Kate Hardy - Behind the Film Star's Smile

She wasn’t sure which of them moved first, but then he was kissing her again.

This was when she should be sensible and stop this, she knew. When she should tell him they needed to go back to being just friends and colleagues. But the way he made her feel …

She opened her mouth and let him deepen the kiss, and the flickers turned into flames.

When he broke the kiss, his pupils were huge, his mouth was slightly swollen and reddened, and there was a slash of colour across his cheekbones. She guessed she was in the same state.

‘Well,’ he said softly. ‘That wasn’t supposed to happen.’

‘We should be sensible,’ she said.

He cupped her cheek, his fingers warm and gentle against her skin. ‘Something about you makes me forget to be sensible, Jess.’

‘Me, too,’ she whispered, and leaned forward to kiss him.

Behind the Film Star’s Smile

Kate Hardy

www.millsandboon.co.uk

KATE HARDYlives in Norwich, in the east of England, with her husband, two children, one bouncy spaniel, and too many books to count! When she’s not busy writing romance or researching local history she helps out at her children’s schools. She also loves cooking— spot the recipes sneaked into her books! (They’re also on her website, along with extracts and stories behind the books.) Writing for Mills & Boon has been a dream come true for Kate—something she wanted to do ever since she was twelve. She writes for Medical Romance™, and also writes for Cherish™. She says it’s the best of both worlds, because she gets to learn lots of new things when she’s researching the background to a book: add a touch of passion, drama and danger, a new gorgeous hero every time, and it’s the perfect job!

Kate’s always delighted to hear from readers, so do drop in to her website at www.katehardy.com.

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For Daisy Cummins, with love and thanks for letting me grill her about film-making!

Contents

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

EXTRACT

CHAPTER ONE

OMG. LUKE MCKENZIE.

When Jess had taken the assignment from the temp agency to work as a production assistant for a film company, she’d expected it to be a low-budget affair with actors she’d never heard of. Not Luke McKenzie, who’d been named as the most beautiful man in the world for three years running. Luke McKenzie, the favourite actor of both her sister and her best friend, and whose films they dragged her to see at the cinema, even though Jess would rather watch a decent sci-fi movie than sit through a rom-com for the umpteenth time.

Luke McKenzie, who right now didn’t look very happy.

Neither did the chocolate Labrador who was sitting beside him, radiating guilt.

Well, this was none of her business. She was meant to be sorting out some paperwork, not gawking at an A-list movie star or listening in to her boss’s conversation.

‘Jess, can you come here a second, please?’ Ayesha Milan, the production manager, called.

‘Sure,’ Jess said, expecting to be sent on an errand.

‘Can you look after Mr McKenzie’s dog today?’

Jess froze.

Look after a dog.

That was precisely why she’d left the career she loved and had become a temp. So she’d never have to look after another dog again.

‘I...’

‘She doesn’t bite,’ Luke said, rolling his eyes. ‘Just steals things and chews them. She seems to have a particular taste for Louboutins.’

Expensive designer shoes. Well, that would explain why he didn’t look too happy—the owner of said shoes had probably had a mammoth hissy fit on him when she’d discovered the damage, and replacing them would be far from cheap.

‘Jess, are you scared of dogs?’ Ayesha asked.

‘No-o,’ Jess said hesitantly. She wasn’t scared of dogs. She was scared of bonding with them. Of having her heart shredded again. It had taken her more than a year to get to where she was now. The thought of having to look after a dog was bringing everything right back to her.

‘Then can you take charge of...?’ Ayesha looked at Luke to prompt him for the dog’s name.

‘Baloo.’

‘Baloo,’ Ayesha finished, looking straight at Jess.

Oh, help.

As a production assistant, Jess was basically meant to do anything she was asked to do. Saying no would be tantamount to cancelling her contract. Even though she’d worked for the temp agency for nearly a year now, it would still make her look unreliable if she walked out of this job less than an hour after she’d started it, leaving the client in a mess. Which meant they’d be less likely to give her any more assignments, and she couldn’t afford to lose her job.

But saying yes meant putting herself back in a vulnerable position. Something she really didn’t want to do.

‘I’ve got to get back to the set. I don’t have time for this. Here,’ Luke said, and handed her the dog’s lead.

Before Jess could process what was happening, he’d stomped off.

Leaving her with the dog.

‘I—look, don’t I have other stuff to do for you?’ she asked Ayesha, inwardly panicking. Please let her not have to do this. Please.

Ayesha spread her hands. ‘The big thing is to keep the stars happy. We have to tiptoe round them.’ She sighed. ‘I expected Mimi to be the difficult one, not him.’

‘Why did he bring the dog on set? Especially if he knows that she chews things?’

Ayesha shrugged. ‘I have no idea.’

‘He could’ve brought a crate with him. Where the dog would’ve felt safe instead of worried by all the people round her, and—’ Jess stopped, aware that Ayesha was looking curious.

‘You sound as if you know about dogs.’

A degree in animal behaviour and working as a police dog trainer for most of her career had taught Jess a lot. ‘A bit,’ Jess mumbled.

‘Then you’ll be the perfect person to look after Baloo,’ Ayesha said brightly.

No, she wasn’t. She was the last person to look after the dog. Why hadn’t she lied and said that she was scared of dogs, or allergic to them? And she was furious at the way the actor had behaved. This was as bad as the socialites who carried a little dog around with them as an accessory. ‘If you haven’t got time to look after a dog properly, you shouldn’t have one,’ Jess said. ‘I don’t care if he’s the star of the film. This isn’t how you treat dogs.’ She frowned. ‘My sister and my best friend think he’s wonderful. I didn’t think he’d be like—well, like that, in real life.’ Grouchy. Demanding. Whatever the male equivalent of a diva was.

‘He never used to be,’ Ayesha said. ‘I worked on a film with him a couple of years ago, and he was a total sweetheart—he remembered everyone’s name, thanked anyone who ran an errand for him, and I think every female member of the crew and cast fell in love with him. Including me, and I’m used to actors being charming. With him, it wasn’t acting. He meant it.’ She shrugged. ‘But he’s had a pretty hard time the last year. I think it’s changed him.’