“He did.” Eamon turned around too, and we watched Ryder, whose eyebrows were raised hopefully. “He wants you to drive in the van with Mr. Donato and the rest of craft services out to Killykeen. I think he wants you to meet his new friends.”
“Who are you riding with?”
Smooth, Iris.
“I’m driving the queen herself, Lady Shoshanna.” He crossed his arms, moving several inches away from me along the railing. “She’s going to give me some acting tips.”
“So you’re going to be an actor after all.”
He got riled fast, his eyebrows turning into a hard V. “Wouldn’t know that, would I? Maybe I’m like that girl who played Luna Lovegood. Maybe I am Nolan, but not a real actor.” He pressed his palm to his forehead and then cooled off with a sigh. “I think I’ve come this far on my good looks alone, Iris. It’s such a curse.”
I laughed, and he looked delighted with himself.
Cate stomped along the deck, not losing an inch of intensity in her expression when a swell made her steps go all helter-skelter. She pointed at Ryder and me. “There are reporters waiting in Doolin, so you two need to do your ‘Michael Jackson’s kids’ no-face thing.”
“Hey!” I’d never heard our hiding referred to as such. It did sound bad.
She turned to Eamon and Shoshanna, who had appeared from the other side of the ferry. “And you two need to find Julian and stage a photo op. Something compelling.”
“Where is Julian?” I asked. I hadn’t seen him since last night in the makeup trailer.
“He’s belowdecks, then,” Shoshanna said, throwing on her Irish accent. “Fighting with his girlfriend. She’s got him in a tizzy.”
“Don’t do that,” Cate said, while Eamon added, “No.”
Shoshanna shrugged, and Cate pointed to me. “Get Julian and tell him he’s got to have his charm on when we dock. He’s got five minutes.”
• • •
I swayed down the stairs, through the tiny door that led to the cabin. It wasn’t hard to find Julian, even though it was rather dim. He was sitting on a small cot that was bolted to the floor.
“Julian? Cate says some press are waiting at the dock…”
Julian looked up, his eyes bloodshot and his nose running. “Elora’s going to break up with me, Iris. She’s going to dump me because she’s afraid of my fans.”
I sat next to him and patted his back. I thought about telling him that he was too young to be engaged, but ended up sighing deeply instead, still annoyed about Cate’s Michael Jackson’s kids line. “Well, Julian, she’ll have to live a certain way if she wants to avoid the attention. It’s a lot of work. And it sucks.” The captain’s voice echoed down from the deck. “But we should talk about this later. Right now, you have to act like the happy, sexy Julian everyone loves.”
His face sunk into his hands, and he messed up his beautiful, dark hair—which I’d never seen him do. When he looked at me again, he’d gotten worse, not better. “Can’t do it.”
“Of course you can. You’re a great actor.” He laughed, but I continued. “Pretend the cameras are rolling. From what I hear, there are going to be cameras rolling.”
“You’re right.” He blew out a long breath and looked at me. He was awfully close and the dim light was sending the wrong messages. Hollywood-hunk alarms. “Kiss me?”
“What?”
“I have to get in my acting brain. I need to do something that doesn’t mean anything.”
I stood up fast. “First of all, that’s terrible. Secondly, I’m not an actor.”
“True.” He glanced away, deterred but unashamed. “Get Shoshanna for me?”
“You’re not serious.”
“Please, Iris?” His puppy-dog expression was too much. This guy was no longer the starlet I’d had a crush on for years. No longer Julian freakin’ Young. He was simply Julian, a regular guy whose nose ran like a faucet when he cried. And I surprised myself by liking him even better this way.
I fetched Shoshanna, and Eamon followed. The four of us packed into the tiny cabin while I explained Julian’s predicament and request.
Shoshanna looked over Julian’s miserable face. “I won’t do it. I’m slightly method, and you’re supposed to be my brother.” Julian started to complain, but she grabbed Eamon’s shoulder and hauled him front and center in the cramped space. “He’ll do it.”
“Oh no.” Eamon’s bewildered expression was adorable.
“You want to see if you’re a real actor?” Shoshanna said. “Well, this’ll do. Pretend you love Julian. Pretend you’ve been waiting to get your lips on his for ages.”
Eamon shook his head.
“No one wants to kiss me?” Julian blurted. “This is just great for my self-esteem, you guys.”
“Fine.” Eamon jammed forward and planted one on Julian, so fast I almost missed it.
“Yeah, you’re not an actor, Eamon O’Brien,” Shoshanna concluded.
Eamon’s face got much redder than I’d ever seen, and I could tell he wanted to be able to do this.
Julian stepped closer to Eamon, and the room got smaller. He stared intensely. “I think I love you, Charles. I think I have for a while.”
“Why am I ‘Charles’?” Eamon asked, but Shoshanna shushed him and motioned to Julian’s emotive face. His eyes were still red, his hair fussed, but I could see the change in him already. The acting switch had been flipped to On.
Julian put a hand on Eamon’s cheek.
“Okay. Kiss me,” Eamon said.
“No!” Shoshanna said. “Act.”
Eamon groaned and turned his back. He shook his arms and shoulders, rolled his neck. When he faced us again, I didn’t recognize him. He was serious.
“Line, Julian,” Shoshanna whispered.
“I love you, Charles. I think I’ve always loved you.” Julian touched his cheek, and Eamon closed his eyes. In relief? Pain? It was a strong emotion, whatever it was. When Eamon opened his eyes again, he was there with Julian…in some moment Shoshanna and I were not part of.
“Okay,” Eamon said. “You should kiss me, then. If you care so much.”
It was a line, but wow, it was
