Lights, Camera, Kiss Me (Original): Chapter 1
"You're way hotter..."
A/N: This story is dedicated to AJ, Bex, C & Daisy, for their love, support, and for always being awesome.
___________________
“This morning we’re lucky enough to have two of the hottest stars on Australian TV with us. Please welcome Mackenzie Lauren and Ryan Moore!”
It never seemed to matter how many of these interviews she did, Mackenzie ‘Mac’ Lauren always felt nervous when sitting down to talk about her work. She’d spent the majority of her time over the past few years in front of the camera, but this was different. She didn’t have a script telling her which questions Star Ellis, the Sunshine Mornings’ host was going to ask her. She did, however, have her friend and co-star, Ryan Moore, next to her.
At twenty-eight, Ryan was only five years older than she was, however he was infinitely more experienced and Mac took comfort in the fact they were being interviewed together.
He laid his arm casually across the back of the couch they were sitting on and Mac felt herself start to relax.
“Thanks for being here this morning,” Star said to them.
“It’s great to be here,” Ryan said.
“Thanks for having us,” Mac said.
“The season finale of Hart’s Valley airs this evening at eight-thirty on channel ten. The show has garnered a lot of attention in its first year,” Star said to them, “You’ve had a phenomenal first season, ratings wise, and the critics have praised both the writing and the acting consistently from day one. To what do you attribute the show’s success?”
“In all honesty,” Ryan said, “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, producers – the actors; everyone has gelled together really, really well.”
Mac nodded in agreement. The whole cast and crew looked out for each other, and since they had a season which lasted forty-two episodes, and they shot from January to November, it was just as well.
Star smiled and nodded. “Mackenzie, were you surprised when they announced Hart’s Valley had been picked up for a second season?”
Mac wasn’t surprised that the show had hit the right note with its audience. Named after the fictional town the show was set in, Hart’s Valley had it all; love, hate, lust, betrayal, and intrigue.
“We’ve really felt the love this season,” Mac said to her, “but of course you can never be one hundred percent sure of anything until it happens.”
“What about Brianna and Stone?” Star asked them. “Everyone wants to know if we’re going to see the two of them hook up in the season finale.”
“Do they?” Ryan asked, running his hand over his jaw. “I had no idea.”
Mac laughed at Ryan’s answer to the question they’d both been asked during so many interviews. Their Hart’s Valley characters were currently each other’s main love interest on the show and people were hanging out for them to put aside their scripted bickering and get together.
“Brianna still 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,” Mac answered about her character on Hart’s Valley. “But anything can happen in a season finale.”
“Mackenzie, I think you have one of the hardest jobs, having to pretend to resist this man on screen,” Star said to her.
“You’re right, Star. It is a tough job, but someone has to do it,” Mac deadpanned.
Ryan bumped her shoulder playfully with his, but he was smiling. His smile had brought him a great deal of fame over the years. If it wasn’t for his family keeping him here in Melbourne, he would have moved to L.A. a long time ago. The media often referred to Ryan as Australia's Romeo, and the name suited him perfectly. With his wavy, dark brown hair which was starting to look a little long, and the dark stubble currently littering his jaw, the name suited him perfectly. His eyes were hazel, and in the t-shirt he was wearing, she could see the outline of his chest and abs.
His face and body were probably plastered all over every teenage girl’s wall in the country. In fact, when she’d been fifteen, his poster had been plastered on her wall.
He’d been laying down in it, she remembered, his black button-up shirt open so that his chest was on display; a lock of his dark hair curling over his forehead as he stared at the camera. She’d thrown the poster out before she’d moved to the city, but just remembering how many times she’d studied that poster from her bed was enough to make her flush with embarrassment. She’d gone to bed every night imaging his full lips on her, and his hands.
The hot studio lights were suddenly too much and she had to resist the urge to fan herself. Remembering the fantasies she’d had about her co-star eight years ago was not a smart move. She was supposed to have gotten over her teenage crush long ago. She might have felt her pulse flutter and her stomach drop when she’d met Ryan for the first time, but she’d quickly recovered from her reaction.
