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‘Will you be at the kick-off meeting tomorrow?’ asked Lucas, drawing Caleb out of his tangled thoughts.

‘Yeah, but not the table read. I need to do more rehearsals with the stunt guys. The schedule is really tight on this job.’

‘True.’ Emma began scrolling through an electronic calendar. ‘First location shoot is in a couple of weeks. Followed by second location. Then studio for the remainder, including one water tank stunt.’ She stopped and asked curiously, ‘Is any of that likely to change?’

Caleb thought for a moment before answering, ‘Well, weather can always move a location shoot, but we can shift things around at the studio to accommodate that. The second location is the desert scenes, and it’s a short sequence, so it won’t take more than a couple of days. I suspect they’ll shift around other scenes to accommodate changes. The sets don’t need breaking up between takes, which really helps.’

Emma nodded and wrote something on her tablet with her stylus. ‘Thanks, I knew I could rely on you.’

Caleb frowned. He didn’t feel reliable; far from it.

Chapter Eighteen

After greeting the other executive producer, Robert, Lucas and his entourage, including Caleb, took several of the golf-cart-style buggies to the largest sound stage, which had been set and dressed to be reminiscent of the interior of the vampire’s palace.

Franco, the director, Robert and Lucas all stood in front of the vampire’s throne with a portable mic in each hand. Caleb stood with Lucas’s entourage to the side of them; the entire production crew and cast were all gathered in the large palace hall below.

Over a hundred people stood or sat in the cavernous space. Cameras and lighting equipment were dotted around the bits of concrete floor that weren’t dominated by the impressive set.

‘Welcome, cast and crew!’ declared Franco in a booming voice that didn’t really need the mic. The Italian director spoke perfect English but still had a strong, melodic accent. ‘Many of you have already been here many weeks, if not months, in preparation, and I want to thank you and the studio for all your hard work so far. This film is going to be a masterpiece, and it will be thanks to all of you…’

Caleb found himself drifting off from the rousing speeches and didn’t realise his gaze had shifted towards her. Hannah was standing beside Kirra and another attractive man with perfectly gelled brown hair that he didn’t recognise.

Presumably, he was the other new medic Hannah had mentioned a couple of weeks ago. He was wearing the matching navy fleeces with MEDIC written on the front and back in bright yellow lettering. They all wore long, dark trousers that looked like scrubs, and boots. This afternoon, Hannah had her big sack-like bag placed on the floor between her legs.

That was another quirk of hers he’d noticed – she always liked to take her big, slouchy bag everywhere she went. He imagined it was full to the brim with everything she might need.

Hannah or Kirra had been present at most of his rehearsals with the other stunt performers, as it was mandatory to give safety suggestions during practice. Caleb had worked for so long in the industry, he was able to accurately predict the advice most of the time, and Kirra had jokingly said that she wasn’t really needed when he was in the room. Jackson hadn’t been too impressed to hear that. Hannah would be coming to most rehearsals from now on, as she was Caleb’s key medic. Not that he got to speak to her much as it was.

At the end of her sessions with the stunt team, she would always quietly leave while he debriefed the other performers. He would have been insulted by her never saying goodbye if he hadn’t caught her watching him like a hawk throughout practice. Was it because she found him attractive, or because she expected him to behave as recklessly as he had as a teenager?

Currently, she had her arms crossed in front of her chest. Slowly, she raised the fingers of one hand in a self-conscious mini wave. The guy next to her looked between them curiously, and then leaned down to whisper in her ear. She jovially muttered something back in return, and Caleb felt as if he’d been caught staring at the popular girl for too long. He also didn’t like how close the brown-haired guy stood beside Hannah, or the fact that they were friendly enough to be whispering to one another.

Emma leaned towards Caleb and whispered, ‘Your old friend?’

If only to distract himself and stop himself from seeming like an idiot, he nodded and refocused on Franco. Unfortunately, the speech was already coming to an end. ‘So, enjoy your weekend, relax and have fun. Because the real work begins on Monday. Let’s work together to create a cinematic adventure that’s romantic, bold and exciting!’

The cast and crew cheered and clapped for a while, before subtly shuffling out of the studio as quickly as possible to finish their working day.

Lucas came to stand beside him. ‘I’m shattered, going to head back to the house now. Why not come over tomorrow? It’s on a private beach – Emma says it’s stunning, with good waves for surfing.’

Caleb nodded, but he was wondering how Hannah would be getting home. ‘Sure.’

‘Why not bring your friend with you?’ said Emma with an elbow nudge as she passed him. ‘She’s cute.’

Lucas nodded eagerly. ‘Yeah! Bring her along. I’d like to meet the person who made you pass up on staying at a mansion!’

‘I’ll see what she says, she’s sometimes busy at the weekends.’

‘Great! Emma will send you the details,’ replied Lucas cheerfully – already moving away, before he was stopped and distracted by more questions from Franco.

‘I take it you got a taxi to the airport, so will need a car to take you back to the hotel,’ said Emma, and he could tell she was also half-listening to everything Franco was saying to Lucas with one ear, while opening her messenger app on her phone to organise him a lift.

He was about to say yes, when he thought better of it. He could get the shuttle bus with Hannah and ask her about her weekend plans. ‘I’m good, don’t worry.’

‘Sure thing. I’ll send the address and times for the beach now. Let me know any dietary requirements.’

‘Will do.’