Lessons Learned, Healing Hearts

Rescue 101 (Chapter 9)

"Excuse me," Marlow said, knocking on the trailer's frame as she stepped inside. "I was told to come here."

A tall woman with bright green eyeglasses peered over a clothing rack. "Come in, come in," she said warmly. "I'm KT, and you are?"

"Marlow Bennett."

KT scanned her clipboard, flipping through a few pages before frowning.

"I don't have a Marlow B listed anywhere." She looked up. "Are you sure you're supposed to be here?"

"Yes," Marlow said quickly. "The actress portraying Ignazio's love interest was unable to make it. So, they asked me to fill in."

KT picked up her phone. "Stay here."

Marlow's gaze wandered. Clothing racks stretched the length of the trailer, each section meticulously labelled: Gianluca, Piero, Ignazio. Absentmindedly, she brushed her fingers over a shirt in Piero's section, the fabric soft, clearly not a Walmart roll-back special.

KT's voice jolted her.

"Okay, so there are five scenes, four wardrobe changes." KT eyed Marlow up and down, pulling out several tops. "Since I really like the jeans you're wearing, we'll just change out your top and footwear."

"What about the other scenes?" Marlow questioned.

"We'll deal with the others as they come up."

When a knock came at the trailer door, Marlow turned her back to finish buttoning her shirt. Tucking the front into her jeans, she smiled at Ignazio.

"I'm here to walk you over to makeup. We can go over the script while we're there."

KT waved her off. "I'll start putting outfits together for the next scene."

Marlow muttered a quick thanks before accepting Ignazio's hand.

***

Settled in a makeup chair, Marlow listened as Ignazio explained each scene.

"Scene one is simple. You're just getting ready to meet up with me."

"Oh, okay. That's easy enough. I'll just do what I do every morning."

Ignazio chuckled. "Then the next part is where we meet up outside. We hug, and there's a quick kiss." He said it so nonchalantly; it caught Marlow off guard.

"Wait, do the other guys have kissing scenes too, or just you?"

"We all do."

She raised an eyebrow, knowing the gleam in his eye meant he was relishing her discomfort.

Marlow rolled her eyes. "Exactly how many kissing scenes are we talking about?"

"Hmm..." Ignazio paused, glancing up like he was counting on his fingers. "Two, five... I'm not sure."

Marlow's head snapped to the left, her mouth falling open. When the makeup artist turned her face forward again, she shifted only her eyes towards him, catching a glimpse of Ignazio's mischievous grin.

"I love how gullible you are," he teased.

Marlow shook her head, trying to suppress the smile tugging at her lips.

"You're not as funny as you think."

Despite her best efforts, a soft laugh escaped. They had slipped into that easy, sibling-like rapport again—comforting, familiar, and natural.

Gianluca was quieter, an observer. Not interacting with him nearly as much as the other two, he had a genuine soulfulness that pulled her in and made her feel safe. Skilled at giving a sultry side gaze accompanied by a wink, he had his share of making her drop her eyes in an embarrassed flush.