“I will! That would be great . . . so great. I’ll have to see when I can fit— Colby, don’t fall asleep right there, sweetie. You need to brush your teeth first.”

“Mom, sounds like bedtime routine is in full swing. I’ll let you go. Thanks for calling me.”

“Okay, Lace. Love you. Good night,” she said.

“Love you too. Good night.”

I hung up, then reached over and clicked off my light. I lay there staring at the dark ceiling for a while. I was exhausted, but my mind wouldn’t let me sleep. I still gripped my phone in my hand, and I swiped across the screen, causing it to light up. I clicked on my contacts and pushed call.

“Hello,” Abby said when she answered. “You know most people use chat these days, right?”

“Would you rather me chat you?”

“No. It’s good to hear from you.”

“Too late,” I said. “Now I know how you really feel.” Abby was always joking, so in reality, I wasn’t worried.

“How are things?” she asked.

“Do you babysit?”

“Um . . . do you have a baby I don’t know about?”

“No, my mom could use a night out. I want to hire you.”

“You’re sweet. Sure, I’ll take your siblings out for a night. I won’t even charge you.”

“You’re the best.”

“Yes, I am,” she said. “How is Operation Making Friends On Set going?”

“Good. I found out one of the actresses is in love with Grant, so I’m helping her out. You know, since I’m a notorious matchmaker.”

Abby let out a scoffing sound. “Notorious? You know you have to actually do something of note before you can be considered notorious.”

“Shhh.”

“Are you basing this notoriety off me and Cooper? Because if I remember correctly the plan you came up with didn’t work at all. It’s a miracle we even got together after everything that happened.”

“Shhh. Notorious. Anyway, moving on. Thank you for watching my brother and sister. I owe you big-time.”

“As in, you can give me a tour of a Hollywood movie set and let me meet some famous people? That kind of big-time? Or like, you’ll buy me a milkshake and call it even?”

“Do you want a tour of a movie set?”

“Who wouldn’t?”

“Then yes! Come visit me. You will be impressed by my lack of fame and by all of Grant’s fans.”

“I am always impressed by people who aren’t famous. I can’t wait.”

“I’ll look at the schedule and try to find a day where we can actually spend some time together.”

“I can’t wait.”

“And I’ll introduce you to Grant, a real-life movie star.”

“Yes, please.”

Dancing Graves

INT. LORD LUCAS’S LAB—NIGHT

BENJAMIN relates the events that took place while LORD LUCAS was away, pointing out where the vial that he had given to Scarlett was and what it looked like. Scarlett has been unconscious for three days and is in her bedroom, where Benjamin moved her after giving her the vial. Evelin attends to her.

LORD LUCAS

And how did she react after you administered it?

BENJAMIN

Her breathing slowed; she seemed to relax.

LORD LUCAS

That’s a good sign. I’ve never been able to give a dosage so quickly after a bite. Maybe it will make all the difference.

BENJAMIN

We can only hope.

Six

One of my least favorite parts of working on this movie was the hours I had to spend getting my makeup done every day so I could look like a zombie. Which was why I was thrilled when Leah applied it in record time. Not entirely sure what to do with my newfound free time, I wandered over to the set, where Grant and Amanda were finishing up a scene. They were standing under a large oak tree and making a plan about what to do if my change progressed further. I visualized the way I would move later. How I would creep toward them, what thoughts I needed to channel during the scene.

Remy stood just behind the glow of lights, watching with his headphones on.

Amanda was good. It was kind of ironic that her character was in love with Grant’s character, seeing as how she liked him in real life too. I wondered if those real feelings helped her act the scene better. I also wondered if the unrequited part of the script was true to real life as well. If it was, we needed to change that.

“Good, very good!” Remy yelled out at the scene break. He turned to me and beckoned me forward. “Okay, zombie girl. Get in there and remind your hunter why he hasn’t killed you yet.”

I joined Grant on set while the cameras and lights were moved into a new position. Amanda sat in a chair by the monitor, and Noah showed her a playback while Aaron looked over their shoulders. He seemed to be chiming in with suggestions. Noah threw an impatient look over his shoulder, not hiding what he thought of those ideas.

I turned my attention back to Grant. “You haven’t killed me yet because my father is on the verge of the real cure, and you really want to inherit his fortune when you marry me,” I said for only Grant to hear.

He smiled. He was pacing, going from the tree to the headstone to a cart past the lights with garden tools on it, then back again, mumbling his lines under his breath.

Remy was busy talking to a camera operator, so I snatched Grant’s hand on his second pass and pulled him toward me.

“Do you see my eyes?” I said.

He tilted his head, like I’d said something surprising. “Yes. They’re gorgeous.”

“Thanks. But more important, makeup-free, right? Don’t look anywhere else today. We can do this.”

“Do you see my eyes?” he asked, bending down to my level. His eyes were even bluer up close.

“Yes. They’re gorgeous,” I said, mimicking him.

“Most girls actually like to stare into them.”

“What?”

“You think it’s me,” he said. “That trailer visit the other night. This. You think it’s me.”

“I . . . Maybe.” I’d thought it was both of us.

He leaned in even closer, his stare becoming a smolder, showing just how easy he could turn it on. “It’s not.”

“Oh.”

“We good?” he asked.

“Yes. We’re good,” I said. Only we weren’t. He had me flustered now. Second-guessing myself. I had planned to do the things I’d practiced with Donavan the day before, but if I was the one who wasn’t projecting chemistry, those things wouldn’t help me.

We started in on the scene. “Cut!” Remy yelled in the middle of a take. “What’s that?” He pointed right at me.

“What?” Had I said a line wrong? It wouldn’t have surprised me—I felt off.

He stepped forward, his finger still extended until he reached me and his finger met my arm. I looked at where he was pointing, to see a long rip in my blouse. There were a lot of rips in my shirt, but I, too, recognized this as a new one. One that hadn’t been there in any other scene, which was a bad thing. It would stand out if two scenes were back-to-back, one with the rip and one without.