Not only did she have an Oscar under her fashionable vegan leather belt, but after she’d retired from acting, she’d spent her time doing good and worthy things, like meditating and climate activism and also adopting rescue dogs that she didn’t even make wear kerchiefs for Instagram pictures.
And now that she was back in the business, it would’ve been easy for her to have a dismissive attitude toward something as superficial as a Hope Channel movie, but she didn’t. She was serious and committed and earnest as hell as we walked through Christmas Notch, and it made me very, very aware that I didn’t exactly have a public history of being serious or committed to anything ever.
“Most of where we’ll be working is along Main Street,” Gretchen said, stopping at the edge of the town square. A crew member was laying down track for a camera trolley on the sidewalk while a woman walked a big, snuffling dog down the shoveled path through the middle. “There will be a few scenes here in the square. The diner is just this way—there will be a scene with the duke and Felicity there—and also,this isn’t for the movie, but if you want a good drink with no frills, the Dirty Snowball is just off Sugar Plum Avenue down that way. And two blocks south is the old toy shop. It’s not actually a toy shop,” she added, seeing the question in my face. “It’s where hair and makeup will be. Costuming too.”
“I meant to ask about that,” I said. “My manager said something about an accident with some of the crew? At the same festival where Winnie got sick?”
Gretchen nodded. “But Teddy Fletcher is sending us replacements for the four injured crew. They should be here by today—including the new costume designer. You’ll want to get the duke’s costumes squared away with him ASAP. I know the old designer already had some costumes shipped, but she never made it here herself, so who knows where they are inside the costume department.”
“I’ll check in with the new person once we’re done,” I assured her, feeling like a student trying to impress a teacher for extra credit. I needed all the extra credit I could get. “Is there anything else you’d like me to do?”
“Actually, yes,” Gretchen said—and right then, my phone started ringing. With an old INK song.
Which was a little embarrassing.
“I’m so, so sorry,” I said, pulling out my phone to glance at the screen as the opening bars of “2 Wicked 2 Love” played. I hadn’t silenced it in case my family needed to get ahold of me. But right now, when I was trying to impress Gretchen Young, and by proxy the rest of the world, its ringing was less than ideal. I probably looked like a douchebag.
“It’s fine,” Gretchen said evenly. “Take it if you need to.”
It was my manager, Steph D’Arezzo, not Maddie or Mom, and I was about to send Steph to voicemail when one of the production assistants jogged up to Gretchen to ask her something.
Taking the opportunity to answer, I accepted the call with a quiet hello.
“Nolan,” Steph said, sounding vaguely out of breath. “Is this a good time?”
“Sort of,” I said, glancing over at Gretchen, who was now bent over the PA’s iPad. “Is now a good time for you? You sound like you’re doing something.”
“I’m a teensy bit late for this little flight I’m catching,” she replied, “so I can’t talk long. I just called to say that Winnie’s replacement should be arriving on set soon.”
“Right,” I said, kicking at a nearby snowbank. “Bee something?”
“Bee Hobbes. According to Teddy, she’s only ever done indie, student-type things, so she’s basically brand new to this. Be nice to her.”
I was a little wounded. “Of course I’ll be nice. I’m a nice guy, you know.”
“Nolan, just days after serenading the world at the Olympics opening ceremony, you lured America’s favorite wide-eyed female figure skater into an orgy. An orgy withEuropeans.”
“It wasn’t like that,” I said, flapping my hand even though she couldn’t see me. “I already told you that I didn’tlureanyone. And the Dutch athletes were speed skaters. Have you seen the thighs speed skaters have? They would have donetheir own luring, even if I had been involved. Well, involved in more than a Good Samaritan way.”
“The press didn’t see it like that.Dominic Diamonddidn’t see it like that.”
I growled a little at the mention of the blogarazzi asshat who’d built his career on my screwups. The Duluth Olympics had been the jewel in his gossip crown, and after that, he became theitcelebrity reporter, despite being frequently wrong and, well, an asshat.
“I know you hate him, but like him or not, he’s got the power to unfresh this fresh start of yours.” I heard the sound of suitcase wheels on a hard floor and then the muffled drone of a boarding announcement coming from somewhere distant as she spoke again. “And I don’t have to remind you again to—”
“To keep my nose clean,” I cut in. “I know, I know.”
“Don’t play smart with me,” Steph said. “I made my name taking duds like you and giving them real, solid comebacks. I know how to do this. But I don’t have time to waste on a client who isn’t going to follow the rules. And let’s face it, you’re not exactly known for following the rules.”
Well. That was fair.
“I mean it, Nolan. Until your brand is rehabilitated, you will be as pure as the driven snow they’re staging for this movie. You will be so celibate that Benedictine nuns will take notes on how you do it.”
I was grateful she couldn’t see the flinch I just gave. There had been a very good reason I’d fallen so easily into the bad boy role when I was with INK, and it was because I’d basicallybeen born to play it. Getting into trouble came all too easily to me, and being nun levels of celibate for the next however long was going to suck. A lot.
But if that was what it took to help Mom and Maddie...
I fought off a sigh. It sounded like my right hand was going to earn its keep for the foreseeable future. Thank God my favorite ClosedDoors creator updated her feed nearly every day.
