Invisible(45)

“Can we go now?” she whispered, looking terrified.

“No, we have to see the movie first,” he said gently. “You’re safe. You’re with me.” She nodded, too nervous to speak, and they found their seats quickly and sat down. It took another half hour for the theater to fill. Several members of the cast came to say hello to them. And then the movie started.

She could see that Hamish was right about the scene she was in. The brief moment was crucial in the film.

    “You’re great in it,” Hamish reassured her, and they sat back to enjoy the movie. He was very happy with it. It was a beautiful film, with major stars in it. On the way out, the press was even more excited about Antonia, once they all realized that she was the ingénue in the film. It took them half an hour to escape into the limousine, to drive to the Plaza, where the photographers kept shooting them every step of the way. They’d been photographed enough, and only stayed twenty minutes, and left, and the limo drove them back downtown. Antonia let out a huge sigh once they escaped the press.

“How do people stand that?” she said, leaning her head back against the seat. It placed her throat in a graceful white arch, and Hamish had to pretend not to notice, in order to keep his hands off her.

“Some people actually like it.” He smiled at her. “I don’t enjoy it either, but that’s what premieres are for, to get lots of press for the movie.”

“I love the film,” she said, smiling at him, and he couldn’t resist teasing her.

“I’ve never taken a date back to her school dormitory before. I feel like a cradle snatcher.” And in a sense, he was.

“I’m not a date, I’m an employee,” she corrected him comfortably. She felt surprisingly at ease with him.

“No, you’re not. You were an employee last summer. Tonight you’re a date, and a star.”

“Oh. How soon will the reviews be out?”

“By tomorrow morning.”

He wanted to take her out for another glass of champagne somewhere, but she said she had an early class in the morning.

    She thanked him when she got out of the car, and she looked like a movie star, even though he was dropping her off at a college dorm.

“Thank you, Hamish, I had a wonderful time,” she said politely, and he laughed.

“No, you didn’t. You were scared to death on the red carpet. I could feel you shaking.”

“I loved the film,” she said. “And being with you.” She said it so softly he could barely hear her, and she gazed at him with big shy eyes.

“You can’t be invisible all the time,” he said, and she nodded. She looked so beautiful and so vulnerable that he couldn’t stop himself. As the snow began to fall again, he bent down and kissed her. It really had been a beautiful evening, despite the collegiate setting now, and the stress the press had caused her. She hadn’t expected him to kiss her, but there was something wonderfully romantic about it. She wondered if he had meant it, or he just got carried away on the high of the evening. But she wasn’t going to ask him. She enjoyed the moment, thanked him, and floated into her dorm as he watched her go.



* * *



—

The reviews the next day were fabulous and well deserved. The film was a total victory for Hamish, and the cast. And they raved about Antonia’s performance, and said she was the most exciting young face to hit the screen in years. And one of the reviewers saw the resemblance to Audrey Hepburn too, so he wasn’t wrong.

Antonia called Hamish at his hotel as soon as she read them.

“Bravo!” she said when he answered the phone in his suite. His phone had been ringing constantly since early that morning. “And thank you for last night.”

    “Thank you for giving me that scene. It gave the picture an extra push.” Even she could see now that it did.

“They want more of you, Antonia,” he said gently.

“They can’t have me. I’m not an actress.”

“You could be, a great one.”

“It’s not what I want to do,” she told him for the hundredth time.

“When am I going to see you again?” He changed the subject.

“How long are you here for?” She had forgotten to ask him.

“Two more days. Let’s have dinner tomorrow night.” He had press interviews lined up all day and evening.

“That’s perfect. I have to turn a paper in tomorrow, so I have to finish it tonight.” He felt like he was dating a schoolgirl, but it amused him.

“How much longer do you have here?” he asked her.

“I graduate at the end of May,” she said proudly. It was only five months away, and he knew he could wait.



* * *



—

When he took her to dinner the following night at Majorelle uptown, the subject of his next movie came up. He was working on the deal now, and the casting. It was a juggling act to find a time when everyone was available, particularly the cast. He almost had it nailed down but not quite.

“There’s a supporting role for you in that movie, Antonia, if you’ll do it. And I have a confession to make. I’m offering it to you for two reasons. One, I think you would be extraordinary in it, and I know you can do it, if you’re willing. And two”—he looked at her tenderly and felt young again when he did—“I’m in love with you,” he said softly. “I want to work with you, and I want to find a way to keep you with me all the time.” She didn’t answer him for a minute, and he kissed her. She hadn’t expected this to happen. She had loved working for him for two summers, and what he had taught her, but she never expected to fall in love with him.