“You haven’t seen anything yet.” Carly glanced at her watch. “Shall we? We need to allow five minutes for the drive and another five to pay our bill. Listen, I wouldn’t want you to be late. Good thing you have me to look out for you.”

Lauren gasped. “Is this the Upside Down? What is happening? Where’s the starlet I came here with?”

“She could be the one you go home with,” Carly said, with another playful wink.

“Carly!” Lauren covered her eyes.

Carly chuckled to herself as she paid the bill. “Drink that.” She slid the untouched shot toward Lauren. “It will get you out of your head and through your first day. Our little secret.”

With a dramatic sigh, Lauren downed the shot with one gesture at the same time that old eighties song “You Give Love a Bad Name” blared through the speakers. Sexy as fucking hell and entirely apropos.

“This was a good lunch,” Carly said, marveling.

“Agreed.” Lauren smiled. “C’mon. Let’s get back to work.”

The rest of rehearsal had to be the most satisfying four hours Carly had spent in her entire acting career. Lauren opened up, bringing all kinds of levels to Mandy, which only inspired Carly’s own emotional creativity. Under Ethan’s guidance, they tried one approach, then another. As the day went on, Ethan released each cast member individually, until only Lauren and Carly remained. That’s when they really dug in and made one fruitful discovery after another. Carly laughed, cried, and lost herself in Ashley, leaving her a satisfied bundle of excitement by the end of rehearsal.

“That’s the day,” Trip said to the three of them. “Check your email for tomorrow’s rehearsal call.”

Carly felt everything in her go slack as Janie moved about, tidying the rehearsal space. Productive or not, the day had taken a lot out of her. There had to be a glass of champagne and a cool mask for her eyes waiting back at her apartment, which luckily had a concierge for hire downstairs.

“I feel really good about what we did this afternoon,” she told Lauren as they packed up. “We really got into it.” She shook her head, still amazed at the attention to detail that went into each scene. So different from the rehearsal process for screen, which was fast and furious.

“No kissing scenes today,” Lauren said, as she changed from her rehearsal shoes into her street shoes. She said it as if it was the most casual thing in the world.

Carly swallowed, as a shot of longing she hadn’t been expecting rippled through her. “Nope.”