Page 77 of Cast to be Mine

I set down my fork and looked at him properly. “You’re doing a really great job, Micah. I know I’ve said it before, but I mean it. The way you handle the crew, the way you get performances out of people—it’s impressive.”

His expression softened. “Thanks. That means a lot, coming from you.” He paused, his eyes holding mine. “You’re doing incredible work too. Every day, you surprise me.”

“Thank you.”

We finished eating, discussing the logistics of tomorrow’s sequence. Normal work stuff that somehow felt intimate when it was just the two of us.

“Can I ask you something?” Micah asked.

My heart rate kicked up. “Sure.”

“What do you think happens after the shoot?”

I blinked. “What do you mean?”

“I mean us.” He ran a hand through his hair, that familiar gesture of uncertainty. “After we wrap, when there’s no movie to hide behind anymore. What happens then?”

I hadn’t let myself think that far ahead. It felt too dangerous, too presumptuous.

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I’ve been trying not to think about it.”

“I have been thinking about it.”

“Yeah?”

That was all I could get out. My heartrate was making it impossible to speak.

“I’d like to keep seeing you, Grace. But properly. Not sneaking around or hiding anything. Just… us. Together.”

My breath caught. “Really?”

“Really.” His eyes reflected nothing but honestly. “I know it’s complicated. Our families, the industry gossip, all of it. But I don’t care about any of that. I care about you.”

A flurry of emotions exploded deep within. Hope. Fear. Excitement.

“That sounds nice,” I said softly. “More than nice. It sounds like everything I want.”

“But?”

“But we have to finish the movie first. I don’t want to let our personal feelings interfere with the work. We’re so close to the finish line. We can’t mess it up now.”

He nodded slowly. “Agreed. Work comes first until we wrap.”

“And then we figure out the rest.”

“Deal.”

He leaned over and kissed me. I melted into him, letting myself believe that maybe this could actually work. He pulled me onto his lap, and I stopped thinking about anything at all.

26

MICAH

The cliff sequence was going to be the death of me. The stunt team had spent the past three days rigging safety lines and crash mats and every possible precaution known to the film industry. But watching Grace stand at the edge of that cliff, even knowing she was clipped into a harness hidden under her costume, was making my heart try to escape through my throat.

My overactive imagination was running through all the one-in-a-million scenarios. What if the harness broke? What if the crash mats had a soft spot? What if, what if, what if.

“Let’s run it again from the top,” I called out, my voice steadier than I felt. “Jack, remember to grab her arm before she reaches the edge. Grace, sell the stumble but don’t actually lose your footing.”