Her head cocked to the side. “You’re being serious?”
“Yeah. I need to know what gum that is because I’m buying it as soon as we’re done here.”
She giggled. “I had Andes Mints.” She gestured to the open package on the dresser. “Because I know they’re your favorite.”
Holy crap. I had to wait until the pool to kiss her? Because I wanted to right now—and not just because of her breath.
I winked. “So what you’re saying is I should’ve had chicken nuggets just now?”
“Oh, please no.” Her nose scrunched. “Can you imagine that? Chicken nugget flavored gum?”
“McDonald’s and Chick-fil-A are missing a big opportunity there.” I grinned. “Okay. My turn.”
I already knew my breath was great because I’d brushed twice, mouth washed til my gums were on fire, chewed two sticks of gum,andmade my mom check it three times in the last half hour. Charlie pushed up, letting me get under her nose. I did the honors.
She rocked back on her heels. “You did that for me, didn't you?”
I pressed a hand to my chest, being dramatic. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I love cinnamon gum. Always have, always will.” Absolutely disgusting.
She put a hand on her hip. “I very distinctly recall you saying that chewing cinnamon gum is like licking a candle and pretending it’s enjoyable.”
I shrugged. “People change. I’m way morerefinedthan I used to be.”
Finally, she belly laughed. It was the best sound I’d heard since the day Jeff hauled Lorne into that barn.
Mom poked her head through the door. “You two ready?”
I looked at Charlie, my eyes wide in question.
She smiled and I realized her hands weren’t shaking anymore. “We’re ready.”
sixteen
Cash
So far, Charlie and I had jumped in together holding hands, snuggled in an oversized pool float, and sat on top of a paddle board while I’d stupidly sung my song right to her face as she fluttered her lashes, pretending it was perfectly normal behavior.
It was all less romantic and fun than it sounded, with every movement, every facial expression scripted. Like when they made us film a ‘quick bit’—which hadn’t been quick at all—where I chased her under the water, only to have her slip through my hands. She’d accidentally kicked me in the face and we had to stop filming for twenty minutes to get my nose to stop bleeding. She apologized profusely the entire time. Also, I was beginning to get a headache from holding my breath so much. But she’d been a great sport. Especially when they made her do a hair flip as she came up out of the water at least thirty times. I could tell it had given her a neck ache.
“All right, lovebirds, here’s the big moment.” Bennett clapped his hands together from the director’s chair. “Charlie, you’re gonna come flying down that slide—gracefully, if possible—straight into Cash’s waiting arms.”
“Yeah, ’cause that’s how water slides work,” Charlie said under her breath, water to our waists. “Super graceful.”
“Cash, you’re gonna catch her—big, romantic moment, like some Nicholas Sparks fever dream. Then, Charlie, you’re gonna wiggle away—tease him a little—swim under the waterfall. Cash, you follow, grab her again, and that’s where the magic happens.” He wiggled his fingers in the air. “The kiss. We’d like it to be as unscripted and natural as possible. Let’s see that Cashlie chemistry we love so much.”
“Just stop,” I groaned under my breath. Charlie snickered next to me.
Sometime over the past three days, Bennett had shipped us. Which normally would’ve been…whatever. But our names didn’t work for that kind of thing. They were too similar and he didn’t have the luxury of different last names to pick up the first name slack.
“We’ll film the scene where she leaves after the kiss and then we’ll be done,” Bennett said as he stretched. “Hard to Love You” didn’t have a happy ending. I’d written about how it had been when Charlie and I kissed in Hawaii and then she’d left with her husband. Definitely not a song with an HEA.
Charlie plucked a bug from the water and set it free with a gentle flick. She glanced at my chest—quick, almost like an accident—but her gaze lingered a second too long. It wasn’t the first time, either. I couldn’t tell if she was scandalized by my shirtlessness or mentally mapping out where to put her hands during the kiss.
Her gaze skittered to mine and I pretended I hadn’t noticed. “We’re almost done, Dollar Bill,” she whispered. “But I’m sorry to say that I think those Andes Mints wore off a long time ago.”
“Same for the cinnamon gum,” I whispered back. “I guess we’ll suffer through somehow.”
“Places!” Bennett called.
