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I looked up at him, my concentration shattered. “What? Who?”
“Alanis.” His eyes darted toward my boss, where she stood in the shade of a white tent, applying a powder to Janelle’s nose. “She takes a while to warm up.”
I pushed the sweaty hair out of my face and stood up straight. “Well, she actually answered a question today. I guess that counts as progress, even if I did already get an eye-roll and a scowl out of her.”
The muscles in his jaw twitched, as if he were holding back a smile. “I’m glad it’s getting better for you, coworker.”
He was sweet. I bit my lower lip, a smile threatening to emerge. “Me, too.”
His gaze intently searched my face and suddenly it was as if we’d been teleported to the middle of a grassy clearing, with no one else for miles around. I wished I could reach up and run my fingers over the stubble growing along his jaw. Or at the least, smile at him without feeling like I was about to end our careers. But that wasn’t allowed. And even wrapped up in Zane’s attention, I couldn’t forget that.
“I should...” I held up the water bottle and swallowed ha
rd.
“Yeah.” He nodded, still not taking his eyes off of mine. “You should.”
My heart drummed a heavy beat as I tried my best to return to my work, but every time I looked up, I found him still watching me. There was nothing I could do to keep the blood from spilling back into my cheeks and down the exposed flesh of my neck. I sprayed on his shoulders, feeling both sad and relieved to be almost done with him. I wasn’t sure how long I’d be able to stay in his presence without melting into a pool of jelly.
“Lexi!” My hand froze in midair with the spray bottle as I glanced over my shoulder to see Alanis storming toward me. She wore her angry face again. It hadn’t taken me long to recognize it. “They’re ready to start. Why aren’t you done yet? What have I told you about wasting my time?”
Not again. I couldn’t do anything right in Alanis’ eyes. Anxiety washed over me. My finger jerked the trigger on the sprayer, almost involuntarily. The string of curses that came from my side had me turning back to Zane faster than a speeding bullet. He was bent over, scrubbing at his eyes with his fingers as he swore at the ground.
“Holy crap!” I dropped the spray bottle like it had burst into flames and jumped to Zane’s side. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to spray you.”
His words were muffled as he tried to wave me off. “I’m fine. It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”
Nothing about his posture had me thinking he was fine. He rubbed his eyes until he had red circles around them. And when he finally pulled his hands away from them, he blinked, his eyes unfocused.
My stomach sank.
I was done for. I’d just blinded the star of the movie. My life was over. Ruined.
And Zane would never forgive me.
“You foolish girl.” Alanis showed up beside me with a half-filled water bottle. Like a boss, she took ahold of the back of Zane’s neck with an eagle grip and forced his head upward as she poured the water over his eyes.
He blinked a few times, shook his head, and then wiped the droplets from his eyes. They were still a little red and puffy, but this time he could actually focus on me.
“I’m really sorry,” I whimpered. At least he wasn’t permanently maimed, but he wasn’t exactly looking like Hollywood star material at that moment.
“I told you, I’m fine.” Zane shot me a thumbs up and a pathetic half-smile. “It was just an accident. Could’ve happened to anyone.”
I groaned and wrapped my arms around myself, no longer feeling the heat I’d been complaining about all day. No, now I was stuck in an icy land where clumsy makeup assistants got banned for blinding beautiful actors. A shiver went through me, even as Alanis shot me another scathing look.
“Back to the chair, for you,” she said, picking up the spray bottle from where I’d dropped it.
I backed away, biting my lip to keep from breaking down and refusing to look at Zane again. So much for the Mighty Lexi. I was the villain of my imagination—ruining my own chances of ever getting a foot inside the door to Hollywood.
There was no chance I was sticking around for the rest of the shoot. I hiked it back to the makeup trailer and took residence on my chair once again. Groaning with embarrassment, I shot off a desperate text to my girls.
Me: I blinded Hollywood’s hottest rising star. Someone kill me now.
Beth: ...
Like literally blinded him?
Me: Yep.
