Chapter Three
Kristen sat across from Spencer at the long conference desk. Besides their initial greeting where he shook her hand, he hadn’t glanced over at her since the meeting began.
He slouched back in the chair, an elbow propped on the armrest, looking like he would rather be anywhere else in the world. His head was tilted, his soft blond hair, with bangs that hovered just above his eyes, was pushed to a side.
Spencer shifted in his seat as he weaved his fingers into his bangs, pushing them away from his royal-blue eyes.
Hollywood was filled with good-looking people, and Spencer was no exception.
But Kristen wasn’t impressed.
Perhaps it was because she grew up in Hollywood and was used to seeing perfectly sculpted faces and bodies around her. Or perhaps she just didn’t appreciate the attitude Spencer was displaying.
Then again, it could just be his well-defined jawline and nose that were making him look arrogant.
Kristen turned away before she was caught staring. She didn’t want Spencer thinking she was ogling at him.
She swallowed the sigh that had bubbled up to her throat. She wished she hadn’t signed the contract yesterday. Why did she allow Heidi to talk and threaten her into doing this?
She did, however, refuse to dress up nicely for Spencer.
Did it matter? They were going to be married for the next six months no matter what. It wouldn’t matter if she’d turned up in pajamas. But she was going to be filmed, so here she was in dark jeans and a loose-fitting white tank top.
The producers went through the same storyline that Heidi had laid out for her, telling them the gist of how the show would be filmed.
This was the first time Kristen had ever done reality TV, but it really was as scripted as a regular TV series.
“All right?” The producer stood. “Let’s get to the restaurant for the first scene.”
And they did. Everyone shuffled out of the room, and Spencer continued to ignore her.
She’d had co-stars before who ignored her whenever they were off-camera, but she would be spending a lot more time with Spencer. They would have to stay under the same roof for the next six months.
This is going to be a long six months. She smiled at Heidi when Heidi turned to her.
“Was that a sigh?” Heidi asked.
“Nope. I’m happy to do this. I’m happy to be off my couch.”
“Good.”
She sighed and rolled her eyes.
“Give this a try. It’s six months of your life. It won’t be that bad.”
Kristen glanced over at Spencer who had gotten into his own car. “You think?”
Heidi opened the driver-side door of her white VW convertible for Kristen. “Give him a chance. Anyway, I have to go. Ana will be meeting you at the restaurant.”
“Ana Price?”
“You said she was the best assistant you ever had.”
“Yeah, which is why I assumed she would be working for someone else.”
“She was. She took a year off work and just got back from a vacation. She was snatched up immediately, but I managed to convince her to jump ship.” Heidi’s lips curled. “Don’t say I only ever force you to do things you don’t like.”
“Thanks.”
“Break a leg.” Heidi closed the door and strode over to her own car.
When Kristen got to the restaurant, a production crew member in Boyfriend jeans and a black T-shirt handed her the script for the restaurant scene. “Make up over there.” She pointed to a white trailer.
“Okay.” Kristen scanned the area but couldn’t find Ana. She shrugged and headed into the trailer. While the makeup artist worked on her face, Kristen read through the script.
Movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention, and she turned to see two outfits held out in front of her. Two dresses, one a light yellow sleeveless sundress while the other was a gray off-the-shoulder dress.
“I’m just going to wear what I have on now.”
“But—”
“The producer promised freedom in what we want to do,” Kristen said.
“Do you want a sweater then? It’s rather chilly outside today, and you’ll be in the outdoor dining area.”
Kristen smiled and shook her head. “I have a sweater in my car.” She remained in her seat, memorizing her lines, even after her makeup artist was done.
“Kristen, you ready?” asked the same crew member who had spoken to her before as she came up next to her.
“Yup.”
“We’re ready for you.”
“Okay.” She headed out of the trailer, grabbed her dark gray sweater from the car, and followed the crew member through the restaurant and out a door by the side while keeping her head down.
They strode down a stone pathway flanked by black wrought iron tables and chairs. At the end of the pathway, one of the tables was surrounded by cameras, reflectors, and lights.
“Kristen.” The director, Neal Roche, gave her a pat on the shoulder and ran his hand through his curly gray hair. “Spencer will be sitting here.” His bleary eyes glanced over at the empty seat before he moved over.
Neal took the empty seat, relaxing back against the chair in his loose jeans and teal T-shirt. “And you’ll walk in from there. He’ll have his back to you. You’re not supposed to know who he is.”
Kristen nodded. She turned to one of the production crew members and held out her script. “My assistant isn’t here yet. Would you mind hanging on to this for me?”
“Oh, yeah sure.”
She thanked the guy, then pulled on her sweater while heading back up the stone pathway with another production crew member.
“You’ll walk in from here,” the crew member said when they got back to the door that opened into the back patio.
“Okay.” She stood and scanned the area while she waited. Small potted plants with goldfish-orange flowers lined the perimeter of the outdoor patio. Across from her was a small wooden platform with four spotlights, one anchored in each corner of the platform.
