Or did it?

  That was the part that had her pacing back and forth around her room when she longed to flop onto her bed and sleep it all away.

  Did it?

  There was so much in his expression, in the way his breathing quickened and his pulse jumped. He’d been holding her so close that she’d been as aware of his reaction as her own. This couldn’t happen.

  “No,” she cried, letting the word fall out in a long, frantic wail.

  It seemed like the whole world was watching them, judging them, looking for the least little sign that everything that was being said about their affair was true. If she let their friendship blaze into something more, it would turn into a wildfire that would break the internet. And there would be no escape, no privacy, no hiding from the criticism or gleeful curiosity. In no time, it would all burn to ash, and her heart, and her career, would be destroyed.

  “Maybe I’m being too melodramatic,” she said. She got up to get ready for bed. As she took her makeup off, she stared at her reflection, hoping her wiser side was still in there somewhere. “I just need a plan.”

  Usually the process of cleaning her face, brushing her teeth, pulling her unruly hair into a bun so it wouldn’t get tangled or frizzy overnight was a soothing ritual. Tonight, it wasn’t.

  Why couldn’t she have been safely married or dating someone before she made another movie with him?

  Wait. That was brilliant. She just needed to start dating someone else. But who? She didn’t know anyone from L.A. outside of the movie since she lived in New York.

  Well, she could make someone up, but she doubted that would be very effective. She needed someone to pretend. Someone who could act.

  “Someone gorgeous,” she said out loud, turning off her bathroom light and hurrying over to her phone. Just like she’d told Deb, she’d turned it off so she wouldn’t have to risk Chris calling her. He’d looked like he wanted to talk, and that was the last thing she’d been ready to do. After turning it on, she called Keith’s number. All the principal actors had exchanged numbers during the table reading, but she hadn’t actually called any of them yet.

  “Hello?” Keith asked, his voice sounding way too energetic for this time of night. There was a lot of loud music and noise in the background so she could barely hear him.

  “Hey. Do you have a second to talk?”

  “Sure. Hold on.”

  For a minute, all she could hear was the obnoxious music again. He was probably out clubbing. Lucky guy, not having to shoot any scenes the next day.

  When he answered, there was a strange echo like he was in a bathroom or something, but at least she could hear him. “What’s up, V?”

  “I need a huge favor. Like massive.”

  “Sure. What?”

  “I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend for a while—maybe until after we’re done shooting this movie.”

  “Whoa, what is going on?”

  “I am trying to keep things between Chris and I from turning into something bad.”

  “Why would it be bad?”

  “Reasons. There are so many reasons. We can talk about them later if you want, just, will you do it?”

  “Uh, will I let everyone think I’m dating Veronica Pantoni? Yeah. What’s there to lose for me?”

  “No, I didn’t say we’re telling everyone. I just want to tell Chris.”

  “We won’t be able to convince him unless we show him, and things like that are pretty hard to hide when there are a million people around and all of them know who you are. So, what’s the harm in just letting everyone think we’re dating?”

  “I don’t know, except that it’s a lie?”

  “I love how innocent you are. And aren’t you lying to Chris anyway?”

  “Only because the truth will cause more trouble.”

  “There you go then. Okay, girlfriend, we’ll talk tomorrow. I can’t promise to be faithful to you tonight. There’s a hot girl from Sweden I was hoping to get to know.”

  Veronica sighed. “Good night, Keith. Thank you.”

  ***

  The next morning, Veronica woke up at four-thirty, wishing desperately that she could pull the covers back over her head, go back to sleep, and pretend that none of this was happening. After a quick workout, she showered and went through the long effort to keep her hair looking like soft curls instead of fluffy cotton candy. After skipping her breakfast so she didn’t screw up her stupid diet, she drove to the studio. When she got parked and went toward her trailer, she found a note on her door telling her to go to Sam’s trailer office first thing. Curious about what the director needed to talk to her about, she headed straight there, trying to ignore the smell of breakfast coming from the canteen as she passed.

