Page 76 of Banter & Blushes

I take her hand and relax, knowing I’ll be kissing the only person I want to kiss. Together, we stroll to Mackenzie’s table.

“Oh.” She looks up from her notes and darts her eyes from me to Tiffany and back. Then stands and pulls the rubber band from Tiffany’s hair, which falls around her shoulders. I drop her hand and step to the side. Mackenzie circles around her, then smooths her hair like she’s prepping a show horse. She takes a step back and scans Tiffany head to toe.

“They do have the same hair and similar build,” Mackenzie comments. She turns to Russ. “Think an apple box will work?”

He tilts his head and nods.

Mackenzie clasps her hands on Tiffany’s arms. “This would be great if you don’t mind kissing Colt.”

Tiffany half laughs and gives me a smirk.

“Take her with you to the makeup trailer and tell Jessica to get her in June’s clothes.”

I nod. “Okay.”

I try and hide my smile as we head for the trailer together. I’ve somehow managed to recruit the girl I really care about for the love interest in this video.

“Oh, and Colt?”

“Yeah?” I turn to Mackenzie.

“Tell Jessica no need for makeup this time since it’s dark.”

I half nod. A few of the camera crew snicker. They know I hate makeup. As should any man ever to walk this planet. I glance at Tiffany, who’s still smiling. It’s dark enough for the parking lights to come on by the time we reach the makeup trailer.

Jessica raises her eyebrows when I open the door. “I’ve got June’s clothes waiting in the back dressing room.”

“How did . . .?” I narrow my eyes.

“I know all on this set.” She winks at me, then turns to Tiffany. “It’s back there, hon.”

“Thanks,” she says.

Tiffany goes behind the small door, leaving me at the mercy of Jessica’s glares. Luckily, she comes out before Jessica asks anything. Not that Jessica needs to, since her face says it all. Maybe she does know all on set.

“That shirt fits you perfectly.” Jessica smiles at Tiffany. “And don’t worry about the jeans being long. We can tack those up and it won’t show.”

Tiffany nods. I wait by the door for Jessica to mess around with Tiffany’s hair and spritz it with something perfumy. My nose itches until we’re out in the fresh air.

“Are you ready to kiss me on the beach?” I ask when we leave.

She laughs. “Won’t I be kissing Colt Stallion?”

I roll my eyes. “Kiss whichever Colt you want. All I know is when I was kissing June, I was pretending it was you.”

We reach the shore, and Russ waves us over. “Y’all look great. I have an apple box close to where the water breaks so it will be stable.”

He motions toward the area near the crew. I help Tiffany onto the wooden crate.

“This doesn’t look like any of the apple boxes I’ve seen in Apple Cart,” she says.

“Yeah, I don’t think they’re actually for apples. Everyone calls them that though.”

“Okay, I’m going to get out of the way. Y’all act natural.” Russ backs up with his camera. “Pretend you’re together.”

I press my lips together and consider that last instruction. Tiffany’s eyes reflect the moonlight, and I put my hand against her cheek. She wraps her arms around my shoulders.

“We’re supposed to pretend we’re together.” She smiles up at me.

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