Their executive producer, Michael Blainesworth, didn’t look kindly upon relationships between actors, and after the mistake she’d made with Danny, she had no intention of complicating her working relationship with a personal one ever again. Being dumped by Danny, and Junction Hospital, the television show she’d starred in with Danny, had broken her heart and almost killed her career.
Fortunately, Blainesworth had been willing to look past her error in judgement and give her a part in Hart's Valley, anyway. Despite her first career misstep, she’d been given a second chance. She couldn’t ruin it by getting involved with Hart’s Valley’s leading man. No matter how good a friend Ryan was, or how much she liked and respected him, she wasn’t going to jeopardize her career ever again.
Even with her past mistakes fresh in her mind, however, she couldn’t help but feel grateful for the fact the writers weren’t angling for Stone and Brianna to get together any time soon. She might be over her silly teenage crush on her co-star, but the thought of kissing him still made the butterflies dance in her belly and her toes curl.
“What can we expect to see from the show in its second season?” Star asked them, bringing Mac back to the present.
“We’re pretty much in the dark about what will happen next season,” Ryan told Star. “They don’t tell us much at all.”
Mac didn’t know what the writers had up their sleeves, but earlier she’d been told the answer she was supposed to give the Sunshine Mornings’ host. The only scripted part of the interview.
“We know there will be a new mystery to solve,” Mac said. “And Hart’s Valley will be shaken up by the arrival of someone new.”
Star nodded before she finished up the interview. Being a morning show, with multiple spots for guests, the interview had probably only lasted seven minutes or so. Still, Mac was relieved when it was over.
Ryan held the door of the studio open for her as they walked onto the Toorak road footpath. Being November, she’d dressed for warmer weather, but it was actually quite cool and she wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to warm herself up.
“Come on,” Ryan said when he spotted her rubbing her arms. “You’re cold.”
“Where are we going?”
“Where do you think?”
Mac watched the corner of his mouth curve up into a half smile. How many times had she imagined kissing that mouth when she was fifteen?
Stop it! You’re not fifteen anymore.
Mac mentally slapped herself over the head. She always suffered with these thoughts after remembering that stupid poster.
“Coffee?” she asked him a little breathlessly.
“We earned it, don’t you think?”
Ryan fought the instinct to put his arm around Mackenzie as they began walking down the busy street together. Despite the fact he’d been photographed with an underwear model for the past couple of months, it would be far too easy for people to see him with his arm around his co-star and see things that weren’t there. Instead of seeing two friends showing affection for each other, the media would call it something else. And a rumour would be the last thing they needed, especially since he’d just learned yesterday that things were definitely going to be hotting up for their characters next season.
He hadn’t told Mac yet. Hadn’t had the chance. But he was curious to know how she was going to react to the information. Both of them had assumed their characters wouldn’t be moving past their hatred of one another anytime soon, however one of the writers had hinted to him that Ryan’s character, Stone, was going to be sharing some steamy screen time with Mac’s character, Brianna, really soon.
Ryan would be lying if he said kissing Mac would be a chore. He always enjoyed his scenes with Mac. They had great chemistry on screen. Of course, the fact that she was one of the most beautiful women he knew didn’t hurt, either. Sometimes, like today, it was hard to take his eyes off her. Her hair hung in soft waves down to her backside. Her cheeks were a soft pink, probably from sitting under the hot studio lights, and her blue eyes sparkled when she looked at him.
She’d look good anywhere, he thought; in the studio, on the farm she’d grown up on. In his bed. Ryan cursed his train of thought, and his sudden rise in body temperature. These thoughts had become more persistent in the last month or so, but he could not go to bed with her – not while they worked together.
“That went well,” she said to him. “The interview.”
“What you mean is, that was over quickly,” he said to her, amused.
“Am I that transparent?”
“Indeed you are, Mackenzie Lauren.”
She grinned at him, her smile making her seem impossibly more beautiful. She was obviously relieved their last interview was over, reminding him that she still wasn’t entirely comfortable when it came to the publicity appearances their job required. He supposed some people in the industry might describe Mac as a little ‘green’, but she’d started her acting career later than most people he’d worked with before.
After moving from rural Victoria to Melbourne at the age of eighteen, she’d attended Melbourne’s biggest performing arts college, after which she’d landed her first big role on the long-running soap, Junction Hospital. Then that ass-clown, Danny Westlaker, had immediately taken advantage of her inexperience, Ryan thought bitterly.
