L is for Luminous Read online

  My eyes widened, and I felt my heart flutter a little. “You’re filming today?”

  “Yeah, just some preliminary stuff. Ten to fifteen second grabs of sexy stances, smoldering looks, and stuff for ads.” She grinned, obviously high on the lights, camera, action. “The real fun begins next week.”

  “What’s the schedule?”

  “We’ll finalize the first script this week, and then we’ll do a table read with the cast before signing off on it.”

  The whole cast? I was beginning to feel intimidated.

  “Don’t worry,” Maisy said, sensing my anxiety. “I’m here to help you, but you’ll pick it up in no time. It’s different to writing novels, but it’s still a blast.”

  “I’m used to being in my own head for this stuff,” I said, agreeing with everything she’d said.

  She smiled, and I scurried to follow her as she began to walk. “It’s an adjustment, but the guys get it. We all live in our heads, but it’s just about vocalizing your ideas to the team rather than just writing them down. Now I’ll give you the grand tour of the house, and hopefully, you’ll get to meet some of the cast if they’re not too busy.”

  I already felt the tingle in the air, and it ran over my skin and made my heart begin to go boom, boom, boom in my chest. If they were filming advertisements today, then Jude would be here. He was the star after all. The last time I’d seen him was the day of the elevator when he’d melted through the crowd of paparazzi and disappeared. I’d been too self-conscious to sneak into his guest panel at the convention, so I hadn’t laid eyes on him outside of a laptop screen since.

  What should I say to him? I guess thanking him for passing my card along would be a good start. Yeah, that was normal enough.

  Maisy led me up the grand staircase and along the hall, pointing out rooms as we went. That was Tessa Donahue’s character’s bedroom, that was Jax’s, the study was further along, and finally, we stepped into a large room that didn’t seem to serve any purpose other than a place for the wardrobe department to do their thing.

  “This is where we do hair and makeup while on set,” Maisy said as we rounded a rack of dresses.

  Along the far wall were a row of mirrors and bench tops packed full of makeup and brushes and all kinds of things that were alien to me. I had absolutely no clue when it came to this kind of stuff, but at least I could tell a straightening iron from a hairdryer. Three out of the six chairs were occupied, and the woman in the closest spied us in the mirror and began to wave.

  “Hey, Candace,” Maisy said as we approached.

  Her eyes lit up, and she twisted around to face us. “Is that?”

  “This is Lux,” Maisy said.

  Candace stood and skipped over to us, a huge smile on her face. “I’m Candace Hunter, but my friends call me Candy,” she said, looking me over. “I loved your books by the way. I stayed up all night reading, and I was wrecked the next day. I totally had bags underneath my eyes.” She pointed to her flawless complexion and fluttered her eyelashes. “Rhonda was furious,” she added, winking at the makeup artist who’d been applying touch ups. “I can’t wait to see what you guys have for us this season.”

  “Neither can I.”

  I turned to the next chair where a solid man sat, his shaved head and broad shoulders marking him as Tate O’Connor, the actor who played one of the demon hunters in the show.

  “Welcome aboard, Lux,” he added with a grin.

  “Tate’s a smooth talker,” Candy said to me. “Watch out for him.”

  “Don’t listen to her, Lux,” he countered with a wicked wink, which backed up pretty much everything Candy had said.

  A loud scoff from the chair right at the far end drew our attention, and that’s when I got my first glimpse of the female lead of Naturals, Tessa Donahue.

  “No,” she spat, snatching the brush from the stylist and began adjusting her chestnut tresses. “This looks all wrong. Who hires these people?”

  That was Tessa Donahue?

  I wondered what Jude saw in her because from the two encounters I’d had with him, he seemed to be genuinely nice. People like that were usually at odds with diva princesses like her.

  Candy raised her eyebrows and shrugged.

  “Is that normal?” I asked, and Maisy began to giggle. It was beginning to look like everyone was laughing behind Tessa’s back, but Tessa herself wasn’t doing much to curtail her behavior. She must be a fantastic actress because I didn’t get any of this from watching the show. In fact, I hadn’t expected it of her at all. Everyone had been nice so far, so watching her diva moment unfold was like a slap of reality.

