her watch, knowing it was time for filming to begin. Rob returned to his chair; his feet bounced against the floor and his knees bobbed up and down. If Elle weren’t consumed by her own anxiety, she would have attempted to quell his.
“You ready?” Rob asked.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” Elle faked the most confident smile she could muster and patted Rob on the wrist, her signal to get filming started.
“Let’s do this.” Rob stood, walked next to camera one and gestured for his assistant, Tim, to bring out the marker. “Places, people. I need quiet on the set!”
Tim, a man in his early twenties, stood for a moment, allowing everyone to settle down and prepare for filming. Then he held the marker for camera one. “Follow the Sun, episode seven, take one.”
“And action!” Rob yelled, and episode seven was on its way.
“How did I do?” Luke looked exhausted after ten hours of filming. He wasn’t used to the grueling ten-hour days or the multiple takes every scene required. But to the naked eye, it didn’t seem to faze him. He didn’t hesitate when Rob or Elle requested he change his approach to a line, and he listened intently to all instructions given to him.
And best of all, his chemistry with Gina was off the charts. Although, that was the most difficult part of the day for Elle—but she was working on it. She couldn’t let her jealousy of his obvious attraction to a Hollywood actress affect her desire for a successful show.
“You did great.”
“So . . . we only got through about six pages today. Is that normal?”
“Of course. I know it’s tedious, but it’s the nature of the beast. It’ll take us an entire week to film this episode. We’ve only just begun.”
He placed his hands in his pockets, nodding along as Elle spoke. “I’m famished,” he said. “How about you?”
“Yeah, I avoided the craft services table. I gained ten pounds the first season. They make it way too easy to eat junk.”
Actually, Elle had gained fifteen pounds, but she thought ten sounded better when retelling the story. Craft services was a staple for any film or television shoot—a catering company provided all kinds of delectable treats . . . sandwiches, doughnuts, bagels and cream cheese. Almost everything but a salad was available for their ten- to twelve-hour shoots. Elle had grown accustomed to bringing her lunch in to avoid eating all of the tempting desserts and pastries.
Luke rubbed the back of his neck. “I was too nervous to eat.”
The innocent expression on Luke’s face made Elle’s heart melt just slightly. His honesty and sweetness were endearing and she couldn’t let another second go by without kissing him gently on the lips, not caring who might see the act of PDA.
Luke grinned. “What was that for?”
“Nothing, really. I just think you’re pretty great.”
“I think you’re pretty great too, Ms. Riley. Shall we eat?”
Elle stopped dead in her tracks. “Oh, right. One minute, I just need to find Gina.”
Luke’s relaxed face contorted slightly. He looked confused. “Gina? How come?”
“She knows the name of the pizza place.”
Luke relaxed. “Oh, that. She told me earlier. It’s Anthony’s Pub in Westwood.”
Elle was puzzled. Why would Gina and Luke be discussing the restaurant? Did Elle mention Gina told her about the place? Her brain was fuzzy. After working ten hours, there was no sense in pushing the issue, so she simply asked Luke for the address.
“That I don’t know. But maybe they have a website.”
Elle retrieved her phone from her purse, typing in the name of the restaurant and town. Westwood was a college town surrounding the UCLA campus, so it didn’t surprise her that a bar and pizza joint would be popular there. When she googled the place, however, no website was listed, only an address and phone number.
“Shall we?” she asked, leading Luke to her car on the studio lot.
Anthony’s Pub was a tiny bar and restaurant tucked into a side street just minutes from campus. Elle felt right at home the moment they walked through the door. She was surrounded by Chicago. Chicago Bears banners hung from the ceiling, a framed Coach Ditka sweater-vest was in a glass case behind the bar, and the walls were painted in navy blue and pumpkin orange.
The place even smelled like home.
“Do you smell that?” she asked as they walked inside the cozy restaurant, greeted at once by the leather stools next to the thick oak bar. The aromas of oregano, basil, and