“I haven’t been on set for his other scenes, but according to Liz, those have all been fine.” I twist the tassels on one of the decorative pillows, trying to keep myself from ripping them out.
“Okay. So step one is to find out if this is just a him problem all around, or a him-and-you problem specifically.”
“It’s ahimproblem.”
She doesn’t seem to notice my correction. “Once you have the facts, then you can decide how you want to handle it.”
“By handle it, do you mean punch him in his pretty little face?”
Her eyebrows shoot up. “So you think he’s pretty?”
“What? No. It’s just an expression.” I bring a hand up to cover my face so she can’t see my heated cheeks.
“Hmmm. Well, I think you should probably avoid punching him, no matter the circumstances. He may be a bad costar, but that’s no reason for you to lose your professional cool.”
“So then what should I do?”
“Have you tried talking to him? See if you can find out what the issue is.” She says this as if having an honest and civil conversation with Grayson fucking West is a legitimate option.
I rub my forehead, closing my eyes in the hopes of relieving some of the tension. “I do know what the problem is. I’m just not sure he even remembers it.”
“Thenyousee if you can resolve it. You’re both adults now; you’re not kids anymore. This is your job. Handle it like adults.”
“Why do you make it sound so easy?” I flop back on the pillows once again, fully embracing my inner teenager.
“It doesn’t have to be anything earth-shattering, sweetie. Just talk to him. Maybe his cockiness is a mask for his insecurity.”
I choke on my laughter. “Trust me, that is not Grayson West’s problem.”
She shrugs. “You never know. I’ve certainly seen it plenty of times before.”
We sit for a quiet minute.
“I guess I’ll give it a shot.”
“Good. Let me know how it goes. I love you, Emmy. I know you don’t think you do, but you got this.” She gives me a thumbs-up and blows a kiss through the screen.
“Love you, too, Mom.” I end the call and toss my phone aside.
Then, taking my mom’s advice about being a professional, I pick it right back up and pull up the shooting schedule. I have a scene with Jenna filming tomorrow afternoon, which means my morning is open. I scroll through until I find the breakdown for the entire day. Grayson is shooting with Brian, the actor who plays Josh’s brother, during the first half of the day. Perfect. Instead of sleeping in, I’ll head down to set early and see if I can catch him in the act.
And then we’ll settle this. Once and for all.
Like adults.
Chapter Six
When my alarm goes off the next morning, I’m tempted to call off my wholeHarriet the Spy–inspired plan and snuggle back under the covers until I actually need to get out of bed.
But then I think about being able to call out Grayson for his bad behavior and prove that it wasn’t just me imagining things. He really is that much of an asshole. And being able to one-up Grayson fucking West is all the motivation I need to pop out of bed and into a hot shower. I slip into jeans and a sweatshirt, planning to stay mostly under the radar during my little detective mission.
Creeping into the dining room on overdramatic tiptoes probably doesn’t help with that, but I am nothing if not committed to the bit. I peek around the corner to be sure the room is empty before I sneak in and grab a cup of coffee. Staying incognito probably means I should be avoiding public areas, but the need for caffeine trumps all other priorities.
According to the schedule, Grayson and Brian are shooting a scene in one of the open spaces in the back ofthe inn set up to look like an office. Grayson’s character, Josh, is struggling to keep the inn open since his grandma died and left him ownership of the property. When I wrote this scene, I imagined my male lead deftly capturing this moment of vulnerability, something all of my heroes have to do at some point. It’s the perfect time to catch Grayson in the act—the act of actually acting—because the scene requires him to be open and emotional, two things he hasn’t been able to do whenever he and I are on set together.
Coffee in hand, I make my way—slowly and quietly—toward today’s set. Thankfully, no one is paying attention to me because they’re busy doing their actual jobs. I settle into a corner of the room where I’ll be able to see the action but none of the actors should be able to spot me. I don’t really care if anyone else knows I’m here—it’s not like I’m forbidden from watching filming—I mostly just don’t want Grayson to see me. In order for the spying to be authentic and all.
“What are you doing here?”
