ld the tip of her Gauloise cigarette to the flame from
Thaddeus？s silver Zippo。 She inhaled deeply but the nicotine did little to calm her nerves。
Memorizing her lines and reciting them properly had turned out to be harder than she thought。 On
top of everything； it was majorly scary to have Ken； freak show director extraordi…naire； yelling at
her every five seconds。
？Don？t worry about him；？ Thaddeus assured her； running his hands through his dark blond curls
and smiling at her with his adorable light blue eyes。 He put his arm around Serena？s shoulders and
squeezed。 ？I know it？s rough； and personally； I think you？ve done great for your first film。 We？re
just on a tight schedule； you know； and he？s nervous about pleasing the producers。 Believe me； it
has nothing to do with you。？
It doesn？t？
？Do you really think so？？ Serena wondered； burrowing into Thaddeus？s protective embrace。
Normally she wouldn？t have been quite so touchy…feely with a guy she？d only known for a couple
of days； but Thaddeus wasn？t your average guy。 It was more than the simple fact that he was a
movie star： they were pretending to be in love。 They？d already kissed eight times for the stupid
climax scene。 Cuddling on the couch like old friends seemed natural。
？Listen up！？ boomed the director； striding back into the room； tucking his pack of Marlboros into
the chest pocket of his rumpled denim shirt； which； oddly enough； had the sleeves cut out； so it
was really more of a vest than a shirt。
Serena shivered at the sound of his voice and Thaddeus put his hand protectively over hers。
？I lost it back there；？ Ken apologized。 ？Let？s call it a day； shall we？ Vanessa and I hav