19. The Kissing Talk

19

The Kissing Tal k

Auston

When I open my eyes, I feel even more tired than I did when I fell asleep. Why did I get so little rest last night? Movement on the other side of the bed shifts the mattress, and everything becomes crystal clear.

Emma Sterling is in my bed.

“Sleep well?” she asks as I roll onto my back. She’s still lying next to me, but her eyes are open.

I grin. “Like a Bobby . And you?”

She presses her lips, but she can’t contain her laughter for long. It’s loud and unrestrained, and I almost hope it wakes Madison up.

“Sorry,” I say. “Couldn’t help it. Besides, we went to bed laughing. Might as well wake up laughing too.” I could easily swap laughing for kissing, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. My grandma used to say that I’d know I found the right girl when we spent more time laughing than talking. She might have been onto something.

“Best way to wake up for sure,” she says, sitting up. “Can I use the bathroom first, or do you need to go?”

“Ladies first.”

We both get ready, using the bathroom in turn, before heading downstairs for breakfast. Thankfully, since we took over the entire hotel, there are no other guests, and I can eat with the crew instead of hiding out in my room.

“Should we go check on Madison?” Emma asks as we’re sitting down at a table with Robyn and Cillian. “Everyone’s here but her. Maybe we were too loud last night, and she had to take some sleeping pills.”

Cillian snorts in his coffee, and Robyn’s eyes grow as wide as the donut she’s eating.

“Laughing,” I quickly correct. “We were laughing, and Madison got upset.”

Cillian throws me a knowing look, and I shut it down with a glare.

“Oh, she’ll be fine,” Robyn says. “Kira just brought her breakfast. You know how she is. She doesn’t mingle with the peasants.”

“What?” Emma frowns.

I scratch my forehead. “Yeah, Madison doesn’t really hang out with the crew.”

“But they’re all people, just like you and her.”

“That’s how I see it. Actually, they’re even more important to the movie than actors. There’s so much more that goes on behind the screen. The crew is wonderful, and I’m always glad to see familiar faces when I shoot a new movie.”

“Right. It’s like an extended family,” Emma says, nodding in understanding.

“Exactly. But Madison prefers to keep to herself.”

“Huh. Well, her loss,” Emma says, standing up. “I’m going to grab more coffee. Who wants one?”

We all shake our heads, so she goes alone. Cillian immediately leans forward, clearly wanting to talk about her, but I throw him a pointed look. Robyn doesn’t know the full extent of my past relationship with Emma, or how I feel about her. No need to display my unrequited feelings to the world.

"Auston,” Clarence says from be hind me, planting his hands on my shoulders. “How are you today? Ready to roll?”

“You know it.” I bob my head as he draws up a chair and sits next to me.

“You look tired. Don’t you think he looks tired?” he asks Robyn and Cillian.

“Exhausted,” Cillian says with a suppressed smile, and Robyn just shrugs. Cillian lifts an eyebrow. “What were you doing all night, lad?”

I roll my eyes. “I’m perfectly rested, thank you. How are you, Clarence?”

At that moment, Emma comes back with her coffee, and we all chat about the day ahead. Slowly, everyone trickles out as we get closer to go time, and our group follows suit. The beach behind the hotel has been completely hijacked by production. How do you spoil a beautiful natural landscape in a few minutes? Packing it with a movie production crew and equipment should do it.

Still, I know it’ll look amazing on screen. Only we get to see the ugly necessary to make the dazzling. They’ve set up a few tents for costumes, hair, and makeup, and I even have my own private tent. Robyn arranged everything so I can rest in comfort between shoots.

“Wow,” Emma says as we step i nto the tent. “You’ve got everything in here. Almost a complete replica of your trailer on our street.” Then, she gasps. “Oh no, Auston.”

“What?” My eyes widen.

“They forgot your ‘sexiest man alive’ covers. What will you do?”

I cast her a playful glare. “Funny.”

She chuckles. “At least my coffee machine is here.”

I arch an eyebrow. “ Your coffee machine?”

She blushes. “Well, you only got it because of me.”

“And because I love coffee too.”

“Look who has an elevated taste in coffee now? You’re welcome,” she teases.

I scoff, but she’s not wrong. Once you taste the good stuff, it’s hard to go back to the regular brew.

“Had I known it was here, I wouldn’t have drunk so much at breakfast,” she says. “That stuff was really watered down.”

“Exactly. That’s why I had just one cup. I noticed right away because of my elevated taste .”

She rolls her eyes, but I can tell she’s fighting back a smile.

“I’ll make myself a cup, but I won’t offer you one. Since you already drank so much,” I say, grabbing a mug.

“We did establish that it was w atered down, so if you ask me, I actually haven’t had that much yet,” she says, her expectant look making me smile.

I press the brew button and inhale the toasty aroma of fresh java. “There you go,” I say, offering her the first mug.

“Thank you.” She sighs, drawing a deep breath over the mug. “So, what’s on the agenda today?” she asks once we both have our coffee.

I glance at the call sheet taped next to me. “Shooting call is in an hour. We’re filming two scenes.”

“Only two? Usually it’s three, sometimes four.”

I nod. “It always takes longer when we’re off our regular location shoot. Plus, these are the kissing scenes, and those always require more takes.”

Her face tightens, her mouth twisting. “Kissing scenes?”

“Well, this is a romance movie, so those are expected.” I chuckle.

She frowns. “Isn’t that weird, though? Especially with Madison and your complicated history.”

I shrug. “A little, I guess. But honestly, you kind of separate yourself from the character during those scenes.”

“Oh, that’s . . . interesting.” She swallows hard.

“Keep in mind, it’s not Auston kissing Madison. It’s very much Diego kissing Sarah.”

“Still, I don’t think I could kiss someone I don’t love,” she says. “Not that I love anyone—or want to, for that matter. But I don’t know. It’d be weird.”

All the alarms in my head go off as I recall our first kiss. Does that mean that she loved me back then? Or maybe this is a new development? I want to ask, but I know she’s not ready for that conversation. So instead, I pretend that my insides aren’t twisted by her words as I breathe a lighthearted chuckle. “I get it. I’ve been doing this for so long, I don’t always register how weird it is.”

“Didn’t your previous girlfriends have a problem with you kissing other girls?” she asks.

“I’ve never been in a serious relationship, so I never had that issue,” I say, suddenly wondering whether Emma would be okay with my on-screen kisses if we were together. It’s my job, after all. But the thing is, if she asked me to, I’d give it up in a heartbeat.

She looks down at her coffee. “Oh, I see.”

“My work takes a lot of my time,” I add, feeling the urge to justify myself. “I think staying single is a smart move.”

“Gotcha.” She takes a sip of her coffee, and an awkward silence settles in.

“Right.” I clasp my hands. “Let’s get to work.”

She nods, ruffling her bangs. “Yep. That’s what we’re here for.”

As we stand there in my tent, I c an’t help but feel how nice it is to have her here. And I wonder how I’ll ever shoot a single scene without Emma a few feet away from me.