Chapter Four #3
After firing off a text to Helen with minimal information, she sped up her facial routine and quickly exfoliated her lips before finally adding an aloe vera lip mask.
Soft lips were a must in the romcom business.
Then, Amelia quickly ran a brush through her hair so it wasn’t a total tangled mess for the hair and makeup team to handle.
She liked to make their jobs as easy as she could.
With a final check of the time, Amelia rushed back out of her trailer.
She headed toward the main building where most of the crew and cast congregated when they weren’t in their trailers or filming elsewhere—she hoped that Bridget was now one of those people who had gone elsewhere.
The main building was basically just a big barn that had been converted into a kind of hall for gatherings like weddings and such.
It was quaint, and so much warmer than being outside.
The security team was based there too, whenever they weren’t outside themselves ensuring that members of the public didn’t sneak onto the set—no mean feat when they were taking up a large portion of the countryside that was normally public domain.
A lot of the film was set in rural Ireland, so their current location was in a secluded spot among the fields and the hills and some forest. Amelia imagined it was a popular place for walkers and nature lovers.
She hoped to catch Steve before she had to report to set. And luck was on Amelia’s side, because she clocked him at the coffee station as soon as she pushed through the double doors and quickly made a beeline for him. “Hey, do you have a minute?”
Steve glanced back at her over his shoulder as he stirred his drink. “Oh, hey, Amelia. Sure.”
Amelia led him over to the leather chairs which were lined up along the wall like you would expect to see in a waiting room—she would have arranged them differently herself.
Steve perched on the edge of one holding his steaming Styrofoam cup.
Amelia didn’t have a lot of time, so she remained standing and jumped straight into why she was there.
“Remember when I went into that pub yesterday? The Wishing Well?” Steve nodded and took a sip of his coffee, and she continued.
“Well, I met a woman who worked there, and she agreed to go out with me on Saturday.” Amelia hadn’t divulged that piece of information on their way home the previous night. She hadn’t realised she would have to.
“Okay,” he said slowly, in a tone that implied that he was wondering what it had to do with him.
She was getting to that part. “My management team is insisting that I bring someone from security with me. On my date.”
“And they’re right to insist on that. There’s danger everywhere,” Steve said seriously. That’s what Amelia should call him, Serious Steve. “You want me to go with you?”
Amelia tilted her head from side to side because she did, but it wasn’t that simple. “Well, yeah, kind of. I would like you to be there for my security, but I was also hoping for some privacy. It’s a date, Steve,” she reiterated and raised her eyebrows at him. “Know what I mean?”
“That I’ll cramp your style in some way?” he asked facetiously. It was the closest thing to a joke she had heard come out of Steve’s mouth yet. Serious Steve had layers.
“Something like that,” she said light-heartedly.
He rubbed the stubble on his chin. “It sort of comes with the territory of your job though, doesn’t it? Having security trailing along.”
She leaned forward. “I’m going to level with you here, Steve.” Amelia explained all about hiding who she was. “So, you can see why your presence might seem a bit odd.”
“What are you suggesting?” His face remained neutral, but the way he said it sounded more like where the hell are you going with this?
Amelia flashed him a hopeful smile. “I was thinking that maybe you could just drop me off and pick me up? Let me disappear for a few hours in between? No one would have to know but us.”
“Unless something happened.”
“Which I’m sure it won’t.”
He frowned. “I can’t take that chance. I’d feel better at least keeping an eye on things from a distance. I can be discreet.”
“Like a tail?” Amelia didn’t love the idea, but did she really have another option?
Steve almost smiled. Almost. “More like a guardian angel, tagging along behind.”
“That has a nicer ring to it.” It wasn’t exactly what Amelia had planned or wanted, but Steve had compromised more willingly than she expected. She didn’t want to push her luck. “Let’s do that. Thank you.” He was a good guy.
“Sure. Saturday then.” He nodded and went to walk away, then stopped. “Where is it you’re going?”
“Ballyluck.”
“What the hell are you going to do in Ballyluck? You already saw the whole place yesterday.”
Amelia grinned. “How do you feel about hiking around Ireland’s beautiful countryside?”
Steve broke character for once and sighed deeply. “Not good, Amelia. Not good at all.”
She laughed. “Well, don’t worry if you can’t keep up. I won’t purposefully try to lose you or anything, but if it happens, it happens.” She threw him a cheeky wink to show that she was only teasing him. But a girl could hope, right?