“Are you sure about this?” Billie’s expression was doubtful as she met Diana’s eyes in the mirror of their en suite bathroom.
“Totally sure. Besides, you want to see Miles, don’t you? He asked after you and invited you to have drinks with him. It’s super romantic, the way he rescued you from drowning, Bils. That’s a meet-cute, right there.” The wine bottle was half-empty.
“It was two feet of water; I wasn’t drowning, and he was just being nice. Also, we met before that, so it can’t be a meet-cute.”
“Nice and hot is a killer combination. Do you like hazel eyes?”
“I don’t really have an opinion.”
“Well, I love them.” She wound one of Billie’s auburn locks around the barrel of the curling iron. “Did you know Sidney has hazel eyes?”
“You’ve only mentioned it a thousand times.” Billie rolled her eyes and took a sip of wine. Diana smiled; if Billie perked up enough to manage sarcastic, she felt better.
“Well, Miles’ eyes aren’t as nice as Sidney’s—almost, but not quite—but he is not bad. Not bad at all. And he’s got a cute friend, Judd.” Between sips of wine, she unwound Billie’s hair, careful not to tangle it, before curling another piece.
“I don’t think Judd’s crazy about me after I knocked his sound cart over.”
“Don’t be silly, Bils, it’s not like you broke anything, and besides, it was an accident. But, if you like Miles, I completely understand, he’s five-alarm hot. Whichever one you want is yours, because I’m a good friend like that.”
“And because you’re going to marry Sidney.”
“And because I’m going to marry Sidney. Anyway, Miles told me they were going to grab some drinks. It’s the perfect time to unwind, relax and hook-up.” She poured herself another glass of wine and curled another lock of hair.
“I’m not sure about hooking up,” Billie protested.
“You don’t have to, if you don’t want, but it’s a great stress reliever. Some wine, some sex, and you’ll sleep like a baby. Anyway, it can’t hurt to meet people and have a drink. This is a great chance for networking.”
“I can’t believe this place has a bar.”
“Well, it does. Close your eyes.” Billie obeyed, and Diana doused her head with hairspray. “I wish I had hair like yours, the color is gorgeous.”
Billie looked at her reflection. “The curls are going to fall out, Di.”
“I used half a can of extra-strong Aquanet. You could stand in the middle of a tornado, and it wouldn’t move.”
Billie giggled and finished her wine. “I’ll stay away from space heaters, that’s for sure.”
“Good idea. Now, let’s go, we’re wasting time.” Diana downed her glass.
Billie tugged at her borrowed miniskirt. “Can I change into a pair of jeans?”
“You’ve got great legs, you should show them off.” She twirled in front of the mirror, enjoying the way her skirt flared. She didn’t have a bad pair of legs herself.
“I feel really uncomfortable, Diana.”
She pushed Billie toward the door. “Pretend you’re wearing a pair of pants and leave the skirt alone. Confidence is key.”
“What if you don’t have any?”
“Fake it.”
The bar echoed the lodge—cedar, high ceilings and large windows that framed the back lawn, lake and forest. It was after ten o’clock, and the sky was dark. The lights were low, and colored light pots were on the tables and a disco ball twirled. Someone was trying too hard to make things happen. People sat around tables and at the bar.
Billie was relieved she didn’t spot Richard. Fay sat alone with a notebook and a drink, her body language closed-off. She didn’t want to be disturbed. Billie was disappointed—it would be an excuse to abandon the man-catching effort.
Instruments were set up near a corner stage, but no one was playing. The stage was dominated by a big screen, words skittering across the bottom of the screen, as embarrassed as Billie. Music played. It took her a moment to figure out it was karaoke.
“Come on, let’s sit at the bar.” Diana pulled her toward it.
“I can’t sit on a bar stool in this skirt,” Billie complained. “Let’s go sit at a table.”
“You can sit on a bar stool, watch how I do it.” Diana got up onto the chair and sat down, crossing her legs.
Diana’s skirt crept up her thigh, and Billie stared. “Half the bar can see!”
“Only if you move the wrong way,” Di insisted. “Come on. Have a drink, it’ll loosen you up.”
The bartender asked for their orders, and Di flashed a smile. Billie never understood how Diana flirted with everyone and wasn’t embarrassed. Maybe because Diana hadn’t been drowned and set on fire today.
“We’ll each have a whiskey sour,” Diana said. “And could you put an umbrella in hers? She needs cheering up.”
Billie resisted the urge to slam her head on the bar. “I need more than cheering up. I need a new camera. I need a new job.”
“We can leave whenever you want. Although, it’ll be hard to make ol’ Dick regret the day he was born if we’re not here to show him how amazing we are.”
“How is that going to make him regret being born?”