  She’d never gone to Sam’s office before and had to ask for directions several times. She knocked on the door and stepped inside when Sam invited her in. But then she stopped dead in her tracks at the site of Chris sitting across a table from her.

  “There you are,” Sam said, getting up. “Sit here, please.”

  Veronica did as she asked, but knew her confusion must show on her face. “What’s going on?”

  “I’ve got something for you two.” She went to a small kitchenette across the room and came back with a box of donuts.

  “Uh…?” She couldn’t believe it. She looked up at Chris and saw that he was staring at the box like it was a two-headed snake.

  Sam crossed her arms. “I think that production will go a lot more smoothly today if you two talk through whatever weirdness is going on between the two of you. I’m hoping that eating a bunch of fried dough with sugar on top will put you in an amenable mood. Here’s coffee too.” She plunked the coffee pot down on the table with two mugs. “Now, talk.”

  With that, Sam left. The silence in the room was painful. Veronica stared across the table at Chris. From the rapid throbbing in her chest, it was clear her heart had completely freaked out. This was single-handedly the most awkward situation she’d ever been in.

  Giving in to the allure of the donuts, however, Veronica opened the box and groaned. “They look amazing.”

  “They do,” Chris agreed. “But I can’t.”

  “Sure you can,” Veronica said, moving the box closer to him. “Your director told you to. Orders are orders.”

  Chris looked doubtful, but he reached in and took one. Veronica hurried and picked one up as well. “Cheers?”

  Smiling, he moved his donut towards hers. “Cheers.”

  The exquisite taste of buttery dough and smooth glaze flooded Veronica with bliss. She chewed with her eyes shut to better savor the sinful moment. “I’ve never had a better donut.”

  “You’ve just been deprived too long,” Chris said. But he finished his donut with two more quick bites and reached for another one. Veronica wasn’t far behind him.

  A few minutes later, she looked down at the box as if awaking from a dream. “Where’d they all go?”

  “There are three left,” Chris said after taking a drink of coffee.

  “Yeah, but did we seriously just eat nine donuts?”

  He nodded, smiling. “Give me a minute and I might have another one.”

  She groaned and leaned back, holding her stomach. “What was Sam thinking? I’m going to be miserable.”

  Laughing, he pushed her coffee towards her. “Carb regret kicking in?”

  “With a vengeance.” She took his advice and sipped some coffee. The hot, bitter liquid did help to clear away the heavy sweetness. As she put her cup down, she looked across at Chris. “So, Sam wants us to talk.”

  He nodded. “She wants the weirdness between us to go away. I’m not the one making things weird, so what are you going to do about it?”

  “You mean that I am?”

  “Yeah. Acting mad at me, avoiding me—all just because of a few kisses.”

  “A few? Try like fifty.”

  “Twenty-seven.”

  “Whatever!” Veronica stood and walked over to lean against the small kitchen counter. She needed to put space between her and temptation. Right now, that could have been either Chris or the donuts. “I wasn’t avoiding you. I just needed to collect myself. That scene was emotionally heavy, and it took forever to shoot. I’m fine now.”

  “Come on, Curly Top…you felt that way because we both felt something real. You can’t deny it. I was there, remember.”

  She raised her eyebrows, determined not to break. “I’m just a better actor than you.”

  He came close and braced his arms on either side of her, penning her in but not touching her. She had to crane her neck up to meet his eyes.

  After a long moment, studying her with a smirk on his face, he murmured, “No one is that good of an actor.”

  A flash of panic swept through her. He couldn’t guess the truth. She pushed against his left arm and broke away, heading toward the door of the trailer. “You don’t know how good I am, then. Regardless, there’s nothing going on between us. I have a boyfriend.”

  “Since when?”

  “None of your business.”

  His straight brows drew together. “Who?”

