He slid down the wall of the garden shed. Maybe he could look the other way for two weeks? Let her get the stuff out the house, whatever it was. Then they could have some fun. He deserved some fun. He reached for his water bottle as a car pulled up behind the house. The blond Ken Doll wannabe climbed out. Jack didn’t like him. He didn’t even need to talk to the guy to know he was nasty. He scowled in his direction.

  Ken Doll sauntered to the boot of his car and pulled out a large black case. A new development. Interesting. Jack put the earbud back in his ear as he tried to get rid of the mental image of Davina and Mr Big.

  “I’ve got the extra lights you need,” Derek said by way of hello.

  “Thank you,” Davina said dutifully. And now I’m in your debt in more ways than one. Yay me.

  “Tea?” he asked, or possibly ordered, Marianne.

  Marianne raised an eyebrow at Davina before pointing to the pot.

  “Help yourself,” she said.

  “There isn’t much daylight left,” he told Davina. “We better set up for the next scene. Let’s go have a look at the spot.”

  It was an order and it made Davina bristle. She followed him anyway, all the while reminding herself that what he lacked in personality he made up for in technical skill. Maybe.

  “You stay here. We’re fine on our own,” he said to Marianne.

  Marianne took a deep breath and opened her mouth to speak. Her face said it all. Davina spoke before her friend could alienate the only cameraman she had working with her.

  “What Derek means is that you don’t have to come if you don’t want to.”

  “Great,” Marianne said, her lips tight. “I’ll stay here.”

  Once Derek was out of the door, Marianne’s jaw dropped open, then she mouthed the word ‘moron’. Davina nodded before she followed Derek. He was indeed.

  “So the next scene takes place at the front door, where the heroine greets her new man and they share a kiss, right?”

  “Right,” Davina said as she trailed down the hall behind him.

  “So who’s the actor playing the boyfriend?”

  She bit her bottom lip. There wasn’t one. Derek pounced on her hesitation.

  “I did some acting in college, I’d be happy to step in if you’re having trouble.”

  “You don’t have to,” Marianne said behind her. Davina spun around. “The guy playing the boyfriend is in the garden. We can call when we need him.”

  Davina actually felt faint.

  “Or,” she said pointedly to her friend, “we can film that scene another day.”

  Like when she had an actual actor.

  “I’m happy to do it.” Derek eased up behind her. She felt every hair on her body snap to attention. She took a step away from him towards Marianne.

  “Give us a minute,” she told him.

  She grabbed Marianne’s arm and marched her into the living room.

  “Are you out of your mind?” she demanded in a hiss, in case Derek was listening.

  “Think about it,” Marianne said reasonably. “The guy doesn’t have any lines, you just throw open the door and fall into his arms. Huge kissing scene and cut. Do you want to do it with Jack or Derek, because those are your choices.”

  “I’m working on getting someone else.”

  “And how long will that take? You have less than two weeks left.”

  Davina clenched her jaw.

  “Look,” Marianne said. “It’s a really small part so why not get it over with now?”

  “And what about the other scene where the boyfriend speaks, how do I get Jack to do that? You haven’t thought this through.”

  “I have. You just ask him to run lines with you and we film it. Easy.”

  “Things are complicated enough with Jack without roping him into my movie.”

  Marianne arched an eyebrow.

  “Are you telling me that you don’t want to kiss him?”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  Marianne smiled knowingly.

  “So, it’s settled then?” she said.

  Davina’s mind raced. It was the most insane thing she’d ever heard. She glanced back at Derek in his skintight jeans and shuddered. She was desperate. The only other actors she knew who could help her out were busy during her narrow filming time frame. Her brain ticked over. Maybe, if she rewrote the rest of Jack’s part, maybe it would work. She could get him down to one or two lines at most. And, as Marianne pointed out, he wouldn’t even talk in this scene.

  “Look,” Marianne said. “We can shoot it from behind, out in the garden, so that when you open the door and kiss him, all the acting we see will be on your part.”

  It might work.

  “But what if he talks?”

  “Make sure he doesn’t.”

  “What if he doesn’t want to kiss me?”

  Marianne gave her a look that said: yeah, right.

  “How the heck am I going to get him to ring the front doorbell?”

  “Leave that to me,” Marianne said confidently.

  Davina chewed her lower lip for a second before her shoulders slumped.

  “You know,” she told her friend, “I’m supposed to be the one who’s a bad influence on you.”

  Marianne patted her shoulder.

  “I know.” She grinned. “I get away with murder because of it.”

  They turned to Derek.

  “New plan,” Davina said. “We are going to use the gardener. I appreciate your offer to stand in, but that would mean someone else working the camera and I’m afraid your skill is too precious to waste.”

  “Smooth,” Marianne mumbled behind her.

  Davina elbowed her in the ribs.

  “So, why doesn’t Marianne show you where to set up while I get changed?”

  “That’s a great idea,” Marianne said cheerfully as she pushed past Davina. She grabbed Derek’s arm and marched him towards the door. Behind his back she gave Davina the thumbs-up.

