particular scene to be over so I can go home.
It’s been a bloody five days spent working for and hating Liam at the same time. What makes it worse is that he doesn’t acknowledge my obvious animosity for him.
He acts like I’m just a speck of dust that isn’t bothering him, all while being the rudest person I’ve ever encountered. Shockingly, I discover that he’s always cold toward people when he isn’t acting, so I should be grateful he isn’t just being hard on me.
However, I’m not. It makes it so much more obvious that he never cared about me. It’s the reason he can act like I’m just another random stranger who works for him.
Especially after what happened between us on that first day in his trailer. We almost kissed, but he hasn’t even acknowledged that.
Sometimes, I wonder if I’m reading too much into what happened that day. I wonder if he wasn’t actually going to kiss me, but then I remember the moment vividly, and it sets my body off again.
Like it’s doing right now.
Honestly, I don’t think I can deal with him any longer. The only consolation I have right now is knowing that I get to take the rest of today off once this scene is over.
The shooting schedule for today gives Liam a long break after this scene, so he won’t need to be on set for the rest of the day.
Thankfully, Liam has made it clear he doesn’t need me around unless he’s on set. I try to make my work easy by preparing anything he might need way before. That way, I don’t have to do anything when he isn’t busy and doesn’t need me around.
Right now, I’m glad I can just spend the rest of the day lounging. I might cuddle up at my favorite spot at the beach and even read a book or two.
A smile slowly appears on my lips as excitement fills me.
“You sure look happy,” Dina comments, beaming at me despite her exhausted eyes.
Dina is Celeste’s assistant, and Celeste is the actress who plays Liam’s love interest in the movie. So far, Dina is the only person I’ve made friends with on set.
And it’s a miracle I’m able to do that with how swamped we both get working for two demanding people. I guess it can only be expected, since we bond over our shared misery.
“Liam doesn’t have any more scenes to shoot today after this,” I say.
Dina groans. “You’re so lucky. Celeste is still going to be here. The director wants to work on her scenes with her friends and family.”
“Chin up, Dina. You’ll get your own day off soon.” I chuckle.
“I wish.” Dina sighs. “When shooting schedules are this tight and crazy, there are barely any chances for a day off. Even the actors spend every hour on set, either on standby or redoing scenes.”
I nod thoughtfully, my eyes gliding toward Liam, who’s redoing the same scene for the umpteenth time.
“I get it. Honestly, I wouldn’t want to be one of these actors. I never considered acting to be this demanding until I took this job.”
“Same.” Dina laughs, but stops abruptly. “Celeste is almost done. I’m off to get her yogurt, since she’ll definitely want it once she’s on standby.”
“Alright.”
She rushes off toward craft services while I busy myself setting down water and a face towel for Liam, since those are the two things he always wants when he’s done shooting.
Just as I finish setting up, the director announces that he’s satisfied with the scene. I quickly pick up the towel and bottle of water and hold them out for Liam as he approaches.
He takes them without a glance at me and slumps onto his chair.
I bite my lip, waiting for him to be done and leave so I can do the same.
“I saw on your schedule that you don’t have any more scenes for the day,” Julian says, appearing out of nowhere.
How didn’t I realize he was heading this way? Last I saw him, he was talking to the producer in her trailer.
“Yes,” Liam answers flatly.
“Great.” Julian smiles. “I was thinking you could spend the day exploring the town. I noticed you’ve had issues acclimating with this role, and I totally believe it’s because you didn’t do the insane amount of research you usually do before taking on a project. And that’s because you rushed headfirst into this just to accept a challenge.”
“Julian,” Liam warns sternly.
Something about Liam’s interactions with Julian are always different. Even though it looks like they’re always arguing, there’s a degree of warmth underneath it that Liam doesn’t have for any other person.
It wasn’t surprising to find out Julian is the best friend Liam used to talk about back when we dated, but watching their exchange makes Liam seems almost humane…and I know he isn’t.
“Alright, I won’t keep pushing your mistake in your face, but you do need to get familiar with Surfside Haven. Jared is supposed to be a resident of this town in the movie, so you need to get used to it.”
“You want me to aimlessly walk around this town alone?” Liam retorts.
“Obviously not. You get a guide.” Julian glances at me. “I’m sure you wouldn’t mind showing him around town, Sophie. Since this is your hometown, I can’t imagine anyone better to help him get familiar with it.”
“Me?” I yelp, shaking my head rapidly. “I thought I’d have the rest of the day off since he’s not working.”
“And you do. You’ll be having fun exploring the town. That’s still a day off,” Julian says.
