Page 23 of Never Date a Celebrity

“And slowly killing me with exhaustion in the process.” Amelia blew out a breath. “Okay. I’ve got a busy weekend lined up, but I’ll take a look when I can.”

Veronica frowned at her laptop. “Are they shooting the entire weekend? God, they must be running behind.”

Amelia took the four steps up into her trailer and shut the door behind her. “They aren’t. I’m having a personal day on Saturday.” She walked straight through her kitchen and living area into her dressing room. She sat at her white vanity table and switched on her mirror lights.

“Perfect. Then be a doll and personally read over those scripts I’ve sent you. Specifically, the one for Don’t Cross Her,” Veronica said.

“And if you’re interested, then let me know too. I’ll have to put together an image plan if you’re going to make a shift from romcoms to action. We want it to be seamless and believable.” Ah, that’s why Helen was involved.

Amelia set her phone up against the mirror and grabbed some moisturizer to dab on her face. She preferred to use her own before she went into hair and makeup. Call her a creature of habit. “I’ll try to read it, but I have a date this weekend.”

They both went silent and stared at her in surprise. For long enough that Amelia felt like self-consciously tilting the phone away from her face. Then Veronica shifted. “This is your area, Helen.” Her ferocious typing recommenced.

Helen sprang into action. “Yes. Sorry. It’s just you hadn’t informed me that you were dating anyone.” Helen detested not getting a heads up about personal things, probably more than she detested rain.

“I only met her yesterday,” Amelia explained, hoping that would get her off the hook. When Helen took too long to answer, Amelia went on. “What’s wrong? Usually, you love it when I date.”

Helen sighed. “When I have the chance to vet the women and prepare, yes. If it’s this weekend, then I won’t have a lot of time. But you’re lucky I’m good. Give me her details and I’ll check her out. I probably know her people. I take it it’s someone you’re working with?”

“No. She’s a local.”

Helen pinched the bridge of her nose. “That makes it a bit harder, but okay. I’ll see what I can dig up.”

Amelia hesitated. She doubted that Imogen would take kindly to being vetted. It felt like a breach of her trust. Another one. “Do you think we can hold off on that? It’s only the first date.”

“With a local who could be anybody,” Helen added.

“She doesn’t know I’m famous,” Amelia stated. Surely that made a difference. It did to Amelia.

“What?” Veronica let out a low laugh. “Does she live under a rock? Ireland can’t be that backward, can it?”

Helen quickly shook her head. “She must be pretending. Everyone knows who you are. I’ve personally seen to it over the past five years that they do.”

“No,” Amelia said with confidence. “It’s not an act. She didn’t recognise me at all.”

“And you didn’t tell her?” Veronica asked with a raised brow.

Caught. “Not yet,” Amelia replied sheepishly.

Helen’s face remained sceptical. “Uh-huh. Well, if anything that’s even more reason for me to do some research. What kind of a person hasn’t heard of Amelia Whitlock? Text me her name and what you know. I take it you’ll bring security?”

Oh, hell no. “I was hoping not to.”

“Well tough luck, sweetie. You have no idea who this woman is. So, arrange it with the studio or else I will. And you really need to sort out some sort of permanent arrangement for all this. We’ll be making it a priority when you get back.” Amelia went to argue, and Helen held up a finger. “Non-negotiable, Amelia. Your well-being comes first.” Which, to be fair, was the reason Amelia valued her team so much. They not only cared about Amelia’s career and her success, but they truly cared about her too. Even though it didn’t feel like it when she was being worked into the ground.

Reluctantly, Amelia agreed before finishing up the call. She only had a few minutes before she had to be in hair and makeup, and there was a long day of filming after that. Scenes were never filmed in order, and today she was working with Gabe, doing their big showdown after he finds out about Scarlett and Eve’s relationship—Amelia’s and Bridget’s characters in the movie. Thank God she wasn’t in that situation.

But Amelia wasn’t without her own problems. How was she going to explain a security escort to Imogen? Maybe she could come to some kind of agreement with Steve. Although he was a bit of a stickler, he had given her some time alone—even if he had been two steps outside the Wishing Well the entire time. Amelia had been lucky that Steve hadn’t exaggerated—his wife really did like to talk.

After firing off a text to Helen with minimal information, she sped up her facial routine and quickly exfoliated her lips before finally adding an aloe vera lip mask. Soft lips were a must in the romcom business. Then, Amelia quickly ran a brush through her hair so it wasn’t a total tangled mess for the hair and makeup team to handle. She liked to make their jobs as easy as she could.

With a final check of the time, Amelia rushed back out of her trailer. She headed toward the main building where most of the crew and cast congregated when they weren’t in their trailers or filming elsewhere—she hoped that Bridget was now one of those people who had gone elsewhere. The main building was basically just a big barn that had been converted into a kind of hall for gatherings like weddings and such. It was quaint, and so much warmer than being outside. The security team was based there too, whenever they weren’t outside themselves ensuring that members of the public didn’t sneak onto the set—no mean feat when they were taking up a large portion of the countryside that was normally public domain. A lot of the film was set in rural Ireland, so their current location was in a secluded spot among the fields and the hills and some forest. Amelia imagined it was a popular place for walkers and nature lovers.

She hoped to catch Steve before she had to report to set. And luck was on Amelia’s side, because she clocked him at the coffee station as soon as she pushed through the double doors and quickly made a beeline for him. “Hey, do you have a minute?”

Steve glanced back at her over his shoulder as he stirred his drink. “Oh, hey, Amelia. Sure.”

Amelia led him over to the leather chairs which were lined up along the wall like you would expect to see in a waiting room—she would have arranged them differently herself. Steve perched on the edge of one holding his steaming Styrofoam cup. Amelia didn’t have a lot of time, so she remained standing and jumped straight into why she was there. “Remember when I went into that pub yesterday? The Wishing Well?” Steve nodded and took a sip of his coffee, and she continued. “Well, I met a woman who worked there, and she agreed to go out with me on Saturday.” Amelia hadn’t divulged that piece of information on their way home the previous night. She hadn’t realised she would have to.