  Davina looked out into the garden. It wasn’t every day you had to trick someone into starring in a movie. She bet Meryl Streep didn’t have this sort of problem. Her stomach tightened. There was no way to know how Jack would react or what he would do. But she was a desperate woman. In more ways than one.

  She ran upstairs, grabbed the clothes her character wore in this scene – faded jeans and an over-sized men’s shirt – then set about sorting her hair and makeup. She tied her long hair up into a ponytail and redid her makeup so that it was subdued, almost invisible. Add to that a pair of flat sneakers and she was a different person. Unrecognisable without her false lashes and four inch heels. Her stomach fluttered. What if Jack didn’t think this Davina was attractive enough to kiss? She stuffed the thought in alongside all the others she had trapped in her denial box. One of these days the box would burst and she’d have to deal with all of it. But not today. She went downstairs to see how Marianne was going to get Jack to the door.

  Davina’s prim friend marched up to Jack while he was digging up a flower bed and demanded, ever so politely, that he go to the front door and ring the bell because Davina wanted to talk to him.

  “Ring the bell?” He leaned on his spade.

  The fact she was so innocent-looking was a sure giveaway that something was up.

  “Yes.” She nodded solemnly. “She’s in the living room, so there’s no point going to the back of the house. I’d just ring the bell.” She thought for a second. “Or you can knock if you want to.”

  Weirder and weirder.

  “And what does she want to talk to me about?”

  “How should I know? Do I look like her secretary?”

  With that, she stalked away. Jack smiled, she actually did look like a secretary. He stared at the house. He was definitely being manipulated. He wondered if he should ignore the summons and wait in the garden until her highness came to speak to him. Oh, what the heck. He’d play. He stabbed the shovel into the dirt, emptied his water bottle and rubbed his sweatshirt over his face before dumping it back on the ground. He wiped his hands on the front of his T-shirt and headed to the front door to ring the bell as ordered.

  Two seconds after he rang the bell, the door flew open.

  “You came back,” Davina gushed, “I thought you’d gone forever.”

  She looked different — shorter, less makeup. Her wild hair was gone. A tear came to her eye, she rubbed it with the back of her hand.

  “I’m so very pleased,” she told him. “Let me show you how much.”

  And then she launched herself at him. Her arms wrapped around his neck and her lips were on his. For a split second he was too stunned to move and then instinct kicked in. He grabbed her under her backside and pulled her up to him. She wrapped her legs around him as she slanted her mouth to kiss him deeper. Jack held her up with one hand as the other cupped the back of her head. He wanted to wind his fingers into her hair but the ponytail was in the way. He pulled the elastic out of her hair. Thick curls fell to her shoulders. With two long steps he backed her against the wall at the side of the door. Her kisses were deeper, her tongue probed his mouth, she wanted all of him and he wanted her to have him. He trailed his hand down the satin skin of her cheek. His fingers worked at the edge of her shirt, sliding it off her shoulder. With barely controlled fever, he kissed his way along her jaw, down her neck to her shoulder and nipped the spot that made her shudder. She pressed herself into him. Her legs squeezed tight around his waist. With one hand on either side of his face, she pulled his mouth back to hers. He was drowning in her. Desperate for more, his hand reached under her shirt. He caressed his way towards her breast. She gasped against his mouth.

  “Davina,” said a voice. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  And Davina’s mouth was gone. She peered over his shoulder to the person behind him. Jack desperately wanted her to tell whoever it was to go to get lost. Fast.

  “I, um, I wanted to talk to Jack.”

  “Interesting conversation you’re having,” Marianne said as she stepped up beside them.

  Davina struggled to be free. Reluctantly, Jack let her slide down his body to the ground. She looked up at him. He was so used to seeing her almost eye to eye that it felt strange to look down at her. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes seemed wider without the thick lashes that usually framed them. She was breathtaking.

  “Tell your friend to go,” he said, “and invite me in.”

  She shut her eyes briefly, full pink lips parted.

  “I want to,” she whispered. “I really do, but I can’t.”

  She squeezed out from her place between him and the wall. Jack wanted to pummel the vacant space in front of him.

  “Thanks, Jack,” Davina told him before she disappeared inside the house with her friend.

  The door shut in his face with a quiet click. He stood staring at it. A few seconds later Ken Doll walked past him and into the house.

  “Great work,” he told Jack. “Inspiring.”

  And then the door shut again.

  Huh? Jack sat on the top step. His heart thumped painfully in his chest. His breath was ragged and uneven. There were physical signs something had just happened. But he had no idea what it was. Or what to do next. If he’d had a thought bubble drawn above his head it would have had the word ‘duh?’ in it.

  He put his elbows on his knees and placed his face in his hands.

  What was he going to do with that woman? His mind was well and truly blank.

  “Please tell me we got that, because I can’t do another take,” Davina said to Marianne.

  She leaned against the kitchen counter. Every nerve ending in her body was on full alert.

  “It looked good to me,” Marianne said.

  “Great.” Davina looked back at the door. “Now hold onto me because I want to run back out there and finish what I started.”