“You can’t call it a day off if I still have to see his face,” I retort sharply.
Liam throws me a glare. “She’s right, Julian. I doubt I’ll be able to learn anything useful from her. Just hire a tour guide.”
“Why should I? You already have a personal assistant who’s a local resident of the town. Trust me, it would be a waste of our resources.” Julian chuckles and adjusts his leather jacket. “You guys run along now. I’ll be taking the car, so you two can walk and explore.”
“Julian!” Liam warns between gritted teeth.
“I have a business meeting with the other producers. Bye.” Julian strides off, leaving me with Liam and my dashed hopes for a restful day.
I groan, glaring at Liam. Liam’s unwavering gaze settles on me, and there isn’t a bit of remorse. If anything, he looks annoyed.
“Pack up here. I’ll go change in my trailer,” Liam says, and leaves before I can form a reply.
I fight the urge to stomp my feet and instead focus on clearing Liam’s things off the tables.
I make it back to the trailer and wait outside for Liam to finish getting dressed. Almost ten minutes later, he comes out of the trailer in the same black pants and blue silk shirt he’d worn while leaving the resort this morning.
And just like this morning, I can’t stop thinking about how much the blue shirt matches his eyes.
He’s so effortlessly handsome, and I hate that so much. If he was even a little bit ugly, I bet I wouldn’t have such a hard time being around him.
“Alright, tour guide, move it,” Liam says as he waltzes past me. I follow him. “Where are we going first?”
“The beach.”
“Why? I see the beach every day from my room. In case you’ve forgotten, I stay at the Royal Crest Resort.”
“Yeah, but you’ve only seen a minuscule part of it,” I explain, my anger naturally diminishing as I talk about my favorite place in town. “Surfside Haven is first and foremost a beach community, and what you see from your room is like looking at a postcard. It doesn’t capture what it’s really like at all.”
“What more could there be to a beach?”
I raise my eyebrows at him, accepting the challenge he just threw in the air.
“You’ll see.” I smile despite myself.
I walk down the familiar street, but today it seems different. Everywhere we go, people stop to stare at Liam. A few wave at him while the teenagers take pictures without a care in the world.
While I squirm under all of the attention, Liam doesn’t even blink. I’m used to being able to say hi to everyone I walk past in town because I’ve lived here all my life, but today, no one seems to care that I’m also walking down this street.
All eyes are on Liam freaking Ryder.
Luckily, when we make it to the beach it isn’t too crowded. The view of the resort is majestic from here, but what really catches my attention is everyone else on the beach.
Families lounge on the sand, laughing and relaxed in their own rhythms. Farther out near the reef, a stretch of weathered wooden houses sits peacefully above the water.
Liam gasps. “I had no idea people actually lived on the water.”
“The first settlers who discovered this place primarily lived on the water because the land was mostly forest,” I say proudly, the lore of Surfside Haven exciting me just like it did when I was a kid. I walk down the beach with Liam following beside me. “Eventually, they expanded across the land, but several of them still lived on the water. Those are the ones who made their living fishing. And they still do.”
Liam quickens his pace, looking around him as though he can’t believe his eyes.
“I’m just glad that the resort owner didn’t try to buy these houses and tear them down,” Liam mutters. “I’ve seen Royal Crest across other countries, and it seems like a company focused on redevelopment.”
I chuckle. “Well, the owner, Alexander Pierce, is a native of the town. Like everyone else, he loves the beach.”
Liam walks around one of the beach houses and continues down the sand. I follow him.
He stops, smiling at how quiet this side is after the bubbly part we just came from.
“Now, this is my favorite part of the beach,” I smile as I walk down to the flat rock dangerously close to the water. “I come here to get away from people and just read.”
And I’d been looking forward to doing that again today.
“I can see why you like it.”
I turn to Liam and find him staring at me with an unusual emotion in his eyes. He quickly looks away and clears his throat.
“I think I understand why the director specifically wanted to use this town. It suits the story quite well,” Liam says.
I grin. “Well, you haven’t even seen half of the town yet. There are so many more places to explore.”
Liam sighs. “Oh, really? I was hoping we’d stop here for the day.”
I roll my eyes at him and pass behind the rock to head back up to the resort property. I hear Liam’s footsteps behind me, and a shiver of excitement runs through me again.
This is crazy.
I continue to show him around town by taking him everywhere that’s seen as a tourist attraction—the park, flower field, and museum that houses every artifact showing the history of the people who once lived in Surfside Haven.
By the time we finish, the sun is setting and my stomach is grumbling with hunger.
