‘I’ll be fine, thanks.’ She smiled at him, surprised but delighted when he bent forward and went to kiss her cheek.
Mistaking what he was about to do, Tasha turned to face him so his lips connected with the corner of her mouth. She realised what she had done and grimaced. ‘Sorry, that was a bit awkward.’
‘Not at all.’ He gazed at her momentarily before running off in the direction they had just come, leaving her stunned and very happy.
30
CALLUM
As Callum jogged back to the radio station, he couldn’t help thinking how happy he was that Tasha had misread what he had intended doing. Did that mean she wouldn’t mind him kissing her? Or was it simply that she had turned on instinct but not meant anything by it? He wasn’t sure.
The show went well but Callum was glad to be home at the end of his shift. He went for a run along the water’s edge from La Pulente to L’Étacq, enjoying the warm breeze as it swept past his face. When he finished, he took off his trainers, socks and T-shirt and took a swim in the cold seawater. Tomorrow, filming of his scenes would begin at the farm, and he couldn’t wait to see how everything worked.
* * *
The following morning, Callum rose early, wanting to get to the farm at a decent time so as not to miss out on anything. He collected his sister on the way there and listened to her nervously chatting one minute then being excited the next about what her day would hold.
‘They said they’d look out for me,’ she said, holding her bag on her knee which, Callum assumed, must contain her scissors, brushes and whatever else she used for clients’ hair. ‘I hope I know how to do what they expect me to. I’d hate to embarrass myself by doing things wrong.’
He glanced at her and shook his head. ‘Erin, you’ve run your own salon for five years now and I bet a lot of your regular clients only come to you because you know how to make the best of their hair. You’ll be fine, I promise you.’
She groaned. ‘I do hope you’re right, Callum.’
‘I am. Trust me, for once.’
She laughed. ‘Fine, I will.’
He hoped his sister’s time working on set did go as well as he insisted it would. Erin worked hard and was very talented, or so he kept hearing from other people. He was proud of his sister and suspected that this work for the television series could lead to more interesting opportunities.
It would be fascinating to see Riley in action, he supposed, as the car took them closer to Hollyhock Farm. Riley might be a well-known actor but Callum couldn’t recall ever seeing him in anything. Then again, he didn’t really watch much television and hadn’t been to the cinema for a few years. The only time he had recently watched anything was if he was going to interview an actor for his show. He mostly preferred reading novels or listening to music and wondered if he had missed out on much by not bothering with many films, but doubted it.
He was sure today was going to be interesting and looked forward to seeing what all the fuss was about. He parked behind the large barn where Lettie always sent people’s vehicles when there was a large party. He heard someone instructing people to try the scene with several differences.
‘I guess we go this way,’ he said over his shoulder to Erin as he pressed his fob and locked the car.
They walked silently along the pathway between the two barns. Callum was anxious that he wouldn’t get in the way of anyone trying to work. They reached the end of the path and stood side by side, taking in the scene in front of them. He noticed a trailer with ‘Hair and Make-up’ on the door.
‘I imagine that’s where you need to be.’
Erin grimaced. ‘It is.’ She exhaled sharply. ‘Right, here goes nothing. Don’t leave without coming to find me in case I need a lift home.’
‘I won’t. Have a good day. And Erin?’
She turned to him. ‘Yes?’
‘You’ll be brilliant. Try to relax and enjoy every moment.’
She smiled and he was glad to have said the right thing.
‘I will. You too.’
He watched her enter the trailer then stood watching a scene being filmed on the other side of the yard. He looked around hoping to spot Tasha but couldn’t see her anywhere, so decided to stand out of the way and keep observing.
After watching Riley in a scene, Callum decided that whatever he thought of Riley as a man he couldn’t fault his acting skills. He might seem like a spoilt brat on occasion, but Callum had seen Riley go from being angry in a previous scene to seeming close to tears having apprehended a woman for accidentally killing a friend in this one. His emotional range was impressive, and Callum decided that despite his initial misgivings about having another detective television series being filmed on the island that maybe he would actually sit and watchSam Thorne Investigates.
After almost an hour, someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned, delighted to see Tasha smiling at him.
‘Having fun?’ she asked quietly.
