Hunter returned with a glass for us both, and we all made ourselves comfortable around the table. I slid the headphones on and did a quick sound test to make sure everything was in order before Sabine gave the signal that we were live.
“Jackson! We can’t tell you how thrilled we are that you’re here,” Sabine added once they had run through their intro.
Hunter nodded. Though we were only recording audio, I suspected it was a hard habit to break. “We’re both huge fans.”
“Hopefully, this means we can get more of the cast on here some time.”
I chuckled. “I’ll be sure to put in a good word.”
“So, let’s jump right in and talk about season three. Obviously, the biggest change is Ares switching sides and becoming one of the good guys, although we can only wonder how long that will last, given his track record.”
“I’m pretty excited to see Wes get his ass kicked this season.”
“Aren’t we all,” I joked. “He’s a crafty god, that one. You can pretty much always bet that he has a plan, especially when things aren’t going his way.”
“That must be interesting to play against?” Sabine asked.
“It is. And Ryder doesn’t trust him at all, so there’s a lot of animosity between them. Still, they recognize a usefulness in each other against The Three.”
“Those are the dream gods, this season’s big bad, right?” Hunter clarified.
I nodded. “Yes.”
Hunter was particularly enthusiastic about this, following up with several more questions. I offered a few more details about the show, being careful with what I shared before they began diving into my personal life.
“As a Chicago native, you must love being able to film on location.”
“Absolutely. It’s been a real gift being able to film in my hometown. I know everyone complains about the weather, but I actually missed it when I was in LA.”
“Don’t lie to us now,” Hunter said wryly.
“No, it’s true!” I admitted, laughing.
“And I hear congratulations are in order for your sister, who just got married.”
We hadn’t discussed what topics were off-limits, but I was always selective when talking about my family. I put on my polite and professional mask, prepared to redirect the conversation if they tried to get too personal. “Oh, thank you. Yes. It was a great night.”
“Speaking of, I know we don’t normally get into this sort of thing, but you’re here, so we couldn’t help ourselves. Some photos have been floating around recently. It seems you have a new girl on your arm.”
Hunter made a teasing sound. “Yes, I don’t know if you’ve seen the comment sections of your social media lately, but there’s a lot of speculation as to who she is. No one can figure it out. A new co-star, perhaps?”
“Nothing like that, no.” There was a beat of silence where they waited for me to elaborate, but I didn’t.
“Well, I know that there are a lot of heartbroken fans out there, but I for one think you two make a beautiful couple. Is it serious?”
Apprehension rose within me.
I’d been in this situation countless times before. Made a joke, waved it off, moved on. But this wasn’t some one-night stand. This was Audrey. I’d love nothing more than to tell everyone how much she meant to me, but shit, we hadn’t even discussed this yet—telling people. Being in public.
And she’d said before how much she wouldn’t like to be in the spotlight. The last thing I would ever want was for my career to hurt her.
Plus, I knew how much the network liked to play up my bachelor status. They’d forgiven previous rumors about my love life because they got to lean into the rakish playboy aspect of my character. It sold the show. And right now, the whole reason I was even doing this damn interview was to keep selling the show.
So I made a choice.
“Have you ever known me to be in a serious relationship?” I joked.
Hunter laughed. “You’ve got us there.”