  “Everyone’s pretty cool around here,” Candy said. “Then there’s Tessa.”

  “Bitch,” Tessa hissed, her attention now fixed on her blonde costar. Then she looked at me. “Who’s that?” She said it like I was a piece of shit on her shoe, and it stung like hell.

  “This is Lux Dawson, our new writer,” Maisy said, an apologetic look in her eyes. “Lux, this is Tessa Donahue.”

  Tessa stood gracefully, tossing the brush onto the counter, and stalked across the room and stood in front of me. Her hazel eyes narrowed in distaste as she appraised me. She looked like a catwalk model with her high cheekbones and size six figure, and it only served to solidify the notion that I was no competition for Jude’s affections, even with her sour attitude. Actually, the notion was so solid it had formed an entirely new element on the periodic table.

  “You’re the girl from the elevator?” Tessa asked like it was an impossibility.

  I blinked, and she rolled her eyes, obviously not interested in anything I had to say.

  Once she was done with her appraisal, she flicked her hair back over her shoulder. “Well, you’re…plain.”

  “Tessa,” Candy hissed.

  “What? I’m the star.” And I was sure she’d keep reminding me whenever she got the chance, just like she did everyone else. At least I wouldn’t get any special attention.

  Without waiting for anyone to reply, she stalked from the room, shoving a poor wardrobe assistant out of the way.

  “Do you know how many times I want to write her out?” Maisy said with a roll of her eyes.

  “You should’ve sacrificed her on that altar last season,” Tate quipped.

  I’d only just met the woman, and even though she’d left a sour taste in my mouth, I wasn’t about to join the bitch brigade. I liked Maisy and Candy, and even Tate seemed cool enough, but I didn’t want to give Tessa any ammunition. I’m sure a big star like her could get me fired with a flick of her wrist if she took enough of a dislike. I decided that minimum eye contact was the way to go.

  “The ratings would take a dive,” Maisy said despondently.

  “Do you read the fan sites, Maisy?” Candy asked, cocking her head to the side. “I saw a poll on one of the forums, and it was ten percent for vampire, twenty for demon, and seventy for funeral.”

  Maisy narrowed her eyes. “Food for thought.” Turning to me, she said, “Okay, let’s go downstairs and see the crew.”

  “It was great to meet you, Lux,” Candy exclaimed, giving me another hug.

  Tate waved, giving me another wink. “Write me somethin’ good this season, ‘kay? Just don’t make it my funeral.”

  As soon as we went downstairs, Maisy was called away, so I was left to my own devices. Unsure of where I was meant to be, I found a quiet spot in the dining room where I found the long mahogany table set up with tea, coffee, bottled water, and an assortment of food. A catering assistant told me to help myself before disappearing outside.

  “So I heard there was a new girl and had to come see for myself.”

  I turned at the sound of a familiar male voice behind me and was greeted with an up close and personal view of Jude Atwood. The moment he was in my line of sight, I began to tingle all over, and I knew I hadn’t shucked off my crush at all. Truthfully, I hadn’t done much to stop thinking about the guy, and right now, he was just as dazzling as that
day in the elevator. Probably even more now that he was in costume.

  He wore a black suit jacket and a maroon dress shirt that was open at the collar, giving me a nice view of his hard chest, but the first thing I focused on were his eyes. Now that I wasn’t so embarrassed to stand next to him, I realized how stunningly green they were. I’d never seen anything like them.

  Stubble coated his jaw and his hair was artfully messy, and his character’s trademark sloppy combat boots were on his feet, his dark jeans tucked into them. He was dressed and ready to go, looking very much like the sexy bad boy vampire he was known for.

  “I got here in one piece,” I said, shoving my hands into the back pockets of my jeans so he wouldn’t see them shaking.

  “I almost didn’t recognize you without your glasses,” he said, leaning close and flashing a smile.

  “I almost didn’t recognize you without the elevator.”

