Page 3 of Heart Set on You

I stand off to the side and can’t resist sneaking a peek as Miles and Violet film, drinking him in. One of Hollywood’s leading men and People magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive” winner, not once but twice. Gossip rags don’t do him justice. He’s tall with broad shoulders and thick brown hair. His skin is tan, his lips look soft and pillowy – perfectly kissable, with a smile that gives me goosebumps. This man would look good in anything, but right now Miles happens to be in a suit. Ho-ly!

“How is he real?” Abby gushes from beside me, tapping her chin with a blue fingernail, gazing at Miles. She’s fixated, clearly loving every bit of him. Any woman in the world with a pulse, I’m sure, does. “He’s even better looking in real life.”

“I have no idea. I’ll bet he gives grown women heart attacks every time he leaves the house,” I whisper back. “One look at him and they’re goners.”

“He must have groupies knocking down his door at all hours of the day, hordes of them wearing nothing but trench coats,” Abby says, absentmindedly twirling a few loose strands of her bright pink hair.

“Don’t forget the supermodels,” I remind her. “And the actresses. I wouldn’t leave out JLo. I’ve heard it’s a very long list.” We’ve all read the articles – there have been plenty of them over the last few years. Miles is photographed with a different woman on his arm practically every week.

“I can’t promise you I won’t assault him with my tongue if he comes within arms-reach of me,” Abby says, her eyes narrowing in Miles’ direction.

“Gross,” I say, wrinkling my nose in mock disgust. “But I wouldn’t blame you if you did.”

Abby opens her mouth to say something else then stops, apologetically raising one finger in my direction as she listens to someone through the earpiece of her headset. Shooting me a look that says duty calls, she briskly walks away.

Although we only met a few weeks ago, I really like Abby and the friendship we’ve struck up. We clicked right from the start, probably because we have a lot in common. We both relocated to Los Angeles from small towns, and both work as PAs in the movie industry. While working in Vancouver, we are staying in the same downtown hotel and plan to make the most of whatever down time we manage to get. We’ll be taking in the incredible Vancouver scenery, eating the most mouth-watering sushi and spending our nights in one of our hotel rooms bingeing YOU. That’s another thing we have in common: An unhealthy obsession with Penn Badgley. I know we’re not the only ones.

It feels like I won the jackpot meeting Abby. Days on set can be very long and nights can feel pretty lonely when you have no one to keep you company. FaceTiming my grandparents, my nieces and nephew or my best friend Meg helps to pass the time, but nothing beats having a friend to meet for coffee or drool over the talent with.

Even though I’ve repeatedly checked in with catering, ran over the preference sheets too many times to count and confirmed with our transpo drivers on times and location, I still can’t relax. If it’s not one thing, it’s another. It’s just the nature of the job.

I have to stick around set to make sure Mr. Lucas has everything he needs for tomorrow, so I take the opportunity to watch the last minutes of filming. Miles’ and Violet’s characters are in the kitchen, sitting at the dining table. They’re arguing over another man, Miles appearing effortless in the role. In between takes, Violet looks at her sexy-as-sin co-star like she wishes he was laid out on the dining table in front of her, naked on a platter.

Abby’s eyes find mine through the lenses of her thick-rimmed glasses from where she’s standing a few feet away. It’s hard to miss Abby. Today she’s wearing an oversized band T-shirt, lavender pants and a pair of cherry-red Doc Martens. Combined with her rose-hued hair and the multiple earrings looped through her ears, she’s a buffet of bright colors and accessories. She shoots me an are-you-seeing-this look and I raise my eyebrows back at her and nod.

An AD announces 15 minutes until we wrap for the day, so Abby and I both switch off our tablets and she heads over to where I’m standing.

“From the looks of it, our leading lady has her sights set on our leading man,” Abby says as we watch the last scene of the day.

I roll my eyes. “She couldn’t be more obvious if she tried.”

Abby nods. “Yup. She’s as obvious as Kylie Jenner’s nose job.”

“Is she not with that super-hot Formula 1 guy? Emilio something?”

“Last time I checked,” Abby shrugs.

“I think she may have forgotten about him.”

“Yeah, the eye-banging is getting out of control. I’m surprised she’s not already on her knees unzipping his jeans.”

“You just couldn’t resist, could you?” I grin, elbowing her gently in her side.

“Nope,” Abby laughs. “But with anyone other than you, I will deny it until my last breath.”

She turns to face me as the producer announces we’re done for the day. “At last. So, dinner at that ramen place we both wanted to try after work?”

“Great idea.”

I’m exhausted and hungry, and right now noodles sound like the cure for everything. But first I need to talk to Josh and regroup for tomorrow. I knock on the open door of his trailer and Josh waves me in, his eyes on the stack of papers in front of him. His trailer is well laid out, with a workspace, a small conference table, and multiple monitors.

“Have a seat,” he directs, so I take the chair opposite him. “Excellent work today, Rylee.”

“Thank you, Mr. Lucas,” I say nervously, uncomfortable with the praise. I’ve never been great at accepting compliments. Anything resembling a spotlight makes me squeamish, I much prefer to blend into a crowd.

“Rylee, we’ve been over this. Call me Josh, please,” he says, looking up at me for the first time since I entered his office. I meet his eyes and smile.

“I’m sorry. It’s a habit. Will do.”

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