The waiter poured them a glass each and placed the bottle on the table. “Your food will be but a moment.”
“So what’s with the wig? Part of hiding the real you?”
Taryn narrowed her eyes. “You knew who I was?”
“I found out tonight. Remember my friend Rachel at the club?” She waited until Taryn nodded. “She saw an article about the new show and recognized you. She couldn’t wait to share her amazing discovery.” Cassie traced her fingers over Taryn’s hand. “So beforeyoufreak out, no, I didn’t know who you were when we met, and I’m not here just to spend a night with ‘Taryn Taylor, stunt-rider.’” She put air quotes around the last few words and smiled, waiting for Taryn’s reaction. It seemed like she wasn’t quite at peace with the adoration she spoke of, which was intriguing and unusual. Taryn was an attractive woman, and she clearly knew it, and yet, she didn’t seem entirely comfortable with how that and her apparent fame affected her ability to engage with women.
“You’re not a glamorous stalker then?”
Cassie shook her head. So she was going with humor to cover her discomfort. It was far better than a lie.
“I wear a wig to keep my work and personal life separate, like I have two distinct parts of me. A small part, the Taryn that wears a wig, is the stunt personality.” She gestured to herself and ran her hand through her hair again. “This is the real me. No wigs. No makeup.” She shrugged and gave a little frown. “No mask. Is that too much? I feel like I’m oversharing.”
“It isn’t too much. It’s perfect.” Cassie stared into Taryn’s eyes for far longer than she should for a one-night stand, but she couldn’t help herself. “Rachel showed me your last stunt at Alcatraz,” she said. Thinking of something so risky and dangerous pulled her focus from Taryn’s ridiculously gorgeous eyes. “If I had a weak heart, it might’ve finished me off.” But instead, her heart raced at the thought that one of those stunts could kill Taryn just as she was beginning to get to know her. And damn it if she didn’t like everything she’d already seen. And she couldn’t wait to see more. Much more.
“Cassie?”
Cassie snapped to attention. “Sorry, I zoned out for a second.”
“Sorry if I’m boring you.”
“Not at all. It’s just been a harder day than usual.” It was only a white lie, since Barr had spent a few hours hanging around the ER trying to schmooze Rachel, who had repeatedly begged for her to intervene. She was more than happy to shoot him down, but she did have to be careful how snippy she was since he was her boss.
“Isn’t every day in the ER difficult?”
“Of course. But some days are worse than others.” Another difficult call with her mom had been the worst part of her shift. She’d somehow spent the money Cassie had sent a couple of days ago and wanted more. Dealing with her ongoing guilt had wiped her out, and if it had been anything other than this dinner date with Taryn, she would’ve canceled and headed home for a hot bath and her comfy bed.
The waiter returned to serve their food, and they began to nibble at the giant plateful of food.
“Okay, let’s talk about your day. I hear talking about things is supposed to help.”
Cassie chuckled and shook her head. She wasn’t ready to share that part of her life. Maybe she never would be, not with Taryn. This was all temporary; what would she care about her past? And discussing her alcoholic mom was far from quality pre-pillow talk. “Maybe later. What were you saying?”
Taryn narrowed her eyes but seemed to understand that Cassie didn’t want to talk and didn’t push.
“Later. Okay.”
Taryn folded each of the sleeves of her shirt one more time. Cassie had noted at the club and today that she folded and unfolded them regularly, like it was a habit or a tic. Maybe it could tell Cassie something about Taryn that she hadn’t yet learned, but thus far, Taryn had pretty much been an open book. “So what were you saying?”
“I was saying that Andi had thought the National Park Service wouldn’t authorize use of the island for this trick, but she pulled it off somehow. Promises and money go a long way in this business.”
“You sound rueful.” Cassie had observed an indeterminable flicker of emotion in Taryn’s words. “Are you tiring of the game?”
Taryn frowned. “It’s not a game; it’s a career.”
Cassie held up her hands. “Sensitive much?”
Taryn exhaled slowly. “It’s this residency. A lot of promises have been made to our team. I just hope they’ll be delivered.”
“Why would you think that they wouldn’t? Don’t you trust the person you’re dealing with?” Cassie hadn’t expected the serious turn in their conversation, but she was genuinely interested in the subtext of Taryn’s words.
“I want to, but there’s a lot of pressure on me and Andi. If the show doesn’t get the audiences Bernice is expecting, she could pull the plug, and all those promises are washed away like leaves in a storm.”
“I don’t know anything about your business, or any business for that matter, but don’t you have a contract?”
Taryn shrugged. “Yeah, but people can always wriggle out of contracts, can’t they? And there’s more than just dreams and promises at stake with this show.”
“How so?”