  Jude laughed, slapping his hand against his stomach. “I forgot how much fun you are.”

  I narrowed my eyes, my insides fluttering. “Likewise. I got the laser eye thing since I was suddenly flush,” I explained. “I don’t need them anymore.”

  “Really? Good for you,” he said, not at all patronizing. “When did you get in?”

  He’d been the one to call me about the flight, and even though I knew he was super busy all the time, it disappointed me a little that he didn’t remember.

  “Yesterday morning.”

  “Jet lagged?”

  “A bit.” I glanced through the door to where they’d prepared the set for the day in the sitting room, my nerves beginning to get the better of me.

  “Looks different in real life, huh?” he asked, following my gaze.

  “Very,” I replied awkwardly. “There are more cameras and lights than I thought there would be.”

  “Most of the work goes on behind the scenes,” Jude said, his eyes lighting up like it was his favorite topic. I supposed acting was his dream job, so it would probably get him going. “There’s a lot more than just the actors that make this thing tick, though we get all the credit because we’re the face, you know.”

  “Hollywood one-oh-one,” I said with a shrug.

  “Jude! We need you in five.” We both glanced over at a guy from the crew who was holding up a hand to wave him over.

  “Got it, Jay,” he threw back. To me he said, “It was good to see you, Lux. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you again very soon.”

  For what felt like an age, I stood there dazzled by the sound of my name coming from his perfect mouth. Lux. Lux. It rolled off his tongue and hypnotized me.

  “Jet lagged,” he said to himself as he backed away. “Definitely jet lagged.”

  More like enraptured.

  Bewitched.

  Enamored.

  Beguiled.

  Enchanted.

  Hypnotized.

  Lux Dawson two point oh had the female equivalent of a stiffy for the male lead.

  Tessa came into view, breaking my daydream, and smiled her perfect smile at Jude as he approached her.

  “Hey, babe,” she purred as he threw an arm around her shoulders.

  Pushing down the bitter taste of jealousy, I turned back to the table, picked up a mini chocolate brownie, and stuffed it into my mouth. Yep, no competition whatsoever.

  Episode Six

  Spoiler Alert

  Sitting in the writer’s room at the Starscape offices, I stared out the windows at the Atlanta skyline.

  Yesterday had been an eye-opener. About the business, about what was expected of me as a writer, and the reality of my crush on Jude. Only one of those things was in my control and that was the ability to do the job I was hired for, which today was all about. It was my first official day on deck as the newest staff writer for the hit TV show Naturals.

  It didn’t help that I was currently daydreaming, or daynightmaring, about yesterday.

  I’d stood to one side, watching as Tessa draped herself sexily over Jude as they took stills and thirty second grabs for the ads. It was slightly embarrassing watching the man I had a thing for get intimate with his girlfriend, but aside from that, they’d been totally pro. Every take was right on the money, and it was easy to see why Naturals was the show of the moment.

  The final shots would be shipped out in a few days so they could be plastered up all over the country to promote the season premiere in October. TV spots, magazines, Internet ads, billboards, shopping centers, and bus stops. Tessa Donahue, Jude Atwood, and co would be everywhere I turned, which was a good thing for the show but bad for my incurable crush.

  The door opened, snapping me out of my daze, and Maisy walked in, followed by four others. I assumed they must be my new best friends, or in short, the other staff writers.

  “Oh, Lux!” Maisy declared. “You’re already here, good.”

  “I didn’t want to be late on my first day,” I said, standing.

  “Impressive,” said a short, stocky man wearing a fedora and a Hawaiian shirt with palm trees printed all over. “The young ones always turn up at least fifteen minutes late. Minimum.”

  As everyone took their seats around the table, Maisy introduced everyone. “That’s Vanessa, Martin, Gwen, and the hula dancer is Hugo.”

  Vanessa was a pretty blonde woman who looked to be in her early thirties. Martin had a designer beard and horn-rimmed glasses that marked him as a little bit of a hipster. Gwen looked pretty cool with her long, brown hair with pink tips, and I even caught a glimpse of a rose tattoo on her arm. And Hugo looked like he flew in from Hawaii for the weekend, but he seemed pretty laid back like a dude on his own schedule.