  Feeling as if she finally had control of the situation, she shrugged and smiled. “Keith. See you on set. Hope you don’t have a donut belly.”

  Chapter Twelve

  As soon as the door shut behind Veronica, Chris clenched his fist and brought it down on the counter with a loud, satisfying thump. Turning, he braced both hands against the counter and took a deep breath. The tight sensation in his chest making it hard to breathe could only be one thing. Jealousy.

  This was worse than he’d thought. It had taken him less than two weeks around Veronica to let his emotions run away with him. That was not okay. Like Sam said, he couldn’t let it interfere with their work. And if she really did have a boyfriend, well, all the more reason to get himself under control. He couldn’t bring himself to believe it though. Not completely.

  “Keith?” he asked out loud, struggling to make sense of it.

  Sure, the guy was popular with women. He was good looking—Chris had to give him that. And he was a good actor. But he was too much of a playboy to be Veronica’s type. She was a serious, committed actress with a better work ethic than anyone he knew. Keith was her opposite in every way, personality wise. If she was going to date another actor, why not him? They just seemed to click in every way that mattered.

  Because she would hate the public relations storm it would create. That was why.

  He picked up his coffee and another donut because he was a glutton for punishment, and headed to the makeup trailer. Regardless of anything else, he had a job to do.

  When he got done with costume and makeup, he arrived at the set to find Sam in a huddle with a half dozen people. He saw Veronica off to the side. He paused, thinking maybe he should just let everything go, but decided it was better to clear the air. She faced away from him while the crew strapped her into a safety harness. The scene they were working on today was from the end of the fight scene they’d been working on, where his character picks Eden up and flies off with her to safety.

  Standing just behind her, he dropped his hand on her shoulder and said, “Hey, I’m sorry about the tension back there. How about we forget it and get this scene done right?”

  But the face that turned toward him was not Veronica’s. A stranger looked back at him from under a curly wig.

  “I don’t know what I’m supposed to forget, but it sounds good to me,” she said.

  Chris dropped his hand as if he’d been scalded. “Sorry.” He paused awkwardly. “I guess they cast the right person to be her double.”

  Laughing, she held out her hand. “I’m Sandi.” After they shook hands, she nodded sideways. “They’re about to hoist me up and do safety checks, so I guess I’ll see you up there.”

  “Yeah,” Chris said, trying not to sound as stupid as he felt.

  He was sure his cheeks were redder than usual as he walked over toward Sam’s huddle. Sure enough, as he got closer, he saw Veronica watching him, trying not to laugh. Chris shook his head and sent her a playful glare before tuning into what Sam was saying.

  “We’re on schedule, so let’s keep things tight today and get the shots we need,” Sam said. “Things are going too smoothly, and it makes me nervous.” As she looked around the circle, her eyes fell on Chris. “Oh good. Chris, let me fill you in while they get you harnessed up. Veronica, you can take five over there, but we’ll be doing your closeups soon.”

  Chris let Sam lead him away and when he turned back around, he couldn’t see Veronica beyond the ring of cameras and gaffs and lights. She could hide in the dark and watch his every move while he was on display. It made his skin prickle with awareness.

  Soon, he was in harness and on top of a green-screen platform that would be the top of a building. It took a while for them to determine exactly how he was going to carry an unconscious woman through the air. They decided on having him cradle her against his shoulder with an arm around her back and the other behind her thighs. This would make it possible for Eden to wake up and look at him. The tricky part was scooping Sandi up from the ground and rising with her in the right position. Luckily, her harness would carry most of her weight and their lifts would not only support them but pull them upward as if he was flying. He had a wire contraption strapped to his back that was covered in sensors that would be used later for the CGI artists to add his wings on. Luckily, there was no dialogue in this scene, just action, so he could focus on all the technical things he had to do.

