Page 17 of Lights, Camera, Love

‘I think he went back to his cabin. I’ll ring him when he’s up next.’

‘But he has to deliver his lines to Evie. So her performance feels real, not like … whatever that was we just watched.’

‘Austin told me that he doesn’t deliver lines if he’s off-camera.’ Cassie’s bottom lip disappears between her teeth as she thumbs through her call sheet.

‘Hewhat?’

Buzz strides back over to the monitor tent, his brow furrowed. I glance at Evie, who’s blinking down at the ground with her cheeks flaming as if she has just been told off by a teacher at school. Obviously Buzz isn’t happy with the scene, but how is she supposed to give a convincing performance with a piece of timber to act against?

I follow Buzz to the tent. ‘Before you start shooting again, can you give me a sec to ring Austin?’

He frowns at me, then at the cloudy sky. ‘The light’s gonna change soon, so snap to it.’

Stifling a scowl at his tone, I press my phone to my ear. My eyes flicker to Evie, who’s standing frozen with her eyes pressed shut, like she’s trying to tap into her character’s emotions in the scene.

Austin answers on the third ring.

‘Get your fucking ass back here,’ I say sharply. ‘What’s this about not delivering lines like you’re too good for it?’

‘I asked Cassie to do it,’ he protests with a yawn. I can hear the crunching of his boots as he walks. ‘I assumed they’d shoot my close-up first, but they were all set up for Evie and refused to change the shot. I tell you what: they’re not exactly the sharpest cookies in the jar back there.’

I pace over to a quieter spot, hissing through my teeth. ‘It’s sharpest tools in the shed, not cookies in the jar. And youchoseto work with Buzz. You picked this film because you thought it was the perfect vehicle to relaunch your career. But even if you play your role like Laurence fucking Olivier, if your co-star is shit, the movie is gonna be shit. And right now, I’m watching poor Evie screw up this scene because she’s acting opposite a tent pole.’

‘A what?’

‘Just get your ass back here,’ I repeat, and end the call.

Cassie gives me an impatient frown as I stride back over to her. ‘Austin’s coming back now to read his lines with Evie,’ I say.

Evie’s brows jump as she overhears. ‘Really?’ she says. ‘Oh, thank you; that’s brilliant. I was finding the scene really hard to do without him.’

This time, her genuine, lit-from-within smile feels so fucking hard not to return. But I have a rule againstsmiling at women who Austin is even vaguely interested in. It’s gotten me into too much trouble in the past.

‘No problem,’ I murmur, and I ask Cassie if I can borrow her script. ‘Until Austin gets here, I’ll deliver the lines to Evie,’ I say. I’m hardly an Oscar winner either, but I can put more into this scene than Cassie did. And Buzz is right: the light is changing fast, and we need to keep going.

‘Oh, that would be fabulous,’ Cassie says as she exhales. She pushes the script into my chest and darts away, speaking into her lapel microphone.

Evie scoops up her own script off a stool, her nervous, fast-blinking eyes darting over the page and her gnawed-off fingernails brushing against her lips. A tiny spot of warmth blooms in my chest. She might be overwhelmingly upbeat at times, but I don’t envy her being in this situation. Rather than freaking out, she’s handling it like a pro.

While final checks of Evie’s hair and makeup are made, I shift into position opposite her, silently reading the lines I’ll need to perform.

JAMIE

I’d rather dance with you than dance with anyone else.

CONSTANCE

I thought you didn’t know how to dance.

JAMIE

(Suggestively) Oh, I know how to dance.

CONSTANCE

(A nervous pause) Show me?

JAMIE steps close to CONSTANCE.

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