Starlight

by Alexandra Richland

  “Thanks, Liv.” Beth regarded herself in the mirror, satisfied with her appearance as well. Luckily, there were only a few scenes near the end of the movie, when Claire and Max made their official debut as a couple at a social function, where she had to get dressed up in more glamorous clothes and high heels. Until then, she would enjoy her more comfortable look.

  After Beth’s final preparations were complete, there was a knock on her dressing room door. Olivia answered and greeted their visitor, the boyishly handsome William Everett, who was dressed in a sophisticated black suit.

  Will stepped inside, his sapphire eyes drifting to Olivia. “Elizabeth Sutton, I presume.”

  “That would be me,” Beth called from her place by the vanity.

  Will strode across the room with squared shoulders and his narrow nose lifted in the air. His slicked back brown hair accentuated his baby face, making him look younger than his twenty-two years.

  He fixed Beth with a grin that indicated he was trying to flirt with her. Instead of coming across as suave, he exuded arrogance. He was one of the most fawned-over teen idols in the country, yet Beth felt no attraction to him whatsoever.

  “Elizabeth, it’s nice to finally meet you. I’m sure you know who I am already, so I don’t need to introduce myself.” Will stole a glance in the mirror and draped his arm over her shoulders.

  Beth stiffened with uneasiness but she didn’t want to be rude and shrug him off. Thankfully, Olivia came to her rescue.

  “So Will—can I call you Will?” Olivia didn’t wait for his response. “I’m one of the wardrobe consultants and designers on the film. My name is Miss Weston.” She shooed him away. “Now, please take a step back so I can take a look at you and ensure your clothes fit properly.”

  Will looked at her questioningly.

  Olivia gave Beth a mischievous smile. “Will, it’s important for you to look perfect at all times in every scene. I’m only trying to help. Although, I’m sure for you, that isn’t such a hard thing to accomplish all on your own.”

  Her compliment won him over. He dropped his arm from Beth’s shoulders and took a step back, smoothing out his suit jacket.

  Straightening his posture, he looked at Olivia. “So, what do you think?”

  Olivia circled him slowly, acting as if she was giving his outfit a good once-over. As soon as she stood out of his line of sight, she looked at Beth and rolled her eyes. Beth suppressed a giggle.

  “Hmm, yes, I see.” Olivia pretended to study the material of his jacket. “Well, it seems everything is in order, thank you.”

  A young man poked his head into the dressing room. “Mr. Everett, Miss Sutton, the director is ready for you now.”

  Beth was grateful for the interruption. However, she felt unsure about her impending scene. Not only was she concerned about filming her first leading role, but now that she’d met Will and found his true personality left a lot to be desired, she knew it would be difficult to act like she loved Max.

  Exhaling a shaky breath, she picked up her script and followed Olivia and Will to a set decorated to look like the inside of a barn with the inclusion of hay and farming equipment. Her eyebrows furrowed. The set didn’t correlate with the scene they were supposedly filming today.

  A lanky man with brown hair and gentle brown eyes, who looked to be in his late thirties, approached Beth. “Miss Sutton, welcome to the set. I’m the director of Sparkling Meadow, Alistair Graves. I trust you received your script and shooting schedule from Luther Mertz prior to the weekend?”

  “Yes I did, Mr. Graves, and please, call me Beth.” She eyed the set curiously. “I’m sorry, but I thought we were filming a different scene today—in the courtyard of the Lawson estate.”

  “We were supposed to, but when I arrived at the studio this morning, I discovered the set we needed for that particular scene is still being used by another motion picture whose shoot went into overtime. I thought we’d just skip ahead to next Monday’s scene and tackle the original scene another day.” He gave her a warm smile. “And please, call me Alistair.”

  Beth placed a hand to her forehead, suddenly feeling light-headed. Although she had read over the entire script, she had only memorized the lines she needed for today.

  Alistair patted her shoulder. “Don’t worry. We’ll get to that scene eventually.”