Kristen smiled politely at the few patrons who were looking her way. She wondered if they were real customers, or actors that the production crew hired to fill up some of the tables.
“Action!”
Kristen moved forward, her head tipped slightly to the side, pretending to look curious. She squinted as she got nearer to the man sitting at the table, then she broke into a wide smile. “Spencer Rowe?”
“Cut! Good. One more time. I want more close-ups this time.”
Kristen returned to her original position and repeated the scene. This time, Neal allowed her to continue to the table. She sat and grinned at Spencer, who grinned back in return.
Like her, Spencer seemed to have insisted on wearing what he already had on. He was still in his jeans and black T-shirt, now with a black leather jacket that had a gray hood attached to it.
“Hi,” she said and almost laughed at how absurd this situation was. It was so weird that something so scripted would be portrayed as reality.
“Hey. Wow, you look amazing.”
“Thanks. You look great, too.”
They continued with scripted small talk about how they’d seen each other’s movies and how surprised they were to see each other.
The director ended the scene and stepped forward. “Okay, we’ll be taking some medium shots from over there, so continue your conversation.”
Kristen sighed silently and turned to Spencer with a small smile, but he had already dismissed her and was staring at his phone.
“Spencer!” Neal shouted, and Spencer put his phone away.
He leaned forward and rearranged his features into a charming smile. “So, what do you want to talk about?”
“We could take turns moving our mouths so it looks like we’re chatting.”
His grin broadened. “I heard I’m supposed to make you look fun.”
“And I’m supposed to tame you.”
“And you think you can really do that, baby?”
Kristen beamed at him, suppressing the urge to roll her eyes. “My name is Kristen Park. Repeat after me,” she leaned closer, “Kristen Park.”
“I’m supposed to be your husband, not your pet.”
“It won’t look good for you if you can’t remember your wife’s name, baby.”
Spencer’s lips curled and he nodded. “Kristen Park.”
She smiled and leaned back just as the director yelled cut, and Spencer once again turned back to his phone.
Kristen regretted being rude. They would be working closely together for the next six months. She should really work harder at maintaining a cordial relationship.
“Muffins!”
Kristen turned and saw a woman handing out muffins to the production crew. It took her moment to recognize Ana. Ana looked so different from the last time she saw her. Her shoulder-length hair had been chopped off. Now a sleek auburn bob framed her sharp chin.
It seemed Ana had gotten some work done on her nose and chin, and even her dress sense was different.
The old Ana was always in jeans and T-shirt, but the Ana giving out muffins was in a black fitted three-quarter sleeved dress with a white belt around her waist. She was better dressed than Kristen herself.
“I’m Ana Price, Kristen’s assistant. She wanted to make sure all of you had something to eat.”
Kristen smiled. Ana was such a gem. “Hi, Ana,” she said as Ana came over.
“I’m so sorry I’m late. I had to wait much longer for the muffins than I expected. You always asked me to get something for the production crew in the mornings. I thought this time would be no exception.”
“Oh, I’ve missed you so much, Ana.”
“I missed you too. I was so happy to get Heidi’s call.” Ana opened the box for Kristen. “Have you had breakfast?”
Kristen shook her head and took a muffin.
“Do you want coffee? Heidi said you already had your coffee.”
“Yeah, I’m good.”
Ana nodded. “I’ll go give these out to the rest of the crew and check on the schedule for the day.” She glanced over at Spencer who hadn’t bothered to look up at her, then turned back to Kristen.
“Spencer,” Kristen said. “Would you like a muffin?”
“No,” he said with his eyes on the phone.
Ana’s face scrunched, and Kristen shook her head.
Kristen took a sip of the water on the table and dug into her muffin. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was until she bit into it.
“Something got screwed up,” Ana said as she returned to Kristen’s side. “The loft that you guys are supposed to move into isn’t ready yet. You’ll have to wait another hour or two. Do you want to head somewhere else?” she asked after her eyes flickered toward Spencer.
“It’s okay. I’ll just read in my car.”
“Kristen Park?”
Kristen turned and smiled at the man in a white T-shirt, dark gray suit jacket and jeans.
The guy’s short wavy golden brown hair was neatly combed back. “Leonard Warren.” His light brown eyes crinkled as he extended his hand. “It’s so good to see you. I’m such a fan. I love your voice.”
“Thank you,” she said.
“I’m actually here to get ready for my gig later this afternoon.” He pointed to the wooden platform. “But my partner just called in sick. I was heading out to call a friend for help when I saw you.”
“And now you want me to take over your partner’s place?”
“No. No, of course I wouldn’t ask that of you.” Leonard took out his phone. “I just thought maybe you wouldn’t mind taking a photo with me?”
“Sure.” She posed for the selfie, then checked her watch. “Actually, something got screwed up with the filming. If you wouldn’t mind, I’d love to sing with you.”
Leonard’s eyes widened. “Seriously?”
“Yeah.” She nodded and stood.
“What should we sing?”
