Little details like M&Ms for the ingenue lead actress, Lila Moore. I detour quickly to the candy section, but all I can see are the regular kind.
I call my best friend, Tegan. “I’ve been in Europe too long. Since when did M&Ms start letting you pick the color?”
“What?”
I can noise in the background, a saw or drill whining loudly. Tegan and her fiancé are in the middle of a huge construction project, and the place is still a work in progress.
“Can you hear me?” I try again.
“Hold on!” Tegan yells, then a moment later, her voice comes again, quieter. “When will this house be done?” she asks mournfully.
I laugh, still squinting at candy wrappers. “Come on, you’ve got the roof fixed now, that’s something.”
“But there’s sawdust everywhere. And Ryland’s threatening to shut off the hot water. Again!”
“And you wondered why I didn’t want to stay with you while I’m in town,” I tease.
“If I’m lucky, he’ll get distracted working on the movie and forget all about his plans for an addition.” Tegan moves further from the noise. “Everyone in town is so excited,” she adds. “I was in the diner earlier, and it was all anyone could talk about. Hollywood coming right here to Beachwood Bay. They don’t know what they’re in for,” she adds with a wry note.
“Well, I do.” I check the list again. “I got sent shopping for the riders, the list of stuff all the actors want in their trailer? Anyway, Lila Moore needs M&Ms, but not the green ones. Do you know where I can find them?”
She laughs. “Sorry, they don’t sell them that way. She wants you to pick them out by hand.”
“You’re kidding!”
“Nope, Blake says she pulls this stuff all the time. It makes her feel like a big-shot actress, I guess.”
I groan. “Perfect. There goes my afternoon.” I pull down packages of regular candy.
“What about Blake’s list?” Tegan asks. “Is my brother turning into a total diva?”
I laugh. “No, nothing crazy. Water, fruit…” I scan the list and pause. “Since when did he turn into a health nut? He was always the first guy scarfing down pizza when I was around.”
“Since his agents got him a fancy trainer, and told him he needs to be ab-ready at the drop of a hat.” I can hear the smirk in Tegan’s voice. “You should see him now, he looks like some kind of fitness model, all chiseled and muscly.”
I’m hit with a vision of Blake shirtless. I feel like I should go sit down.
“It’ll be fun having him in town,” Tegan continues, oblivious to the fact I’m currently imagining her brother all sweaty and naked…his golden tanned skin glistening… “But it’s already weird, watching people fawn all over him. He’s getting to be, like, actually famous. I’ve been giving him such a hard time.”
I’m snapped out of my lustful daydreams. “You didn’t tell him I was here, did you?” I ask, panicking.
“Don’t worry, I’ve kept it quiet. But why don’t you want him to know you’re working on the movie yet?” Tegan sounds bemused. “He could have put in a call and found something better for you to do than run around buying groceries.”
“It’s fine,” I insist. “I don’t want any special favors. If there’s one thing I learned in Paris, it’s that assistants know everything. It’s the best place to start. Besides,” I add, “this is a breeze compared to working for the Dragon Lady.”
Tegan laughs. My old boss at the magazine in Paris was a living nightmare. Never mind wearing Prada, this devil never left the house in anything less than Givenchy. “Suit yourself,” she says cheerfully. “Want to come over for dinner? Or, better yet, let’s go out. I’m not sure the electricity will still be on.”
“Raincheck? I’m a mess,” I sigh, catching my reflection in the freezer door. I lift a chunk of my limp, dried out hair and grimace. There’s no way I can meet Blake again looking like this. “I’ve got a hot date with some bubble bath and a deep-conditioning hair mask.”
“Sure, talk tomorrow!”
I drop off the supplies at our temporary production office in town, then head back to my B&B. I’m still buzzing with energy, and there’s another hour of daylight left, so I lace on my running shoes and head down the pathway to the beach. On a winter’s afternoon, it’s almost deserted: just a distant walker out with her dogs. The pale golden sand curves gently around the bay all the way to the lighthouse, and the glittering blue ocean crashes against the shore in a soothing rhythm under the cloudy skies.
No wonder the movie people were so happy to film here instead; there’s something windswept and lush about this gorgeous view, and for a story about summer love and loss, it can’t be beat. I jog slowly to where the damp sand is easier to run on, then settle into my familiar pace, feeling the welcome stretch in my limbs as I set off along the shoreline. With shooting starting soon, this might be my last chance to run for a while, so I savor it, feeling the ocean breeze whip around me, and letting my mind wander--to the only thing I’ve been thinking about all day.
Blake.
He doesn’t know I’m here. After our steamy kiss, he went straight back to LA, and I haven’t heard a word from him since. I decided not to be downcast. New Year’s Eve was only the first part of my plan, and now that I know the chemistry between us is real, it means I just need to convince him that I’m the girl he’s needed all along. So when I heard from Tegan about his new movie, I found myself applying for an assistant job, packing up my things, and moving out here.