Page 72 of Let’s Make a Scene

I don’t love being reduced to playing Cinderella, but I can hardly argue.

“Everyone who has seen the film has said the same thing.” Lorna’s tone is earnest. “That the two of you together are absolute dynamite. The reaction at our test screenings has all of us paying attention. Your chemistry is incredible, and we’d love to capitalize on that in our promotion.”

“Capitalize on it how?” I ask with a frown.

Lorna’s smile becomes a little more fixed. “What we were thinking was that we would suggest to some of the press outlets that your on-screen romance has… progressed.”

“Wait,” Jack says at the same time as I murmur, “What?”

“We’d like to sell the idea that the two of you are a real-life couple,” Lorna finally spits out, her smile never faltering. The teeth are starting to look a bit menacing now.

“Ha!” I exclaim, the sound reverberating around the near-empty room.

Lorna grimaces. “Now, I know how that sounds,” she adds hastily, “but it’s actually incredibly common practice. There’s nothing untoward about it. We simply plant a couple of stories; you do a handful of photo ops, and with a tiny bit of suggestion we let the narrative spin itself. This kind of thing goes down great with the sort of fans who are our target demographic here. The movie is testing insanely well with young women aged sixteen to twenty-four, and we think they’d be very likely to invest in an off-screen romance between the two of you.”

“There is absolutely no way,” Jack says, flatly, and even though I was going to say the same thing, I am enraged by his casual dismissal.

“Oh, of course not,” I snort. “The great Jack Turner-Jones wouldn’t be caught dead with a girl like me.”

He turns to me, wide-eyed. “Are you saying you want to take part in this insanity?”

“No!” I exclaim, noticing he doesn’t deny my accusation. “Obviously not. I’m just saying that Lorna is the expert here, and we shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss her ideas.”

“That’s such a great attitude, Cynthie,” Lorna praises me, and I feel a bit guilty because I only said it to piss Jack off.

He obviously knows that because he treats me to one of his classic sneers. “Oh yes, Cynthie. Great attitude. Never mind that the two of us can barely be in the same room without wanting to murder each other.” He freezes, like he suddenly realizes we’re not alone.

My eyes shift to Jasmine and Logan. We’ve never talked about our dislike of each other openly before. I guess now that filming is over the gloves are off.

“Hey.” Logan holds his hands up in mock surrender. “Don’t look at us.”

“But if that was supposed to be a secret,” Jasmine puts in, drily, “then I have to tell you, you’re not quite the actors you think you are.”

I absorb this for a moment. It’s just another crime to lay at Jack’s feet as far as I’m concerned: he’s made me look unprofessional in front of a woman I deeply respect. And also her brother, who is sort of okay.

“Fine,” I grind out. “If that’s the case, then it should be clear to everyone involved why this is such a terrible idea.”

“Not at all,” Jasmine pipes up, surprising me. “I have every faith that you and Jack can hold it together for the duration of a press junket. The film comes out in four weeks, so we’re not talking a long-term commitment, just the odd appearance together over the next few months.”

“I told you from the beginning,” Logan interjects. “Sex sells, guys. You should be flattered… You really did manage to make Regency England feel hot. People are picking up what you’re putting down.”

I look from Logan to Jasmine. “Really?” I ask her, brows raised.

“He’s not wrong,” Jasmine says firmly. “Even if he sounds like he should be. And, look…” Here she blows out a slow breath. “The film is good. Better than it has any right to be on the budget and schedule we had to work with. It could be a big break for all four of us, so if this is what the studio thinks will help, then I say, do it. It’s not like they’re asking you to sell an organ on the black market. This is just doing what you spent seven weeks doing on set… pretending that you’re in love with each other in front of the cameras.”

Jack and I eye each other warily.

“The organ thing sounds preferable,” he mutters, but there’s less heat in it now.

“No one wants your organ, Jack,” I snap back, and then, realizing how that sounds, I have to force myself to sit very still rather than squirm with embarrassment.

Jack sends me a withering look.

“So,” Lorna says breezily. “Feel free to pull agents and managers into the conversation too if you want, but please keep the circle tight… We want this to seem as real as possible. I think you’ll find everyone will agree this is a small price to pay for the sort of exposure we might pick up.” She clasps her hands together. “And if you are on board, we’ll start work straightaway to lay the groundwork ahead of the press tour and premiere. Okay?”

“Okay,” Jack and I both mumble, careful not to make eye contact.

“Why don’t we…” Logan gestures to the door and looks at Lorna and Jasmine.