Lights, Camera, Kiss Me

Chapter 1: You're Way Hotter

I walk onto the stage smiling and waving to the studio-audience right alongside my co-star, but my stomach is in knots. Whenever I have to step in front of a camera as myself and not as a character I play, my nerves go haywire. I hate not having a script. Thankfully, Ryan is right beside me. He's brilliant in interviews.

"Thanks for being here this morning," Starr Ellis says as we take a seat on the red couch.

Over the past year, Ryan has developed an uncanny talent for reading me, and I relax slightly as he puts his arm across the back of the couch. His light touch on my shoulder is a reminder to ignore the urge to fiddle with the hem of my skirt.

"It's great to be here," Ryan says.

"Thanks for having us," I add.

"The season finale of Hart's Valley airs this evening at eight-thirty on Channel 10. The show has garnered a lot of attention in its first year," Starr says. "You've had a phenomenal first season ratings-wise and the critics have consistently praised both the writing and the acting from day one. To what do you attribute the show's success?"

Ryan shifts ever so slightly, making himself more comfortable. "In all honesty, I think we've had some luck. I've never been on a show where things have just come together the way they have on Hart's Valley. The writers, the producers, the actors... everyone has gelled."

I nod in quiet agreement, and Starr turns to me.

"Do you agree, Mackenzie?"

"Definitely. While I haven't been in this business for as long as Ryan has, I know that the set of Hart's Valley is special. The entire cast and crew look out for each other."

"That's just as well since you shoot from January to October, isn't it?"

"November," Ryan corrects her. "We shoot forty-two episodes back-to-back."

"Impressive," Starr says, then turns back to me. "Mackenzie, were you surprised when they announced Hart's Valley had been picked up for a second season?"

"We've really felt the love this season, and the show has everything going for it—love, hate, lust, betrayal, and intrigue. We were certainly hopeful, but you can never be one-hundred percent certain of anything until it happens."

"I have to ask," Starr starts. "Because everyone—my viewers included—is dying to know..."

The roar from the audience is deafening, and Ryan and I grin at each other.

"Will Brianna and Stone finally act on the attraction they pass off as hate and hook up in the finale?"

Ryan runs a hand over his jaw as the audience cheers. Then he looks at me, the flecks of green in his dark brown eyes more visible under the studio lights. "Do you want to answer this one?"

I laugh even as my stomach flips over the thought of our characters hooking up. I know the possibility is there, but the thought of kissing Ryan in front of an audience still makes me unbelievably nervous.

Clearing my throat, I say, "I haven't forgotten—sorry, Brianna hasn't forgotten—that Stone blackmailed her to get the information he needed to take over her father's company. She doesn't trust him. But anything can happen in a season finale."

"You sure have your work cut out for you, pretending to resist this man on screen," Starr says to me, winking.

I shrug. "It's a tough job, but someone has to do it."

Laughter flows through the studio, and Ryan bumps my shoulder playfully with his, a wide smile on his face—a smile that's brought him a great deal of fame over the years. I smile back at him, meeting his magnetic gaze full-on. Truthfully, my comment is closer to the truth than I would like. Not only is my co-star talented as all get out, an award-winning actor, but he's also handsome as sin.