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It was the first major stunt she’d observed; there’d been a couple of minor martial arts sequences performed by Bianca’s stunt double, but nothing major.

For the first time, Hannah realised that Caleb was about to put himself in danger, and as medics, Hannah and Zach would be the first responders if anything went wrong. She swallowed nervously and sent a silent prayer to the studio’s cavernous ceiling, suddenly feeling cold despite her fleece.

Jackson was already there, as he’d been working with Bianca’s stunt performer. Caleb greeted her with a friendly pat to the shoulder, which she returned with a grin. He’d mentioned they’d worked together in the past.

Had they been friends with benefits too?

Immediately, Hannah shut and locked the door on that thought. No good would come from speculation and jealousy over a man who wasn’t even hers to begin with.

She had to focus on her work.

Franco, the director, was pointing out the starting positions on the monitor. ‘We start here. Gift is presented in front of the throne. Prince and Nina stop dancing. Nina slips to the side of the hall – she has plans, and she must see them through, yes?’ Everyone nodded in understanding. Franco grinned. ‘Good.’ He moved away from the monitor to where there were two marks on the ground and began to act out the scene with slow, exaggerated movements. ‘The prince wonders where his beautiful dancer is going. But then he becomes curious about the gift. He raises his hand – Father, let me! He walks slowly towards the gift, growing more suspicious with each step. The king leans forward in his throne, curious – he notices a light. Then… BANG!’ He clapped his hands together. ‘Explosion! The prince is thrown into the dancing crowd.’

‘Franco, I was thinking—’ said Caleb thoughtfully.

Franco trotted back down the throne steps eagerly. ‘Yes?’

‘If the prince has superhuman powers, wouldn’t he realise it’s a bomb before it explodes and instinctively jump back? We could rig the wire to delay the pull, and I could do a springboard leap back…’ Caleb moved two of his fingers as if they were legs climbing the stairs. The legs stopped, knuckles bent and he springboarded his fingers back, pausing in mid-air. ‘Bang!’ he said, throwing his fingers back dramatically.

Hannah’s throat tightened; she didn’t like the idea of changing the scene at the last minute. She glanced at Zach, who shrugged.

Jackson hurried forward, irritably huffing out the words, ‘We haven’t planned for that!’

Caleb shrugged. ‘It’s just a thought. We have the springboards for the princess’s escape, and it’s a controlled set. It wouldn’t be a hard addition. I’ve done similar sequences a hundred times before.’ He paused to ensure he had Franco’s full attention. ‘It suits the character and would look really awesome.’

Franco’s body almost vibrated with excitement. ‘Yes! Do it!’

Jackson still didn’t seem impressed with the change of plan, but he gave a tight smile to Franco. ‘Sure thing.’

‘If they’re changing the stunt, what do we have to do?’ Hannah whispered to Zach.

He shrugged. ‘Nothing, but be ready if it fucks up.’

Hannah winced. ‘Great,’ she said sourly.

Caleb came back to stand with them as Bianca and Lucas prepared to shoot the sequences that would lead up to the explosion.

‘Good for you, adding in stuff at the last moment – Jackson looks pissed,’ muttered Hannah, unable to help herself.

Caleb shrugged. ‘I’ve decided to stop being so passive in the process. If he’s going to take my advice about the planning, he may as well listen to my thoughts on the execution.’

There was a firmness to his jaw that she’d not seen before from Caleb, and she wondered if he’d had an argument with Jackson or had considered what she’d said to him before.

‘So, you’re thinking about becoming a stunt co-ordinator after all?’ She was more than a little proud of him for taking the leap.

‘I’m not sure, but if I do decide to do it, I want Franco to be the one calling me, not Jackson, for his next project.’

‘Good lad!’ Hannah said, elbowing Caleb playfully and lightly in the ribs. Of course he acted like she’d mortally wounded him, grabbing his side and imploring a little too loudly for Hannah’s comfort: ‘Medic!’

‘Silence on set!’ one of the ADs shouted with a glare in their direction, and they dutifully did as they were told.

Chapter Twenty-Four

As Hannah watched the first scenes of the film take place, she couldn’t help but admire the talent of Bianca and Lucas. As soon as Franco said action, they seemed to transform, Bianca taking on the worldly wise and serious demeanour of an assassin princess, Lucas the tortured heart of an immortal prince. Both so different from their real personalities, each action and expression was carefully choreographed, and yet they made each movement seem electric and natural.

Frankly, it was kind of hot.

For the first time since filming had begun two weeks ago, Hannah genuinely cared about what would happen to this couple. She hadn’t read the book this film was based on, but now she was determined to bring her Kindle and read it in the quiet moments on set.