  As the director walked away, Beth frantically flipped through her script, searching for the filming schedule. When she read next Monday’s scene, the blood drained from her face. Today they were filming Max and Claire’s first secret meeting in the barn on his estate, including their first kiss.

  “What’s wrong?” Olivia whispered.

  Beth’s hand shook as she extended the script to her friend.

  Olivia read the schedule and giggled. “Yuck. You have to kiss that slime ball sooner than you thought.”

  A shudder rippled down Beth’s spine as she looked across the soundstage at Will. He fussed with his appearance in a handheld mirror. She knew the film called for a dramatic first kiss, and a kiss in the final scene, but she thought she’d have more time to prepare. Although more seasoned actresses might take a shooting schedule change in stride, in this particular case, her anxiety was understandable. She had never kissed a boy before.

  She gestured for Olivia to come closer. “What am I going to do?”

  “Relax, you’ll be fine,” Olivia replied. “Kissing is easy. Besides, you won’t even have to use your tongue.”

  The thought of Will’s tongue in her mouth made Beth feel sicker.

  “Gee, Liv, that makes me feel much better. Thank you.” She rolled her eyes.

  Olivia smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ll tell you everything I know.”

  “That doesn’t help me,” Beth hissed. “We’re shooting the kissing scene today.”

  “Beth, Will, take your places please,” Alistair called.

  Beth looked at Olivia in a panic. Her friend grabbed the script again and scanned today’s lines.

  “Look, you still have to film all the dialogue leading up to the kiss first,” she pointed out. “You probably won’t even get to the kissing part until after lunch, which means you have some time to prepare.”

  Beth took back the script, relieved to find Olivia was right. Her lines seemed straightforward as well, so she figured before each take she could glance at the script and memorize what she was supposed to say for the part they were taping next. Since the changes to their shooting schedule were made last minute, she assumed Will wasn’t prepared either, which meant she wouldn’t be the only one doing some quick memorization. Perhaps not all was lost, after all.

  Beth walked to her mark, scanning her first few lines. After looking over his part, Will took his place beside her and flashed a toothy grin. His breath smelled like coffee and tobacco. Beth tried her best not to grimace.

  A stagehand took their scripts.

  The clapperboard sounded off.

  “Action!”

  “My darling, Claire, I don’t care how poor your father is,” Will declared, in character as Max. “Ever since I returned from boarding school, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you.” He circled his arm around her waist and dramatically pulled her closer, his expression set with admiration.

  Beth looked at him with wide eyes. “But Max, your parents will never approve of me. They would much rather see you paired with a woman more suited to your family’s high societal position.”

  Max and Claire continued talking about how much they loved each other and discussed the obstacles they faced if Max’s family ever found out about their relationship. They also filmed another scene: Claire’s short monologue in the barn after Max leaves for a moment, thinking he heard a noise outside.

  The speech expressed Claire’s concerns over the relationship and fortunately for Beth, they filmed the scene in sections, so she was able to glance at her script often. She decided not to rely on that method in the future, though. From now on, she was going to memorize more of her lines,
aside from what was required for the next day’s shoot, in case a mix-up like this ever happened again.

  Despite Will’s cocky attitude, Beth found him very professional on set. Alistair Graves was also easy to work with. He was encouraging, friendly, and competent, which matched the positive reputation he had established in the industry over the last ten years.

  As Olivia predicted, they broke for lunch before the kissing scene. Beth thought the morning went very well after she grew accustomed to the change in schedule. She possessed a natural talent for playing shy, soft-spoken Claire and shared many of her values. In fact, she ended up relying more on instinct instead of copying Will’s acting style.

  Upon their return to the dressing room, Olivia gave Beth a quick verbal tutorial on kissing.

  “Don’t be too forceful. Keep your lips soft and tilt your head to the side. Just follow Will’s lead.” Olivia smirked. “I’m sure he’s kissed many women, so he’ll be able to show you exactly what to do.”

  Beth crinkled her nose. The only thing worse than kissing Will was thinking about how many other women he kissed before her—and she didn’t mean on movie sets. As part of her job as an actress, though, she knew she had to set aside her personal feelings toward him and stay in character.