“I didn’t say us being amazing wouldn’t be painful for him. Like how Sidney embarrasses Alex Ovechkin by being better at everything.” Di took a sip of her drink. “I bet Ovie cries himself to sleep, wishing he was Sid. It’ll be like that, only Dick will cry because he is one.”
She felt bad for Richard. A name like that, Diana would have a field day.
“There they are.” Diana nodded toward two men who had just come in and sat down nearby.
She recognized Miles and Judd. The last person she wanted to see was Judd. She made a fool of herself, and she’d never live it down.
“Those men are the target.”
“What?”
“Think of it as a well-orchestrated military operation. We are going to entice them over to buy us some drinks.”
“How?”
Diana sat up straight, stuck her chest out, looked over Billie’s shoulder at the guys, then smiled.
“Oh, brother.”
“Come on. Sit more seductively than that.” Diana fluffed her hair.
“Diana, I don’t think I’m cut out for this.”
Diana gave her a look. “If you don’t start looking cute and bangable, I’m going to tell you about that dream I had about Sidney, me and the dryer in his basement. I’m sure you don’t want to hear that again.”
Precariously balanced, Billie tried to cross her legs in a way that wasn’t demented. She frowned; a giant bruise had formed just above her knee. That was sexy.
“Make some boobs, for God’s sake. They’re looking.”
It would take a minor miracle for boobs to show up without tape and a better push-up bra. She reached for her drink. Her heel caught on the stool’s cross brace and she nearly toppled off.
Diana braced her from falling. “Just drink your drink.”
Billie gulped it. In no time, she polished it off.
Diana raised her eyebrow. “Set a land-speed record on that one?”
Miles and Judd stared at them. Judd looked upset.
“Smile,” Diana said, without moving her lips. “Look inviting.”
Billie tried to smile at Miles especially. He was nice, and, as a focus-puller, he knew cameras, so they’d have something to talk about. She didn’t want to know more about Judd—he’d rather drown her in the creek than talk to her. Miles and Judd got up and walked toward them.
“They’re coming over,” Billie said, mildly panicked.
“Of course they’re coming over, we’re hot. Smile!”
Billie plastered a smile on her face.
“Hi!” Diana said. “Having a drink after a long day?”
“They’re all long days.” Miles ran a hand through his hair.
Billie wondered what mystery made Diana want to pawn Miles off on her when she eyed him like she wanted to know how he tasted.
“Judd, do you know Billie? She’s the still photographer.” Diana smiled.
“Yeah.” Judd narrowed his eyes as he studied Billie. “She’s the one who took down my cart when she swan-dived into the creek.”
Billie blushed like a maniac, and that never looked good against her hair. “I lost my camera.”
“There was a funeral, it was very sad,” Diana intoned.
Judd reached past Billie and ordered a beer. “I’m gonna scare up a game of pool with Eamon and Felix.” He took off toward the pool table tucked in back.
Billie felt worse than when she climbed out of the creek.
“You girls want a drink?” Miles asked.
“Oh, I’m fine,” Diana said. “Billie could use another.”
Billie could use ten others, she thought miserably.
She downed the next whiskey sour just as fast as the first.
Miles sat next to Billie. Maybe this evening wouldn’t be a total loss after all.
Diana tried not to drool. With those eyes, that curly dark hair and those abs, Miles was just what the doctor ordered to help Billie forget about Brent—if she stopped throwing back drinks like they didn’t have an early call the next day.
“You file the paperwork for the insurance yet?” he asked.
“No,” Billie said. “Not yet.”
“You can get the forms off Claudia, although she won’t be happy about another insurance claim. At least this one shouldn’t be too bad in comparison. What kind of camera was it?”
“A Canon T5i. It’s my backup—I usually shoot with a 5D Mark III.”
Miles raised his eyebrows. “This is your first pro job?”
Billie nodded.
“That’s a pretty serious camera for an amateur.” He brushed his hair back. It curled at the nape of his neck and around his temples and ears. “A Canon, though? You could do better than that. I’m a Nikon man, myself.”
“I started out shooting sports for UCLA’s Daily Bruin.” Billie stared at her hands as if they were the most interesting things in the world. “I needed something with a lot of speed.”
“A Canon.” Miles shook his head, then took a sip from his beer, tipping his head back.
Diana watched his throat work, then closed her eyes and breathed in and out, counting to ten.
“I’m going to go see if Judd wants to play pool.” She slid expertly off the stool. “Would you look after Bils for me, Miles?” Diana couldn’t resist patting that fabulous bicep. “She’s had a rough day,” she purred. “And she needs to unwind a little. Do you mind?”
Miles shook his head, and Billie glared at her over his shoulder. If looks could kill, Diana would need the immediate services of a mortician.
This close to Miles, she smelled his cologne, something with musk and citrus. She wanted to bury her face in his neck and inhale, but she stepped back. If he wasn’t so perfect for Billie, she wouldn’t mind having an on-set fling with him.
