Jenna turned away; saying nothing else was best. She stalked through the long grass at the back of the cottage and out into the sunshine. The wilderness at the front had been pared back, weeds removed, bushes tamed, showcasing the garden. She felt foolish about a naked man being in the house and Finn getting the wrong idea. What must he think about her? But why did she care? Milo was a colleague, as were all the others who came over the night before. She could have a party if she wanted to. Then why did she feel guilty? She knew why; that kiss in the garden with Finn, that they’d brushed off at the time and hadn’t spoken about since. And the unspoken tension between them that she had thought was sexual; now it just felt tense.
She went inside. The brightness of the sunny morning turned to shadows in the dimly-lit kitchen. She glimpsed the devastation in the living room with wine and beer bottles cluttering the coffee table. Her early call time had at least resulted in her having an early wrap, but she was suffering for the late night and too much alcohol now, plus she had a lot of clearing up to do. She was also utterly confused about her feelings. Annoyed at Milo toying with her emotions. And now Finn had got completely the wrong idea.
Chapter Twelve
‘Hey, how’s it going?’ Carla’s cheerful voice filled the room. Keeping her on speakerphone, Jenna stirred the chilli con carne bubbling away on the stove. It was late and it had been a long day, but she felt like cooking and eating something homemade, something other than the food they got on set. And occasionally, when she was in the right mood, cooking relaxed her.
‘Nearly three weeks done. Lovely crew, great cast. I totally love being down here.’
‘I’m still beyond jealous.’
‘I know, sorry. You need to come down here for a few days. Whichever weekend you have free, just let me know.’
‘I promise, I will. I’ve got a bit of good news too.’
‘Oh yeah?’ Jenna lifted the lid off the rice before the water boiled over.
‘I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to jinx it, but I got an audition for a new BBC mini-series, for a tattooed cool-as-fuck secondary school teacher. Got the call-back earlier this week...’
‘And?’
‘And I got the part. Starts shooting in October.’
‘Aah, that’s amazing, Carla. I’m so pleased for you. See, and after everything you were telling me before I left.’
‘Yeah yeah, I know. I’m never going to get a leading role, but this is a good part, something I can really get my teeth into. So, that’s my news and you’re obviously loving being down in sunny Cornwall. How’s it been living in the cottage while work’s being done?’
Jenna sprinkled a pinch of salt over the chilli and stirred it in. ‘Yeah, it’s fine. The builders have finished the roof and now that’s done it’s just been one of them working on the outside of the cottage, plus I’ve not really been around much during the week.’
‘You’re not getting lonely on your own in the evenings?’
‘It’s no different to being home.’
‘Apart from you have lots of friends back home. Have you hung out with the cast or crew much?’
‘Yeah, a couple of times this week. Everyone’s pretty shattered though, you know what it’s like, long days. I guess the only disadvantage to staying at the cottage is not being at the same place as most of the cast. I think they hang out in the hotel bar lots. They were over here last night though.’ Jenna bit her lip, unsure if she should say anything about Milo and Timothy.
‘You don’t feel like you’re missing out?’
‘Not really; I mean it’s been fun spending time with them, it’s just nice to have the space and place to myself.’
‘Apart from the builders.’
‘Yes, apart from the builders.’ Jenna added a dash more passata to the chilli and stirred it in. It wasn’t like she minded having Finn around on the few occasions she saw him before or after work. Being greeted by his smile and a sneaky peak of his six-pack had fast become the highlight of her day, until him assuming Milo was her boyfriend had put paid to that. Now there was an awkwardness and they’d hardly said more than a couple of words to each other since. The thought of his toned chest and smiling eyes, she realised, was also stopping her from listening to Carla. ‘Sorry, what did you say?’
‘I said, talking about the cast, I kinda have some bad news... Well, not bad exactly, it’s just you might not be too pleased about it... Although actually it might be a good thing...’
‘Carla, seriously, just tell me.’
‘I thought I’d better warn you so it doesn’t come as a shock...’
‘Shock about what?’
‘Heidi. She’s got a part on the film.’
‘What film?’
‘What film do you think? Yours, silly.’
Jenna dropped the wooden spoon into the pan. ‘I don’t understand? They cast the film ages ago, how is she working on it?’
‘She got cast ages ago too, it’s just I didn’t know because I’ve not seen her because she was working on... well you know what she was working on. She wrapped on Bond a few weeks ago.’
Jenna bit her lip. ‘When does she start filming on this?’
‘Monday.’
‘Seriously?’
‘Seriously. I saw her this afternoon. Said she was getting the train down tomorrow so she can settle in over the weekend.’
‘Right.’ Jenna tipped in the drained red kidney beans, mixed them in and put a lid on the pan.
‘You’re pissed off, aren’t you? Sorry, I shouldn’t have told you and ruined your evening.’
‘No, it’s fine. Better you telling me now than me turning up on Monday and seeing her.’
‘You’re still pissed about it though. I can