  When everything was ready and Sam had called “Action,” Chris successfully lifted Sandi, got her into the right position, and ran to the ledge. He jumped up as hard as he could, every one of his muscles straining with the effort. Within seconds, the line they were connected to pulled them up into the air in a diagonal line. It really felt like flying, and his heart raced with a flood of adrenaline. When the line jerked to a stop, he and Sandi swung back and forth with the momentum. He let out a whoop from the thrill and then heard Sandi laughing.

  “That was awesome,” she said.

  “Yeah. Let’s do it again!”

  “Oh, we’re going to,” Sam called. “Next time, Chris, try not to look like you’re on a ride at the amusement park and more like an angry angel whose love has been hurt by his mortal enemies.”

  Chris laughed. “Got it!”

  He and Sandi were lowered to the ground and taken back up to the platform to run it again. It took five takes before Sam was happy with it.

  While Chris took a break, he saw that Veronica was now being put in a harness while her double stood by. It was ridiculous the way his pulse picked up at the thought of holding her against him.

  As they were lifted into place, he looked sideways at her and caught her doing the same thing.

  “How’s your stomach doing after being jerked around on a wire with all those donuts in it?” she asked.

  He grinned. “Fine. I started to feel a little nauseated by the end, but I think it helped me finally make the expression Sam was looking for.”

  Veronica chuckled softly and leaned closer. The faint scent of coconut surrounded him with sweetness. “Good to know that your worried face looks the same as your about-to-puke face.”

  “And how would you go about it, coach?” Yes, he was teasing her a bit, but he really did want to know.

  “Live in Xander’s head for a minute. How would you feel if someone had hurt me?”

  Chris felt a chill creep through his veins at the thought. He clenched his jaw in an effort to fight back the surge of emotion that swept through him.

  “Yes. Just like that. Now do it again for our close up.”

  They were both hooked up to the line by that point, so Veronica stepped up to him and he took her in his arms just as he had Sandi. But it was so different with her. When he’d held Sandi, he hadn’t experienced the rush that now flooded him. Or the desire to bury his face in her soft curls. Or the inability to tear his gaze away.

  This time, they were pulled into position slowly, just off the edge of the platform, but they were still more than ten feet off the floor so they’d be level with the camera platform. There were soft pads beneath them, and he knew the people wiring them up were experts, but with Veronica, he felt a thread of trepidation running through his veins. His arms clenched tighter around her.

  “Careful, Chris. I need to breathe or I won’t even have to act like I’m unconscious.”

  “Sorry,” he said, loosening his grip slightly.

  As they worked, they were pulled slowly up the line while a fan blew on them to mimic the effect of flying faster.

  A dozen takes later, Sam called, “That’s good. Bring them down.”

  But instead of being slowly lowered to the ground, they were jerked forward up the line much faster than they had been before. As they moved, Chris felt Veronica’s weight in his arms grow heavier as she grabbed onto his shirt. In a flash, he realized that her line had gone slack and the only thing holding her up was him. Not caring if she could breathe or not, he steeled his arms around her and braced for impact at the end of the line. When they hit the pulley that the wire threaded through, the momentum swung them violently back and forth. Veronica slipped a little down his chest. In a desperate move to keep her from falling, he wrapped his legs around hers and clenched his fist around the waistband of her jeans. Feeling a belt there, he shifted his fingers to hold onto that instead. But even that was barely enough when they both plummeted toward the floor that was now thirty feet below them.

  Less than ten feet from the ground, his harness caught with a jerk that tore at every tendon and muscle in his body. The force of it made him lose his grip on Veronica, except for his hold on her belt. She was thrown sideways as she dropped the short way down and her head hit his knee. She let out a sharp cry of pain just as they dropped the rest of the way down.

  Cursing out loud, Chris released her into the rush of crew members that converged on him. His hand burned like fire, but he ripped at his harness, trying to get out of it. Finally, he was helped free of it. Shouldering his way through the group, he turned Veronica toward him. She looked shocked, and tears ran down her face, but she seemed okay, considering what had nearly happened.