  Marianne patted her arm.

  “What you need is a nice cup of tea.”

  “You and your tea. You’re the reason the English get a bad name.”

  Derek entered the room with an air of expectancy. Davina was sure that in his head he was a member of the royal family.

  “You say that guy is an amateur?” He pointed in the direction of the front door and Jack. “He’s got serious talent. I believed every minute of that. Amazing work.”

  He rubbed against her on his way to the coffee machine.

  “Got my juices flowing,” he said as he passed.

  Davina resisted the urge to stick a finger down her throat.

  “How did the scene look?” she asked instead. “Any problems? Do we need a second take?”

  “All good, perfect first time,” Derek said.

  Davina wasn’t sure if that was good news or bad. She slumped into the armchair that Marianne had claimed as her own. A quote from Sir Walter Scott popped into her head – oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive. Her face flushed with guilt. She was digging a hole so deep with Jack there would be no way to climb out. How did she explain any of this? What chance would there ever be of having a relationship with the guy?

  She sat up straight and looked around in panic. Not that she wanted a relationship. No. She wanted his body. And you didn’t need to have a heart to heart for that to happen, did you? She slumped back into the chair. It was no use kidding herself. She’d never been one for casual relationships. Sure, she could talk a good game, but that was all it was, talk. When she wanted a man – she wanted the man. Not just his body – magnificent as Jack’s body was. Even she could see that a pile of lies wasn’t a solid foundation for a relationship. And all she’d done since meeting Jack was lie. The worst one being that he was now in her movie, without his permission and she was pretty certain against his will. Her head began to thump.

  “Take this, you’ll feel better.” As if reading her mind Marianne gave her a mug of tea and two paracetamol.

  “I think I’m past pain killers, I should move straight to lobotomy.”

  “You’d need a brain for that.”

  The doorbell rang. Davina’s heart pounded. Jack was back, demanding answers.

  “Relax,” Marianne said. “It’s the rest of our crew. You drink your tea. I’ll get it.”

  And then she was gone. Unfortunately, that left Davina alone with Derek who was watching her closely from his seat at the kitchen table.

  “I don’t usually see actresses give so much of themselves to a role,” he said. His eyes narrowed with suspicion.

  Davina bit her tongue to stop from pointing out that he didn’t work with actresses at all, just two presenters and a troop of normal people making guest appearances. Derek leaned forward to rest his elbows on the table.

  “I think you have a lot of pent-up passion that needs to be released,” he told her.

  She sipped her tea.

  “How about we call that scene the practice run for a night together?”

  She almost choked.

  “You mean, you and me?”

  “I told you when I took this gig, I expect compensation.” His eyes travelled the length of her body, leaving a trail of invisible slime in their wake. “We’ve been dancing around this for a long time, you and me. It’s time to confront this attraction.”

  “Attraction?”

  It was so ludicrous, she almost laughed. But it was clear that Derek couldn’t understand why someone wouldn’t be attracted to him.

  “Dinner, tomorrow night. Let’s see if we can deal with that passion.”

  “I can’t,” she said hurriedly. “Plans.”

  “Well, Tuesday.”

  “Teaching.”

  He frowned at her.

  “I’ll make it clear. You and I are going to spend some time together or your movie is over and you’ll be in jail. I see a house full of stolen goods and kids missing school to hang out with you. It doesn’t look good. You need to keep me happy Davina. Very happy.”

  Davina felt sick. Everything within her screamed to run. Instead she swallowed the nausea and looked him in the eye.

  “I’m free Thursday,” she said coldly.

  “Thursday it is.” He leered at her. “And wear that green dress. I like it.”

  Just then the boys barrelled into the room, looking for brownies. Davina excused herself and ran to the upstairs bathroom. She splashed her face with icy cold water before sitting on the edge of the tub.

  She’d gotten herself into this mess but she had no idea how to get out. And all the while there was a little voice in her head asking her if the movie was really worth it. Asking her if she needed to be an actress so desperately that she would do anything to achieve it?

  Anything at all?

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  8 DAYS TO MAKE A MOVIE...

  POUNDING WOKE JACK early on Monday morning. It took him a minute to realise that it wasn’t in his head. He looked at the clock, barely seven. It had been two a.m. by the time he’d finished listening in on Davina and crawled into bed. Less than five hours sleep was nowhere near enough. The pounding continued. Jack struggled out of bed. There was a good chance he was going to kill whoever was at the door.

  “Morning,” Andy said, far too cheerily.

  Jack leaned against the open door.

  “I know. Thanks for the update. Bye now.”

  He swung the door shut, but Andy slipped in before it slammed.

  “I thought you’d be up already – you were always an early riser.”

  “Habits change.”

  When he was police, he needed to be there early. Now he followed Davy’s crazy routine which tended to start around midday and go on forever.

  “I’ll make coffee. You put clothes on.”

  Jack grunted, scratched his belly and headed to the bathroom.

  “The coffee better be good,” he told his best friend. “Or you’ll be leaving by the window.”