Page 59 of Sunny Skies and Summer Kisses

Fifteen minutes later, hearing the sound of a car coming to a halt outside Oak Tree Farm, Anoushka opened the front door to see Gabe hurtling up the path. He came to an abrupt halt as he set eyes on her. ‘Noushka,’ he said softly. He smiled, clearly knocked off kilter for a moment as he took in her skin, made golden by the sun, against the white of her broderie anglaise dress with loose-fitting bodice and lace straps, one of which had slipped off her shoulder.

‘Hi, Gabe.’ She smiled back. Despite the anxiety that was twisting in her stomach, a bolt of attraction shot through her.Oh my days!She didn’t need that right now!

‘Thanks for doing this; you’re a real life-saver,’ he said. ‘We’d best get going before Jake blows a gasket – he’s the director, by the way.’

‘Oh, no. I hope he doesn’t do that.’ Gabe’s comment did nothing to ease her nerves as an image of a red-faced man, barking out instructions, loomed in her mind.

Gabe flashed her a grin, his teeth extra white in his sun-kissed face. ‘Don’t worry, as soon as he sees you he’ll be a pussycat.’

‘But what about my arm? That won’t look good in the video.’ She glanced down. It was healing well, but there was no getting away from the large area where it had scabbed over. It was the same for her leg, but that was currently covered by her dress.

‘Honestly, it won’t be a problem. I’ve already mentioned it to Jake and he’s cool with it. Any shots with it in can be cut out.’

‘Okay.’ She felt relieved at that.

They whizzed along the roads to the castle, by-passing its vast walls and heading down a track where a clutch of cars, a couple of large white vans, and a straggle of people soon came into view. It looked to be a hive of activity. Gabe pulled up behind one of the vans and climbed out of his four-wheel drive. With her heart pounding, Anoushka followed him. After a few hurried words with who she assumed was Jake the director, Gabe stood back, revealing a tousled-haired man in his late thirties. Beads of perspiration peppered his face and he was wearing an expression of utter irritation. Her heart sank.

He managed a smile before he spoke. ‘Hi, Anoushka, I’m Jake. Thanks for this. Gabe tells me you’ve studied drama?’

‘Mm-hm, that’s right.’ He elicited the same feelings in her as a rather strict headmaster she once had at secondary school.

‘Okay, well, I don’t mean to sound rude, but I need to see how you get on with the camera before we get started, so if you could just head over there and follow my directions, that’d be great.’

‘Okay.’ She knew he’d want to see if she looked natural rather than awkward, make sure she didn’t over-exaggerate her gestures.

Once Dave the cameraman had finished shooting her from various angles, she hovered by Bob who was sitting in the shade, panting heavily. She looked on as Gabe was busy chatting to Jake. Both men were nodding their heads enthusiastically and smiling broadly.

‘Oh, thank you, God,’ Jake said, a broad smile spreading across his face. He turned to Gabe. ‘You’re right, she’s perfect. She looks like an angel.’

‘That’s exactly what I said when I first set eyes on her.’ Gabe released a wistful sigh.

‘And I don’t want her to change out of that dress she’s wearing; it’s exactly the look I’m after.’ Jake was beaming like he’d won the lottery.

Gabe headed over to her, thrilled to be sharing the news that Jake was a happy man once more. ‘You’ve really saved the day, Noushka.’ He smiled at her. ‘I just need to go and get tidied up, before the band and me are filmed, then it’ll be your turn.’

With his hair and make-up fixed, Gabe joined the rest of his band and the chords to his new single struck up, his rich, smoky voice filling the air. Anoushka was suddenly struck by the familiarity of the tune. It was the one she’d heard him strumming along to when she’d found him sitting on the rock that day. “My Rose-Shaped Heart.” A small gasp escaped her lips. Up to now, she’d been too frantic with nerves to even think about which song Gabe had asked her to perform to, but now her nerves were frantic for a different reason.Why did it have to be this one?

She watched the band playing along with the recorded track, the cameraman moving around them, filming from a variety of angles. This was the first chance she’d had to listen to all of the words, having only caught a snippet of the song that day. It appeared to be about a girl he called “his rose” who’d stolen his heart the very moment he’d first set eyes on her.

Anoushka felt a squirm of discomfort as her face grew hot; he’d told her that’s how he’d felt the first time he’d seen her at Livvie and Zander’s wedding. And he’d called her “Rose” several times since she’d shared her middle name with him.Oh, no! This was going to be excruciatingly embarrassing.She cringed inwardly.

Before she could dwell any further, Anoushka had been swooped on by Saskia the hairstylist and Meena the makeup artist. They ushered her into the stone building where tables were piled high with hair and beauty equipment, sending her thoughts scurrying. ‘Ooh, I’m in love with your hair, babes,’ said Saskia as she released Anoushka’s golden waves from her plaits and teased it out. ‘And I don’t need to do much to it, just give it a quick tousle, let it hang loose. It’ll be perfect.’

‘Oh, your eyes, honey. Have you ever considered modelling?’ asked Meena, who’d pounced, wielding her makeup kit, as soon as Saskia had finished fixing Anoushka’s hair with spray. She had the thickest eyelashes Anoushka had ever seen.

‘No,’ she said, feeling self-conscious. ‘I’m not really keen on being the centre of attention.’

‘Bit late for that now.’ Meena smiled kindly at her. ‘Anyway, I’m just going to give you a natural look; enhance those gorgeous features God gave you.’

‘Oh, right, thank you,’ said Anoushka.

Once Meena was done, Saskia appeared, holding a circle of wild flowers in her hands. ‘Right, lovely, here’s the pièce de resistance,’ she said as she carefully placed them on top of Anoushka’s head. ‘Gorgeous! Now, go knock ’em dead.’

Anoushka stepped out into the bright sunshine, squinting as she gazed around the “set” where a handful of people stood about, waiting. Gabe’s band were set-up on a flat area of the moor where, despite their unusual venue, they looked perfectly at ease.

‘Ah, man, you look beautiful, Noushka.’ Gabe appeared beside her, smiling broadly. ‘And I’m so grateful for you agreeing to help.’

She smiled back at him, feeling more self-conscious than she could ever have imagined. ‘Thank you.’

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