A short while later, a group of four young women come bursting through the back doors of the diner that lead to the patio. They’re loudly talking and… I don’t know how to describe it other than “fangirling” over something. They look exactly like how Julie and I looked that time we got to meet our favorite boyband after their Houston show. Their faces are filled with excitement and their voices are high-pitched and they keep talking all over each other as they make their way to a table.
“Whoa, who gave them too much coffee?” Julie asks.
I snort. “Reminds me of us.”
“No way, we were never that bad,” she says with a chuckle.
I click my tongue. “Yes we were! We can fangirl like no other. Remember that boyband when we were in high school? Or when we went to all those midnight movie premiers as teenagers?”
“Hey, no one can blame us for obsessing over Twilight,” she says, pointing a finger at me.
We keep eating our lunch while trying to overhear whatever it is that has those women so excited. They keep looking at their phones then showing the screen to each other. It looks like they’re on the Twitter app, but I can’t be sure. I admit, I’m curious, but not trying to be a creepy eavesdropper at the same time.
When Clare brings us drink refills, Julie leans in and whispers, “What are they talking about?”
Clare glances over at their table then looks back at us, eyes wide with enthusiasm. “You haven’t heard? About the movie?”
Julie cocks an eyebrow. “What movie?”
“Some Hollywood movie company is filming a romance movie right here in Sterling! Apparently it’s been in the works for a while and the town kept it kind of hush hush, but the film crew arrived today, out at the hotel by the water. Some hottie actor is staring in the movie so those girls are trying to figure out a way to meet him.”
“Wow,” Julie and I say at the exact same time.
“Who’s the actor?” I ask.
Clare shrugs. “I’m too old for that stuff, darlin’. I never know who these famous young celebrities are, but I know it’s not George Clooney or I’d be down there breaking onto the set myself. Now he is one fine piece of man.” She chuckles at her own joke as she walks away.
Julie does a little Google research on her phone.
“It’s Trevor Owens,” she says, reading from the screen.
“Trevor Owens?” The name sounds familiar but I’m not good with celebrity names.
“And the female lead is Andrea Block,” Julie says.
That name I do recognize. “Wow, she’s really famous.”
Julie nods while scrolling through her phone. “The movie is calledOakbrook Lake, and it’s one of those cheesy romance movies with a totally obvious plot.”
“So, like, our favorite thing to watch?”
She grins. “Yep. It sounds cute. This is exciting. And the guy is pretty hot.”
She turns her phone to me, showing me a picture of Trevor Owens. I may not be good at remembering celebrity names, but this guy looks familiar. I think I’ve seen some of his films, if they’re the kind I’m thinking of. Maybe he was in one of the Christmas romances I watched last year…I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I know I’ve seen him before.
Then the hair on the back of my neck prickles. My jaw drops. This guy on Julie’s phone screen has a scruffy beard and lighter hair… but I can’t help but think that he looks an awful lot like that rude guy in the gas station.
Did I meet a celebrity and not realize it?
CHAPTER4
Trevor
It’s four in the morning and I actually feel refreshed and I’m ready to take on the work of filming a new movie. Usually waking up for an early call time is miserable, but I got a great night’s sleep at the Lake Sterling Hotel. Our producer booked the entire hotel for the duration of filming, which will only take about two months. There is private security, the parking lot is shut down, and we’re safe from the public, which means I slept like a baby after my long, miserable road trip of being recognized a dozen times before I donned my disguise.
I grab some coffee from the hotel lobby and get in the shuttle van with a few other actors and crew members and ride to the set. The two actors who play my parents are here in the shuttle van, and I haven’t officially met them yet, so I introduce myself. Even with a few movies and some TV show appearances under my belt, I still feel so new to the world of acting. The woman playing my mom has been on TV shows for decades, and so have many of the cast members, which makes me feel so out of place.
Oakbrook Lakeis a sweet romance movie, the kind of feel-good mushy-gushy movies that my own mom loves. That’s actually why I auditioned for the first one I was casted in, because I knew my mom would love it. Truth be told, I’m not exactly a “romance movie” fan myself—I prefer action movies—but starring in them has been a good career move. It earned me the title of America’s Sweetheart, among other wholesome nicknames. I love that I can act out a part and not have to strip naked or belittle myself. I can keep my values and ethics and create movies that I’m not ashamed of.
