“A bit late to the party,” Luke observed, his tone sharper than Julia had ever heard it.

She turned to look at him, but his attention was focused on Zach, gray eyes hard and cold as steel. Julia knew Luke wasn’t fond of the actor, that had been obvious from day one. At first she’d assumed he was jealous, figured he’d wanted to be the one spending time with Kat. But that wasn’t it. There was something else here, an undercurrent of tension. Whatever it was, Julia didn’t like it.

“Perfection like this takes time,” Zach said, adjusting his collar. “You wouldn’t want me to give anything less than my best, right?”

Dressed in black slacks and a black button-down silk shirt, it was clear the man had been doing exactly what Andie had predicted. “He’s right, Luke.” She tugged on his arm, surprised at the tension in his body. She stifled a nervous giggle. “I bet he was feathering his bangs with hair spray for at least an hour.”

“Close.” Zach winked. “I know how important it is to make sure I leave a good impression.” He wrapped an arm around Kat’s waist. “Especially when I have such a special partner.”

“Zach and I are going to go practice the lift,” Kat announced abruptly. She switched back to her fake British Bridget voice and added, “But first we’re going to take the lift.”

Andie chuckled. “I see what you did there, cheeky girl.” She sobered and poked Zach in his silk-sleeved arm. “Remember to stay out of her dance space, Johnny.”

Kat stiffened, blue eyes shooting warning daggers.

“Aw, come on,” Andie protested. “I at least get points for the movie reference.” She waved her hand. “Go on, get out of here, Baby.”

Kat shook her head, mouth twitching with loving disgust, before she made her exit, dragging Zach along with her.

After they left, the tension diffused, and Julia almost choked on the gurgle of relieved laughter that bubbled up.

“You two want to blow this Popsicle stand?” Andie asked.

“I thought it was ‘blow this pop stand,’” Julia said.

Luke shook his head, brow wrinkled in thought. “I believe the expression is ‘popcorn stand.’”

“Any bets the answer is ‘D, all of the above’?” Andie grinned. “And popcorn is an excellent suggestion. I heard they were setting up a popcorn machine in the lobby. They’re doing a movie night.”

“What’s playing?” Julia wondered.

“Shouldn’t it be obvious? We’re at Notting Hill Resort,” Andie pointed out. “What movie do you think is playing?”

Julia glanced at Luke, that marshmallow feeling spreading all through her as he gave her a knowing smile.