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George finally smiles.
“Excellent.” The casting director looks down at her paperwork. “So, we will have you read the two scenes you were provided, in chronological order, starting with the walk near the garden.”
“Great.” I cue up those lines in my head.
The casting director clasps her hands together. “And we actually have some exciting news. Just last week, we found our William. So, we’ve kept him in town to read with his potential Elaines. We’d like this audition to ultimately serve as a chemistry read.”
My heart skips a beat. “Oh, that’s so great!” They’ve found him! It’s so much easier to audition with another actor, to feed off their cues and their facial expressions. And this way, I’ll be able to embody Elaine’s character even more deeply, knowing I’m looking at her William. Until now, I’ve only run lines with Leah, and she’s far from a William.
She turns to the camera operator. “Joe, will you go tell him he can come in now?”
He nods and exits through a side door.
“You’ll like him,” the casting director says. “He’ll be a charming William. We’re sure of it.”
I blink cheerfully as I continue to run through my lines in my head, hoping I won’t stumble over them now that I’ve come this far.
“He really is the perfect William,” the playwright agrees. “And I think we all know William has to be perfect.”
I grin. “Oh yes, I think we all want a William.”
They both chuckle and George shakes his head with a smirk as he scribbles notes on his paper.
Just then, the door re-opens and Joe strides in with another man at his heels.
And that’s when I freeze.
No…it can’t be…no, no, no, no…
A few steps into the room, Kai stops in his tracks when his eyes find mine. Silently, I blink at him. He blinks back at me. There’s a wordless exchange of shock and disbelief hanging in the space between us.
“Sophie,” the casting director speaks. “This is Kai Lamont, our William. Kai, this is Sophie Bellwood.”
I try to swallow, but the inside of my mouth has become sticky and dry. My thoughts are static, mixed up, and jumbled in confusion. I can’t believe he’s standing in front of me.
And he’s William.
He is Elaine’s William. He will be my William if I land this role of a lifetime that I want more than anything.
This role I’ve always dreamed of and the man I never want to see again, juxtaposed together in an unfathomable opportunity laid out before me. I think of the love scenes that are spelled out in the script. There is kissing. There is touching. I’d have to look deep into his eyes and tell him I love him…
I set my jaw as I continue to stare at him. It feels like an eternity passes before Kai moves first, stepping forward and extending his hand slowly. “Sophie…” he says quietly, trying to hide his expression of disbelief.
I’m out of breath, and I’m not even moving. I place my hand in his, and it’s just as warm and firm as it was three months ago. Except this time, it grasps mine in a professional manner, in high contrast to the way it raked across the curves of my body in his hotel room.
His hair is different. It isn’t pulled back like it was before. His dark waves have been let free, but it isn’t as long as I suspected. It doesn’t even touch his shoulders.
“Kai…” I reply, not capable of tearing my eyes from him.
God, he’s freaking gorgeous, and I hate it.
“Have you met?” George asks. I’m not even sure where his voice came from. He’s somewhere in the room, which has suddenly become a cloud, floating high above the Earth in some alternate reality where something like this could actually happen.
“We have,” Kai replies coolly.
“Oh, well that’s an interesting twist.” The casting director sits forward in her chair and clasps her hands together like a new soap opera is about to air.
“Just the once,” Kai adds, pulling his hand from mine and turning to face the group.