  “Now, in films, as you recall, actors don’t use their tongues,” Olivia continued. “It seems you just have to press your lips to your partner’s passionately and hold your pose.”

  Beth nodded. “I can do that.”

  “Just wait until you fall in love.” Olivia’s eyes glossed over. “Then you’ll experience what a real kiss is like. Nathan’s lips are so soft and gentle, and well, perfect!”

  Beth giggled. “All right, I get the picture.”

  “Oh, and speaking of Nathan, we’re meeting him at the studio commissary at one, remember?” Olivia glanced at the clock on the wall. “We’ve got to hurry.”

  Beth had eaten at the commissary on several occasions, since it was the main restaurant at Starlight Studios. The large dining hall, with its blue and white walls and photomontages of scenes from legendary Starlight Studios motion pictures, had a familial atmosphere and featured dishes like the Clarke Gable home fries and the Broadway Melody of 1938 sandwich. It was similar to a cafeteria, except with outstanding food. Beth heard the menu rivaled any restaurant in Beverly Hills.

  To save time, most employees remained on the studio lot to eat, which meant the commissary was always busy, especially at lunchtime. Actors, directors, and writers each had their own sections so each group could keep up with what was going on in their respective fields. Although it wasn’t mandatory, patrons were encouraged to eat with those from their discipline.

  Beth looked down at the dowdy cotton dress she wore during her scene. “Perhaps I should change.”

  “There’s no point in changing out of your costume for just one hour,” Olivia reasoned. “Everyone usually shows up at the commissary in their costumes, anyway. Now, come on, Nathan’s waiting.”

  Before Beth could protest, Olivia took her hand and led her out of the dressing room.

  Chapter Twenty

  When his photo shoot ended, Aidan wasted no time escaping the set. He had long since grown tired of following the photographer’s tedious instructions for the last hour and was glad it was over. He didn’t respond well to false scenarios where he had to stand in one place for long periods of time and pose. He had to have a handle, something to work against. He performed best when he could react to what was around him.

  After scrubbing off his face makeup in the bathroom, he threw on his sunglasses and left the building without bothering to change out of his character’s clothes. Hunger consumed his thoughts and he wanted to meet Nathan on time.

  As he sprinted across the studio’s backlot toward the commissary, which was just a few minutes away by foot, several women regarded him curiously. In contrast, many of the men he passed glared at him. Aidan was well aware his reputation preceded him and that everyone was interested in checking out the new Method actor from New York in the flesh. People either wanted something from him or hated him sight unseen because of the ridiculous rumors they’d heard around the studio lot. He didn’t give them the time of day.

  With his destination in view, he sped up. He craved a cigarette, but the commissary was the only building on the studio lot where smoking was prohibited. Looking at his watch, he discovered he was already fifteen minutes late. Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to light up now.

  When Aidan walked through the double doors and entered the main eating area, murmurs erupted from the crowd right away. Some patrons even turned in their chairs to stare at him. Ignoring the attention, he removed his sunglasses and scanned the room for Nathan.

  Aidan spotted Olivia first because she wore a bright pink sweater that was hard to miss. His heart sped up when he realized that the odds of Olivia and Nathan eating alone were not good. Anxiously, he continued to search the crowd.

  He found Beth walking toward Olivia and Nathan with incredible poise and carrying a blue lunch tray. When her eyes landed on him, she halted mid-stride. Aidan sucked in a breath as he held her gaze. He was no longer physically hungry. Instead, an emotional craving had taken over. The familiar, undeniable pull he felt toward her on the Checkmate set and at Romanoff’s returned with such intensity he was surprised he wasn’t already standing at her side and introducing himself.

  As he remained in his standoff with Beth across the commissary, Nathan waved him over. It dawned on Aidan that he’d obviously planned the entire thing. There was no way Nathan invited him to lunch, and then just happened to run into Olivia and Beth, without knowing they were eating here beforehand.

