“Oh, a note. That’s a nice way to break my heart,” Callin said with a soft laugh that he hoped didn’t sound too forced.
Brianne shook her head quickly.
“Not that kind of note,” she said. “Just one explaining that I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to turn up to work together and make it obvious we spent the night together. Look, I know you’re not worried about Valerie, and I know you can stop her from firing me, but I don’t want each day at work to be awkward. I would just prefer not to rub Valerie’s nose in it, that’s all.”
“Are you sure that’s all it is?” Callin asked.
Brianne sat down on the couch beside him, facing him. She reached up and stroked his cheek.
“Yes,” she said. “I promise you that’s all it is.”
Callin pulled her down for a kiss. She came willingly, but she broke the kiss off a lot quicker than Callin wanted it to end.
“Stay,” he said. “Fuck Valerie. She’s going to have to get used to us being together.”
“I know, but not yet, okay? She likes you, Callin, and I feel a little bad for her.”
“I get it,” Callin said. “And if she were a nice person, for the record, I would be a hell of a lot more subtle about us. But let’s face it, she’s done nothing to deserve us going easy on her, has she?”
“No. But I still have to work for her,” Brianne said.
Callin nodded.
“I’m not going to pretend I want you to leave, because I don’t. But I do understand. At least let me drive you home,” he said, starting to get up.
Brianne shook her head and gently pushed him back down. She smiled at him as she stood up.
“It’s okay. There’s an Uber waiting for me outside. You should get some sleep.” She paused and winked at him. “You’re going to need it if we’re going to be doing that every night after work.”
“Oh, we are,” Callin laughed.
He got to his feet and pulled Brianne into his arms, kissing her full on the mouth.
“Just a little something for you to think about until tonight,” he smiled when he finally pulled away, leaving Brianne a little breathless.
* * *
Callin drove through the security checkpoint on the set, made his way to his assigned parking space, and pulled in. He cut the engine and got out of the car. He was whistling to himself as he locked it and headed toward the trailers. Life was good right now, and even though he hadn’t wanted Brianne to leave his place when she did this morning, in some ways, he was glad she had now, because the thought of seeing her after a couple of hours away from her had his heart racing and his stomach swirling.
As he left the parking lot and began to walk across the open section of the set between the main building and the trailers, he spotted Brianne leaving Valerie’s trailer and heading toward the main building. His heart skipped a beat when he saw her. She was back in her usual work style clothes—jeans and a t-shirt—and her hair was loose around her face. It shone in the early morning sun, and Callin wanted nothing more than to go and run his fingers through it and kiss Brianne. He wanted to do a hell of a lot more to her than just kiss her, but he would make do with a kiss for now.
He knew she wouldn’t want that, though. She didn’t want Valerie to have to be constantly confronted with their relationship, and Callin suspected that she also didn’t want to continue to be the talking point of everyone on the set. That didn’t mean he couldn’t follow her to her office, though, and have a few minutes alone with her. Maybe they could even sneak a kiss before the set got really busy. He had promised Valerie that he wouldn’t have sex with Brianne on the set again—he hadn’t said anything about stealing kisses where he could.
He had only taken a few steps, changing course from heading to his trailer to instead heading toward the main building, when Shauna came hurrying into his path.
“Valerie wants to see you,” Shauna said.
Callin rolled his eyes and Shauna laughed softly. She turned serious again quickly.
“She did say it was urgent,” Shauna added. “And that you need to go talk to her before filming begins for the day. She said it’s about the first scene you’re due to film.”
Callin checked his watch. He only had ten minutes before he and Valerie would be due to go to hair and make-up and then get into their clothes for the scene. As much as he would prefer to follow Brianne, he was still a professional and if this was genuinely about the scene, then it could be important. And if it didn’t turn out to be important, he would at least know that he had been the bigger person. Besides, Brianne wasn’t going anywhere and he would get to see her soon enough. Maybe if he could avoid kissing her all day long, it would make kissing her as much as he wanted to tonight even more special. Even as he thought this, he dismissed it. There was no way he could go all day without coming up with some reason to be alone with Brianne, even if they only had a moment together.
“I guess I should go see what she wants,” Callin said with a sigh.
“Good luck,” Shauna laughed. “I’ll take your coffee over to make-up.”
“Thanks,” Callin said.
He turned and headed for Valerie’s trailer. When he reached it, he noticed the door was ajar and he could hear Valerie talking. Callin smiled to himself. Had Brianne returned to the trailer while he was talking to Shauna?
He peered through the door, staying out of sight. His heart sank when he saw Valerie alone in the trailer, speaking on her cell phone
