The Accidental Movie Star (18 page)

Ashley smiled at the made-up name and put the chilled glass to her lips. Sweet and tart with a kick. The Rain Ender was juice and something alcoholic. She moved the glass away from the flames, holding the stem against her knees.

The UCLA guy said, “Dude, we’re going to need another round of those.”

Powder looked him up and down. “You’re on the water polo team and you can’t handle a little water?”

Ashley was impressed. She hadn’t realized his sweatshirt was for the water polo team. Powder had moves. She took another drink.

Flannel guy snickered and took a seat by Ashley. Eyeing his warm shirt with a little envy, she watched goose bumps appear on her arm as she raised her glass.

He said, “You go to school around here?”

“No,” Ashley said. “I’m only here for the summer. I’m going to college in Texas next fall.”

“Have you toured UCLA yet? I could show you around.”

“It’s on my to-do list. What’s your major?”

“Urban design.”

“No way.”

“Way.”

Ashley said, “I’m going to be an architect, too.”

“Really?” The flannel guy looked pleased as he held out a hand. “I’m Scott.”

“Ashley.” She took his calloused hand and shook it. Scott seemed reluctant to let go when she pulled back. Her only reluctance was that his hand was warm.

“So what’s your interest? Building restoration, new design, community planning?”

“Mmm, I don’t know enough about them to say for certain, but probably new design.”

“That’s what I thought when I was a freshman, but I totally changed after a few classes, so you should keep your mind open to the possibilities.”

“She knows her mind pretty well.” A British voice joined the group.

Ashley smiled up at Caz and held up her free hand.

His return smile was brooding as he took in her outfit. She braced for a smart remark, but he didn’t deliver one. He took her hand and squeezed in beside her then said, “When we went house hunting, she knew exactly what she liked.”

Scott’s smile wavered.

Ashley sent Caz a quizzical look. He made it sound like they were moving in together. Was he trying to add to the gossip? Whatever. He looked warm in his big cozy sweater. She leaned back against him and breathed in. The soap he used had some type of woodsy tone, different from his usual stuff, still nice, though.

“Well, like I said, she should keep her options open.” Scott rose from his seat on the fireplace then bent down and clicked his beer against her glass. “I’m Scott Parrnelli. Find me in the student directory if you want that tour.” With those words, he walked away, back toward the bar.

Caz said, “The crew is going into dinner.”

“Okay.” Ashley stood, then looked at Powder and her water polo player.

“I’ll hang out here for a while,” Powder said. “You two go ahead.”

Caz took Ashley’s hand and led her down the hall past the row of stuffed animal heads. “Where’s the rest of your clothes?”

“I thought you were going to be nice tonight.”

“Nope.”

“Well, my sweater got wet helping out a friend. So it’s drying. My other jacket got dirty the first day on the trail. I thought two would be enough. Guess not.”

“Powder didn’t have anything?”

“I’m wearing her skirt.”

That drew his eyes down to her legs. Ashley stopped his words before they could form. “Powder said some nice guy would probably lend me his flannel shirt. I had a pretty good shot at it too, until you walked up.”

Caz sighed, reached down, and pulled his white cable-knit sweater over his head. Underneath he wore a cream-colored long-sleeved T-shirt.

Ashley grinned and held up her arms. “Touchdown.”

Caz dropped the hem over her head. “That’s an American reference.”

She pulled her arms through, the knit still warm from his body. The material fell almost to the hem of her skirt, and she hugged it close. “You understood well enough. Mmm. Nice, thanks.”

Caz pulled her hair free of the collar and patted the length down her back. Instead of joining the crew at a picnic-style table, he led her to a corner table for two.

The restaurant’s food choices centered around wild game, but in this cold, there was no contest. They both ordered the hot potato soup. Eyeing him over the rim of her spoon, Ashley blew to cool it and took a bite, eating a creamy square of potato.

“I thought over dinner you could tell me about the kissing pentagon.”

Her spoon dropped back into the soup, and the handle made a small clatter against the side of the dish.

“You said if I was nice.” Caz gave his sweater a sweeping nod.

“Is it really a nice gesture, if you do it to get a reward?”

“Yes.” Caz leaned closer. “So, you’d call the kissing pentagon a reward?”

