Behind the Film Star's Smile by Kate Hardy Page A

quiet moment in the office.’
    ‘You,’ Luke told the dog, ruffling her fur, ‘are a very clever girl.’ He looked up at Jess. ‘And you might be a genius.’
    ‘It’s all her. Sweet-talk your director and get her a part in his next film,’ Jess said with a saucy wink. ‘See you later.’
    That wink stayed in Luke’s head all afternoon, to the point where it even distracted him from some of his lines. Which really wasn’t good. He was a professional. He never let things put him off his stride at work.
    This was crazy.
    He couldn’t be attracted to Jess Greenacre.
    He didn’t want a relationship. He was pretty sure that she was in the same position; she was guarded about her personal life, and something major had clearly happened in her last job to make her change direction so completely in her career. But the little that she had let slip made him think that she was recovering from a broken relationship and needed time to get her head together, too. She was the worst person he could get involved with.
    Enough.
    He had work to do.
    He made it through the first scene without letting himself think about Jess. And the second. But, in the short break after the second scene, Mimi sashayed across to him. Wearing the expensive designer shoes Luke had replaced the day before.
    ‘Hey, Luke.’ She gave him a sultry look to accompany the equally sultry drawl.
    ‘Hey, Mimi.’ He forced himself to be charming. He was going to have to work with the woman for the next couple of months, and the last thing the rest of the cast needed was any awkwardness between the lead actor and the lead actress.
    ‘I was thinking, maybe we could have dinner tonight.’
    Her pout made it very clear that dinner wasn’t all she planned to offer. Oh, help. Everyone knew he was single, which probably made him fair game in his world. But even if he had been interested in a relationship, Mimi wasn’t his type. Too mannered, too studied, too fake. Every move was calculated for maximum effect—and maximum PR. If he dated Mimi, the pictures would be plastered all over the gossip magazines, the very next day. And he’d had quite enough of his personal life being in the press, thanks to his ex-wife.
    ‘Sorry, Mimi. I’m already promised elsewhere tonight,’ he said, giving her an equally fake but absolutely charming smile, and hoping that would be enough.
    ‘Tomorrow night, then. To celebrate the first day of shooting.’
    ‘Sorry, no can do—my aunt’s back tomorrow and she’ll need a proper update on Baloo.’
    Mimi’s smile slipped just a fraction and her eyes went cold. ‘The mutt.’
    ‘Actually, Jess thinks she’s a pure-bred Labrador.’
    ‘Jess? Oh, yes. The gofer .’ The actress made it sound as if Jess were the lowest of the low.
    Shockingly, Luke found himself wanting to defend Jess. Which was crazy. She was perfectly capable of standing up for herself. Plus, if Mimi thought he was taking Jess’s part over hers, she was capable of making life very difficult on set for Jess. Best to back off. Discretion being the better part of valour, and all that.
    Though at that precise moment Luke thought he was as much of a coward as Shakespeare’s rotund knight. Maybe the easy life wasn’t necessarily the best life.
    ‘You’re sure you can’t get out of your plans tonight?’ Mimi asked, giving him another of her famed sultry looks. ‘You can’t throw a sickie?’ She dipped her head and looked up at him, making her blue eyes seem huge and pleading. ‘Not even for me?’
    ‘Sorry, Mimi. No can do.’ He knew he needed to keep this polite and firm, without giving any explanations that could give her an excuse to prolong the conversation or try a different tack. ‘I don’t know about you, but I could really do with a coffee. Shall we join the others?’
    To Luke’s relief, the actress agreed. And George, the director, had clearly seen his predicament and taken pity on him, because he needed a quick chat with Luke alone about