“How safe is that, though, when you’re running in an emergency and you forget your fob?”
“All the elevators go down no problem. It’s the going up that needs clearance.”
“Huh,” I nod with approval. Another whoosh and we’re standing in an entrance hallway with only one option. “This is their floor, just theirs?”
Max chuckles, “Must be nice to be the Falcons’ star player, right?”
“I love your place.”
He locks eyes with me, smile fading. “Thank you. I like it, too.” His gaze drops to my bottom lip because I was biting it and didn’t know. “Did I tell you it used to be my dad’s when he was my age?”
“Really?”
“He and my mom fell in love there. I’ll tell you their story sometime.”
The door opens and that famous smile beams at us under damp and wavy chestnut brown hair, matching eyes sparkling with happiness at greeting family. “Max! Sorry to make you wait out here. I had to get some clothes on. Just took a shower. Hi, you must be the amazing producer my cousin told me about! I’m Eric.”
Charmed and grateful he’s such an open guy, I shake his hand to introduce myself, “Natalie Noe, nice to meet you.”
“Great to meet you, too, Natalie. Come in, come in!” He waves us inside a beautiful space with floor to ceiling windows so high above Atlanta that we’re presented with a spectacular view. “So what’s this scene you want to film here? Are we talking lights, huge crew, what?”
As I scan the apartment standing by his side, Max’s body is relaxed, arms crossed and weight rolling on his heels as he explains, “No, this won’t be like the photo shoots you’ve been on, Eric. The crew is only like five people. Not a ton of set up. But it’s a party scene so there will be a lot of extras.”
“Background,” I correct him with a smile.
He grins to Eric, “That’s right, their title changed to background like thirty years ago, but we still call them extras if we’re not careful. Stupid that they switched it. Both sound bad, you know?” He glances to me and I nod. “Anyway, they’re all my film school buddies who will be the background players. They’ll respect your space more than normal people who don’t know what it’s like to have to clean up after a shoot and break down all the equipment. Mind if I look around?”
“Go right ahead.” Eric sweeps his million-dollar hand through the air. Glancing behind me his eyes light up. “Wren!”
CHAPTER 16
N ATALIE
I turn around and see a very pretty brunette, curvy as hell, hair damp like his is. She glows with a secret glint in her eyes and I realize instantly they had sex right before we arrived. Probably in the shower, because she looks slightly embarrassed as she crosses to meet me. “Hi, I’m Eric’s wife, Wren Cocker, nice to meet you…”
“Natalie Noe, hi! I’ve heard so much about you.” We shake hands and I notice a tattoo of tiny birds on a slender branch that travels up her middle finger. Admiring I twist her hand so I can see the detail. “I love this! I’ve always wanted to get a hand tat. Nice placement.”
She grins, “I liked that choice. Eric sees this a lot.” She holds up her middle finger to him and he laughs. “It doesn’t have the effect I want it to, though. He just laughs at me.”
From out of nowhere he bursts into a sprint, jumps over the damn couch, clears it, lunges for his wife as she screams and tries to get away. They fall to the ground with her laughing so hard I can’t stop smiling for her. Max and I exchange a look and he shrugs on a grin, “See why I had to perform the ceremony?”
The newlyweds stand up, Eric helping Wren fix her shirt. “Baby, you want to flash the new girl? Have some dignity!”
“Shut up!” She smacks him and shakes her head to me. “He’s nuts, ignore him like I do. Max, give me a hug.”
He obliges, lifting her up and planting a kiss on her hair before he sets her back on the ground and motions for me to come over to him. “Natalie look, this is where I’d have Marnie enter. Jaden will see her from over there, where he’s standing with his brother. In between them would be the party, everyone having a good time, normal stuff, and then bam, they see each other for the first time.” Max locks eyes with me for emphasis. His expression changes as we hold a look, a slight frown appearing. “Can you picture it?”
Hyper aware of how handsome he is when he gets excited, I nod, frowning, too. “Totally. Can totally picture it.” Clearing my throat I step away from him so I can clear my head, too. “I love how there’s a rise here, a step that separates your living room and kitchen area. This could be more dynamic than if the floor was all one level. You’d have some extras up here, and it would read really nicely on camera, I think. Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Background,” he smirks, correcting me.
“You’ve been waiting to do that, haven’t you.”
“I knew you’d say extras sooner or later, but I didn’t think it’d be that soon!”
Laughing I slide a long fingernail under my bangs to straighten them, something I tend to do when self-conscious. “Whatever. Background, fine.”
Max chuckles and walks to Eric who’s standing with his arms crossed, watching us. Wren has sat down in one of the leather lounge chairs, her gaze on me. She smiles as I meet her eyes, while Max tells his cousin, “I think it’d be perfect, man. You really cool with it?”
Eric makes a don’t-be-ridiculous face. “Of course! We can hang out with Ethan or Emma at their places. They’ve been on us to visit more anyway. But with