Smiling around her next bite, Ashley nodded.

“Intriguing. Will I call it a reward?”

Ashley considered. “Maybe, I don’t know what you like. But the kissing pentagon doesn’t involve rain.”

“They didn’t create the technique in Britain then.”

Her gaze caught sight of Jason, wearing one of his button-down shirts under a full navy sweater, leading Powder by the arm. He seemed annoyed, and Powder seemed satisfied. That would teach Jason to be late. Poor UCLA guy, Ashley thought, and wondered what the water polo equivalent of a strikeout was called.

Caz tapped his spoon on the side of the bowl and drew her attention to him.

Ashley said, “It’s kind of cool that no one here recognizes you.”

“The eight layers and coats with hoods help.”

“You’ll have to vacation in Alaska,” Ashley said. “Freedom from photos.”

“Or maybe it’s because there’s mostly guys here,” Caz said. “They don’t scream as much as the women.”

Ashley rolled her eyes.

“That guy was being quite forward,” Caz said. “He fancied you.”

“You call that forward?”

“He asked you out when you’re clearly with me.”

Ashley didn’t let her happy reaction to his words show. “Well, he didn’t take any of his clothes off and throw them at me, like women do to you.”

“I inspire passion.”

“I should do womankind a favor and keep the kissing pentagon a secret. That knowledge, coupled with your already irresistible self, would be too much of an advantage.”

Caz finished his soup and pushed the bowl away. “Tomorrow there could be more rain, or bears, or an earthquake. We have to grab the chance at life while we can.”

“Really? You’re giving me the
we may not make it out of here alive
speech?” She took another bite and stirred her soup.

“Is it working?”

“A little. I don’t like earthquakes.” Ashley let the spoon drop and leaned close. “The technique works better as a demo than a speech.”

“Yes, show me.” Caz popped to his feet, eyes bright, and pulled her up from the table. They looked in the bar area but it was still packed. Caz led her to the front door. “Wait here one second, I’ll be right back.” He returned within a few minutes carrying a large coat.

Coats and front doors meant one thing. “No way. The weather’s too cold and damp.”

“You have on a sweater.”

“But I’m wearing a skirt.”

Caz shrugged on the coat. “How long is the pentagon’s first step?”

“Not that long.” Ashley looked toward the crowded, well-lit interior and toward the exit. “Okay.”

Caz opened the door and they slipped outside. The cold hit them instantly. It was a damp cold because of the rain, a Houston kind of cold. Brr.

Caz led her over to the side of the lodge, away from the bright front entry lights.

Shivering, Ashley reached for him. The building only blocked a little of the bitter breeze. He was going to have to serve as the other barrier if he wanted her to stay out here much longer. Caz wrapped his arms around her and she backed up until she felt the log cabin’s wall at her back, and said, “You know what would be great?”

“Hmm?”

“If we do this back in LA. Picture your cozy trailer, or even my car in the parking lot. That’s very American, you know, so you should experience that—making out in a car.”

“Okay, yes,” he agreed. “But now show me step one.”

Ashley heart thumped and she felt a little less cold. She tilted her head back against the log and looked up. He was kind of tall to demonstrate the first step on, unless they had a chair.

The night was pitch-black around them, lit only by the lights from the hotel and the ton of stars in the sky, their sheer numbers and brightness something never seen in LA. The difference highlighted how unreal the night felt. She lifted her gaze to his face, but couldn’t really read his expression in the dark. “Powder told me the steps, but didn’t say anything about conditions. I don’t know if the techniques work out here in the cold.”

“Jeez, now I have to know.”

She gave a small laugh. “Okay, I have to reach your mouth to do this.”

“So far it doesn’t sound that unique.”

“You’re awfully talkative for someone who wants to learn something.”

“That’s because I like it when you say nice things about my voice.” Leaning down, Caz tilted his head toward hers.

Ashley rose on her tiptoes, then saw a better option and pulled back. “Hey, see that? What is it? An arbor?”

Caz turned his head. A rustic wooden structure stood in the darkness, not too far away. “No, I think it’s for people who want to sleep outside.”

“When there’s a lodge thirty feet away?”

