Her heart fluttered.
‘It’s nice to be normal again, every once in a while,’ he finished.
Jackson pointed to a tent on their left. ‘There’s the props tent and down there is one of the costume trailers on the right.’
Olivia heard Ivy and Sophia whispering behind her, but she was determined to ignore them. Jackson wanted to be normal, so she was just going to pretend she was with a normal – but really nice – security guard.
‘This is so much fun,’ Olivia said. Walking around a movie set with Jackson Caulfield was even better than cheering at nationals.
‘That guy in the black is the boom operator. And she’s the continuity editor.’ Jackson leaned in close as he pointed to show her who he meant. ‘And that guy, right there? In the white shirt and jeans?’ Near the props tent, a guy was slouched on a crate. ‘That’s my twin.’
Olivia gasped. ‘Really? You’re a twin?’
‘Not really. He’s my stand-in,’ Jackson explained. ‘When they’re setting up camera angles and lighting, he takes my place so they can see how it will look when they film me. Basically, it gives me free time to snoop around the set in disguise.’
Olivia was about to point out her and Ivy’s twin-ness but then Jackson’s red-headed manager stormed up to them. Her high heels clipped sharply on the concrete. Her tailored grey skirt suit had tiny pink pinstripes running down it and her spiky high heels were patent grey leather with a pink bow. Olivia could read ‘Amy Teller’ on her all-access badge.
‘You there!’ Amy barked at Jackson.
‘Caught red-handed,’ Olivia muttered.
‘Sshh,’ Jackson said, pulling his hat down.
‘You! Security! Have you seen Jackson?’ Amy demanded, looking him right in the eyes. Well, right in the sunglasses.
Jackson cleared his throat. ‘Who’s Jackson?’ he replied in his English accent.
Amy stamped her foot and sighed. ‘The star of the film you are working on!’
Olivia tried hard not to laugh.
‘No, madam,’ he said.
Amy blinked, not recognising Jackson at all. ‘This boy is going to turn my hair grey,’ she muttered as she strode off.
‘Her hair is already grey,’ Jackson said, as he watched her leave. ‘She gets it touched up every six weeks.’
Olivia was finally able to laugh. ‘That was close.’ She was surprised that Ivy hadn’t already made some killer comment about the woman’s thunderous expression. ‘Hey, Ivy – did you see the look on that woman’s face?’ She turned to her sister, but ended up turning in a full circle. ‘Ivy?’ There was nothing in a two-foot radius other than thin air. Her sister was gone!
Olivia met Jackson’s eye.
‘Looks like it’s just you and me,’ Jackson said, smiling.
Olivia’s heart did a triple handspring.
‘Mission accomplished,’ Ivy declared. She had pulled Sophia behind the props tent when Olivia wasn’t looking.
This will work, Ivy thought. A little time alone should get those sparks flying.
Now she and Sophia were walking towards the Meat & Greet to get a closer look at the set.
‘Do you think Olivia will be OK?’ Sophia wondered.
‘As long as she doesn’t go blurting out phrases from the Wild West,’ Ivy replied. She adjusted her black, coffin-shaped messenger bag. ‘Honestly, Olivia and Jackson are like Romeo and Juliet – meant to be together!’ Ivy remembered how Jackson only had eyes for Olivia when they’d first met, and again at the barrier. They did seem to be a great fit, except for Olivia wanting a ‘perfectly normal’ boyfriend. ‘Anyway, now that we’re on a movie set, shouldn’t we do some skulking around?’
Sophia’s eyes lit up. ‘Ooh, could we actually get into the diner?’
‘Whoa, Miss Eager Reaper! Let’s not push our luck,’ Ivy replied. ‘Rather than sneaking to where they’re filming, how about checking out the equipment area over there?’ There were cameras and complicated-looking electrical boards under a shade, gathered at the side entrance to the diner. Maybe after that, Ivy thought, we could try and scrounge some food from somewhere. She was still craving something meaty for breakfast.