Lilah and Shane exchanged conspiratorial glances, though inside she was still as bewildered as ever.
“I thought she looked cold,” Shane said innocently.
“I see. So you were warming her up, one hand at a time?”
The audience tittered.
“Every little bit helps.”
“He’s very considerate,” Lilah said.
“Are you cold, Lilah?” Joey asked, returning his attention to her. “I’m sorry, that’s probably my fault. I’m always asking them to crank the AC. The suit, the lights, it can get a little moist in sensitive areas.”
“Well, not all of us are lucky enough to be wearing suits,” Lilah said, feeling her smile turn sickly sweet.
“You’re right, you’re right. Shane, why don’t you give her your jacket?”
The audience whooped and cheered. Lilah demurred, but it didn’t stop Shane from immediately shucking off his jacket and leaning over to drape it around her shoulders. Her fingertips brushed his as she reached up to pull it tighter around her, the warm satin lining like an embrace against her chilled skin, a tangible reminder of the one they’d shared backstage a minute ago. She shivered.
“Thank you,” she murmured, gazing up through her oversized eyelashes at him, feeling obligated to ham it up a little for the camera lurking in her peripheral vision.
“How are we doing now?” Joey asked. “Comfortable?”
“All better.”
“Great, great. See? This is what I’m talking about. We’re allfriends here, right? Now, speaking of. Everyone’s been talking about these pictures of you two.” Joey turned to the audience. “Have you guys seen these? Can we get them up on the screen?”
The audience oohed and aahed, scandalized, as pictures from theirReelphoto shoot faded onto the monitors.
Lilah had been sent proofs through her agent a few weeks ago, but the prospect of looking through them had been so unappealing she’d approved them without opening the email. Seeing them now, though, took her breath away. Dario had done an incredible job: like he’d promised, they were sexy without being sleazy. Her eye was drawn immediately to their faces, rapt with desire, their naked bodies almost beside the point.
“So, level with me,” Joey said. “What’s it like, shooting that kind of thing? Gotta be alittleawkward, right?”
Lilah and Shane both opened their mouths to reply, then made eye contact and hesitated, intentionally drawing out their knowing looks a beat too long, making the audience laugh.
“It’s just part of the job,” Lilah finally replied, with a coy smile.
“It was kind of boring, honestly,” Shane added. “I almost fell asleep a few times. I mean, we were already in bed, you know?”
“Right. Right. Just another day at the office,” Joey said. “Ronald and I have a shoot like that every morning before we get our coffee, right, Ronald?”
“You didn’t tell me there were cameras,” Ronald replied, and the audience hooted.
Lilah felt like she was watching herself from outside her body after that, as she, Joey, and Shane discussed her return to the show and what fans could expect from the final season. She saw herself gush about how welcoming everyone had been, how much she’d missed playing Kate. They played a clip from the premiere, her resurrection scene.
“That was from the ninth season ofIntangible,premiering next Tuesday, September twenty-third,” Joey said as the audience cheered. “Don’t go away, we’ll be right back with Lilah Hunter and Shane McCarthy, and we’re gonna play a little game. Stay tuned!”
A few days before the taping, Lilah had been sent a brief questionnaire to fill out about Shane, and he’d presumably had to answer the same questions about her. During the break, a producer handed each of them a small stack of cards containing their answers, so they could try to match them,Newlywed Game–style.
“Now, you two have known each other a long time,” Joey said after the break. “Today, we’re going to test out justhowwell you know each other.”
They started out simply, just the facts—how many siblings Shane had (two) and where Lilah had grown up (Philadelphia)—which they both answered correctly.
Joey consulted his cards. “Lilah, this next one’s for you. What’s your go-to snack when you’re on set?”
Lilah blinked. It hadn’t occurred to her that the sets of questions they got would be slightly different, that her own answers would have to be off the cuff. She grabbed onto the first thing that crossed her mind.
“Um…almonds?” She regretted it the moment she said it. It was true, but she knew it made her sound like an out-of-touch diet article in a women’s magazine, like she was just another neurotic actress obsessed with maintaining her weight. Which maybe she was, but only to the extent that she had to be. Either way, it wasn’t an answer that would endear her to anyone, which was supposed to be the point.
