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“Gabe!”
I whirl around from the view in the living room to look at her. “What?”
“Did you know about this?” she asks, panic lacing her voice.
“About what?”
She hurries around the corner to look at me, her face pale as the cameraman chases her down. I grimace at the sight of him, too. There are already too many people in here.
“There’s a challenge today—you and me.”
“So what? There’s going to be a bunch of them.” I amble back toward her and nudge her with my hip. “It’ll be fun.”
“No, but…” She hesitates and looks back, her nervousness palpable as she draws closer. “It’s all outside stuff. I don’t know, like sports stuff.”
For a moment, my gaze lingers on her, confusion taking hold as I fail to grasp her concern. But as the others start to retreat from the second floor, I don’t have a chance to ask her.
Jasper appears again. “Can we shoot this already?”
His irritability is getting onmynerves now.
“I’ll get the rest of the crew.” The cameraman rushes out, leaving the five of us in the living room.
“He’s a real ray of sunshine,” I say dryly to Stella as we’re waiting.
Forrest interjects, “He’s a good guy.Youwere the one who was two hours late this morning, remember?”
My skin prickles at the reprimand, and I glower at Forrest. “Well, like I’ve said before, some of us have real jobs. I had shit to do.”
Forrest scowls at me in return. “You think acting is all puppy dogs and rainbows? I’d like to see you do forty takes in the pissing rain in a foreign country one day!”
“Okay, boys,” Jessie interjects, striding into the room with the remainder of the camera crew. “That’s enough of that. Line up. We’re shooting this scene with Jasper. Stella, you’re out of this shot.”
Stella looks helplessly at us, and Jessie orders her to the neighboring trailer located down the hill, outside the cabin. “Go get ready for your challenge today in the costume trailer. It’s going to be a wild one.”
Our eyes lock across the room, and Stella’s face pales, but I give her a reassuring smile. This is my forte. She has nothing to worry about at all. I can’t wait to see what today brings us.
It’s refreshing to be away from the guys, even if the cameras are still in our faces, following our every move as we gear up for rock climbing on one of the local mountains where we are spending the day together.
“I don’t know if I can do this,” Stella mutters to herself.
I stop strapping myself in to fully turn to her, adjusting the straps on her shoulder. “Sure you can,” I reply. “You’ve got me, and I’m probably the best instructor you’ll ever get.” She eyes me doubtfully, but I look at her to start, holding out my hands as if I’m going to catch her. “I’m right here, Stella. Nothing’s going to happen to you.”
She bites on her lower lip. “I’ve never done anything like this before.”
“More the reason to try it,” I insist. “And if it’s too much, we’ll stop. I promise. I don’t care what’s in the contract. I won’t let you fall.”
My words have an impact on her, and she tentatively begins to climb against the massive, gray boulder in front of her, hands clinging desperately to the edges of the rock. But as she gets higher, I can see her relaxing, the climb not affecting her nearly as much as she had expected. When I’m sure she’s confident, I begin my ascent behind her, catching up to her effortlessly. Stella turns her head, gasping to see me behind her.
“You’re good!” she breathes, gazing down at the camera crew who remain on the ground. “They’re not risking it, huh?”
I follow her gaze. “Maybe we’ve finally found a way to shake them.” An idea forms in the back of my mind. “How are you doing up here?”
She gazes up now, inhaling deeply. “I think I can get to the top.”
“Of course you can,” I encourage. “You just have to try. Ready to do this?”
Without replying, her feet slide into place, and she’s climbing again, giving me a bit of a run for my money as I try to keep up.