She hadn’t had anyone to look out for her best interests back then, or give her advice, but she did now. She had friends on Hart’s Valley. She had Ryan. He wouldn’t exactly call himself her big brother, but she was a good friend, and he didn’t want to see her hurt again. And that meant ignoring the types of thoughts plaguing him at the moment. He cared too much about Mac to screw around with her.
“In that case, what am I thinking right now?” she asked him, raising an eyebrow.
“You’re thinking you’re hungry, and you want to go to the Red Jacket.”
“You mean, you’re hungry, and you want to go to the Red Jacket for breakfast,” Mac said to him, rolling her eyes.
“Am I that transparent?” he joked.
“Indeed you are, Ryan Moore.”
The morning was shaping up pretty well, Mac thought. The interview was over and now Ryan wanted to go to the Red Jacket, her favourite café in South Yarra. It was only a short walk from the set of Hart’s Valley. She went there daily when they were filming. On days that were cooler, like today, the booths inside were cosy and comfortable, and when they arrived at the restaurant, they walked straight inside the café and slid into a booth, knowing the wait staff would be over in a minute.
Mac was just about to look at the specials board when she noticed that the previous occupant of the booth had left behind a gossip magazine. Women’s Daily News was full of unverified information about her co-stars and other people in the entertainment business. The “news” magazine had been the first to claim they had the scoop when she’d been dumped from Junction Hospital, but it had been garbage which had painted Mac in the most atrocious light.
Instead of putting it in the bin, where it belonged, she opened it and flipped through the pages until a photo and headline caught her attention. It had been eighteen months since her very public break-up with Danny Westlaker, but Mac felt pain slice through her as she read about how happy he supposedly was with the Junction Hospital actress, Angel Marran. It also stated that Danny had decided not to sign up for another full season on Junction Hospital because he’d been offered a role in the new Dane Gidardo film.
“What is it?” Ryan asked her.
“Nothing,” she told him, closing the magazine immediately.
It’s not like she’d intended to lie to Ryan, it was just easier to say nothing than talk about what she’d just seen. Unfortunately, Ryan didn’t believe her. He grabbed the magazine off her and proceeded to search through it for the article which had thrown her. When he found it, he looked at her, his jaw suddenly taut and his expression disapproving. She didn’t know how much Ryan knew about what had happened between her and Danny, but she knew that he didn’t have a particularly high opinion of the other actor.
“I’m fine,” she told him, sitting up a little straighter.
She didn’t need anyone to feel sorry for her, or angry on her behalf.
“He was an idiot, Mac.”
If anyone had been an idiot, it was her, but Ryan was sweet for trying to make her feel better.
“I mean, you’re way hotter than Angel Marran,” he said. “Seriously, what was he thinking?”
“You prefer brunettes.” She rolled her eyes, but she was also smiling. “You’re kind of biased.”
“Maybe,” Ryan said with a smirk. “But that doesn’t make it any less true.”
Okay, so maybe right now wasn’t the best time to bring up Brianna and Stone’s potential romance next season, Ryan thought. Not when he could see she was still beating herself up for the mistake she’d made years ago. She had to let it go. Everyone made mistakes, especially in their first job. Ryan had. Back when he was young and stupid.
It always ended up messy. He preferred to keep things simple, uncomplicated and fun. Serious was for those who were looking to settle down. He wasn’t. The women he dated knew that up front. Life was too short to have complications. He grimaced as he thought about the underwear model’s suggestion they move in together. Yep, they’d reached their expiry date.
He watched Mac pull her bag towards her and make a show of looking through it for something. As far as Ryan could see, she wasn’t looking at the upside of what had happened with Westlaker. She’d learned from her mistake and she was determined not to make the same mistake again. Her dedication to the role she had now was admirable. Nothing mattered to her more than her career. All she did was work. Really.
He frowned as he tried to remember the last time she’d been on a date. Had she been on a date since she started working on Hart’s Valley? She didn’t exactly lack offers. When they went out, she was hit on as much as he was. He’d just never seen her accept a date from any of her admirers.
