To Catch a Star by Romy Sommer

him.”
    No shit, as Christian would say. She rubbed her temple. “I can’t do that! I’m his employee.” Not to mention she was about to marry someone else. Something she shouldn’t need to remind her own father.
    “I’m not suggesting you sleep with him.” Victor sounded exasperated. “Just be friendly enough to get into his room and go through his things.”
    She wasn’t so sure they could do friendly, and the thought of going to his room…
    With Christian, everything had a sexual undertone. The spark of mischief in his eyes, his voice. And there was the way he looked at her sometimes; that intent look that made her burn hot and cold.
    But as patently obvious as his interest was, she wasn’t expecting an invitation to his room any time soon. Since he’d discovered who she was, and the title that went with it, Christian had made it equally obvious he didn’t want to be interested.
    She completely understood where he was coming from. She didn’t want to be attracted to him either.
    But that was a conversation she was so not having with her father. “I’ll do what I can, but I’m not making any promises.”
    “That’s all I ask. I know you can be very resourceful when you want to be.”
    Which was about as much of a compliment as she could expect. She sighed. “Yes, Father.”
    She stuck her phone back into the leather messenger bag she’d taken to carrying and headed back to set.
    This morning they were filming an action sequence in the palace’s entrance vestibule, a vast space with Carrara marble flooring and a magnificent staircase that circled up to the private royal apartments above. The front doors stood wide to provide access for the film crew. With the resulting chill in the air they might as well have been outdoors. Teresa pulled her North Face parka closer around her, and dug her gloved fingers into her pockets.
    Most of the film crew looked like Michelin men inside their jackets, but Christian wore nothing more than a dressing gown at the top of the stairs. Hot as it was beneath the film lights, he had to be feeling the bite in the air.
    As the AD called for final checks, he removed the gown to allow the make-up artiste a chance to touch up the shadows painted on his torso to emphasise his abs.
    “Not that he needs it,” Lee said, appearing beside her.
    She jumped. Exactly what she’d been thinking.
    “You can stop drooling now,” she bit back.
    “Down girl!” Lee laughed quietly beside her. “No need to go all possessive over him.”
    He was right. She did feel possessive. In spite of the stupid tasks Christian set her, she felt responsible for him. If he wasn’t such a jerk whenever she was near, and aside from the way the mere sound of his voice could raise goosebumps on her arms, she might even like him. Everyone else did.
    “What are you doing here?” she asked. Lee very seldom came to set. His team usually worked ahead of the main crew, preparing the next day’s locations.
    “We’re on our lunch break and I thought I’d drop by and get an eyeful.” He sighed. “Seems I timed it perfectly! Would you like an apple turn-over from the craft table? They’re fresh from the oven.” Lee held out a beautifully crafted piece of pastry on a napkin.
    She shook her head. “Thanks, but I don’t like cooked fruit.”
    “Goodie, more for me.” He grinned and popped the pastry in his mouth.
    The food on set was good. Cappuccinos, fresh fruit and pastries on tap at the craft station, and hot meals prepared in the mobile kitchen every day. If Christian didn’t keep her running for twelve hours of every day, she might not fit into her wedding dress.
    “Have you made any progress yet?” Lee whispered as the AD called “Action!”
    “Not you too?” She whispered back. “Zero progress. Christian doesn’t trust me. I think perhaps I’m the wrong person for this job.”
    Lee rubbed his chin and contemplated Christian as he leapt down the stairs chased by a half dozen uniformed