“Beckham’s only one of the greatest soccer players of all time,” he said with a pained frown, still making eye contact with me. Nerves bounced around in my stomach, but I couldn’t look away. “And if you don’t know Beckham’s signature move, you don’t know soccer.”
I couldn’t help but bristle at his comment. There wasn’t really a good reason for it. I’d never claimed to know anything about soccer. In fact, I was pretty sure I was allergic to anything that involved a ball hurtling at my carefully contoured face. But the way this boy was looking at me—so arrogant, like a major know-it-all—made me want to put him in his place.
“Who cares about Beckham?” I asked, taking a step toward him with fire bursting in my veins. “I’ve heard this movie is going to blow Beckham’s movie out of the water.”
He chuckled again and rubbed a hand over his chin before taking a step toward me. Amusement flashed in his eyes as he leaned down to my eye level and arched a single eyebrow. “Oh, yeah? Who’s starring in this movie, if you’re so sure it’s going to be that great?”
My mouth flapped uselessly open and then shut. I glared at him, wracking my mind as fast as I could. I could’ve sworn Dad had mentioned who at some point. Some famous stars and some up-and-coming actors. Their names escaped me. I really didn’t care. Working on the makeup team was my only goal—not schmoozing with a bunch of kid actors.
“I’m not sure, but I’ve heard he’s really talented,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.
He laughed again and another jolt of annoyance went through me. I’d had enough of that.
“Look, why don’t you just go back to hiding in your corner and let me find who I’m looking for?”
He tilted his head to one side, his eyes flashing. “Yeah, your target. I heard you talking about it. Who do you work for? TMZ? OK!? I thought people like you never left the big cities.”
I pressed a hand dramatically to my chest. Part of me was kind of flattered that he thought I was old enough to be a journalist for a gossip magazine. The other part was really grumpy with the tone he’d taken with me and my friends.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but none of the above.” I emphasized every word and then turned my back on the gorgeous boy who was threatening to make my girly hormones break out into song.
It was time to get back to my original goal. My dad was still parking the car. I had exactly three minutes to find Alanis Nori and convince her to let me onto her squad before he’d somehow find the only other lawyers in the place and trap me in mind-numbing conversations with him.
“Come on, guys.” I nodded at the others that I was ready to move along, but the guy jumped in front of me, his eyes narrowing.
“National Enquirer? Star? Come on. Which do you work for?” A frown worked its way on his face as he took a step back. “Or maybe your speed is more Teen Vogue?”
“Uh...so totally wrong.”
So what if I had the newest issue of Teen Vogue sitting on my nightstand at home? Something about the way this guy was harassing me made me want to deny ever picking up a single magazine in my life. I huffed and stepped aside, but he stepped in my path again, the intensity never leaving his face.
“Dude, back off.” Hunter puffed out his chest and took a step in the guy’s direction. Charlotte held tightly to his arm, as if she were worried about a fight starting up. Hunter never would’ve started a fight, but he could definitely finish one. “We have a right to be here. Her dad’s the lawyer for the school they’re shooting the movie at.”
Immediately, the tension went out of the guy’s face. A little line appeared between his eyebrows as his eyes darted back to mine. “You’re Ray Black’s daughter?”
Despite my surprise that anyone outside of my dad’s circle of nerdy lawyer friends knew his name, I stood a little taller and nodded sharply. “Yep. I’m Lexi Black.”
“Ray’s a nice guy.” He pursed his lips in thought. “My dad said he’s a bulldog when it comes to negotiations. He’s very protective of your school.”
Pride pumped through my body like a shot of hot chocolate. I smirked at the boy who still stood in my way and then placed my hands on my hips. “Sounds like my dad. So, as you can see, we belong here. If you’d kindly step out of my way, I’d like to join the rest of the party. If not, you might just find that my dad passed down his bulldog traits to his daughter.”
His lips twitched as he stared at me a moment longer. Humor danced in his eyes that were so blue it was like looking up at the sky on a summer’s day. With a final nod of his head, he stepped aside.
“My bad. We had a bunch of paparazzi sneaking around when we were filming in LA and I guess I’m being a little too paranoid. Please, go on ahead.”
“Paparazzi in Rock Valley?” Beth snorted loudly beside me. “Yeah, that’ll be the day pigs fly.”
He shrugged and then leaned back on the wall, as if he didn’t care if we believed him. I couldn’t help but be fascinated by how he could go from an insanely intense bouncer to someone so disinterested in everything around him. The way he shoved his hands in his pockets and found the shadows again was almost ninja-like.
He said his dad was involved in the negotiations for the film, but maybe he was also a part of the crew. My heart skipped at the thought of running into him on set. He was definitely cute. And I kind of liked that
