“A movie?” I echoed my own thoughts. “Y’all are making a movie together? What does that even... like a real movie?”
Axel laughed self-consciously. “They don’t call Covington the Hollywood of the South for nothing. It’s dirt cheap to make a movie here with all the tax credits you get. And I’ve had this idea for a movie that’s set about a hundred years ago in—”
“Wait, wait, wait.” I stopped in my tracks and held up my hands. “So you aren’t just making a movie. You’re making a period piece?”
“Yeah, exactly,” Axel nodded, his whole face lighting up. “It’s really starting to come together, and Micah’s been helping me with the script but... you know. There are just so many details that go into something like that. It’s a pretty big job for just two people.”
“You know I do costume design for period shows and movies, right? Like, this is right up my alley. This is literally my wheelhouse. I have to see this place now.”
I didn’t care that these guys had been my sworn enemies less than twenty-four hours ago. I didn’t care if we had to walk through hell and back in the rain just to see this studio.
This was the most excited I’d been about anything since the plane landed in Atlanta. If nothing else good happened before the sun came up, I was going to see that studio.
Chapter Nine
Jasmine Bailey
The walk wasn’t as bad as I feared. The rain persisted and we sloshed through mud, but it could have been worse, and I stopped noticing those things after a while.
Micah and Axel had piqued my interest with their talk of movies and scripts and historical dramas—all in a real, bona fide production studio, no less—and my mind spun so fast with ideas and questions. I didn’t have time to worry about other tedious stuff like inclement weather and washed-out roads.
“You’ve been smiling this whole way,” Axel grinned as we walked along the last stretch of road just outside the city limits. “Gotta say, it’s a good look for you.”
It was still weird hearing compliments from these guys who had always treated me so badly in school. Like, I watched and waited for the other shoe to drop—if they were being nice one minute, surely it was only to mask some mean prank they’d been planning right under my nose.
And even though I didn’t really believe they were planning anything bad now that I’d spent all of this time with them, I still couldn’t quite shake that sense of concern.
Still, I had to admit the compliments felt good, even if they still caught me off guard.
“A damn good look,” Micah added, doubling down on Axel’s compliment.
“Y’all...” I sighed and shook my head, but yeah, I was still smiling. “I'm excited to see everything. And to, you know, dry off a little.”
“You’ll get your chance in a few minutes,” Micah pointed toward the road ahead. “The studio is just up over that hill.”
I gasped in anticipation. And I started walking faster with each step until I saw the building they’d been talking about for the past half-hour.
“Told you it wasn’t too impressive,” Axel said with a hint of apology once we’d finally made it to the parking lot. “It was a shell of a warehouse when I took on the lease.”
If he’d been trying to lower my expectations, it didn’t work. “It isn’t what’s on the outside that matters,” I shrugged. “I want to see what’s on the other side of that door.”
Micah nodded as Axel walked ahead to unlock the place for us. “I think you’re really going to like it,” he said, grinning. “Especially if you like historical movies.”
“Like them?” I returned his smile. “I can’t get enough of them. It’s like an addiction. You’d think that I’d be satisfied with being able to visit sets and design costumes and immerse myself in that whole world, but it’s never enough for me. I still want more.”
Axel opened the door wide for us and stepped to the side while Micah ushered me into a small reception area that could have been located in any regular, nondescript office building anywhere in the world.
“This is... not so bad,” I smiled, looking around. “Could use a little interior design work, but that isn’t even important at this point.”
“Exactly,” Axel nodded. “I do agree that we need someone who knows what they’re doing to come in here and give the place a makeover, but I’m honestly pouring every extra dollar I come across back into the studio—the equipment, the set pieces, the costumes. I never realized before how expensive all of those things can be.”
“But so worth it when you’re working on something you love.” I followed them across to another door and found myself holding my breath as Axel slowly opened it. “Oh my God,” I exhaled as we stepped into what clearly used to be a dusty old warehouse. “You did all of this yourself?”