She smiled back mechanically.
Inside, her thoughts were a jumble: relief, panic, disbelief.
As the production wound down, Callie lowered her shoulders, forcing a deep breath as the crew worked to pack away equipment. Someone handed her a bottle of water, and someone else tugged at her mic pack.
‘That was gorgeous,’ Neil said, appearing beside her like a conjured spirit. He was already checking something on his tablet. ‘Absolutely glowing, you and Sam both.’
Callie smiled thinly. ‘If you say so.’
‘And we’ll need to chat travel logistics tomorrow, yeah? We’ll get a small crew up to your hometown. Mum, stepdad, little sister—that’s the roster, isn’t it?’
‘Right,’ she said.
‘You’ll be back a couple of days before Sam joins you. We’ll film some establishing shots, local life, the house, maybe your old haunts.’
‘Old haunts,’ she repeated, half to herself.
‘You’ll show him thereal you,’ he said, grinning. ‘Viewers eat that up.’
‘Great,’ she lied.
He put a hand on her shoulder. ‘You’ll smash it.’
Before she could respond, one of the runners called his name, and he drifted off.
Priya came up behind Callie and wrapped her in a squeeze.
‘Congrats,’ she said.
‘Thanks. Same to you.’
Priya made a discreet ‘meh’ face. ‘Just… brace yourself. My friend did the home thing last season. They film everything. Like if you sneeze, they’ll get it from three angles.’
Callie managed a laugh. ‘Good to know.’
Priya’s smile faltered. ‘You okay?’
‘Yeah,’ Callie said. ‘Just thinking about, you know… home stuff.’
‘Your family situation?’ Priya asked delicately.
‘Amongst other things.’
Priya looked like she wanted to ask more, but then another producer dragged her off for ‘a short butpenetratingchat.’
Sam crossed the set, trailed by his handler and a makeup artist trying to blot his forehead. He paused when he saw Callie.
‘Hey,’ he said, ignoring the chaos around them. ‘Congratulations.’
‘Thank you,’ Callie said. ‘For choosing me.’
Sam smiled. ‘I meant what I said. I’m excited to see where you’re from.’
His words sounded innocent enough. But that was because Sam couldn’t know what that meant.
Callie laughed off her discomfort. ‘Not a lot to see.’
‘OK, well, I’m off,’ Sam said. ‘Don’t let Neil talk you into anything you don’t want.’
