Page 38 of Shine For Me

I don’t answer her, but I doubt I need to. I’m having a harder and harder time keeping my emotions from my face when I look at Fox. I’m really going to have to work on that.

“You know, the diaphragm idea isn’t terrible,” she says thoughtfully. “Either that or you could work on yourvacuumingskills.” She gives me an intense, telling look. “And by vacuuming I mean—”

“Yeah, I got it, thanks, Peggy,” I burst out, not sure if I can stand another reference to oral sex from a group of tipsy septuagenarians. Luckily Fox calls me over at that moment to take a picture of him with the giant marlin. He’s grinning from ear to ear in the shot, clearly pleased with himself. Another picture I know I’ll keep forever.

“You ready to give it a try?” he asks me.

“Honestly? That looked really hard. I don’t know if I have the upper body strength.”

He rolls his eyes. “You can do this, Cain. And if you need help, I’ll be right there.”

“Oh, because you’re a big fisherman expert now, huh?”

He shrugs with false modesty. “Jared did say it was the biggest marlin he’d ever seen a novice bring in on the first try.”

I snort. “You’re going to be impossible after this, aren’t you?”

He grins at me. “That’s the current plan.”

Jared helps me get set up with a pole. They have me sit in a special chair where I’ll have better leverage with my feet planted. Jared spends what seems to be too long adjusting me on the foot rests before Fox makes a low disapproving noise that sounds almost like a growl. The guy’s cheeks go red and he jumps up. “You’re all set.”

“Why did you growl at him?” I ask Fox.

He rolls his eyes. “He was checking out your legs. It was disrespectful.”

If he thinks that was disrespectful, he should have heard what the widows were saying about him. But I doubt I can repeat any of it without blushing crimson.

It takes me a lot longer to get my first bite. I struggle with my fish way more than Fox did, even though it’s smaller. But I’m pleased when I get an equally big cheer from the crew once the fish is on board. “That’s a fine looking tuna for this time of year,” Jared says, clasping my shoulder. Fox nudges between us and slips an arm around me for the picture.

“Awfully territorial for a friend,” Peggy mutters.

“How about you concentrate on your own fish, Peg,” I shoot back.

She cackles and returns her attention to her line. “I’m gonna blow you all out of the water, just you watch.”

It turns out, the widows are incredibly competitive. I’ve never heard this much trash talking in my life. And they’re vicious about it—the seem to know all the little weaknesses and vulnerabilities of their friends and aren’t at all shy about bringing them up. Peggy is keeping a running tally of the weight of their fish hauls. She tries to get me and Fox to participate, but we decline, content to sit on the other side of the boat with our lines in the water. He gets another marlin, slightly smaller this time, and a sailfish. I seem to pick up some speed after my first tuna, reeling in a sailfish, a marlin, and a dolphin—I shriek when Jared tells me that’s what’s on the end of my line, but he hurries to assure me it’s a dolphinfish, which is apparently something totally different from Flipper.

“What do they do with all this fish?” I ask Fox as Jared carries my latest catch over to the storage bin.

“They have a processing place back at the dock,” he explains. “They’ll clean them and package them up for us to take home.”

“You realize we’re staying in a hotel, right?”

He laughs. “They’re going to keep ours in a freezer for a few days. I figured we’d invite the crew to a big fish fry or something. I’m sure Gabe’s assistant can set it up.”

And that right there is the reason I have heart eyes the size of my head for this guy. No wonder everyone who sees us together seems to be able to guess exactly how I feel. Fox is just so…good. I’ve worked with a lot of people in this business. Hell, I’m related to a lot of people in this business. And I can tell you that there aren’t that many of them who are so consistent about treating people right. Fox genuinely cares about the crew of the film—he cares aboutpeople. It’s one of my favorite things about him.

Later on, when we’re finally disembarking the boat after a long day in the sun, Peggy pulls me aside. “Remember what we said, sweetheart.”

I pat her shoulder. “I appreciate the advice, but I don’t think I’ll be tricking Fox into knocking me up.”

Her face softens. “That was a bit of a tease with some old ladies,” she says. “But the sentiment remains the same—you shouldn’t wait around for a man like that.” A flash of pain shines in her eyes. “Life’s too short. You don’t want to miss a minute.”

* * *

We’re driving backto the hotel when my phone dings with a message. I don’t want to look at it, sure that it’s someone from the PR firm. Or, God help me, Adam himself. But Fox’s phone chimes a moment later, making me think it’s something from production.

Sure enough there’s an email from Gabe’s assistant. “There are new sides for tomorrow waiting at the hotel,” I tell Fox. “More changes.”