well by now that it kept playing inside her skull, pounding against her temples.
The director barked instructions to anyone within earshot.
‘Baz, zoom out a little so I can see the sand. Jerry, check that last take to see if the light is still okay. Kat, my darling, could you just move to that rock on your left?’ Kat waded obligingly to the rock and took up her position. ‘That’s it. Can you put one foot on top of it? Good.’
Ellie admired her stamina. They’d all been standing on this beach for most of the day. She’d have dived in and floated away hours ago if it she’d been in Kat’s shoes. She massaged her forehead and listened to the pounding of the surf. She’d expected a little time to collect herself after they’d arrived, but it had been straight to work. No lounging by the pool under a yellow umbrella. No sipping coconut-flavoured cocktails in a hammock. Time really was money when video cameras were involved, it seemed.
‘Playback!’
The director’s yell was like a crack from a shotgun. Birds scattered from the treetops in terror. Ellie checked her clipboard. All her tasks were done. There was nothing left to do but drift over towards the director and watch Kat’s progress on one of the boxy little monitors.
The minute hand on her watch dragged itself listlessly through the next few hours and the sun began to set. They moved position a few times, and each move meant ages of checking the lighting, setting up cameras and other kit. Then Kat would have to sing her song another thousand times, this time in close-up, this time on a long-shot. See? She was even starting to learn the lingo.
Just as the sun had finally set, and Ellie was about to scream with the monotony of it all, Mark suddenly waded into the sea and scooped Kat into his arms.
‘Cut!’ the director bellowed, impotent with fury.
Ellie could only imagine the myriad expletives scalding the tip of his tongue. He spluttered, searching for the right word to unlock the torrent. Ellie turned quickly to face the trees and hid a smile. The prima donna on this set was definitely not the singer!
Mark said nothing as he carried Kat out of the water, but his eyes were blazing a warning as clear as if he’d shouted it. The director swallowed his rant. Mark unhooked his arm from under Kat’s knees and let her bare feet touch the ground in one controlled motion.
‘That’s a wrap for today, everybody,’ he said.
His voice was calm, but everyone from the director to the runners knew that negotiations were useless. The generator coughed to a halt. No one moved.
Ellie broke the tense silence with a scurry of movement. She tugged a fluffy towel out of the bag of provisions she’d hauled along with her and slung it over Kat’s shoulders. All that time standing in the water! The poor girl must be prune-like on the bottom half and baked on the top half. She glanced at Mark, and flushed as she saw the flicker of approval in his eyes.
Kat whispered her thanks as they headed to the speed boats that had brought them on the short trip round the coast into the small crescent-shaped bay. It had been chosen because they were practically guaranteed an uninterrupted shoot, with no onlookers or journalists to deal with as it was inaccessible by road.
Mark and Kat headed for the smallest boat, followed closely by Rufus, Kat’s bodyguard—or personal protection officer, as he preferred to be called. Ellie trailed along behind, still feeling like a spare part. The rest of the crew concentrated on unplugging and packing the expensive technical thing-ummy-jigs in foam-padded metal cases. They would follow on shortly, in the larger two boats.
They arrived back at the small marina in the neighbouring bay and made their way to the cluster of anonymous black people-carriers that were waiting for them in the car park. Mark pulled Ellie back to let Kat and Rufus walk ahead.
‘I’m going to wait here for our illustrious director and give him a piece of my mind. If he plans to roast Kat alive in the midday sun tomorrow he’s going to have to think again.’
‘You act more like her big brother than her manager.’
Mark frowned a little. ‘Babysitting the star is part of my job description. On the business side, I wouldn’t be doing my job if Kat couldn’t finish the shoot.’ His matter-of-fact manner softened. ‘But you’re right. I do feel protective towards her. It’s easy to forget she’s only seventeen and all her friends are still at school.’
He shielded his eyes with a hand and looked up the walkway after Kat as she slid the back door of the people-carrier open and climbed inside. ‘She’s a great kid. If she can get through the next couple of years without self-destructing she’ll have a long and successful career.’ He looked Ellie straight in the eye. ‘It would be such a waste if she burns out.’
The compassion in his eyes made something inside her feel very gooey indeed. She’d thought Work Mark would be different—harder, more remote. If it were possible, he was even nicer than Home Mark.
He turned away, stuffed his hands in his pockets and scoured the headland for a hint of the other boats.
‘She’s had a tough time recently,’ he said, and turned back towards her. ‘Will you look after her for me while I wait here?’
Ellie rubbed his arm lightly and nodded.
The clouds in Mark’s expression were banished by a smile. He planted a feather-soft kiss on the tip of her nose and walked down the pontoons to wait by the empty berths.
That kiss was the cherry on top of the weird feelings she’d been having since they’d arrived in Antigua less than twenty-four hours ago. It was as if she was in a parallel universe where, even though she was working for Mark, the ‘employer’ and ‘employee’ labels they’d stuck on themselves had peeled off in the heat, leaving only a man and a woman who were really, really attracted to each other.
CHAPTER NINE
WHEN Ellie reached the car she tapped on the mirrored window, assuming that Kat was taking advantage of the relative privacy to change her clothes.
‘Ellie?’
‘Yes. Are you okay?’
An exasperated grunt preceded Kat’s reply. ‘Well, yes and no—it’s okay to open the door.’
Ellie eased the sliding door open an inch or two. Kat looked more like a half-drowned cat than a sex kitten. Her eyes pleaded and she wore a weary smile.
‘The knot in my bikini top won’t come undone.’
‘Come here.’ She turned Kat to face the other way with the same kind of deft handling that she had used when making Chloe stand still to have her hair brushed. As Ellie set to work on the knot she couldn’t help noticing the angry pink on Kat’s shoulders.
‘You look like you’ve caught the sun, despite the lotion you slathered on.’
‘Great. And I’ve got to do it all over again tomorrow.’
Ellie released the tangle in the bikini top straps and stood back outside the
