Page 21 of Cast to be Mine

And that wasn’t embarrassing at all.

His dark hair was even more mussed than usual, probably from running his hands through it, something I noticed him doing the last hour. Those blue eyes studied me with an intensity that made my stomach flip.

“Hey,” he said quietly, holding up both options. “Thought you might need a drink.”

I looked between the Coke and the water, then reached for the Coke. I needed the caffeine and the sugar. “Thanks.”

“How are you doing?” He asked the question like he actually cared about the answer, not like he was making polite conversation.

“I’m fine,” I said automatically.

“Grace.” The way he said my name made me look up at him. “You’re not fine. And that’s okay. This is a lot. First day, meeting everyone, diving into a massive script. It’s overwhelming.”

I wanted to maintain the professional facade, but something about the kindness in his voice broke through that facade. “I just… I need more time with the script. I’ve only had it for a day.”

“I know.” He leaned against the wall, and I noticed he looked almost as tired as I felt. “I should have given you more time. But we’re on such a tight schedule, and I needed everyone together today to see how the chemistry worked.”

“And it’s not working.” I took a sip of the Coke, letting the carbonation burn down my throat. “Jack thinks I’m a disaster. He wants you to recast.”

Micah didn’t deny it, which somehow made it worse.

“I’m making him look bad,” I said, repeating what I overheard. Something I was pretty sure had been intentional. Jack wanted me to hear his critique without having to say it to my face.

“You’re nervous. There’s a difference.” He shifted, and suddenly he was closer, close enough that I could smell his spicy cologne. “The woman I saw at the audition was fearless. She owned every single line. That’s who I cast. That’s who I know you can be.”

“I am. I will be.”

I stared at him for a second, not sure what else to say. Everyone else had looked at me today and seen the woman who couldn’t get through a scene without staring at the page. Jack had seen a liability. Even I had started to wonder if maybe I’d fooled Micah during that audition.

“What do you need?” he asked.

“Need?”

He waved a hand. “I know this is your first big role. What can I do to make this easier? I know you can get there, but I’ll be honest, I need you to get there quickly.”

“You really think I can do this?” I asked.

His expression didn’t change. “I wouldn’t have cast you if I didn’t.”

“Even after today?”

“Especially after today.”

I frowned. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

“It does to me.” He took a sip of his water. “You were nervous. You weren’t incapable. Those are two very different things.”

I didn’t know why, but those words bolstered me. My agent and Becky sang my praises, but they had to. Agent and best friend. Hearing Micah’s roundabout way of saying he thought I could do it was enough.

I exhaled slowly. The sugar pumping through my veins helped.

“Jack’s been doing this since he was a kid,” Micah said softly. “We all have to start somewhere and none of us is great on day one.”

I looked down at the Coke in my hand.

“Is there something wrong with the script?” he asked.

“No! I mean, no. It’s fine. I can do this.”