Sonia had also introduced Deidre, the sound engineer, who was another stunner, tall and graceful. She had smiled almost shyly at Katrina and put her at ease.
“You have a nice voice,” Deidre had told her in a quiet, gentle tone. “I’ll make sure you sound your best,” she had promised with an encouraging smile, which had set Katrina at ease. The people were nice and so far, they’d been incredibly welcoming.
There was a behemoth of a man named Clive Rojas, who was playing the role of Little John, who had been friendly and kind. Dennis Portnoy was another of the actors, who was playing the part of Friar Tuck. He was older, but no less handsome or fit. He’d have to wear padding to play the part of the portly friar. The others were no less striking. Every single member of the cast present at the reading was one of the beautiful people. She guessed she shouldn’t be too surprised. They were all actors, after all.
Still, Katrina couldn’t help but feel a bit plain next to all the tall and incredibly good-looking people in this room. She wondered why in the world she’d been cast as Maid Marian with women who looked like these readily available. Average height at five-foot-five, Katrina felt tiny around all the six-footers. Each had remarkable looks—lustrous dark hair or shiny blonde or red. Nobody had mousey brown, except Katrina. And nobody had plain brown eyes, except Katrina, either.
Were they all wearing contacts? She thought that was a bit extreme, though she supposed almost all of them had augmented their hair color in some way. The men were just handsome and fit, and the women wore their clothes and makeup to perfection. It was a skill Katrina had tried to gain, and she thought she did well enough, but compared to these beauties, she felt like a shadow.
Still. She was playing Maid Marian. There had to be a reason Sonia had chosen her. Katrina tried to find her confidence in that.
But it was hard to keep the confidence going when she looked over at her leading man, Rendall Smith. Katrina sincerely hoped she didn’t make a ninny out of herself during this production. She wanted so much to play it cool, but she wasn’t sure she could contain her enthusiasm.
She’d heard Ren could be a bit of a cold customer where fans were concerned. Katrina wasn’t sure if that coolness would extend to his fellow actors, but he was the biggest name on this project. He could behave any way he wanted, and it would probably go unremarked.
She just hoped he remained friendly. Or, at least, not cold. She didn’t expect to be the man’s best friend, but it would help her acting if he was at least comfortable to be around. Especially when, later in the script, she’d have to kiss him.
Her toes tingled just thinking about it. She was getting paid to snog Rendall Smith!
One of the most handsome men she’d ever seen. His hair was dark and straight. He’d worn it all different ways in different movies and it always looked good because he had a symmetrical face with a strong jaw, straight nose, chiseled cheekbones the cameras loved, and those mysterious green eyes that were almost unearthly. She suspected he’d have longer hair for this role and she couldn’t wait to see it. Maybe she’d even get a chance to run her fingers through his hair in the more intimate scenes. Now wasn’t that something to think about!
How in the world was she going to act alongside him, knowing what was coming later in the script? How would she be able to keep her very real attraction under wraps? She’d die of embarrassment if he ever figured out just how much of a crush she still had on him. She hadn’t even realized it herself. Not until now. Sitting next to him in a room full of professional actors.
She it felt like such a fraud. She wasn’t a professional. She’d barely been an amateur when she gave up acting in order to pay the bills. She’d put away her dreams and taken the job her parents had offered. The job they had mapped out for her—along with the rest of her life.
In her parents’ minds, she would work at the trattoria and find a nice young man, at some point. Preferably someone who liked Italian food and had some sort of skill that might come in handy for the restaurant. An accountant would work. He could help them keep the books and file taxes. A lawyer would work for them, too. If she managed to hook a great chef, she knew her folks would be overjoyed.
Then, when her folks were ready for retirement, they would hand over the reins to her and her future husband. They had it all worked out. Unfortunately, Katrina had never envisioned her parents’ hopes for her would actually turn out as they had planned. She’d prayed they wouldn’t.
Katrina had always wanted to work in the arts. She’d studied voice and acting in school. Her parents had indulged her whims, as long as she kept working part-time for them. They might have preferred her to study business a bit more seriously, but they had also been proud of her abilities to entertain. She gave them credit for always being there, at her performances. They’d always brought her flowers on opening night of any production she’d been in. They’d even catered cast parties and showcased photos of her in her various roles on the walls of the restaurant.
But, after she graduated from school and tried for a couple of years to make it as a professional in Manhattan, and failed… Well, they’d been there to help her pick up the pieces. They loved her, and she loved them. They just never fully realized how important theatre had been to her.
Oh, they’d made all the right noises about supporting her career choice, but she knew they hadn’t really been surprised when she’d failed to be able to support herself. It had been a bitter pill to swallow, going back to the restaurant. Giving up on her dreams. Taking the job they had always wanted her to have and conforming to their ideas of how her future should unfold.
Then, out of the blue, Sonia had walked into her life and changed it forever. Even if this production didn’t work out the way she hoped, Katrina knew she could never go back to the restaurant. Not after getting a taste of what it was really like to be part of a film production.
She’d find a way—even if this didn’t work out—to stay in the field, somehow. But, if her fairy godmother had her way, Katrina’s career might very well be launched in the right direction, in the next couple of months. The stars were finally aligning in her favor, and not just the celestial ones. Having a movie star of Rendall Smith’s caliber as her very first leading man in a screen role was downright magical.
As his voice washed over her from just a few feet away, she almost wanted to pinch herself to be absolutely certain she wasn’t dreaming. He was magic. His presence—his sheer star power—was going to make this film a raging success. She could feel it in her bones.
If she could just live up to his standard, and not make a fool of herself in some way, she might just be able to make a name for herself out of this project. At the very least, it was finally—finally—a real screen credit she could put on her resume. At long last, she was finally a professional actor, earning a real wage in pursuit of her craft. Acting alongside some amazing performers, though of course, in her mind, they were all eclipsed by him. Ren. Sexy, studly, stupefying Ren. Lord have mercy.
Chapter Two
Ren could feel her thinking about him. Of course, that didn’t make any sense at all. Clairvoyance and mind reading had never been among his many gifts. Still, something made him think Kat was sitting there, all prim and proper, thinking about him.