Page 145 of Let’s Make a Scene

“Hello, everyone,” she says brightly. “And thank you for coming to this very special screening. When Jack and Hannah came to me with this idea, I thought the two of them were mad, but the truth is”—her eyes land on me and I blink the tears back, force a smile even as my heart is beating almost out of my chest—“they both just love Cynthie a lot. Normally I wouldn’t dream of sharing footage partway through a project, but once I heard their story, I got on board pretty quick. I want to thank my team and Jasmine and Logan for helping me put this together in record time, and everyone else who helped with the setup. So, without further ado, I give you: a love story, thirteen years in the making.”

“Oh my god,” I whisper as the projector whirs to life.

The screen fills with an image of Jack and me. It’s thirteen years ago. The quality isn’t the best and we’re doing the chemistry read together. I’ve never seen this before. It’s the first time we ever met, and we look so young. Straight away it’s there—the spark between us, all that heat simmering under every line. This is why I got my big break—because the chemistry between Jack and me really is electric.

After a couple of minutes, Logan’s voice yells, “Cut!”

On the screen, I blink like I’m coming out of a dream. I look up at Jack and grin. I’m smiling so hard; I can feel my own joy vibrating across the years. Sitting here now, I remember that moment so well, the moment of pure undiluted pleasure at performing well, of performing with Jack for the first time.

The Cynthie on-screen throws her arms around Jack and hugs him, looking up at him with stars in her eyes. “That was fun.”

“Thanks so much, Cynthie,” Jasmine’s formal voice comes from the speakers. “We’ll be in touch.”

“Great.” I gather up my bag and walk across in front of the camera. “Thanks for seeing me.”

As Marion talks to me for a moment off-screen, the camera remains trained on Jack, who is looking over to where I’m standing, with such naked longing in his face that my breath catches in my throat. He lifts his hand slowly to his chest and rubs his fingers over his heart, as if it’s aching. It’s a gesture I’ve seen him make a few times.

“That was the moment,” Jack says low in my ear, here in the real world, right beside me. “That was the moment I fell for you, Cynthie. I told you it had been thirteen years, and I meant it. That’s how you can know. You can see it right there for yourself.”

The image on the screen cuts to show Logan and Jasmine sitting side by side.

“After the chemistry read, it was really a no-brainer,” Jasmine says.

“It’s not often you actually get to watch two people fall in love in front of you,” Logan says with a grin, “but with those two, it was like… destiny.”

Music starts playing from the speakers, and there’s a compilation of footage from the original film—times when the cameras must have been left rolling. They caught so much, I realize, more than I had ever thought possible.

There’s me and Jack bickering while we walk uphill in our coats, our bodies curved in toward each other. There’s Jack laughing with Simon, while I watch him in the background, something like yearning in my face. Me trying to blow a stray hair from my wig out of my face, and Jack reaching over and tucking it behind my ear. Me laughing myself silly while Reckless Ed charges around with Jack on his back. Jack kissing me in the rain, and the way we look after cut is called, like we want to jump each other there and then. He catching me in his arms when I faint, his face a mask of anger and worry as he cradles me to his chest, yelling for help. There’s some shaky footage of dubious quality of me singing karaoke, that has everyone in the crowd wolf-whistling, especially when it catches Jack’s face for a moment, his eyes glued to me with a hungry intensity that can’t be denied.

“They were so determined not to get along,” Hattie’s voice comes through the speakers, “but it was clear as day that the pair of them were mad for each other from the start.”

Now the film cuts to face after face in quick succession.

“Totally into each other,” says Liam.

“Jack was out of his mind in love with Cynthie from the beginning.” Arjun laughs.

“The two of them lit up the screen.” Mark, the cinematographer nods. “It was mad to watch. We all knew it was special.”

“You could always tell they were going to end up together.” Hilary from wardrobe sighs. “It was so romantic.”

“You can’t fake chemistry like that,” Logan says.

“They really challenged each other,” Hannah says thoughtfully. “It was the most alive I’d ever seen Cyn.”

“The attraction between them was intense.” Patty smirks. “The air was basically buzzing with pheromones whenever they were near each other. You couldn’t miss it.”

“I think they were the only ones who didn’t see it.” It cuts back to Hannah.

“Those dummies.” Arjun laughs.

Then, the footage gets a bit shaky, and it takes me a second to recognize that it’s from the charity gala. Jack and I posing for pictures. He looks down at me, and I know that’s the moment he noticed the necklace I was wearing, but all anyone else sees is the way we stare at each other, a slow, dawning recognition. My cheeks go pink; Jack’s throat bobs. It’s almost painfully intimate.

And then it’s time for another compilation, only this time Brooke had cameras following us, so there’s so much more. Dozens of clips flicker across the screen. Of Jack sitting off camera watching me perform with a smile on his face. Of me with my chin in my hand nodding at something he says. Of Jack running lines with my feet in his lap. Of me gazing with such naked lust at the sight of him on the back of a horse that the crowd laughs. Our hands touching at any opportunity. My head on his shoulder. Laughing and joking with Patty and Liam. Jack giving me a piggyback through the mud so my shoes don’t get ruined. Me handing him a coffee while he looks like I’ve saved his life. Jack twirling me into an impromptu slow dance. He watching me. Me watching him. He watching me. Me watching him.

It goes on and on.

Then I’m there on camera.