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“You will, because you know Alex. In fact, you know him better than any other person on this set, based on what you just told me about him. So, introduce us to this guy. Show us his vulnerability. But do it like Alex would, quietly and subtly. Remember that he keeps everything inside, which is why my character has no clue Alex is in love with him.”
I met his gaze and said, “That’s very insightful.”
“Surprising, right?” He grinned at me. “I know I come across as a dumb jock, and I may have gone to college on a football scholarship, but my favorite subject was always English. In other words, you’re not the only one who’s read this book more than once.”
“I never thought you were a dumb jock.”
He got up from the couch. “Then you’re an exception to the rule. Come outside with me, and let’s run our lines.”
I followed him out of the trailer, and we went to stand in front of the house. “It’s so run down. I can see why my dad wants to sell it,” Harper said, delivering Liam’s line.
I replied, in Alex’s soft voice, “It’s beautiful. I always thought it was the most wonderful place in the whole world.”
Harper turned to me and smiled. “That was perfect. It was just a little wistful, and it showed Alex’s innocence and how childlike he could be at times.”
“Really? You thought it was okay?”
“If you do it exactly like that for Lang, I guarantee he’ll keep rolling.”
“I hope you’re right. Even if he yells ‘cut’ on my very next line, all I want out of life right now is just to get past this point.”
“You’ve got this, I promise. Now come on,” he said, “let’s give hair and makeup a chance to make me look better and you look worse.” I grinned, because that was exactly right.
As we cut across the set, Harper asked, “If you don’t have plans tonight, will you have dinner with me? I want to run lines for our love scene, and I’d also like to get to know you a bit. It’s going to be awkward as hell to get naked and rub all over each other while twenty straight crew members stare at us tomorrow, but slightly less so if we’re not total strangers.”
“Sure, that’s a good idea.”
“Great, then I’ll come find you when we wrap. Maybe we can have some drinks first. I found a nice, quiet bar in town last night, the kind of place where we probably won’t be interrupted.” Just then, something caught Harper’s eye and he muttered, “Oh hell. I’d heard Phoenix Jaymes was on set, and there he is.”
“Yeah, my agent hired him to give me a hand during filming.”
“I’m not exactly his favorite person.”
“You’re really not.”
My assistant joined us a moment later. He was carrying a shopping bag and my cat, who was adorned with her pink rhinestone leash and harness. He shot Harper a look of pure disdain, then asked me, “Are you okay? I heard you had a rough time on set this morning.” Oh great. Was the whole crew talking about it?
“I’m fine.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here. I thought you’d be tied up for a while, so I decided to take Madame Leota to the pet store so she could pick out a treat.”
“That was nice of you, and there’s no need to apologize. It’s just taking me a little while to hit my stride, but Harper talked me through it and I’m ready to try again.”
Phoenix wrinkled his nose slightly at the name, then asked, “Can I bring you anything before you start again?” When I declined, he said, “In that case, I’m going to take the cat for a walk and then give her a brush-out. I’ll be in and around your trailer if you need me.”
Once he left, I turned to Harper and said, “All that stuff with the cat wasn’t my idea. That makes me sound like such a diva.”
“Oh believe me, I know how he is. He worked for me for almost a year and nearly drove me insane. He has to be busy constantly, and when there’s nothing to do he just invents stuff. Once, he found every condom in my house and arranged them in a skinny file box by expiration date. That’s not normal. I was the most organized I’d ever been in my life when he worked for me, but I also thought I’d lose my mind if he kept that shit up.”
I teased, “And then you dated his identical twin.”
“They only look alike. Phoenix is the most uptight person I’ve ever met, and Dallas is the most laid back.”
We took our seats under the canopy hair and makeup used during filming, and Riley joined us. While he touched up my foundation, he asked, “Are you okay, Will? It seemed like you were having a rough time on the set this morning.”
