Page 15 of The Perfect Gift

10

‘I thought we were starting again at two,’ Frankie said to Brian by way of greeting.

Brian checked his watch and sighed. ‘Yes, that was the plan but Dalton is struggling with the scene so Melinda and I have been going over it with him.’ Frankie loved working with Brian because he was endlessly supportive and encouraging, but there were times, like now, when she wished he was just a bit less nice. If he’d fought for a proper actor they wouldn’t keep running up against these issues. And if he’d stood his ground against Daffy, there wouldn’t be such a scramble to finish everything on time.

Whining about things wasn’t going to make any difference though, so Frankie would just have to deal with what was in front of her as best she could. Dalton might not deserve the role he’d got, but he was desperate to do well and Frankie had been doing her best to repair as much of the damage Daffy had done to his confidence as possible. ‘It is very intense, so I get it.’ Frankie drew on all her acting experience to give Dalton her most encouraging smile. ‘Why don’t you and I go somewhere quiet and talk it through so Brian can get on with the set-ups?’ Not giving him a chance to object, she tucked her hand through Dalton’s elbow and tugged him towards the door and out into the imposing grandeur of the main hall.

‘I’m sorry, Frankie, I’m being a pain in the ass, aren’t I?’ He gave her that goofy, aw-shucks grin that, paired with his good looks, had got him through most of the sticky moments in his life. As exasperating as she found that grin, Frankie didn’t have the heart to let it show. He was so keen to get things right, taking her frustrations out on him would be like shouting at a Labrador for fetching a stick for the hundredth time.

‘Let’s go in here where it’s quiet,’ she said, tugging him towards a room on the other side of the hall. She tapped on the open door of Rosamund’s private sitting room, hoping she was still preoccupied with Matt in the library. When there was no answer Frankie peeked inside and was relieved to find it empty. She knew Ros wouldn’t mind them using it, having previously offered the space to Frankie if she ever needed a quick breather. Frankie had taken her up on the offer a few times and it was one of her favourite places in the castle. The furniture was softer and a little shabbier than the grand fixtures and fittings of the rooms they used for filming. An open paperback rested on a side table next to a faded chintz-covered sofa that had a thick woollen blanket draped over the back of it. The remains of a fire smouldered in the grate behind a safety screen. For a moment Frankie was tempted to curl up on the sofa, tug the blanket over her legs, and forget about all the hassles on set. She wouldn’t bother with a book though, not when the view out of the window was so arresting. This side of the castle looked out towards the cliff edge and the wild, roiling sea beyond. The here and now faded as it always did whenever she stared at the hypnotic power of the churning water.

‘Cool view!’ Dalton exclaimed, shattering her reverie. When she glanced over at him, he had his phone in his hand. She thought at first he was taking photos of the sea but then she caught sight of the screen and realised he was testing selfie angles.

‘So, what’s the problem with the scene?’ she asked, conscious of the room of people waiting for them.

Dalton was still staring at his phone, fiddling around with his fringe in a way that made Frankie wince. His stylist would have to redo it before they could film anything. ‘Huh? Oh, it’s the dialogue. I’m not sure it works, but Melinda said it’s straight from the page and we can’t change it.’ He finally stopped staring at his reflection long enough to meet her eyes as he shrugged. ‘I don’t see why she’s being so weird about it.’ Frankie’s earlier sympathy towards him took on a frosty edge.

Ton! was based on one of the most popular historical romance book series and the author had sold millions of copies worldwide, even before the show had become a TV sensation. Melinda was being ‘weird’ because this vacuous twerp thought he could rewrite something the author would’ve spent hours and hours sweating over. ‘It’s one of the most iconic moments in our book.’ Which you’d know if you’d bothered to read the supporting notes Melinda provided with the script.

When Frankie’s agent had secured her an audition, Frankie had immediately downloaded the first book. Expecting to find it hard going, Frankie had instead fallen head first into the story and been swept away in the glamour and romance of it. By the time she’d finished it and downloaded the rest of the series she’d been desperate for any part – even a walk-on. Once she’d finished the second book, she’d been ready to sell her soul for the chance to play Georgiana Sinclair, the industrialist’s daughter with no breeding and an enormous dowry who entered into a marriage of convenience with a duke on the brink of destitution.

‘I just feel dumb saying the words,’ Dalton said, a flush highlighting his cheekbones.

Though he came across like nothing fazed him, this wasn’t the first time Frankie had glimpsed a crack in his confident façade. ‘Can I borrow your phone for a second? There’s something I want to show you.’

Dalton frowned but held out the handset to her. It took her only a couple of clicks to navigate to Amazon and tap in the title. A Love Beyond Riches popped up on the screen, with a bright orange bestseller flag next to it. She turned the phone and held it up to show him. ‘Our book has been in the Top 100 since they announced we were filming the second series,’ she told him. ‘Do you want to know what the most highlighted line in the whole book is?’

‘The one where I say I’ll renounce my title if you’ll take me back?’ he guessed, proving there was actually a working brain behind the pretty face.

‘Exactly!’ Frankie handed the phone back to him. ‘Look, I get that the language feels a little overblown but if we pull this scene off it’ll be the making of us. The first time the fans of this book see a clip of that speech, they are going to lose their minds. It’ll be everywhere! You’ll be everywhere! Girls will be getting it tattooed on themselves and you’ll be the ultimate book boyfriend made flesh for thousands of them all over the world.’

‘You really think it means that much?’

An idea occurred to her. Her stomach knotted at the thought of it, but she’d known that signing up for a massive TV show based on one of the most popular romance series of the past ten years would put her directly in the firing line. She’d figured that people on social media already hated her so why not at least get paid a decent amount to take the flack? ‘If you don’t believe me, it’s easy enough to prove. Let’s put a live teaser on your stream right now.’ She came to stand next to him. ‘Open the app, we’ll say hi to everyone and then you say, “Guess what scene we’re about to film,” and then we end the clip.’

‘Just that?’

‘Trust me.’

While he fiddled around getting the app ready, Frankie nestled into his side and placed a hand on his chest, making sure she placed it directly over his heart. ‘Ready?’ she asked.

‘Yup.’

He started the app and they both beamed into the camera. ‘Hey, hey, it’s your man, Dalton, what’s up?’

‘Hi, everyone, Frankie Webber here and we’re so, so excited!’

Fully in his online persona, Dalton frowned at her through the camera. ‘We are? Oh, yeah, we are! Because we are about to film that scene!’ He winked at the camera and cut the feed.

Within seconds, his phone was vibrating so hard it almost jostled out of his hand. Hearts, thumbs ups, shocked faces and a dozen other reaction emojis streamed over the screen and the replies flooded in so quickly it was impossible to read them as they scrolled past in a blur. Dalton’s wide-eyed gaze met hers and Frankie allowed just a hint of smugness to creep into her smile. ‘Told you so. How’s that for motivation?’

It still required more takes than Frankie would’ve liked, but she couldn’t deny how seriously Dalton had approached the scene, nor how hard he’d worked to get it right. When Brian finally declared himself happy, the crew broke out into a spontaneous round of applause and Frankie hugged Dalton and thanked him.

‘It’s me who should be thanking you!’ he exclaimed, his phone already in his hand. ‘We’ve blown up the Internet!’

‘You certainly have,’ Rosamund said, coming over to join them.

‘You’ve seen it?’ Frankie asked in surprise. Rosamund didn’t strike her as the kind of person who spent their free time scrolling on Instagram, but then again what did she know?