Sonia called her name, and Katrina dragged her attention away from the window. Only Ren could cause her to lose track of what was going on around her to such an extent. She shook her head, vowing to do better. She was here to work, not to moon over her co-star. Even if he had been rated drool-worthy by one of the big fashion magazines just last year.
That evening, the cast and crew gathered as a group in the hotel restaurant for an official production get-together to celebrate the beginning of filming, which would commence the next day. Katrina didn’t know if every production followed the same pattern, but she thought it was a nice gesture to get everyone together in a festive atmosphere. She was seated at the cast table, next to Ren, which gave her a moment’s pause. Then, she realized everyone was seated according to their role in the production. Principles first, then supporting roles, etc.
She enjoyed the camaraderie and was surprised to see that the food was both plentiful and not exactly low-calorie. She couldn’t understand how all these actors could eat the way they did, but she just munched on her dinner salad and tried not to think too hard about it.
“Are these sorts of gatherings common at the start of a production?” Katrina asked, just to make small talk. The actors around her gave each other some kind of measuring look before Dennis replied, seemingly having been chosen as the spokesman for the group in her immediate vicinity.
“Not exactly common, I wouldn’t say, but then, our director marches to the beat of her own drum.” Dennis raised his wineglass in Sonia’s direction before taking a healthy swallow.
“I had expected to spend a quiet night in my hotel room, going over the script and making notes in my planner,” Katrina said, just to keep the conversation going. “Of course, I would’ve had to have dinner at some point, and spending time here, getting acquainted with everyone, is definitely preferable to a meal by myself.”
The others smiled and nodded agreement with her words. Surprisingly, it was Ren who jumped into the conversation next. Up to now, he’d been reticent, and she’d assumed that was just how he was with new people.
“If not for this, I would’ve enjoyed a quiet night. I’d hoped to take a stroll around the grounds and get outside for a bit,” he went on.
Hearing that, she felt it only right to warn him about what she’d seen.
“You might want to be careful outside at night around here,” she said, taking just a sip of the wine he’d politely poured for her. “I happened to look out the window late last night. My room faces the woods at the back of the property,” she explained to the others, who were listening intently. “I saw a pair of glowing eyes. They looked sort of feline, I thought, but if I wasn’t seeing things—and maybe I was because it was the middle of the night and I was half asleep—it was something way bigger than a house cat. Do they have mountain lions in this part of the country?”
She’d thought they’d probably laugh at her claim, but instead, her tablemates got unusually silent, and they all looked at Ren, as if he had to come up with an answer. He shrugged and topped up her wine glass on the table, then spoke casually.
“Anything is possible, of course, but I wouldn’t worry too much about it. There’s no call for you to be outside late at night, right?”
“True, but what about you? You should be careful if you do take that walk later,” she advised him, not sure why it was suddenly so important to her to warn him to be safe.
“Oh, I usually find that most animals are more afraid of me than I need to be of them,” he said offhandedly, then surprised her by meeting her gaze. She felt pinned under the intensity of those famously green eyes. “But it’s nice of you to be concerned about my welfare,” he told her in a low rumble that reminded her almost of a purr. That was the magic of his famous voice, again. It was amazing how powerful it was in person. If he asked, in exactly that tone, she’d give him anything. “I can’t remember the last time one of my co-stars actually said something that nice to me.” He bowed his head a little to one side in a display of old-world charm that had made women swoon the world over at his movies. “Thanks, Kat.”
“So, what did you think of your first day on set, Kat?” Clive, the giant of a man who was playing Little John asked her, drawing her attention away from Ren and firmly changing the subject. He was seated next to her at the large round table, and he seemed to know everyone else from previous projects.
“I really enjoyed myself,” she told him honestly. She didn’t want to gush, so she left it at the simple truth and hoped she didn’t sound too naïve. “I could see a little of the fight scene you all were working on when we blocked my window scene. That looked like quite a workout to me.”
“Oh, we all enjoy a physical challenge once in a while,” Clive said, his eyes shifting almost evasively as he looked at the others at the table. “Most of us have worked with Greg before. He knows what we can do, and he likes to set the bar a little higher each time we do a new project.”
“It looked like most of you were doing all your own choreography,” she observed between small bites of salad. “Are there stunt men for the dangerous parts?” It had occurred to her that nobody had yet been introduced to her as someone’s stunt double.
Clive’s eyes again shifted around the table. “I don’t think there’s anything Greg’s put in this film that’s truly dangerous,” he said after a moment’s hesitation. “It might look dangerous in the final cut, but the actual shoot isn’t, so I don’t think any of us have doubles. Of course, if there’s something really tricky, Greg can always do the scene dressed as whoever, and they’ll shoot him from an angle where the audience will never know it was him and not Ren, for example.”
Katrina tilted her head, considering. “I can see where Greg could probably be mistaken for Ren or some of the others from a distance, given the right costuming, but there’s no way he could fill in for you, Clive. You’re a head taller than everyone else.” She meant her observation to be amusing, but he seemed to withdraw, so she changed the subject. “I’m just glad I don’t have to do anything too athletic. I tend to be a bit of a klutz, sometimes.”
“I don’t believe that for a moment,” Dennis said, gallant as usual.
“You should,” Katrina went on, hoping to ease the tension further. “I managed to fall off the stage in one of my high school productions and had to perform wearing an air cast on my ankle and hobbling around because I’d torn ligaments in my ankle. Luckily, my part was mostly singing, and they re-staged it before opening night so that I didn’t have to dance or move around too much.”
“You did musical theater?” Dennis asked, seemingly interested.
“A bit, but only when I was in school. Strictly kid stuff,” she replied dismissively. She didn’t want these professionals to think she thought more of her own experiences than she should.
“What shows have you done, dear?” the older woman, Kara, asked kindly.
“Oh, just some of the standard Broadway stuff and a little Gilbert and Sullivan,” Katrina said quickly, wanting to change the subject.
Surely, her amateur attempts at musical theater weren’t interesting to professional screen actors with years of experience? She didn’t think so, but it could all be some kind of cruel joke being played on the new girl. Whatever the motivation, she really didn’t want to talk about herself and her so-called experience.