Page 33 of The Stranger's Code

“I mean, Cole has Dylan. I have Cam. Amber has Doug. And you have?”

“A thriving personal life that’s none of your business.”

“Ha! You think you get to shut me out aftermeddlingin my life?”

“You don’t have any proof of that,” Shane said, already moving away from my desk. “Anyway, I should get started on the outline for your safety course. I’ll have a draft of it in your inbox soon?—”

“It’s coming for you next, Shane!” I shouted, as he hightailed it out of my office. “I can feel it in my bones!”

I laughed to myself once I heard Shane slam the front door. I was only joking but a part of me wondered if I was right, if Shane was somehow next in line to fall in love with someone completely unexpectedly, to have his life changed so suddenly and so permanently for the better.

Nah.

I shook my head as I brought my attention back to my emails.

Shane was way too smart for all of that.

13

CAMERON

“I don’t believein luck. A man has to make his own luck. And if a man can’t make his own luck, he’ll have to steal it from someone else, no matter what it takes. You can’t last out here without any luck—Shit.”

I looked down at the script’s pages, wanting to start from the top. Levi sat across from me at the dining room table of the main cabin, with a small smile on his face. “That was really good, baby. I know you messed up a little at the end?—”

“I’m still in the discovery stages.” I sulked. “This is always the worst part. Just getting the lines down. Once I have the lines down, I can start adding my own spin on things, saying things how my character might say them.”

“Is all acting like this?” Levi asked. “Because this seems stressful as all hell.”

“It’s mostly my process. I have a thing about embodying the character.”

“Or just taking cues from your boyfriend and adding that to the character.”

“That too.” I chuckled, still looking at the pages. “It’s not my fault you’re so perfectly cinematic.”

“And it’s not my fault that you’re so beautiful.” Levi reached across the table, resting his hand on top of mine. “How about you take a break from those pages and?—”

“Oh, my God, Levi. You are going to sabotage me!” I playfully pulled my hand away from his. “Maybe we can take a break together later.”

“You promise?”

“I promise to think about it.” I smiled over at him. “Speaking of breaks, are you sure it’s okay that I extend my stay at the ranch? Only until I can find a place of my own.”

“You think I want you going anywhere?”

“I just want to make sure I’m not overstaying my welcome.”

“You’re not overstaying anything, baby.” Levi smiled right back. “And if anyone has a problem with it, they can take it up with me.”

Levi bent across the table to gently kiss the back of my hand. I felt something warm inside me, a security forming around my decision to stay in Paradise Valley for good. Hollywood could wait a little longer for my return, especially since the Antonio Cruz western didn’t start filming until later this year. I was also inadvertently building a profitable mystique around my career, my choice to move to Montana seeming inexplicable to those who didn’t know about my whirlwind romance with the perfect cowboy.

“And trouble sticks around…” Virgil entered the dining room with a smirk. “Happy to see you made it through.”

“Don’t mind him,” Levi quietly mouthed.

“Hey, don’t put any ideas in his head.” Virgil laughed. “I’m a pretty worthwhile guy to listen to. It’s not my fault I always see things coming. Call it a side effect of the chip.”

“The chip?”

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