Page 14 of The Singapore Stunt

Finding the right person for a relationship is hard enough. My job has me traveling and working fourteen-hour days. A strain on the best of relationships. With my history, the next man I become involved with will be scrutinized in more depth than the next pope. Their entire life will be picked apart. Everything we do will be put to the test to see if I’m running yet another scam.

It will take a very special man to sign up for that. No one in their right mind ever would.

I wave my hand across the banquet in front of us. “Which of these is your favorite?”

A flicker of disappointment crosses across his eyes before he leans back. He takes a long, deep inhale, his gaze scanning across the table.

I nod, half listening to his response. I grind the tips of my toes unseen underneath the table, my gaze focused on his delicious lips, and fight the urge to leap across the table and press mine to his.

Careful, I remind myself. Mattias sees me. Really sees me. It’s a double-edged sword. It makes him more attractive, but it also makes him incredibly dangerous.

Chapter Ten

Mattias

I don’t like surprises.

It’s bad enough I barely slept, my mind tossing and turning all night with thoughts of my dinner with Kimberly. Two colleagues sharing a meal, I repeat over and over, knowing I’m lying to myself. There’s no denying the spark I feel when I’m around her. The more time I spend with her, the more I expect that spark to fizzle, to get doused in the reality of her world, of her true personality. But the opposite is happening.

The more time I spend with her, the deeper the attraction grows. But I don’t have time to deal with my conflicted feelings this morning. Not when I see the shit show next to my mat this morning.

“You’re not supposed to be here for another day,” I shout down the steps at the assistant director of the movie. Xavier had given me the heads-up the studio was sending the advance team out to prep the production sites. Standard operating procedure. Yet they are here at our practice facility, a nonstandard move. And a day early.

“Pleasure seeing you too, Mattias.” Wesley flips his Hollywood sunglasses to the top of his salon-styled curls and flashes his polished veneered teeth.

Wesley is everything that is wrong with Hollywood. Young, white, entitled, never worked a day in his life, yet feels he’s the smartest man in the room. His dad is a famous producer. His claim to fame is an impressive string of blockbusters over the last decade. Wesley has ridden the coattails, getting placed in more and more prominent positions on studio projects based on not-so-subtle hints from his dad. . Everyone in the industry is well aware that his dad has yet to put Wesley on any of his own movies. We have the unfortunate privilege of having him in his first position that actually requires a skilled person. Which is why the studio sends a team to travel with him.

A team that does all the work for him while he takes the glory. A team that is standing with their shoes on my mat.

He marches across the mat, clueless as to what he’s doing. It’s how he goes through life every day. I meet him at the edge of the mat and kick off my sandals, knowing he won’t notice. I’d call him out, but Xavier has already had his run-in with him in LA and received a coded reprimand from the studio. And the timing wasn’t lost on us, as our bid to do stunt work on his dad’s next picture was rejected two minutes after we submitted it.

“I came out early to take the gang to the casino and figured I’d pop in and see how you’re treating our starlet.”

My shoulders clinch, and I close and open my hands. I’m nobody’s show pony. “We’re on track. You’re welcome to return for the walk-through tomorrow.” I try to remove the bass from my voice. “Like the schedule dictates.”

Wesley looks over his shoulder at his two travel companions, who have wisely chosen to keep their distance.

“I’m here now. How about a quick show-and-tell? You show, and I’ll tell. I’ll let the studio know they shouldn’t worry. Unless there is. Is there?”

The prick challenges me. I could squash him like a bug. And if it was only me I had to worry about, I would.

“Wesley!” The cheery voice rings from above me like the voice of an angel. I turn in time to see Kimberly at the top of the stairs. She’s dressed similar to yesterday, hair pulled up in a ponytail, yoga shorts, and a white sports bra that has me staring like a teenager. “Didn’t your mama teach you any manners? You should remove your shoes before stepping onto a mat.”

Her reprimand is wrapped in sunshine and sugar. “Kimberly. I didn’t…” Wesley steps off the mat next to me and kicks off his shoes. Wesley is a student of studio hierarchy. He may not give a rat’s ass about what I think, but when the lead actress of a blockbuster franchise speaks, he bends.

“I thought I’d find you over at the Marina Bay. We’re going to the casino tonight.” He’s stammering like a kid out of his depth. And he is. His gaze has yet to leave Kimberly, and this I understand.

She bounces down the steps with a happy rhythm and approaches. Her eyes rise to take notice of the rest of Wesley’s team, and I hear them shuffle toward us. Her gaze then returns to us and then me. Me. She walks directly to me and wraps me in an unexpected hug.

“Good morning, Mattias. Reporting to duty.” She gives me a short, adorable smirk, and I search for the link to sign up to her fan club.

She steps back, yet the scent of her flowery shower gel clings to me like the scent from my baby blanket. Warm and welcome. “I’m staying here. Until we shoot, I’m not an actress. I’m just another member of Mattias’ stunt team. And he’s rolled out the red carpet for me. You can let the studio know I’m in expert hands.”

I cross my arms against my chest to hold down the pride. I don’t need Kimberly to come to my defense, but I appreciate someone other than my half brother doing it.

“I’m a director, not a speech coach. I only believe what I can see.” Wesley says the line as if it’s been stolen from someone wiser. I uncross my arms and take a step forward. I don’t dance.

Kimberly beats me to it. “Well, I’m still learning. That’s what today’s all about. A full day of drills.” She turns and tosses a mischievous glance over her shoulder. “However…”

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