  With this realization, Aidan’s nerves got the best of him—despite the fact he’d dreamed about meeting Beth since the moment he first laid eyes on her. Normally, he wasn’t shy and followed his own rules without caring what people thought about him, but with her, everything was different. Right now, he didn’t know whether to turn around and run home or push his nervousness aside and take up Nathan’s offer.

  It didn’t take long for Aidan to reach a decision. Even though he still felt uncomfortable meeting Beth in a group situation, after his missed opportunity at Romanoff’s, he knew he couldn’t take the cowardly way out again. She’d already spotted him. If he took off now, it would really give her the wrong impression, and he’d most likely never get another chance with her. With his mind made up, he exhaled and took his first step in her direction, hoping he wouldn’t make a complete fool of himself.

  ***

  The comforting aroma of hot chicken soup wafted up Beth’s nose as she carried her lunch tray across the commissary. After her anxiety on set this morning, she looked forward to a quiet lunch where she could unwind and temporarily forget that this afternoon’s scenes were going to be much more nerve-wracking to film.

  A wardrobe section didn’t exist for Olivia, and Nathan didn’t have a niche at the studio. Therefore, they could sit anywhere they pleased. The commissary was busy, though, so Beth wondered how they were going to find three available seats together in the actors’ section.

  As she walked toward Olivia and Nathan, whispers erupted throughout the room, adding to the already chatty atmosphere. Her eyebrows knitted together. Only a few people around here ever received that kind of reaction. Studio employees were usually not impressed by their peers unless it was someone very special.

  As Beth approached her friends, she realized they were looking toward the door, too. She followed their gaze. Exuding a captivating defiance that made her heart race, Aidan Evans stood at the entrance of the commissary, wearing a navy blue button-down sport shirt with the collar up and dark brown dress pants. Most notably, he was staring directly at her.

  Heat rose in Beth’s cheeks. Aidan hadn’t noticed her running after him at Romanoff’s, but that didn’t make it any easier for her to stand before him now under his intense stare.

  To her absolute shock, Nathan motioned f
or him to come over. She wasn’t surprised they knew each other because Nathan seemed to know everyone at the studio, but she certainly hadn’t expected Aidan to join them for lunch.

  Beth tightened her grip on her lunch tray as he strode in her direction. After surveying Olivia’s pleased expression, she assumed her friend had told Nathan why she really left Romanoff’s rooftop in such a hurry, even though she specifically said to keep it a secret, and they had arranged this meeting behind her back.

  She appreciated the gesture, since she was sure Olivia and Nathan had her best interests in mind, but she wished they hadn’t interfered. She felt mortified and hoped Aidan didn’t think she had anything to do with the arrangement.

  “Aidan, nice to see you again,” Nathan greeted. “How’s filming going?”

  Aidan stopped next to Beth, fiddling with the sunglasses in his hand. When he looked at her, she suppressed a gasp. His eyes were a vibrant emerald color; shimmering green pools of mystery and magnetism framed by a dark fringe of long lashes. They revealed wonderment, intelligence, and yearning, which sent her senses into a tailspin and brewed a warm sensation in her stomach that radiated throughout her entire body.

  Beth exhaled the breath she had been holding as Aidan shifted his attention over to Nathan.

  “Hey, Nate.” He was surprisingly soft spoken, his melodic voice drifting in the air as though carried on a gentle summer breeze. “Everything’s going well. It’s only the first day, but, yeah, so far so good.”

  Nathan gestured to his lunch companions. “Aidan, I would like to formally introduce you to my girlfriend, Olivia Weston, and her friend, Elizabeth Sutton.”

  Aidan nodded at no one in particular. “It’s nice to meet you both.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, too,” Olivia replied with a witty smile in Beth’s direction.

  Aidan’s eyes darted back to Beth and her mind went blank. She felt attracted to him on the set of Checkmate, but that was nothing compared to how she felt right now with him standing so close to her. His smoky mint scent intoxicated her, his green eyes bewitched her. She felt euphoric, despite her intense nervousness.