Page 89 of Take Hold of Me

“Thanks, man. It was getting a bit hot in here.” Rinaldo opens the top and drinks about half of the bottle.

As I roll my eyes at the both of them, the short, frizzy haired woman appears at my right. “There you two are. We’re ready to do the blocking and lay your scene down.”

“Great. I, for one, am ready to pick back up where we left off.” Rinaldo finishes the bottle of water and tosses it into a recycling bin with perfect aim.

Beside me, the woman eats Rinaldo up with her eyes. “Come this way, please.”

I shake my head and walk to Wills. “I love you.” I kiss his lips, moving against them until he finally responds.

I pull back a fraction. “I had no idea that Rinaldo had been cast in the movie, you do know that, right?”

Wills strokes my back. “I know. Don’t worry about me, just go out there and knock everyone’s socks off.”

“Wills,” my eyes close. “The new script calls for me to kiss him. I am so sorry.”

I open my eyes in time to see his jaw tighten. He clears his throat. “Do what they want. This is your big moment. Don’t even think about me, okay?”

I nod, and his lips crash down on mine. Then I walk away to start my movie career.

Once we get warmed up, I start to relax and enjoy the process. Hitting my mark, saying my lines. But for Rinaldo, I would dare say I am having fun. The producer gives me so much support and encouragement, saying my lines are very fluid.

She stops us about halfway through our run through. “You’re a natural, Emilie!” She turns to Rinaldo. “You’re doing great, too, Rinaldo, but why don’t you try to do it this way next time.”

She pulls Rinaldo off to the side and I sag into a chair, grateful for the slight reprieve. The frizzy-haired woman reappears and offers me a plate filled with grapes. “The sugar will help you get through the shoot,” she explains.

“Thanks,” I say as I pop one in my mouth, enjoying the burst of flavor that comes when I bite down.

“He’s hot, but he’s struggling a bit. The director will bring him up to scratch quickly, don’t you worry.”

Mouth full of grapes, I can only nod in agreement.

“So, you really used to date him?”

I swallow. “Oui. But I am with someone else now. Rinaldo is part of my past.”

“In that case, my advice—for what it’s worth—is when you get to the kiss, remember you’re acting. This is just a part. I’ve seen relationships derail because the actors blur the lines.”

“Merci. I am very clear about the lines, both on the script and in my life.” I pop another grape into my mouth and pray Rinaldo is as well.

The director and Rinaldo come back and we go over the entire scene, minus the kiss, one final time.

“Okay, are you ready to put this down?”

We are not going to rehearse the kiss at all? My eyebrows pull together, then ease apart—wrinkles. As if reading my thoughts, the director continues, “I would like to get your real reactions at the end of the scene, so let’s not go over that, okay?”

Maybe I will get lucky and we can do this in just one take.

The set comes to a hush and we begin filming. I hit all of my marks. Remember all my lines. Whatever the director said to Rinaldo has helped him, too, as his performance is smoother than during our rehearsals.

“Running into you here, of all places”—his hand waves toward the coffeehouse set— “reminds me of who we were before publicity took hold of us.”

“Oui. I remember. We used to go out without cameras. When it was just you and me.” I touch my fingers to his chest.

His breath hitches. “We were so good together.”

I look at my stilettos, then skim up Rinaldo’s body, my palm now flat against his chest and covered by his hand. His heart is beating with such force that I am amazed the cameras have not picked up the thumping. In response, my heart remains quiet. “Maybe we could try again?”

His lips raise, exposing bright white teeth, his eyes crinkling at the edges. “Things are so different now. The paparazzi are everywhere.”

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