Danika gasped. Hope had not been lost. He was still alive. She threw herself upon him, overcome with relief, and sniffed, “Hold on, baby, help’s on the way!”
“And . . . cut!” Trent Dodsworth-Jones called out from video village.
Matt finally opened his eyes and smiled. “How’d I do?”
“Joaquin Phoenix better watch his back!” Danika crowed. She leaned down and kissed him on the side of his face that hadn’t been caked with the fake bloody gash.
Poppy and Iris stood off-camera excitedly observing all the action as Trent trotted over to his two actors and heaped praise upon them for their searing performances. Danika asked if they should do another take just for safety, but Trent assured her they had gotten what they needed for the scene and could move on. This was the second scene shot with Danika and Matt today. The first, a romantic walk along the dramatic rock formations of Joshua Tree, had indisputably proven there was a crackling chemistry between the two, which stretched well past when the cameras stopped rolling.
Poppy had been impressed by Matt’s effortless ability to jump right in and make the role his own. After all, he had been waiting his whole life for this opportunity, and there was little chance he was going to risk blowing it now. It also helped that he had such an encouraging scene partner in Danika, who came across as quite smitten with her new co-star.
Trent held out a hand, which Matt took, and hauled him to his feet, slapping him on the back. “You just might wind up a big star if you play your cards right, Matt.”
“Thanks, Trent, you’re too kind,” Matt said shyly although Poppy could tell he was doing cartwheels inside his head.
“You two take a break while we set up for the car chase scene. But we probably won’t get to it until after lunch,” Trent said.
Danika nodded, and Trent raced back to video village to watch a playback of the scene they had just wrapped. The schedule had called for them to film the dramatic scene post–car crash in the morning while shooting the actual car chase and crash later in the day. There had also been a major change in the new script that deviated from the original movie. The characters Danika and Matt were playing, Jim (Troy Donahue) and Gayle (Connie Stevens), never became romantically involved in the 1963 version, but this more free-wheeling, gender-bending Gen Y reboot had everyone hooking up with everyone else, boys with girls, girls with girls, boys with boys. It truly was a modern take on an old classic, and so the writer paired them up, and it was paying off in dividends with the obvious sparks between Danika and Matt.
Danika kissed Matt softly on the cheek and whispered, “I’m so proud of you. You were so good in that last scene.”
Matt grinned and shook his head. “Come on, all I had to do was just lay there pretending to be dead. You did most of the heavy lifting.”
As they playfully argued over who was most effective in the scene, Poppy’s phone buzzed.
It was a text from Violet.
Poppy read it and turned to Iris. “Wyatt’s still working on tracing the stalker’s car. He got access to some DMV records, don’t ask me how, and he’s cross-referencing the half a license plate we got with the name Byron hoping to find a match. Violet says it’s slow going, but they’re optimistic.”
“It is good Violet is back at the office and not here trying to steal the role you are playing in the movie!” Iris sniffed, still smarting from being replaced at the last minute in her big scene.
Poppy rolled her eyes, refusing to engage with her.
Iris would get over her hurt feelings eventually.
As Danika was surrounded by her people—agents, manager, stylists and social media advisors—Matt bounded over to Poppy and Iris.
“What did you think, Iris?” Matt asked hesitantly.
“You were . . . fine,” Iris said curtly.
“Wow, coming from you, that means I just might win an Oscar!” Matt said, laughing.
“Do not get too big for your britches!” Iris warned. “I do not tolerate an overinflated ego!”
“Yes, ma’am,” Matt promised.
“I want to get a cream-filled donut before all those teamsters clean them out,” Iris announced, hustling off as the crew wandered toward the tent that housed craft services.
Matt waited for her to be gone before turning to Poppy. “And you? What does the professional actress say?”
“You were wonderful, in both scenes,” Poppy said, trying not to gush too much.
Matt stared across the set toward Danika, who was snapping selfies with her pals. “It helps to be playing opposite someone like her.”
Poppy noticed the sparkle in his eye as he gazed adoringly at Danika. He quickly caught himself and tried to get back to business. “Any progress tracking down the stalker?”
“Violet and Wyatt are still working on it.”
“If anybody can do it, the whiz kid can,” Matt said.
Matt glanced over again at Danika, who made eye contact while chatting with her stylist and winked at him.
“You two seem to be getting along rather well,” Poppy remarked. “People are starting to talk.”
Matt’s guard went up. “What people? No, I’m just sticking close by her side because it’s my job.”
Poppy wondered why he was suddenly defensive.
She was simply stating the obvious.
“But watching you two together, there’s certainly a chemistry . . .”
“We’re acting, Poppy, we’re playing characters who fall in love, it’s as simple as that.”
“Why are you downplaying this? I’ve been around long enough to know genuine attraction when I see it.”
“Because . . .” Matt began but something got caught in his throat and he stopped.
“It’s Heather, isn’t it?” Poppy guessed.
Matt sighed. “Maybe. I don’t know. I literally just got dumped a few days ago so I’m not exactly eager to jump into something new. . . .”
Poppy could tell Matt felt uncomfortable talking about this. Poppy, after all, was Heather’s mother and he obviously did not want to appear like a player, hopping
