“Oh my God. This isn’t my first interview.” Seth could feel Heather’s eye roll, even though Lexie hid her face from his view.
“It’s your first Jenna Markham interview. She’s brutal. She makes everyone cry.”
“She’s not going to make me cry.”
Lexie took a step back and crossed her arms. “Are you sure about that?”
“No.” Heather bit her lip. “But I’ll be okay if I do.”
Crying? What kind of an interview was this supposed to be? Each second of this prep conversation was making him uneasy, and this wasn’t even the real deal.
He took a step toward them, coming into Heather’s view, needing to assure for himself that Heather was going to be okay.
“Seth!”
“Hey, princess.” He took her hand, pulling her to stand near him. “Are you good? Do you need me to do something?”
“No, I’m good. I really am. You look a little lost though. Are you all right with all of this?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m good.” Her hand was sweating within his. Or his was sweating. Hell, he was sweating everywhere. “I’m kind of nervous,” he admitted, though she had to see it already. “How do you do this over and over again? It’s insane!”
She took his other hand in hers and squeezed both of them. “You get used to it after a while.” She laughed. “What am I saying? I’m totally nervous too. Like, so nervous. It isn’t usually like this at all. This is more preparation for an interview than I’ve ever had. It’s crazy!”
For half a second he wondered if she was just saying that to make him feel better, but one look in her eyes and he knew what she said was true. “Well, be reassured that I’m right there with you.”
She smiled. A stupid, silly grin that made his groin pull. “I’m going to mention you when she asks me about the 24-Hour Plays. I’ll tell her we met then.” She let out a deep breath. “Are you okay with this? I could back out. I mean, I don’t have to mention you at all. Unless you want me to.”
He pulled her close enough to lean his forehead on hers. “I want you to. You know that.” Then he remembered her conversation with Lexie. “Are you sure you want to? You aren’t just doing this because you think you have to, are you?”
“No!” She pulled away so she could wrap her hands around his neck and meet his eyes. “I’m doing this interview because I want to talk. About you. About me. I’m excited about it. And I’m a mess of nerves.”
There was something else he was worried about, and didn’t know quite how to say it. It wouldn’t have been an issue if he’d gotten to talk to her alone before the interview, but he hadn’t so he had to find the words. “Heather, would you mind not…would you mind not mentioning what I do?”
“Oh, baby, are you embarrassed?”
He wanted to laugh. He wasn’t at all embarrassed. He was worried she’d look like a fool when she wrongly declared that Seth Rafferty was a carpenter on national television.
“I’m not. But I don’t want it to turn into that—that I’m using you for your money, all that. The media will find out soon enough. It won’t bother me when they do. But we don’t have to make their job any easier.”
“Good point. It doesn’t matter to me anyway. What you do. Not anymore. Since it doesn’t matter, there’s no need to mention it.”
Damn, he wanted to take her away from this insane scenario and make love to her for hours. He’d wanted so much to hear those words from her, and now she’d said them at a time when he could do little to cherish them.
He was still soaking it in when Heather was called to her place. She pulled her phone out of her bra where she’d been keeping it and handed it to him. “Can you keep this for me? You are staying to watch, right?” she asked.
He took her phone from her hand and stuck it in his pocket. “That’s why I’m here, remember?”
“Good. Thank you. I know it probably seems weird, but it means a lot to me that you’re here. I wouldn’t be able to do this without you.”
“It means a lot to me that you would say that.” His eyes skimmed down to her lips. “Will I mess up your makeup if I kiss you?”
“Who the hell cares?”
She initiated the kiss, placing her lips gently on his. Despite her blasé attitude, the kiss was chaste, but the sweetness of it tugged at his heart.
He pulled her into a hug. “You’ll be amazing, Heather,” he said into her ear. “Have I told you I believe in you? Because I do.”
“No, you haven’t. But I know.” She kissed his neck before pulling out of his arms. “I think you’re crazy, but I know.”
“Crazy about you.”
“Aww.” It was half appreciation, half groan. Maybe more than half groan.
“Too cheesy?”
“Pretty much.” She put her thumbs up. “But it’s good. I like it. Bring on the cheese.”
An assistant led Heather to her seat, but it was another twenty minutes before they were ready to shoot. Only then did Jenna Markham make her first appearance since Seth had arrived, having spent all the prep time in Heather’s guesthouse. If Seth had to guess, he’d say Jenna was in her late fifties. She wore a cream skirt and jacket, a nice contrast to her perfectly coifed brunette hair. She looked good next to Heather, sitting in one of the armchairs the crew had brought out to the deck. Heather’s light blue dress with cream trim seemed to match the older woman’s. With as much fuss and detail as had gone into the event, it wouldn’t surprise him if they had been coordinated.
Seth bit back a laugh. He knew that Heather was known as the diva of Hollywood and that Jenna would most likely highlight that in her interview. But within seconds, it was obvious that the diva on set was Jenna. Not only had her grip of assistants done her job while she sat back in an out-of-the-way location for the entirety of the morning, but once she’d appeared, it seemed the crew forgot all about Heather and focused every bit of energy on Jenna.
Appropriate, he supposed, seeing how Jenna was their boss. Still, it made him tense, feeling as though his girlfriend had been left to the wolf in pretty clothing.
It only took an hour for Seth to be able to attempt looking relaxed. After ninety minutes, he actually began to feel relaxed. So far, the questions had been fairly routine. Jenna had asked about Heather’s career, starting from her earliest jobs to her more significant works. Perhaps her preparation offset was more essential than Seth first thought. She was laid back with her approach, often stopping between questions to talk to Heather candidly before going back into interviewer mode. With so many breaks, no wonder it took several hours of footage to get a decent fifteen-minute piece.