The Reunion by Kayla Olson(53)
It’s a testament to Sasha-Kate’s acting skills to see her flip so thoroughly into sincere-and-supportive sister mode, especially considering she flips back to agitated envy every time the cameras stop rolling. For Millie’s part, she must have spent a good long while going over her lines last night, trying to make them sound natural—her performance is a marked improvement from yesterday’s.
So far today, our delays are entirely weather related. The wind is a problem for everything, from the sugar packets to our hair, and on top of that, it’s incredibly hot with the sun directly on us—all three of us are starting to sweat through our makeup. It’s such a problem we have to stop and wait for Gretchen, Emilio, and two more hair and makeup people to hop a golf cart to come freshen us up.
“Congrats on the new single,” Sasha-Kate says while we wait, too saccharine to sound sincere.
Millie takes it at face value, as if it were one of the myriad genuine compliments she’s received from her rapidly growing fanbase. “Thanks!” she says brightly. “It’s one of my favorites on the album!”
A flash of irritation sparks in Sasha-Kate’s eyes. “Oh, hey!” she says sweetly—sugar laced with poison, no doubt. “Hālo told me a few days ago that Shine called her people, interested in possibly securing the rights to ‘Hallowed’ for our closing credits! Maybe one day you’ll get to do something like that, too, Millie!”
Millie’s smile hardens by just a fraction. She’s more aware than she let on before—she’s figured out that Sasha-Kate gets this way whenever she starts to feel outshined by anyone, and that it’s not really about Hālo at all. Millie’s doing an impressive job at keeping her cool.
“Hālo will be disappointed to hear about the meeting I had with Bob and Shine just this morning over breakfast, then,” she says, picking up Sasha-Kate’s overly sweet tone, “where I signed the contract for ‘Meet Me in the Garden’ to be our official closing credits song, and in all the promo spots. You’re sure it was our show Hālo was thinking of?”
Sasha-Kate’s mouth falls open, speechless for once. Mercifully, our hair and makeup teams pull up in their golf carts before she can give a reply. Emilio blasts some synthy disco-pop from his cart’s Bluetooth speaker—a welcome distraction.
The stylists have their work cut out for them in this heat and wind, but they chatter away with one another as they touch up our hair and makeup. Meanwhile, where we’re concerned, it’s a tale of three phones: Millie, beaming as she scrolls through what can only be more praise for her new single; me, surreptitiously checking Ransom’s feed and wishing very badly that I could crawl into the frame and curl up beside his gorgeous, shirtless body; and Sasha-Kate, scowling at her screen.
“Okay, everyone,” Bryan says with a loud clap a few minutes later. “Let’s get rolling while you’re all fresh.”
I tuck my phone inside the prop handbag, take a second to try to forget the past fifteen minutes, and slip back into Honor’s headspace. Honor, who loves her sisters even when they’re frustrating.
It’s not easy, and we’re all a bit edgy, but we manage to knock out a flawless scene in only two more takes—a miracle, and not a second too soon.
“Love it, love it!” Bryan says as soon as we stop rolling. “Where was this yesterday? Great work, everyone!” He gives Millie a pointed nod, and she blushes. She worked hard to up her game overnight, and it shows.
Ford and Ransom arrive in a golf cart as we wrap up—they’re shooting a scene together on another outdoor set in this section of the lot. Ransom’s eyes lock with mine, the cool drink of water I hadn’t even realized I needed.
“What is up, ladies?” Ford greets us, leaping from the back of the cart before it’s even fully parked. He claps Bryan on one shoulder in a move so bro only Ford could get away with it, then proceeds to shake his hand. “Now I get why wardrobe apologized when they put me in this today.” He gestures to his skinny man jeans and the sleeves of his button-down shirt that are rolled halfway up his forearms. “Bryan, can I improv a fall into the fountain to cool off, by any chance?”
Bryan laughs, then snaps to a straight face with perfect timing. “Don’t even think about it.”
Ford is the best person to work with on set—he never takes himself too seriously, and it tends to rub off. I’ve got scenes with him tomorrow and Friday, which will be a welcome change on so many fronts.
Ransom comes to stand beside me, nudging my arm with his in greeting—to everyone else, it looks like any other day, hopefully. To me, it feels like agony, his skin on mine in broad daylight. Everything in me wants to wrap my arms around him, pull him close.
“How’s it going so far?” he says quietly.
“A bit tense, but we made it work.”
“You look great.”
I laugh, holding out my arm to show the sheen of sweat clinging to my skin. “I look hot.”
“You do look hot,” he agrees with a playful smile, brushing his fingers lightly over my outstretched wrist.
“Liv?” Sasha-Kate says, with a tone that says she’s most definitely repeating herself. “Are you riding back with us?” Her eyes flicker from me to Ransom and back again.
“Oh. Yes, I just need to—yes.” I pull my hand away and rummage around in my bag, making sure everything I brought with me found its way back in. “Ready when you are.”