Page 32 of One Kind Hand

She wanted nothing more than to steal some of Austin’s attention—attention he apparently wanted to give her—but she didn’t want that to affect his performance. The man had fans who expected top-notch entertainment from him. She’d hate to cause him to lose his focus and not deliver his best. She didn’t want to watch Hunting Justice when it was finished and know she had a hand in it being Austin’s crappiest movie. Charlie made a mental note not to be selfish here. She’d make a concerted effort to not get in the way of Austin’s process.

And why was she worried about any of this? They’d kissed. Once. Yeah, it’d been full of more heat than she’d ever thought possible, but one kiss was hardly her yanking the man from his career. But Cody appeared worried so she’d take care not to fuck this up in any way for Austin.

“Hey.”

She flinched when Austin appeared in front of her. “Hey.”

“You okay?”

Charlie nodded. “Yeah.” She gave him a small smile. “I got caught up in the story.” She waved a hand back to where he had been standing with the stunts specialist.

“It’s a good script, right?” His eyes were alight and she liked seeing him so amped.

“Very. But those are just words on the page. You putting your Austinness on those words is what transforms them into something worth watching.”

Austin’s gaze softened as he put his hand to his chest. “That may be the best compliment anyone’s ever given me.”

“That can’t be,” she said. “You’ve gotten reviews from professionals.”

“Hmm . . . the compliment means more because of the source.” He winked then looked over his shoulder when the stunts specialist called his name. “Gotta go. You’re not bored yet, are you?”

“Not even a little.”

“Good.” He turned around, giving her an impressive view of his ass in his black cargoes as he jogged away.

Yeah, that whole talking to she’d given herself about not pulling Austin’s attention from his work went down the drain. She wanted him too much and she’d never had such a strong pull toward anyone. That had to mean something.

Sorry, Cody. Hell, Austin was a big boy, no doubt capable of balancing work and . . . not work. She’d keep a sharp eye on how things progressed. If she got the sense she was affecting his performance, she’d dial it back.

Assuming once they got started dialing it back would be possible. She had the distinct feeling that when the lever was thrust into the on position, it’d take a herculean effort to switch it back to off.

Charlie settled into the chair someone had provided her and turned her attention back to what was happening on the set in front of her. It was super interesting to be behind the scenes. Cameras were all over the place, capturing Austin from different angles as he worked through each scene. She was amazed at how he rarely had to reshoot stretches of dialogue, his ability to memorize evident. The stunt parts did take a little longer as he discussed the how-tos of them before attempting takes, but even those shot pretty smoothly. Charlie had thought Austin was a good actor prior to meeting him. Now that she’d seen him actually making the movie, she was even more impressed with his skills. He had a gift and she completely understood his agent wanting to make sure that gift was preserved.

Plus, Austin had mentioned that his work supported his sisters. His success wasn’t only tied to him. It was tied to all the people who worked with him and his family. A mental sticky note flapped in Charlie’s brain to be sensitive to all this.

Another sticky note reminded her of that kiss. They owed it to themselves to see what kind of chemistry was possible between them, didn’t they?

Ugh. She had to get her head off this one-track thinking.

“You’re the helicopter pilot?”

“Yes.” She looked at the dude who had approached her chair. It was the same stunts specialist who had been working with Austin earlier.

“Hi. I’m Iggy.” He held out his hand and Charlie shook it.

“Charlie.”

“Austin said you’re a great pilot so I’m sure this work will be a piece of cake for you.”

She grew warm over Austin’s compliment. “I’ve never had my bird on camera though so that will be different.”

“Right. That’s why I wanted to come talk with you. I choreograph many of the vehicle stunts and while the chopper scenes aren’t technically stunts, the script does call for certain movements.”

“I read the chopper scenes,” Charlie said. “They all look doable.”

“Oh, good. I’m glad you’ve reviewed the script. You’d be surprised how many stunt guys and gals just show up and go for it. I prefer advanced planning.”

“And it shows.” Charlie waved a hand at where Austin was currently hanging upside down from a harness. “The final products always look real.”