Until now he’d assumed it was because she was devoting all her time to her work, but what if it was more than that? Her face had been ashen when she’d been reading the article about her ex-boyfriend. What if she was still hung up on the idiot? Anger and irritation surged through him at the thought. After everything that happened, surely not.
“Mac. Ryan,” their regular waitress, Becca, greeted them. “It’s so cold this morning. I couldn’t feel my hands or feet before I got to work today.”
“It is cool outside,” Mac agreed.
“What are you doing here? You guys are on break till January, right?”
“Another interview this morning,” Mac told her.
Becca nodded before taking down their breakfast orders. Once she left, Ryan went back to studying Mac.
“What?” she asked him nervously.
“Are you over him?” he blurted out before he could stop himself.
Mac thought about the question for a moment. Before she’d picked up the magazine, she’d believed she was. So why had it hurt to see Danny so happy with Angel? It was just the shock, she told herself. That was it. After all, the reason Danny had given her for breaking up had been that he hadn’t wanted anything serious and he’d felt that she was heading down that path. Of course when he’d started an exclusive relationship with Angel immediately afterwards, it had been apparent Danny didn’t mind permanent – he just hadn’t wanted it with Mac.
The break-up had been awful. When he’d moved on to Angel, Mac had felt awkward and rejected. The sight of him had made her want to break down and cry. Not to mention that working with Angel, and watching her and Danny together, had been like having her heart stomped on repeatedly. Her performance had suffered. She should have risen above it, but she hadn’t been able to. She’d let a guy screw up her work, and she would regret that for a long time.
“I am,” she said determinedly. “It’s just…seeing this article today was a surprise.”
“Not a good one,” he said to her.
“I’m over him.”
“It’s been how long since you broke up with him? You don’t date,” he said to her accusingly.
Mac opened her mouth to tell him she was too busy to date, but they were on break from filming for the next six weeks. The truth was that she did have time to date.
“So maybe I should start,” she said to him, shrugging.
Her words hit Ryan like a punch in the gut, and he actually felt himself hunch over the table, before Becca appeared with their breakfast. It was probably just his protective instincts kicking in, he told himself as the waitress put their food on the table. As long as Mac was over Westlaker, he was happy. If she wanted to get out there and start dating again, that was her business. In fact, considering things would be hotting up between Stone and Brianna next season, and he was experiencing these annoyingly persistent sexual urges around her, it was probably a good thing.
“You approve?” she asked with amusement when he nodded.
“I’ll have to ask Jazz to hit the clubs with me,” she said to him.
“You only go to clubs if you’re looking for one thing,” he growled without thinking. Mac would be asking for trouble if she hit the clubs with their co-star, Jasmine Cooper.
“I know. I just love when you go all big brother on me,” she told him with a small smile. “I’m not that stupid.”
Ryan might have laughed had his thoughts about Mac been at all brotherly today. He’d have to give himself hell for that another time though because he was more focused on the fact that Mac was referring to herself as stupid. It pissed him off that she felt that way because of Westlaker.
“You’re not stupid,” he told her. “Everyone makes mistakes, Mac.”
“Yeah.”
Mac wasn’t sure that Ryan had ever made a mistake like she had, but it wasn’t worth bringing it up so they could hash over hers right now.
“So, forget clubbing. What’s your plan of attack?” he asked her.
“I don’t know,” she said to him. “Jazz told me she knows someone I would hit it off with.”
She hadn’t given a thought to dating for a long time, and even when Jasmine had mentioned wanting to introduce her to someone, she’d dismissed it. Now, however, she had to admit that the idea was growing on her more and more.
“Cool,” he said to her.
Mac watched Ryan sit back in the booth, and put his hands behind his head. Her eyes trailed down from his now bulging biceps, to his shirt, which stretched over muscles she’d ogled far too many times when she’d had his poster on her wall. When she finally lifted her eyes to meet his, she noticed they were a shade darker than usual. It felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room as awareness suddenly crackled between them. Warmth that had nothing to do with the temperature inside the building spread through her.
“So you’re going to get her to introduce you?” Ryan asked her, breaking the silence, his voice just a fraction lower than normal.
“Yes,” she said to him, trying to remind herself that leading men were permanently off limits to her. “That’s what I’m going to do.”