the excitement that stirred deep in her abdomen. Luke extended his hand to Elle and she reciprocated the gesture. But unlike his simple handshake with Whitney, he placed his left hand over hers as they moved their hands slowly up and down.
Luke shook his head. “Such a pleasure to meet you, you have no idea.”
“Thank you.”
Reluctantly, she pulled her hand away and returned to her seat. She avoided Whitney’s eyes, knowing her friend would see right through her act of normalcy. She was attracted to an actor . . . in the middle of an audition. She’d never hear the end of it.
“Elle will read through the scene with you.”
“Great.”
Luke stood a few feet from the table, ran his fingers through his wavy brown hair, and took a deep breath. And for just a brief moment, his nerves were obvious to Elle. He took one last glance at the script, then directed his gaze at her. Elle was startled by the color of his eyes. The black-and-white head shot didn’t do them justice. They were blue, bright sky blue. She wondered if they were real or colored contacts. It wouldn’t be the first time an actor had covered up his own eyes for dazzling baby blues.
“Now, keep in mind, this role is still in the creative stages. But David is the head of security for the hotel. He’s tough, obviously, but he’s also smart. Smart in a way Molly doesn’t expect. This character is going to surprise her at every turn.”
“Got it.” Luke’s confidence had returned. He stood up tall, a cocky grin on his face, dimples appearing on his cheeks. “I’m ready.”
As Elle and Luke read through the scene, it was clear to her they’d found the man for the part. He was sexy, charismatic, and his delivery of David’s lines was effortless.
“Thank you, Luke. We’ll be in touch.” Elle maintained her poker face, despite the sizzling nerves beneath her skin.
“It was an honor, ladies. Thank you.” Luke flashed Elle and Whitney a dazzling smile layered with confidence before shaking their hands. Just before his hand grasped the doorknob, he turned back to Elle and smiled one last time. It was a sweet and soft smile, a seemingly genuine expression from the handsome actor. Butterflies swarmed her belly.
“I think we found our David.”
Elle stared at the closed door before finally finding her voice. “Yep.” She cleared her throat, and forced her eyes away. “We’ll need to do a read-through with Gina, just to make sure there’s chemistry.”
“True. But Gina has chemistry with everyone.” Whitney laughed. When Elle didn’t join in, Whitney continued. “Are you okay?”
“Are you kidding, I’m thrilled.” Elle sorted the papers, tapping them gently on the desk, still avoiding the eyes of her friend.
“Liar. What’s going on?”
Elle was silent.
“Oh my God, you like him.”
Still, Elle was silent.
“Well, this should be interesting.”
“Shut up.” Elle nudged Whitney with her elbow. “He’s just . . . sexy as hell. Don’t you think? I mean, those eyes . . .”
Whitney nodded, making a face as if to say “duh.”
“Maybe we should keep looking, I mean—”
“No way.” Whitney huffed. “He’s the right man for the role. Period.”
“You’re right.”
“Besides, there is no rule about sleeping with the cast. We’re all adults. Hell, I slept with Nolan three months ago.”
Elle turned to Whitney, her mouth agape. “What? How could you not tell me?”
Whitney shrugged. “It was no big deal. We’d had a bit too much to drink. We started going at it at the wrap party. I really thought you saw us.”
“No, I left early.” Elle’s eyes widened in realization of the series of events that had taken place over the last couple of months, all culminating in the need to hire a new male lead. “Oh my God, Whit. Is that why he’s leaving?”
“Don’t be silly, of course not. He’s going to be a movie star, remember?”
Elle wasn’t convinced. “I still can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”
“It was a one-night thing. No big deal. Besides, he and I are fine. We’re still friends.”
“Interesting,” Elle said, pondering her friend’s revelation. She didn’t believe in mixing business with pleasure. And she knew it was best if she got her hormones under control when in Luke’s presence. Her show, her baby, her career was at stake. Not only did she have to make her audience fall in love with the character of David McKenzie, she had to make him lovable enough that they abandoned the character of Desmond. She wasn’t convinced she could pull it off,