“Thanks.” She walked away, not looking back to see if he was watching.
She was sure he was.
Drink in hand, Diana surveyed the dim corner where the pool table was stationed. Judd and two men leaned against the wall. Of the two she hadn’t met, one was short and had an olive complexion even darker than hers and the other had tousled dirty blond hair and dark eyes.
Diana took a fortifying sip of her whiskey sour and plunged into the breach.
“Hi.” She put some sass into her sashay. “I’m Diana, the unit publicist. I know Judd, here—” she gave him the benefit of her most blinding smile “—but I haven’t met you two yet.”
The short one took a drag on his cigarette, then stubbed the butt in a tin ashtray. No one spoke.
“You’re playing pool?” Diana didn’t let her smile slip, although she wanted to frown, scream and throw things at their heads. They were being rude.
The blond quit looking at her chest—which looked quite spectacular tonight thanks to modern lingerie—long enough to meet her eyes for a split second and nod.
Judd didn’t say anything, just turned and selected a cue from the rack.
“Can I play?”
No one told her she couldn’t, so she marched over and chose a cue. “How do you hold this?”
Judd puffed out his cheeks with annoyance, but demonstrated with his own cue. “Like this.”
Diana had played pool with her five brothers since she could see over the table, and she was adept enough she never had to buy herself a drink, but she deliberately held the stick awkwardly. “Can I hit first?”
“You mean break?” Judd tossed the chalk to the short one, who chalked his cue and tossed it to the blond, who still was staring at her chest and almost missed catching it.
She smiled. “Yeah, is that what you call it?” She made a striking motion with her cue.
The blond tossed the chalk, and Judd snagged it out of the air. He sauntered over and offered it. She considered asking what it was for, but she wanted to look inexperienced, not stupid, so she chalked her cue.
“This is Eamon,” Judd pointed at the blond, “and that’s Felix.” The short one peered at her, closing one eye and holding his hands out to frame her.
“Ignore him.” Eamon racked the balls. “Felix’s on boom. He shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near a camera.”
Felix said something possibly rude in a language she didn’t understand.
“I’m the camera operator,” Eamon offered, looking up from her chest.
“Am I doing this right?” She motioned to the pool cue.
“Here, let me show you.” Judd put his arms around her and adjusted her hands on the cue. She leaned into his chest, feeling his heat through their clothes.
“Thank you.” She shuddered as his breath feathered along her neck.
“You want to break?” His voice had deepened.
“Yeah.” She had trouble taking a deep breath. “Can you show me?”
“Uh-huh.” They were melded together from thigh to shoulder as he helped her position the cue. The break was terrible.
Eamon walked around the table, examining the angles.
“I didn’t do so well, did I?” She turned in Judd’s arms and looked up at him. “I’m sorry.”
He propped his stick against the table, but kept his arms around her. “It’s okay, it’s only your first time.”
She laughed. “My first time at pool.” Lie; giant lie.
Judd smiled. He was handsome when he smiled. “It was pretty bad.”
“Hey, Judd, you gonna play or what?” Felix’s cigarette trailed smoke as he motioned to the pool table.
Judd looked at Diana. “No, I think I’m done for the night.”
“Done for the night?” She raised an eyebrow.
He laughed. “Not done for the night. But done with pool.”
Billie could’ve killed Diana.
She did it all the time. She set her up, then vanished, letting Billie fall on her face. It wasn’t hard, talking to Brent. That relationship burnt out like a summer campfire, but it was comfortable.
“Don’t take Judd personally,” Miles said.
Billie sighed. “I looked ridiculous. The more Richard said ‘back it up,’ the more flustered I got.”
Miles chuckled. “After a few weeks it’s like he only has ten phrases in his head. ‘Back it up’ is a great example. I’m sure you’ll get to hear ‘all right, lock it down’ and ‘fucking actors’ about a million times before you leave.”
“Have you worked with him before?”
“No, I’m from Vancouver,” he said. “But when they came to location scout months ago, they hired a few local people—mostly the camera crew. We test shot the locations. I’ve been helping out all pre-production, so I’ve been around him.”
“I still don’t know where Richard took my camera. I got the card, but no one’s told me where the camera went after its swim.”
“You might want to check the camera truck and see if it’s there.”
“At least it wasn’t my expensive one, but it was still a good camera. I have the card, maybe I can salvage the photos.”
“Spoken like a true photographer.”
Across the room, Diana laughed. Her “you’re so cute, and I want you to know you’re cute, so I’m going to laugh and touch your bicep so you’ll flirt with me and maybe we’ll make out later” laugh.
The bartender poured Billie a third drink and put down bar snacks. She felt better since she got all that whiskey in her, and Miles was decent company.
