“I thought you said you weren’t filming a movie here.”
“I’m not.”
“But you’re researching for one.”
Clenching my jaw, I fight to maintain a neutral expression. It was hard enough to keep my expressions in check the first time I was around her, but I’ve been awake since two thirty, when Freya called and assured me I did not have to be lonely and am always welcome in Candora if I need to get away.
She and Elliot apparently forgot they’re eight hours ahead of me when they called, just as Freya seems to have forgotten thatHollywood HotScooprarely deals with the full truth and that she shouldn’t pay attention to anything they say.
I don’t need their pity, especially when it comes toHot Scoop. I can handle things.
Resisting the urge to rub the exhaustion from my eyes, I shake my head at Donovan. “I can’t—”
“Talk about it,” she finishes for me. “You said that. But that’s basically saying yes. That’s why you want to learn to row. For a movie.”
I tilt my head, taking in the tension that starts building in her shoulders again as we stare at each other. Her baggy sweatshirt hides most of her strong frame, but I can still see enough of her body language to sense her frustration. Am I the problem, or is it the movie? “Shouldn’t that make you happy?”
She shifts her weight. “Why would it?”
“Assuming your guess is correct, I would be making sure I’m doing things right on camera.”
“Why does that matter?”
“Because there’s nothing I hate more than poorly pretending I’m something I’m not.” I’m talking too much, but I can’t seem to hold myself back. She doesn’t need to know my reasons, especially if she won’t give me her own.
Maybe Donovan is my best chance for gaining the skills I need, but I’m going to check out the other guides, just in case. I don’t love the idea of hanging around someone who clearly doesn’t want anything to do with me. That’ll be miserable for us both, and she doesn’t make hiding easy.
She sees more than she should.
Scoffing, she glances at the front door behind me. “Is The Hulk going to want to learn too?”
“No. He doesn’t want to come in the first place.”
“So why is he?”
Because Hunter goes wherever I go, and that didn’t feel like a problem until he met up with me again at the hotel the other day. He’s been quiet since the ruse with Chuck, which isn’t like him. From the little he told me, everything went okay with their mad dash from the shop except for a moment when he had to rescue Janie from being grabbed by a fan. I don’t think that’s enough to shake him; he and I have dealt with worse.
But all three of us have been off since that day, and I don’t know why. Or how to fix it. Or if I even can. Maybe Hunter is as tired of my life as I am but is too good of a guy to tell me he wants to quit.
“Character building,” I mumble as a poor answer to Donovan’s question.
I don’t know what I would do if Hunter quit. Or Janie. And it would be my fault if they left.
Donovan’s eyes narrow, and she slowly works her way forward until she’s only a few inches from me and looking up into my face. Having her close like this makes my stomach twist into a knot, but I force myself to stand my ground. “Can I be honest with you, Derek Riley?”
“Have you ever been otherwise?”
She pokes me in the chest. “You represent almost everything that I hate, and that’s why I don’t want to teach you.”
She didn’t poke me hard, but her finger left an acute ache behind, and I frown at my hoodie like she might have left a visible mark. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re really—”
“Charming?” She bats her eyelashes and smiles, sparking a flame of attraction in my chest. Seriously? She clearly has no desire to impress me and hasn’t held back any of her disdain, and still my heart beats faster, pulling me toward her like a magnet.
I scowl, as annoyed with myself as I am with her teasing. “Abrasive.”
“My favorite feature of mine. I wasn’t done talking, by the way.”
“Of course you weren’t.”