Spencer sighed when Kristen walked away with Leonard. He couldn’t believe he was stuck with Miss Disney Star. He knew he had to keep his actions in check for the coming months until the Bahamas incident had blown over, but did his manager really think it was necessary to stick him with a prude?
Even her ex-fiancé—someone who knew her better than anyone—left her because she was too boring.
It wasn’t like he couldn’t stand to look at Kristen. He supposed she was okay—no, more than okay. Her petite heart-shaped face made her already large emerald eyes more pronounced. She could probably get most guys to do anything she wished by fluttering her long eyelashes.
But not him.
Everything about Kristen screamed ‘sweet,’ which wasn’t something that attracted him. He preferred hot, sexy, and fun.
Even her long honey brown hair that curled slightly at the ends—a hairstyle he found attractive on women—looked … lovely on her.
Disney. Sweet. Lovely. That summed Kristen Park up. Not a hint of sexiness. Not even the dark skinny jeans hugging her long legs made any difference.
“Hi, Spencer.”
Spencer looked up at Kristen’s assistant who was still holding on to the box of muffins.
“There are some muffins left. I thought may—”
“No, thanks.”
“Okay, just thought I’d ask.” Kristen’s assistant turned and sashayed away in her shiny black heels.
Spencer shook his head. Six months. He sighed again.
“Shall we have a sing-off?” the fan said into the microphone after putting a beat on from his laptop. “The best songs of two thousand sixteen and seventeen. We’ll see who can outlast who.”
Kristen laughed softly. “I thought we were going to sing together, not challenge each other.”
“We haven’t practiced any songs, so I thought …”
The production crew scrambled to get the cameras and moved forward.
“Spencer,” the director called out. “Turn and watch her sing, then move toward the stage halfway through.”
Halfway through? It was a sing-off. How was he supposed to know when halfway through was? But he twisted his torso toward the stage anyway.
“All right. Let’s do this.” Kristen’s head bobbed in time with the beat.
Leonard rubbed his hands together then bent toward the microphone and sang two lines. Kristen grinned and replied with another two lines of another song. They continued that way, and Spencer watched Kristen’s eyes light up as she sang.
This time, before she finished her line, Leonard cut in with another song.
Kristen’s jaw slackened, but she nodded after a moment. “That’s a good one.” Then she cut into his song with another. “Aww,” she said at the next song Leonard sang. “You know my song. I’ll even let it go that it isn’t from twenty sixteen or seventeen.”
Leonard laughed, and she continued with another song. The pattern continued, and Kristen ditched the chair. She was now standing, rocking her body to the beat as she sang. When Leonard started the next song, she joined in.
The chemistry between Kristen and Leonard was good. They sang along to each other’s tunes and danced together with the microphone in the middle.
Kristen’s hand moved, weaving her fingers into her hair.
Despite what he’d said in their scripted conversation earlier, Spencer hadn’t seen any of Kristen’s movies. He knew of her Disney days and her films, but he’d never bothered watching any of them. Seeing her singing and dancing like this was … eye opening? He wasn’t sure, but he only realized he was grinning when a camera came too close for comfort.
“Aargh!” Kristen pressed her hands to her face and ran one hand through her hair. “I can’t believe I lost.”
“No, no. You did great,” Leonard said.
“Thank you, so did you. I had so much fun.”
“Thanks for doing this with me.”
Kristen laughed. “Let’s do one more song. You choose.”
“Wow. This is the best day ever.”
She laughed again.
They discussed it off the microphone, and Kristen nodded. She stepped away from the microphone as Leonard grabbed the guitar lying by his side and slung it over himself.
Her head bobbed while Leonard sang, then she harmonized perfectly with him on the chorus. She even flicked her hair at him halfway through the song.
Spencer stood and moved forward. He wasn’t sure why, but he wanted Kristen to see him. She was going to be his wife, for the next six months at least. She shouldn’t be flirting with someone on stage.
He grinned when she turned to him and sang while looking only at him. But right after that, she turned and looked back at Leonard on stage.
Spencer cleared his throat as Kristen turned back to him.
Her eyes suddenly widened, and she screamed, “Spencer!”
He dodged right before a fist landed in his face. He grabbed the second fist aimed his way and twisted the attacker’s arm back before smashing the man into a table.
Kristen jumped off the stage and grabbed his hand before he could step closer to the man. “Don’t,” she said to him and squeezed his hand.
The guy spat, and several bright red spots splattered on the floor. “Murderer. You killed my daughter and you’re back here having fun? How much did you pay the police?”
Spencer clenched his jaws. “I didn’t kill your daughter.”
“People saw her with you.”
“I wasn’t with her. She came to talk to me. That was it.”
“It’s true.” Kristen stepped forward. “Some friends of mine were there. They confirmed they were with him when … when the accident happened. They saw your daughter go talk to him, and they saw her leave.”
The man clenched his fists.
“There are cameras all around.” Kristen glanced around. “You don’t want to do this.”
The man got up and marched away.
“Are you all right?” Kristen asked.
Spencer strode off without answering her.