  “Loved your books,” Gwen said, leaning over the table. “I want to ask you about the part with—”

  “Oh, quit your fangirling,” Maisy said with a laugh. “We’ve got a hell of a lot of planning to do today. We can bow down to Lux later.”

  I sat there with my eyes wide, slightly dazed at the fact that these big-time writers liked my books. I was finally being heard, and it meant everything.

  Maisy turned to me, ready to get down and dirty. “Okay, we do things a little unconventionally around here, but so far, it’s proved to be a winner. We consult on the storyline together as a team, and then everyone has a go at writing an episode solo.”

  “I get to write an entire episode?” I asked, surprised. I began to feel giddy with excitement at the thought. To me, that was the ultimate power.

  “Yep. You’ll get to write several,” she said with a laugh. “I can see that look on your face, Lux.”

  “I think we’ve all worn it at some point,” Vanessa quipped from the other end of the table.

  “Don’t let the power go to your head,” Martin said. “We all want to be the one to kill off a character, but you’ve gotta learn to restrain yourself.”

  I began to get the feeling that everyone wanted to write one death scene in particular.

  “Don’t get too carried away.” Maisy gave me a wink that said if anyone was killing off Tessa Donahue, it was her. “Once we have a script, we pull it apart as a team and strengthen it, and then we do a table read before a final tweak. Then it goes to the cast and the rest of the team to get that baby into production.”

  “Then we do it again the next week,” Martin added.

  “Then the week after that,” Hugo said, rolling his eyes.

  Vanessa laughed at the boys before finishing with, “Times that by a twenty-four episode run, and you’ve got season three.”

  Martin clapped his hands together. “Right, guys. Episode one.”

  “They’ve already shot most of the premiere episode since it ended on a brutal cliffhanger,” Maisy said, filling me in. “It’d take too much time and money to recreate the scene to do it later, so that’s why we did most of it back then.”

  Hugo filled in the gaps on the storyline. “The demons were in the middle of sacrificing Tessa’s character, Skye, and she was rescued at the last minute. So the first episode is all ab
out her coming back to life, but nobody knows if it’s as a human, a vampire, or something else.”

  “I watched the rest of season two before I got here,” I said. “It hadn’t aired in Australia yet.”

  “Well, she comes back as a half-demon,” Martin declared.

  “Hey, spoiler alert!” I exclaimed.

  “Spoilers abound in here,” he said with a grin. “Get used to it.”

  Maisy rolled her eyes. “It means the first quarter of the season will be devoted to her learning her new powers. She’s not human anymore, and it will be a great point for some drama between her and Jax.”

  Jax was Jude’s character, and I had to admit I was excited to be able to consult and write some storylines for him. He had a tortured backstory that still had a lot of secrets in it, and his lines were quick-witted and at times, almost funny.

  “Now, Lux,” Maisy said, leaning back in her chair. “I want to talk to you about your detective shape-shifter character, Rune. He’s got the whole mysterious bad boy thing going on, and I think we could do some great things merging his story with Jax’s. Don’t you think?”

  “It sounds perfect, actually,” I agreed. “They’re different creatures, but their stories are similar.” Jax had inspired Rune, so to me, it was perfect, and the fact that Maisy got it straight off the bat was testament to her skill as a writer.

  “They’re casting the part of Scar next week,” Martin said.

  “You’re writing her in?”

  “Yeah,” Maisy said. “We love her character and think she’d be a good fit for a love triangle once we tie up the existing storylines. I’m thinking we can do a heap of foreshadowing to The Department from your series in the lead up to the mid-season break. Then she can come in and blow things apart.”

  The Department was a dark society of demons and dark creatures that I’d created to be the rivals for the good guys’ detective agency, Gemini. They were the looming force that overarched the whole Scarlett Ravenwood series, and in the final book, they finally got what was coming to them…but not before causing a lot of trouble for our fearless heroes.