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“I caught up with Esme and David in the lobby. They’re going to have warm-up stations. They estimated that it’ll take about two hours to film.”
She’d checked about this several times now. She hated being cold, and the idea of being cold, nearly naked, and having to act—it was basically a hell dimension, as far as she was concerned.
Maggie liked Zoya, but it was possible the woman was a bit of a masochist.
Silence over the phone. Then, “I’ve made a few TV shows.” But there wasn’t any annoyance in Cole’s voice. More amusement that she’d brought this up several times.
“Sorry, I know. I’m feeling anxious.” Which was why she was babbling.
“You shouldn’t be.”
Of course not: she wasn’t the one taking her clothes off. But also, he shouldn’t be reassuring her. That was her job.
“Ha, too late for that.” Trying to get this conversation back on track, she asked, “Do you have any questions? Worries?”
“Not about the scene.”
Maggie reminded herself that whatever the rest of Cole’s issues were about, it wasn’t any of her business. “If I can help, let me know. I’m here for whatever you need.” She hoped her tone conveyed that she meant it in a friendly yet detached way.
This was just like when he’d offered to commute to rehearsal with her. There’d been the storm and the lightning, and Cole was a kind and thoughtful person who’d made an offhand suggestion. Certainly he hadn’t spent any time since, dissecting that moment into each discrete, clinical detail, before shuffling them and reexamining from a different perspective. He probably didn’t even remember that he’d said it or that she’d declined.
She was being ridiculous. Right there in theOxford English Dictionaryunderninny, there was probably a picture of Maggie. Sample sentence:The high school drama teacher reinventing herself in Hollywood who develops a pointless crush on the polite but disinterested movie star is a ninny of the highest order.
“I appreciate that.”
Because he was perfect—and not for her. So completely not for her.
“I’ll see you on set?”
“I’ll be the big guy in the robe.”
And that ... she wasn’t going to think about. Nope.
It took another half hour to complete the rest of her calls. Then Maggie kicked off her shoes—she always put them on for work calls for some reason—and sprawled out on the bed. It was softer than the bed in London had been, broken in, more like her mattress at home.
She’d been ignoring an email from her parents—which was par for the course—and a series of texts from her best friend, Savannah Harris. That was less normal.
Savannah was the choir director at Maggie’s old school. Music and drama had occupied a building connected to the main building by a breezeway, and it had felt like mutual exile. As the tone had changed in the school and the history curriculum and the library’s collection had come under scrutiny, Maggie and Savannah had worried. But it had been easy to pretend those problems were happening in some distant land not directly connected to theirs.
Until Maggie’s world had been torn open.
All through the trial and everything that followed, Savannah had been there for Maggie—been there even as people in the community had made that difficult and painful.
Woman, I need details, Savannah’s most recent text read.Every. Single. Detail.
It’s currently 21 degrees Celsius, Maggie replied.The barometric pressure is 1011mb. Visibility 9 km. And there’s 82% humidity.
After a minute, Maggie’s phone dinged.I deserved that.
Maggie glanced at the clock. It was midmorning in Oregon. “You did, actually,” she said when Savannah answered her phone.
“I can’t help it. You’re living the dream and making my favorite show—and you can’t sayanything? I’ll have you know, I’m very discreet.”
Which was true. Maggie couldn’t have imagined a better friend or support system than Savannah.
Even still: “I don’t think so. The NDA I had to sign to get the scripts was incredibly scary. It was gold and glowing, and I inked it with a fish bone. It’s possible Ursula is their lawyer. They may take my voice if I break the rules.”
Savannah laughed. “Fair enough. But the first scene shoots tonight?”
