Page 14 of Love like the (Real) Reel Thing
Doug, his wife and assistant producer Mel Winters, and the film’s publicity person Lisa Greensmith had arrived at Linford shortly before five that evening and were having light refreshments in the orangery.
The couple looked the part, Jess mused, as she studied them. They were both tall, impeccably dressed and lightly tanned. Doug was probably mid-to-late forties, but he had the lean physique of someone who ran every day.
“You guys remember when that celebrity wedding went viral last year?” Doug gave a deep chuckle, and Jess felt herself sink further into her chair. “You gave the whole damn world the perfect story! The haunted castle, the secret tunnels, the runaway bride with the helicopter chase all over the news!” He slammed his hand down on the armrest, making Anthony Neary jump. “That’s the stuff of Hollywood right there!”
Jess silently willed Anthony not to mention her role in it.
“Obviously, our location scouts checked out a number of other places.” Mel Winters smoothed a hand quickly over the black polo sweater she wore with black leather trousers, and flicked Doug a look Jess couldn’t read. “We’d hardly choose a location based on something so frivolous. But we had a good look at the hotel’s website, and then I flew over in February to make sure this place ticked all our boxes.” She turned her gaze on Jess. “Did we meet that time?”
“We wouldn’t have.” Jess flashed her a smile. “I’m the group’s marketing manager, which means I’m usually stuck in head office in Dublin. But I’ll be your go-to person for anything you need while you’re here, or any problems you run into that you think I might be able to help with.”
“Good to know,” Mel said.
“Jess regularly updates Linford Castle’s website,” Anthony pointed out. “I find it very impressive.”
“Yeah, I noticed you’ve a cute map of the whole castle and the little village on there,” Doug said enthusiastically. “There’s a little wood nearby, right? Might be nice to do my daily run there.” He slapped his hands on his flat stomach and winked at Jess.
“Anthony –” Mel began.
“You work in Dublin, Jess?” Doug said at the same time. “We spent a few days there before coming here. Our kid is doing math and science camps for the next few weeks in one of your universities. The timing was great, right, Mel?”
“Peachy.” She smiled tightly and pointedly switched her attention to Anthony. “So, our core cast are arriving tomorrow. I assume everything’s ready for them?”
“Of course.” Anthony handed her a typed sheet. “We’ve twenty cottages on the grounds behind the castle where most of your cast and crew will be staying, and eighteen of our castle rooms are prepared also. That includes the Lady Helen suite. We’ve left two suites free for filming, as requested.”
“Good.” Mel nodded. “I want to check out our village set – it should be nearly ready.” She glanced over at Lisa. “Anything else, Lisa?”
Lisa, who Jess figured was only a few years older than her, glanced up from her phone for the first time since they’d all sat down.
“We have Deb Considine coming for a photo shoot.” She looked at Jess. “She’s the author of the book our movie is based on, and her agent contacted us last week to say she’s staying nearby for a couple of months to write her next book or something.” She glanced at Doug. “It’s a good opportunity to get some photos of her with the cast.”
“I’ve read some of her books,” Jess said. “They’re great fun.”
Doug pursed his lips. “She also wrote the script. But that doesn’t mean anything once we start filming.”
“Well, if there’s anything we can do, just let us know.” Anthony shot Jess a quick look. “We’re here to help. Whenever you’re ready, I can show you to your cottages, and you can get settled in. Our chefs are staying on until your food trucks arrive on Monday.”
For the first time since she’d arrived, Jess felt a real surge of excitement at the thought of being so close to a Hollywood production. She got to her feet as the others stood.
“If you don’t mind, I think I’ll tag along.”
After a quick tour of the castle and grounds with Doug, Mel and Lisa, Jess excused herself and headed back to the five-acre west field where the fake village was being painted.
One of the workers seemed to be checking the floral-decorated benches on the bandstand that had been built on the village ‘green’. He turned as she approached.
“Robert?”
He pushed a screwdriver into the tool belt at his waist. “This is known as stalking!”
Jess laughed. “I didn’t know you were working on the set?”
“I was hired to oversee the structural integrity of all the sets.” He gestured around. “Basically, to see that they’re all properly built and safe for purpose.”
“Cool.” Jess folded her arms. “Have you done any work for Linford in the past?”
“I wasn’t involved with any of the redevelopment, no.” He tipped his head, his hair glinting in the sun.
He was even fairer than Simon, she thought. Definitely nothing like Adam.