She glanced over at Judd and Diana. Judd leaned over Diana, who feigned inability at pool. Di’s breasts practically were spilling onto the felt. Nevermind Diana could wipe the floor with Judd at pool. Diana knew how to score a check in the yes column.
“So you shoot, too?” She sat up straight.
“Yeah.” He toyed with the neck of the beer bottle. “You wouldn’t think I’d want to after working all day, but I like shooting nature. That was why I took the job up here.”
“Well, it couldn’t have been for Richard.”
Miles laughed. “The best way to deal with him is make sure that vape is in his hand at all times, always hand him decaf coffee and tell him it’s regular, and try to take the yelling with a grain of salt.”
Billie was trying to decide if she wanted to keep talking or go to bed, when a familiar face walked into the bar. The young man was tall, with a brilliant smile and a fifties-style pompadour hairdo.
“Is that Luka James?”
Miles glanced over his shoulder as a cheer went up from the hair and makeup people. Luka squeezed himself between two blondes.
“Yeah,” Miles said. “He’s a douchebag.”
“Oh.” Billie was disappointed. She liked his movies. “Why?”
Miles shrugged. “See that girl over there—don’t look now!—okay, now. The blonde with the pink highlights? That’s Cassie. She dumped Judd a few days ago and hooked up with Luka. It kind of destroyed Judd. That’s why I said not to take his anger personally.”
“Oh.”
Luka leaned in and nuzzled Cassie’s neck.
“Yeah, big on-set scandal. It’s a little too 90210 around here sometimes. Anyway, Judd’s an emotional vegetable right now. He’s not good company for anyone. I should know, I’m his roommate. It’s like his headphones are on all the time. So I wouldn’t take it personally. Maybe just leave him alone for awhile.”
“Well, you don’t have to worry about that. I’m not clamoring to get on his shit list.”
The bar lights dimmed more, and the karaoke machine was turned off in favor of a jukebox. Luka James and Cassie did their best to make the entire bar uncomfortable, gyrating like they were in a bad music video.
Billie slid off her chair and was going to ask Miles to dance, but she was suddenly unsteady.
“You okay?”
She heard Diana’s sex laugh again and tried not to giggle. It would be typical Diana if she tried to fix Billie up and got lucky herself in the process.
“I’m fine.”
“You look a little wobbly, are you sure?”
She looked up. His hazel eyes were nice. “I think I may have had one drink too many.”
“Are you feeling alright?”
“Oh, fine. I’m just a little dizzy.”
“Why don’t I help you upstairs?”
Billie knew Di was watching. She’d give her a thrill and leave with Miles, even though nothing would come of it.
He guided her out of the bar and up the stairs. Billie stumbled in her heels and pulled them off. “I’m sorry. I hadn’t eaten much today. It’s catching up with me.”
Miles helped her down the hall. She struggled to work her key and finally did, opening the door slowly to make sure that damned closet door was shut. She didn’t want to explain Closet Sidney to the uninitiated.
She sank down onto her bed, woozy and glad to be off her feet.
Miles stood in the doorway for a moment, before settling on the foot of the bed. “So.”
She heard Diana’s laughter in the hallway, but it faded a moment later. Her head spun from the drinks and trying to figure out what to do. She’d bet good money Diana was headed to Judd’s room, which meant Miles would get a surprise if he went to their shared room.
“You disappeared pretty fast after rehearsal. I didn’t see you during the tent fire. Did you miss the excitement?”
“Oh,” he said, embarrassed. “It’s dumb. Richard sent me to take care of Jordyn again.”
“What?”
“Yeah.” He laughed. “Richard doesn’t want to offend her, he got her to agree to be in this and we still don’t know how. So now I get her hypo-allergenic bedding and try not to kill myself in my off time.”
Billie started to laugh and couldn’t stop.
“Yeah. I’m Jordyn Brooks’ personal manservant. Major embarrassment.”
“Why? I mean, she is gorgeous.”
“And stuck up, narcissistic and demanding.” Miles blushed and stared at the floor.
He was cute, but there wasn’t a spark, no matter how much Diana wanted one for her. Of course, Diana would tell her to forget about the spark and bed him anyway.
“I better get going,” Miles said, as if he came to the same conclusion.
She nodded, got up and walked to the door with him.
“We’re just a few rooms over across the hall.”
She walked into the hallway, then froze. Diana was making noises she hadn’t heard since college. Billie closed her eyes. As long as this one didn’t end up dead in the morning from an undiagnosed heart condition, then yay for Diana, but good God, she could try to keep it down.
Miles paused as he realized the noises were coming from his shared room. Sound cords dangled from the doorknob. Miles spun around.
“Do you wanna go downstairs and find some coffee? And earplugs?”
She laughed. “Yeah. But FYI, I bring my own earplugs. It’s not my first rodeo.”
Diana’s sex laugh wafted into the hall and Billie headed for the stairs with Miles.