Can this get any more embarrassing? My eyes returned to the water on the floor. “Oh, right.” I could feel the warmth radiating from his body, and not just that; the prickling sensation – or was it tingling? – that I’d felt even the first time I saw his poster was there again. It’s just from the cold. It’s a normal reaction. Except it didn’t feel like one.
Jared chuckled. “Hope the movie company has insurance, because between the two of us, this trailer’s–”
Christina burst through the door. She couldn’t seem to decide whether she should address me or Jared.
“What the hell?”
Jared shrugged almost apologetically. “She was drowning.”
Christina stopped speaking and composed herself. She walked over to me and knelt by my side. “Are you okay? How did it happen?”
“I was bringing Jared a script, riding one of the bikes, and the wheel caught on the bridge.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You don’t work for the company,” she said. “Why would you be bringing him a script?”
“I’m one of the caterers. Alfred asked me to bring it.”
“Alfred,” she repeated, her face hard.
“There was nobody else. And the catering vans hadn’t shown up. I said I’d do it…”
She stood. “That isn’t important. The doctor’s on his way from the set. He’ll be here in a few minutes. He needs to check you out.”
I sat forward. “I don’t need a doctor. I’m just…shaken up.”
“I can imagine,” Christina said. “But it’s not a question of needing one. For liability reasons, you have to be examined and get a clean bill of health.”
I frowned. “I’m not planning on suing anyone. It was an accident. I’m fine.”
“It’s not optional,” she said, in a tone that left no room for argument.
I shifted on the sofa, beginning to warm up. Jared remained on the far side of the room, his chiseled features and satin skin unruffled by the river rescue. He seemed to be avoiding looking at me now that Christina was here, and I again wondered what she meant to him – whether she was more than just a producer.
The doctor arrived and introduced himself, and Christina walked to Jared and brushed an errant lock of his hair off his brow, a gesture so filled with intimacy I almost cried. My gut churned as a hint of a smile played along his full lips, and then he stared directly at me, freezing my breath in my throat. That knowing look again. Except what was there to know?
“I’m afraid I’ve got to get changed and have my makeup redone.” Jared paused. He glanced at the doctor. “Is she going to be okay?”
“I won’t know till I’m done,” the doctor said.
Christina nodded to the doctor. “Keep me informed. We’re going back to the set.” She fixed me with a neutral stare. “I’ll speak to Melinda about giving you some time off. Looks like you’re going to need it. I’m so sorry this happened. Get better soon, and please let us know if you need anything.”
Christina pulled the door open and stepped outside. Jared’s gaze lingered on me for a moment, as though trying to figure something out, and then he followed her without looking back. The change in his demeanor from friendly to distant was obvious. Just like after the concert. It was a harsh reminder that even if our paths had intersected in a few chance ways, I was just the hired help, too inept to even pilot a bike without nearly killing myself.
The memory of the excitement in my voice when he’d said my name, and then the crestfallen expression I’d been unable to hide when he’d pointed out I was wearing a name tag, made me wish I’d been washed away by the current. I winced as the doctor jabbed my ribs, jarring me from my thoughts and reminding me that for all my bluster, I had taken a hard tumble and would probably be feeling it for days.
As to visions of Jared riding to my rescue on a white unicorn, I’d had about enough of having my dreams crushed by reality. I resolved to talk to Melinda the next day about changing from catering to anything else that would have me. There was no point torturing myself by being in his company.
The doctor took twenty minutes to check me out before pronouncing me bruised but unbroken. He advised me to change into a dry robe hanging on the bathroom door while he arranged for transportation back to the dorm, and I didn’t argue. My soaked shirt and pants were clammy and chilled, and I emerged from the bathroom swaddled in Jared’s robe. He’s going to run out of clothes if I keep making off with them – a thought that brought a hint of a smile to my lips.
Chapter 12
The next day was a mad rush. The prior evening I’d avoided telling my roommates what had happened out of embarrassment, and had changed back into my wet clothes before I entered our room, shivering as I pulled on my jeans and top in the shadows outside the dorm. The subterfuge turned out to be largely in vain because only Serena was there, and she barely glanced at me when I rushed in and went directly to the bathroom, emerging a few minutes later in Jared’s robe.
When I awakened and inspected my chest in the bathroom mirror, I saw some purple patches near my rib cage, but other than that, no outward evidence of trauma. My clothes could easily cover it all, and I avoided any conversation by dashing out the door, muttering something about having to get to my first class early.
I stopped at the cafeteria and sprang for a cup of coffee and a bran muffin – a small concession to a healthy diet after bingeing on pizza and lasagna over the last few days. The dining area was buzzing with activity as other students wolfed down hasty breakfasts, chatting with one another good-naturedly in
