The Jaguar Star (Tales of the Were Jaguar Island #4) - Bianca D'Arc Page 0,24

her feet but definitely regaining sobriety as time passed.

Putting on her pajamas, she went through her nightly routine. Washed her face, brushed her teeth, and put her hair up, off her neck. She swigged water from the third bottle and put the fourth on the bedside table, for later, just in case. Then, she put on the television and put the volume on low, wanting to catch the weather report for tomorrow on the local news as she climbed into the large bed.

She was just settling down to shut her eyes, having figured out the timer function on the television. She’d set it to shut off automatically after about a half hour, which was something she often did to wind down at the end of the day. At home, she would tune to the channel that was devoted to the weather so she could hear what was in store meteorologically for the next day. Here, though, in a strange place, she liked hearing a bit of the local color from what the news people decided to cover.

Katrina sat upright in bed when she heard Ren’s name. Opening her bleary eyes, she saw footage that must have been shot from a long distance, of him getting out of a car. She didn’t recognize the vehicle, but she recognized the surroundings. He was at the side entrance of this hotel, and Sonia was greeting him with a big smile on her face.

Katrina turned up the sound a bit so she could hear what the news people had to say, but it was vague. They were only reporting Ren’s presence in the area and his meeting with the director of his new film, which was shooting in the area. They wisely didn’t give out the name of the hotel, and Katrina doubted anyone could really recognize the location from what had been shown, but they were definitely aware that Hollywood royalty had descended on their town.

Suddenly, this all felt real. Up ‘til now, Katrina had been in a sort of daze, floating through the preparations, as if in a dream, but seeing Ren on the news… It brought the reality of what she was embarking on home in a stark way. Sober as a judge from the shock, she turned the sound back down on the television and lay back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling in the darkened room. What had she gotten herself into?

A moment’s blind panic assailed her, and she felt like the biggest fraud in the universe. Then, sanity returned, and she gave herself the pep talk she’d had to pull out of her hat a few times in the past couple of weeks. She’d been chosen for this job. She’d been given the role. Sonia had to have seen something in Katrina that made her take a chance and cast an unknown as Maid Marian.

Katrina had to trust that Sonia knew what she was doing. She also had to hope that Ren would be as nice as he’d been this evening after dinner. She realized, now that she was less woozy and more sober, that he’d been incredibly patient with her tipsy self. He’d been both chivalrous and kind, which she hadn’t really expected. Surely, that boded well for how he’d be with her when they were working together on set?

Well, whatever happened, she was committed now. She’d find out soon enough how it was going to be.

Katrina fell asleep and dreamed of big spotted cats. Again.

Chapter Seven

Filming started the next day. By some miracle and good planning, Katrina had counteracted the effects of the alcohol with all that water she’d had the night before. She woke feeling only a little wretched, yawning as she stopped in the lobby on her way to the makeup room to snag a strong cup of coffee.

She was so glad she’d laid out her clothes and the other things she would need the night before. All she’d had to do was shower and dress, which didn’t take that long, and head out.

They had set aside one of the larger hotel rooms to act as the makeup base camp, as well as the prop storage area. There were boxes of props stacked haphazardly on the far side of the king-sized bed, and all sorts of bits and bobs scattered all around every surface. Only the corner nearest the entrance was clear of the debris.

Instead of the mess, that corner sported a small desk and a very large mirror on the wall,