He shrugged. “Let’s check it out.” The camping structure had a wooden platform about two feet off the ground, three wooden walls, and a missing fourth wall.

Caz said, “Look at this, there’s a whole bit missing.”

“They left it off on purpose, so you can enjoy the view.”

“Of the bears?”

“Again, I’m with you. Climb in. You’ll be like those first British explorers who came to America under rough conditions.”

“My people stayed in England.” Caz climbed in and gave her a hand up. The inside was dark, and much less chilly without the wind. Leaning against the wall, he pulled her close.

“You’re tall.”

Caz slid down the wall to the floor and pulled her down onto his lap. After opening his coat, he pulled her close. The wooden floor was cold against her knees and her tights were definitely getting snagged, but he was warm.

“Mmm. Okay. You start with this—”

Chapter 16

Ashley kissed his mouth, a soft, fleeting touch. He pressed upwards and she pulled back, not letting him reach her. “This one’s all about being frustrated.”

She couldn’t clearly see him, but she could hear the grin in his words. “Ashley, that’s never the goal.”

She kissed the other corner of his grin then pressed her lips lightly to his bottom lip.

“Caz.” Next, she touched her tongue to his mouth and pulled back. “I like how you taste. Kind of foreign and exciting. It’s too dark out here to see, but sometimes when I kiss you your eyes darken and—”

Caz grabbed her and kissed her passionately on the mouth; he totally skipped step one, and she didn’t care. Nudging her mouth open with his, he took charge. Her mind went blank and her body tingled. Caz raised the sweater up and over her head.

Ashley wasn’t cold anymore. She moved closer, shoved his jacket off, and pressed against his hard chest. He put an arm to the floor and stood. Her boots thumped to the floor. He grabbed her and lifted her. Feeling weightless, she wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. He moved a step forward, bracing her against the wall. For a second she felt the wall against her back, then the firmness of him, then a feeling of weightlessness.

Weightlessness, falling, bam. Her arm hit something hard and her body landed against Caz. Evidently, the three-sided walls weren’t connected. They’d fallen through a gap, off the platform and onto the ground. Ashley tried to suck in a breath, but it took a second. With a groan she lifted off of Caz. “You okay?”

He groaned. “No.”

“Want to go inside?”

“Yes.”

Standing, Ashley brushed at her clothes in order to brush off nature. Her fingertips felt tight from the cold. Dry, powdery snow dusted her arms. She couldn’t see her sweater or the jacket in the darkness; if they were still on the platform, she had no interest in climbing back up there to get them.

Ashley moved toward the lodge. Wind whipped through night, sticks crackled underneath her boots, and she clutched her arms to her chest. Every frozen step brought her closer to the porch and the light. First the path became visible, then the steps. Warmth was close. Ashley jogged the last few feet and slipped into the welcome warmth of the foyer, holding the door for Caz.

The light of the foyer shined, revealing his mussed hair, flushed face, and bits of nature clinging to him—dirt, leaves, snow. When nature attacked, nature won.

***

The wrap party was tomorrow night. While glad the film was finished, Ashley couldn’t believe Caz hadn’t said anything about them going together. He’d spent most of the day staring at his phone. Maybe she misread things and she was just a convenient work friend in his mind.

Garrett wasn’t as preoccupied as Caz. He still had time to talk to her. The supporting actor grinned, his Scottish accent as pronounced as ever. “Going to the wrap party? There’s going to be food. The darling in craft services said they’d be using an outside caterer.”

“Thank God. I won’t have to eat first.”

“I’ll still eat first.” Garrett patted his flat stomach. “Then go for a run, and eat there too. Save a dance for me.”

Someone didn’t mind making plans in advance.

***

The studio had rented a private room off the main dance floor in a country-western themed bar. The place smelled like spilled beer and hay overlaid with fog from the fog machine. The cast, crew, and their dates packed the place. The vibe of the room was excitement. Work had finished, and filming was done.

Everyone wore country-influenced clothes except Garrett. He wore his blue and green kilt. “Hey, Ashley. Dance?” Garrett pulled her onto the dance floor. He was too tall for her, but Garrett did a mean waltz, and he ended it with a dip so deep her head nearly touched the floor. When she lifted her eyes, her gaze met Caz’s glare.