Page 26 of Unspoken Tides

Max reached over and tucked a curl behind her ear, just as Rodrick once had liked to do. His fingers brushed across her cheek. She couldn’t help but close her eyes.

“Maybe we can do it again sometime.” Immediately after she’d said it, Hilary was mortified. Was she really going to have an on-set romance? Was she really going to open herself up to that? On-set romances were for actors in their twenties. They were for Isabella Helin and her chaotic world of affairs. They weren’t for fifty-five-year-old costume designers who’d quit the business twenty years ago.

“I’d like that,” Max said.

And then, impossibly, Max closed the distance between them and kissed her sweetly on the lips. Hilary floated off the edge of the trailer and into the sterling-blue sky above. She couldn’t take it. As their kiss broke, Max wrapped his hand behind her head so he could lace his fingers through her hair.

“I’ll cook for you next time,” he said. “I’m pretty good.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

Max’s laughter rang in her ears all day long. Even as Stacy, the actress, stumbled through her lines, Marty cursed, and the set designer grew angry with a sound guy, Hilary floated. Having a crush was truly one of the best drugs in the world. It terrified her.

Just two days later, Hilary was back on Max’s boat as he cooked up a tremendous Greek-inspired meal of gyros, pita bread, tzatziki, black olives, and baked feta. The tantalizing smells of oregano, olive oil, and sea salt filled the air over the boat as they tilted to and fro in the surf. Max made sure her wine was filled, and he kept the conversation light and easy with questions about her costuming career and interest in books. She hadn’t taken him to be a big reader, but apparently, he’d read just about everything—from Dostoyevsky to Ann Patchett.

“I’ve read plenty of romance novels,” he confessed as he sat beside her with a big platter of gyros. “My ex-girlfriend used to tell me I was a sap. But I couldn’t get enough of those stories. I got wrapped up in them. I was never fully convinced they would get together by the end. There were always so many bumps in the road.”

It was rare to meet a man who liked romance. More than that, it was rare to meet a man who would admit he liked romance.

“My ex-husband always looked down on stuff like that,” Hilary said. “But he sat down with me during a few rom-coms over the years. He adored Nora Ephron, even if he never said it aloud.”

“Who could hate Nora?” Max asked.

Hilary laughed. She considered telling him that sometimes when she spoke to Max, she felt as though they were acting in a Nora Ephron production. But she thought better of it. It wasn’t smart to point to the beauty of a moment. It could kill it.

After dinner, there was no need for conversation, anyway. They kissed as the light dimmed around them, as the island quieted, as the summertime surged ahead. It was already late June, and the island was headed for peak tourist season. Before things got too out of hand, Max brought her back to shore and kissed her deeply before she walked down the boardwalk toward her car. She could feel his eyes upon her until she disappeared, but she didn’t look back. She didn’t want to ruin it.

A few days later, Hilary was up to her ears in costume alterations on set. She was in the shadows of her trailer, jumping from one costume to another, when she overheard a conversation with two of the second-tier actors, who were in the next trailer getting their makeup done.

“You haven’t noticed them?” the actress asked. “I swear, they’re always making eyes at each other during lunch.”

“Wait. Who is Max again?” the actor asked.

“He’s the cinematographer. I showed you one of his movies last weekend, remember?”

“Right. The tall guy?”

“The handsome older guy, yeah.”

“Wait.” This was Shonda, the makeup artist. “Are you talking about Max and Hilary?” She hissed Hilary’s name, presumably to keep it down. However, the trailer walls were thinner than their estimation.

“Yes!” the actress said.

Under her breath, the makeup artist said, “I saw them making out near the parking lot last night.”

“Oh my God!” the actress cried.

“Keep your voice down,” the actor told her. “We’re right next to the costume trailer.”

“She’s probably off with Max somewhere,” the actress said playfully.

“You know who her mother is, right?” the makeup artist asked.

“She looks just like her,” the actress said.

“What? Who are you talking about?” the actor asked.

“Come on! I told you this,” the actress said with a sigh. “She’s obviously Isabella Helin’s daughter.”

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