Page 41 of Highlands Summer Wedding

Sitting in the back, I closed my eyes and blew out a long breath, then pressed the green call button. What was I even supposed to say?

He picked up on the second ring. I attempted a cheerful smile, though he couldn’t see me. “Hello. Sorry I missed your call.”

“Glad I could catch you. I wanted to check in on how production is going.”

“Production’s going so well. Isn’t this an amazing place to shoot a film? And the local talent is top notch. But those rolling green hills and deep dark lochs… better than anything you could build in a studio, am I right?” I rubbed my temple as I listened to his response.

“Speaking of talent, so glad you put Max on this. He’s phenomenal. I can’t speak more highly of him.”

“I was hoping to meet with you in person, but I’ve been told you’re not here.”

My fingers tightened around the phone. “What? Oh—yes, I was just meeting with someone.”

“Max assured me you’d be here today.”

“Oh, uh, yes, Max thought I was going to be on set all day, but I’m… meeting with locations for next week’s shoot.” I tried to loosen my fingers which were beginning to ache.

“Don’t you think you should be on set in case the director needs you?”

“Oh, no, he’s all set. My assistant is there…”

I moutheddrive fasterto Angus, but he shook his head. Caitlin mouthedCCTVand made a money gesture with her fingers. Apparently speeding is quite a serious crime in the UK.

Okay, fine…

Holding my breath, I tried to think of more to babble on about. “I think we’ll have a real winner next Oscar season. It can go head to head with any—No, of course.”

As I hung up, Angus pulled into Base Camp.

I jumped out of the car as soon as it stopped moving. A PA rushed forward, handing me a headset, walkie talkie, and the producer’s clipboard.

Max met me at the edge of the set, his shoulders tense. “Where have you been? We’ve got one of the bond reps here, and he wants to see how it’s going!”

One look at the bond rep, and I could tell he recognized me, but couldn’t quite place where from. Still, I followed Max’s lead and gave him a quick air kiss, then pretended to be deeply absorbed in the notes on my clipboard.

I flipped through pages as we walked. “Just looking at the budget. With this weather, we’ve been able to make 15 pages a day. I mean, unheard of, am I right? And even the rainy days have been pure cinematic gol?—”

The bond rep interrupted, his lips pressed into a flat line. “We’ve heard that you’re having trouble with the cannon.”

“Oh, nothing we can’t fix in post,” I said with a wave of my hand.

He addressed Max, ignoring me entirely. “I want it on the screen, and I want it to look real.”

“The battles are also about the men themselves. We’re getting extreme close-ups of their eyes, their fear, their friends as they fall.”

The bond rep cut in, shaking his head. “Period movies need two things: sex and violence. We need explosions.”

“Actually, I beg to differ.” Max folded his arms across his chest. “Think about a movie likeSchindler’s List. What’s the one thing you remember?”

“The little girl in the red coat,” I blurted out. “And the kid who couldn’t get the bathtub clean…”

The bond rep wasn’t sold.

Neither of them noticed Ava pull up in her car. The driver opened her door and helped her out, and she began hobbling over to us on her crutches.

She cut across the grass without looking, her eyes fixed on Max—and stepped directly onto the fairy mound at the edge of the field.

Jaws dropped, grips exchanged nervous glances, but as it was Ava, nobody said anything. I don’t think she even noticed.