We take a cab to my mom’s diner. The evening rush will be over, so the place will be practically empty now, and we can eat without being disturbed.
As the cab pulls up in front of the diner, Liam glares at me. “This isn’t the resort, Sophie.”
“I thought you might want to have a taste of our local dishes,” I say, opening the door and stepping out. I glance back at him. “Your tour wouldn’t be complete without trying the food at Grant’s Diner.”
Liam’s eyes widen as he glances up at the sign. I know he’s already figured out that it’s my family’s diner.
I used to be so crazy about Liam that I told him everything about my family and the diner we run. So he must remember…right?
Liam doesn’t say anything, just steps out of the car.
As we head inside, my mom and Lily, who are both at the counter looking through some receipts, snap their heads up.
Lily covers her mouth. “No way!”
“Sophie?” Mom says, a curious glance passing from me to Liam.
“We’re here to eat, Mom,” I say.
“Oh, great, take a seat,” Lily says, eagerly hurrying toward us. She points to the best table in the place. “Here.”
Liam nods and heads to the table.
“What would you like to eat, Liam?” Lily smiles. “You can try the Grant’s special. It’s a treat.”
“Please, just have a look at the menu,” I say, pushing it toward him as I sit down.
Liam pauses and smiles warmly at Lily. “Actually, I’ll have the Grant’s special.”
What?
Lily grins. “Perfect choice.”
Lily struts back to the counter without a glance at me.
“Won’t you ask me what I want?” I yell at her.
“You can get it yourself,” Lily says sassily.
“You two always find a way to argue,” Mom says as she approaches the table. She touches my forehead. “You look tired. Have you had anything to eat today?”
“No, Mom.” I bat my eyelashes at her.
She scoffs. “That doesn’t work on me anymore.” She turns to Liam. “Welcome to our diner, Liam. It’s nice to finally meet the man causing such a ruckus in our town. Your order should be up soon.”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
“Call me Helen,” Mom says.
Liam beams at her as though he’s a little kid smiling at a woman who’s handing him candy. It’s so unusual to see. He almost seems like the Liam I once knew.
“Helen it is, then,” Liam says. “I’m sorry to do this, but can you not add shrimp to my food? I’m allergic.”
That’s right. I can’t believe I let him order the special that has shrimp as one of its sides.
“How did you know our special has shrimp?” Mom raises a brow.
I gulp.
He knows because I spoke fondly about how my dad and I came up with that recipe when I was in middle school. He basically knows everything that goes into it, and I even made it for him when we were still together—without the shrimp, obviously.
“I…I just guessed since it’s a beach community, and you know…”
“Right,” Mom says, nodding. “I’ll let the kitchen know.”
As she leaves, Liam lets out a sigh of relief. “She doesn’t know.”
Without asking, I know what he’s talking about.
I shake my head. “She never saw a picture of you, so she doesn’t know you’re the Liam. So you can rest assured that your secret is safe.”
I expect Liam to look happy about this, but for some reason, his jaw tightens and his eyes seem to harden with anger.
I decide to ignore him. When our food arrives, we eat without a word to each other, but the tension between us is palpable.
Thankfully, Julian comes to the diner to pick up Liam, so I don’t have to go back to the resort with him.
As both of them leave the diner, I slump into the chair closest to me, letting a breath of relief out.
“It’s him, right?” Mom asks.
I sit up, raising a quizzical brow. “What?”
“ Your Liam. It’s him,” Mom says. Her eyes are slowly drooping as she sits beside me. “He’s the Liam you dated back then and fell in love with, right?”
Tears sting my eyes at the rush of memories, and I slowly feel a lump rise in my throat.
“How did you figure it out?” I ask.
“The way you two acted around each other, with all the tension. I could tell it wasn’t just a boss-employee relationship,” Mom explains. “And I’m sure he knew about the Grant’s special because he heard about it before…from you.”
“Oh no!” Lily gasps, crouching next to my chair. “I’m so sorry, Sophie. I had no idea, and I kept gushing about him. You must have been so hurt to hear me go on about him like that.”
“No, it’s all good now. It’s all in the past.”
“Are you sure? You really loved him, Sophie,” Mom says, cupping my cheeks. “You should quit that job. I’m sorry for roping you into it.”
“Mom, it’s fine.” I smile. “Yes, I was hurt by him, but I’m fine now. Besides, I really need this job. I won’t let the past ruin this opportunity for me.”
Mom pats my cheeks. “As long as you know you can always quit if it gets too much, then I support you.”
“Thanks, Mom.” I smile.