Page 39 of Between Takes
Chapter Fourteen
“Are you going to stay in here every day now?” Shaun asked a couple of days later.
I sat in his trailer at the table. I’d claimed it as my office space for the moments I needed to stare a little too closely at the tablet. Trying to crosscheck his messy schedule with email confirmations gave me enough of a headache. I didn’t need to add crowds of people and changeable lighting to the mix.
“I hadn’t planned to.” My response tapered off as I squinted at the screen, searching for a lunch meeting with Ryan Evans. Shaun’s text said it should be in there for Friday, but all I could see was a full set day.
The silence stretched while I frowned at the calendar. I found him studying me with a guarded expression.
“What is it, Shaun? Did something happen?”
It had been four days since he’d admitted his faults and made a plan. He’d talked to Sherry and agreed to meet a sobriety coach. Both of them realised I couldn’t be entirely responsible for keeping Shaun straight. For one, I didn’t have the slightest clue when it came to addiction.
I’d cleared out every bottle I could on Thursday night, and the following days had gone pretty smoothly. And shock of all shocks, he actually left me alone on my day off, which in hindsight might not have been a good thing. I walked in Monday morning with suspicion written all over my face. Did he drink? Would he lie about it? The answer to both was no, but c’mon, how was I meant to really trust that?
“What would happen on my set?” Shaun asked, interrupting my spiralling thoughts.
He looked genuinely perplexed by the question, and I relaxed. Okay, so no one prepositioned him, and he hasn’t found any bottles I missed.
“Then why does it matter if I’m not on set with you?”
“I just noticed you weren’t and I wondered why.” For the first time since he’d entered the trailer, he refused to meet my gaze.
I smirked. “Did you miss me?”
“What?” he barked, his eyes jumping to my face. He tried to shrug it off with a laugh, but it sounded defensive. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“You totally did.”
“I just like knowing where you are.”
“Whatever you say.”
“Are you done?” There was an eagerness in his voice that I’d never heard before. I nodded. “Do you have plans for tonight?”
I’d been in the city for three weeks. Other than Tilly, I didn’t really have friends in Cardiff yet. And she worked the same crazy hours as me. Making concrete plans with her was difficult. I just shook my head.
“Good. I’m done for the day. Do you want to do something?”
I narrowed my eyes as he bounced on the spot. “Does that something involve me running five miles?”
He smirked. “Do you want it to?”
“I’d rather go home and clean my kitchen.”
“It wasn’t that bad!”
“Says the man who boxes and drinks protein shakes.” I gestured to his trim shape in case my meaning didn’t translate. “This body is made for Pilates, not panting and labouring for breath.”
His focus dropped to my lips and a heated look entered his eyes. If I had less sense, I’d say he was into me.
“Where do you want to go?”
“Huh?” His dazed gaze met mine. The embers cooled but didn’t fade, which left me with a whole lot of confusion.
“You said you wanted to do something. What do you want to do?”
“It’s a surprise.”
