Page 7 of Rocks You Like a Cabernet

Shaking my head at her attitude, I look to the ceiling for calm but don’t find it. “Bryn, I’m so fucking tired of–”

“Enough,” Cameron cuts me off. “Both of you, enough. Bryn,” he takes a step in her direction but doesn’t touch her. “I know why you think this is a bad angle for you, but it’s not. It could be the shove in the right direction you were looking for.”

She opens her mouth, no doubt to argue again, but he pays her no mind after finishing his sentence. Cameron then turns to me. “And you, this is big. This rumor of you two dating could give the show exactly what it needs to be a success right out of the gate. Episode one and two are airing at the end of next week. We need to get fans hyped and streaming from day one.”

I stand in silence, letting his words wash over me. I feel dumb not having put that together but how was I to know? When rumors like this broke out when I was with my band, we never paid any mind to them. If I stood close to a woman after a concert the press would make up some stupid story about me. I was either playing with another heart or finally being tamed.

Giving Cameron a tiny nod, I wait for him to give us our next move. I may not have been savvy enough to understand why this headline was important for the show but I knew, without a doubt, that Cameron was formulating a plan.

Not gonna lie, the twinkle in his eye scared me.

And when Cameron finally opens his mouth again and tells us his plan, Bryn and I agree for the first time.

“You’re both going to stay at a cottage in Banff for the next four days. Pack your bags! Stella, we need to coordinate.”

“NO!”

Chapter Five

Bryn

“Four days alone, trapped in a cottage in the middle of nowhere. What the hell was he thinking?” I say out loud, not expecting Henrik to say anything as he trudges behind me. “It’s the perfect plan if the conclusion he’s looking for is murder.”

Water drips off my face as I look up, trying to make out the cottage in the distance. When Cameron stated his elaborate and very stupid plan, I had thought the bright side of the whole thing would be staying at a very modern, very posh cottage. Cameron was a big-time director after all and would probably want the best for us.

God was I wrong. So, so wrong.

Instead of modern we got a dirt path that was currently being washed away by heavy rain. The car we took here couldn’t make it up the drive and now we were dragging our luggage through mud and who knows what else. And instead of posh…well, I just hoped to the high heavens that there was at least a coffee machine and wine waiting for me.

I requested a lot of wine be made available at the cottage to get me through the next four days. The amount of time I was going to be trapped with Henrik.

“Watch your step there,” he calls out to me. I barely hear him over the pounding of my heart. My legs are burning as we climb the final steps to the clearing. I’m about to say something cutting and clever back to Henrik–I don’t need his help walking–when my foot slips from under me.

The sudden momentum has me falling backward. Bracing myself for the impact on the rocks, my body stiffens. But I didn't hit the ground. Firm hands grip me around the waist and hold me tight to a soaking wet chest.

Opening my eyes, I stare in wonder at Henrik. He saved me.

Rain drips off his face as he looks down at me. Scanning me for any injuries. I’ve never been this close to him before. He’s an attractive man, anyone with eyes can see that, but up close…he takes my breath away.

There’s a light patch of freckles under his left eye that makes the edges of my lips tingle with a smile. His green eyes rival mossy hills this close and I can spot flecks of gray. His grip around my waist tightens briefly as he adjusts his hold and I can’t help but feel the bulge of his muscles.

Slowly, and with more care than I probably deserve with all the sass I’ve been giving him lately, Henrik helps me to stand.

“You okay?” He asks, not taking his hands off me until I’m steady.

“Yeah. Yes,” I say again, pushing back the wet hair that’s fallen into my eyes. “Thank you.”

He gives me a nod before circling me and taking the lead the last few steps to the cottage. I watch him feeling something I haven’t before when he’s been near.

Giving my head a shake, I grab my suitcase and rush the final steps.

“Thank God,” I laugh, a little nervously now as my gaze once again goes to Henrik’s muscular arms. When the hell did they get so…big? Had they always been so…oh God, I needed to cut this line of thinking off. “This rain was not in the forecast.”

“It’s good though. The forest needs the moisture now that we’re in peak wildfire season.”

“You know when wildfire season is? In Canada?”

Not looking back at me, Henrik fiddles with the front door, trying to find the right key on the ring that the driver gave us. After his big proclamation, he stopped acknowledging Henrik and me and only spoke directly to our PAs to hash out the finer details.

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