Page 30 of Outside the Lines
“Already on their way to you,” Anna said. “Fresh ones. So if there’s anything else you spot . . .”
I was starting to feel a little guilty, because the catch wasn’t mine. “Well, I only saw the rune because of one of the shop owners here. She knows the show.” I met Simon’s gaze. “Likely better than I do.”
He raised an eyebrow, and I shrugged. It was true. I’d watched episodes and knew the storyline, but the continuity stuff was beyond me. There were producers and assistants and writers for that. I’d never have caught the error if Lydia hadn’t shown me her art.
“Fans always do,” Anna said. “Which is why it’s good you pushed it up the chain, or we’d have been in a world of hurt in a few months. It was the right call, Ian, and I appreciate it, even if it fucks things up.”
“Thanks. I think.”
“Those photos should be there, soon.”
I told Anna I’d watch for them, and we hung up.
“Problem with the set?” I couldn’t nail down Simon’s expression. Worried. Giddy. Proud. Who knew?
“There should be a rune on the altar.” I shook my head. “Everyone missed it. Probably pulled the older plans of the set when they were getting ready for the season. Lydia showed me some of her art andbam, there it was.”
His eyes got wide. “Oh my God, I should have noticed, too.” A little crinkle formed on his forehead. “I mean Irepairedthe thing, and I didn’t notice.”
I waved my hand. “No one did. It happens. Thanks to Lydia, we caught it.”
He nodded slowly, his attention on the model. “So, what’s the plan for today?”
“Finish the bits, then dig into the details.” This is where Simon would come in handy. “It’s a lot of paint work.”
His smile said it all: Helovedto paint. I did too. But he was vibrating with glee. Or maybe that was the coffee.
Simon peered at his watch. “Nearly opening time. I’ll be over when I can.” He took another swig of his coffee. “Thisdoeskeep it hot!”
“You like it hot.” I tried not to grin, but I was lousy at it.
That grin of Simon’s put all kinds of heat into my body. “So do you.” With that, he headed up to the front, enough spring in his step to bounce his ass oh-so-nicely. I chuckled and got back to work.
The photos arrived about half an hour after the store opened, and were brought by Anderson. I set down the moss I’d been attaching to the grove and stepped in front of it. “They have you playing courier?”
He made a sour face. “More like doing penance.” He peered around me. “Looks good!”
“You touch it, I’ll mash your fingers.” I kept my tone light.
He laughed. “Dude, I’m not gonna go any farther than this.” He handed over an envelope. “And Natalya already mashed every part of me during training.”
Yeah, the best way not to piss off the director’s girlfriend was to not piss off the director. He’d failed at that. I pulled out the photos. “Thanks, Anderson.”
He nodded and headed out while I studied the photos and my model. Not a bad replica. A few tree parts needed to be adjusted, but overall, my set was pretty much like the life-sized one. Tingles ran from my toes to my head, and I caught a breath. Sometimes this happened, those moments when I realized I worked onWolf’s Landing, that I’d made it this far in my oddball career, and that I was damned good at my job.
But not perfect. I studied the photos again, and picked up the moss. Still needed to glue on a few fiddly parts, then we could get down to painting.
Around lunch, Simon reappeared with two sandwiches in his hands. “Beef or chicken?”
My stomach growled, even though I desperately wanted to keep working. But if I waved him off, I’d only end up eating the sandwich after some lengthy argument that Simon would rightly win. “Chicken.”
I took the time to wash my hands, though. Moss and glue and paint—not crap I wanted to ingest. By the time I got back, Simon had brought chips and two bottles of water. We chowed down, and I felt a lot better after putting food into me.
When we finished, Simon leaned back in his chair. “You have me for the rest of the day.”
So very tempting not to return to working, but set before sex. “Good. I’ll put those fingers to work.” My hands were now greasy from the sandwich. His too, so we headed to the employee area to fix that.
I didn’t want to be away from the model too long, but the privacy gave me a chance to pull Simon close and sample his lips. He gave a huff of laughter as we kissed, slow and sweet. When we broke apart, he licked his bottom lip. “Here I was going to go in for that.”
