“During filming, sure, but when it looks like a communication mix-up will result in someone leaving behind the…” He stopped.
“The…?”
“Someone. Anyone. You. Me.”
“Thestar?” A half smile washed the strained look from her face.
“I’m just saying, they’re usually good with checking everyone’s accounted for, especially when it comes to the…”
“To the?”
“Okay, sure—my picture’s on the billboards. So yeah, people usually notice if I’m somewhere or not somewhere. Look, I’mgonna walk to security. You can wait here. I’ll tell them you’re here and they’ll send someone for you.”
“No! No, that’s all right. I’m … uh… I’ll find my own way back to town.”
“To Fitch? It’s like three miles.”
“I … like walking.”
She’d stayed behind deliberately. She couldn’t have been on the set long—he would have noticed those big, vulnerable eyes. Not one of the permanent extras. A ring-in? AGods and Mortalssuper fan who’d snuck onto the set to geek out? If so, what did he care? Except that it ruined his own freshly hatched plans for a weekend retreat in Troy. No private beach. No nature hike. No trailer snacks. “You don’t want me to say you’re here? Fine. Just don’t tell anyone we talked, and don’t set fire to anything. I’ll have a hard time explaining that.”Gods and Mortals Set Torched: Griffin Hart’s Guilt. He resumed walking.
“Wait!”
He turned. She took a phone from her pants pocket.
“No photos.” He held up a palm. “It’s been a long day.”
Her head jerked slightly. “I don’t want to take a photo of you.”
“You don’t?”
“Why would I…? There are pictures of you all over the internet. I’m not some kind of stalker, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
Again, he raised his eyebrows.
“I’m not! I swear! I didn’t know who you were until a week ago.”
“You… But you’re a background actor, right?”
“I’ve only been on set since Monday. This job is the only reason I’ve heard of you. Is that so hard to believe?”
“People do tend to know who I am.” As much as he wished they didn’t.
“Well, I don’t. Ididn’t, before last week. Anyway, I just want to show you a photo, okay? Please?” She swiped at the screen.
“Is it of you naked? Because I swear I won’t even glance at?—”
“No!” She seemed genuinely horrified. She stared a few seconds, then frowned, leaning forward. “Does that happen to you?”
“It … does, yes.”
“Wow.” She returned focus to the phone. “It’s a photo of you with my sister—fully clothed.”
Some compromising photo to blackmail him with? Who was her sister? He hadn’t hooked up with anyone since his brief relationship with Estelle. And he always made sure there was no shady photographic or video evidence—a rule his parents had drilled into him long before he was old enough to understand what they meant. Even so, photos had gotten out. The only safe sex was no sex, from a scandal standpoint. Unfortunately for him, he liked it too much to be celibate.
Holding up her phone, the woman advanced. He automatically stepped backward in sync. She stopped, frowning, and he stopped too. She started walking again, and so did he. It was like a force field pushing him back.Maintain your distance.Like the no-sex-tape rule, the mantra had been drummed into him ever since he could remember. He took care not to indulge in anything that anyone could blackmail him over, but things happened outside his control. Every day he was out in public, there was a chance a photo or footage would turn up that suggested something shady. A remark taken out of context. A freak picture that appeared to show his hand on some woman’s ass, when it was nowhere near.
He realized the woman had halted, her lip quirking, as if she wasn’t sure what was happening. He wasn’t sure himself. He stopped.
