“Okay, I didn’t google you. But I did watch all your movies. I… I’d been watching you act, on set, when I could sneak a look. The way you use your eyes so deliberately, the way you move, the way you hold your jaw. You say so much with just an expression.” She spoke quickly, like she was on a game show with a time limit. “I even watched your first film, when you were a kid. Even then, I couldn’t look away from your face, the way you emote. That scene where your grandmother leaves—I bawled. I was swallowing down balls of snot—excuse the biological detail. EvenThe Precipice, which, yes, wasn’t the mostunexpected storyline, but the way your whole body conveyed emotion—it was fascinating.” She tried to look away, but they were so close there wasn’t anywhere much to look. “I’ve always thought you couldn’t share thought processes on film like in a book, unless it’s a voiceover info dump. But I could read your thoughts, like there were invisible subtitles.”
She wasn’t lying, but shewashiding something. “So, you watched all my films for … the subtext.”
“Exactly!” she squeaked.
“We’re getting closer to the truth. But we’re not there yet, are we, Lana?”
“What are you—a walking lie detector?”
“Is that an admission you’re lying?”
“Everything I said is the truth!”
“What are you holding back?” He looked up and tested the rope, as if preparing to head back up. He wouldn’t leave an inexperienced climber down here alone, especially with the light fading, but she didn’t need to know that.
“No, wait, please. I watched them because of the subtext—that’s totally true, I was fascinated by that—but also, in fact primarily, at least, initially, but definitely not the only reason, it was just what started it…”
“Lana! Say it.”
“I watched them because I thought you were hot, okay?” Her shout echoed around the canyon—hot, hot, hot. “Ithinkyou’re hot. I’ve never known anyone to make me react like that—real or not. Physically, and also…” She touched her temples. “And yes, I know you’re real, I mean, I know it now, I mean, I knew it then too, but you know what I mean. Oh my god. I can’t believe I just said that to you. I can’t believe you made me say that!” She slapped both palms on her cheeks. “I’m so red right now, aren’t I?”
After a stunned couple of seconds, he laughed so hard he wobbled and had to grab the rope. She shot out a hand and awkwardly caught his upper arm.
“And now I’m touching you! I’m looking at you, I’m talking to you, I’m breaking all the rules! I’m sorry. I’m honestly not a stalker!”
“It’s okay,” he said, getting a hold of himself. “I believe you now.”
She blinked a few times, her expression settling. “So … what? You believe me—finally—because I admitted that I thought you were hot? Why, becauseeverywoman thinks you’re hot?” She crossed her arms. “Or because that’s more plausible than me watching your films because of your acting ability?”
He found himself leaning forward, though they definitely didn’t need to be any closer. “Because I can tell when someone’s lying to me,” he murmured. “And as soon as you said that…” He bit back a laugh. “I could tell it was the whole truth. The look on your face. Thecolorof your face! You couldn’t act your way to a blush like that.”
She stared up at him, defiant. “Did it not occur to you that I was holding back because I didn’t want to admit you’re…”
“I’m…?”
“The most beautiful person I have ever seen, okay?” she snapped. “Oh, lord. Maybe youshouldgo. I’ll slap the restraining order on myself.”
“I was more concerned you were holding back some plan to get me alone and…”
“And do what?” Her expression changed to horror.
“Let’s just say I’ve had uncomfortable encounters with fans.”
“How awful.”
Again, she spoke with a genuineness that threatened his defenses. He’d better watch for that. He’d give her the benefit of the doubt, for now. If she was a stalker, she was newly hatchedand didn’t seem dangerous. Though he’d thought the same of the cute kid who’d asked for a selfie, then tried to steal his phone. Even Griffin’s bullshit detector glitched occasionally.
“We’re almost at the bottom,” he said. “Shall we refocus on the goal?”
“Vivien.” She said her sister’s name like she was slapping herself with it. The blush evaporated, leaving her so pale that her freckles stood out. He hadn’t noticed the freckles before—a fine brown dust across her cheekbones. She said she could see the thought processes inhishead when he was in character—which wasn’t a compliment he got often—but he could say the same of her. He liked people he could see through. And there were very few people in his world he could say that of.
He helped her to the fern-covered gully floor and found himself standing with his hands on her waist, looking down at her. She was … pretty, with her ponytail and dark fringe framing those big eyes and that pixie-shaped face. Her forehead furrowed but she didn’t step back, and for some reason he didn’t let go. He hadn’t stopped to think about her as a woman. He spent much of his life surrounded by beautiful women, but any attraction was tempered by the suspicion of what they might want from him. Every interaction was transactional. This for that.
But this woman, with her left-field thoughts and her quick wit and her authenticity and her bioluminescent skin… Maybe it was because they were so far from his usual world, alone in a crevasse with only the sound of the trickling stream, but he had an urge to draw her in, cup her pale cheek…
He stumbled back and spun away.
If anyone needed to slap themselves, it was him.
