“Good morning. Ready for another day?” He held up the tumbler briefly in salute to the day.
I took a deep breath. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Do you have a minute?”
He nodded before sipping his coffee. “Sure, whatever you need. Is here okay?”
I shook my head. “It’s private.”
“Okay, then.” He led the way to the production trailer and fumbled with his tumbler and keys for a few seconds before he managed to unlock the door and step inside, shutting the door behind us.
As soon as the door was closed, I turned to him. “Here’s the thing.”
Max raised his eyebrows. “If you’re about to quit on me, I swear to God.”
I chuckled softly and shook my head. “Not about to quit. But I heard we need to put someone on the roof.”
He frowned and nodded slowly. “We’ve had people on the roof all week,” he pointed out.
“Asher. I’m talking about Asher.”
Another sip of his coffee. “Right. Yes. Asher. He’s going up to measure the rotten trusses. That’s why the roofers wrapped up for the week. They can’t put shingles on rotten wood.”
I hummed and nodded. “Exactly. I just… want to make sure we’re prepared for Asher to go up there. Harness, anchors, stabilizer for the ladder, the whole thing. Safety first. With the roofers gone for now, I wanted to be sure we still have the equipment on site.”
“Yeah, of course. It’s all set. I’ve done this before, Micah. I’ve got it covered.”
I nodded and forced my mouth to stay closed, to keep from arguing that he hadn’t exactly spent alotof time on construction sites, and there would naturally be hiccups, but I didn’t want him pointing out the same was true about me and my experience. “Do you need anything from me to make sure it happens the way it should?”
He smiled and shook his head. “Just the usual. I appreciate you looking out for him.”
I gave him a soft smile and a nod. “Of course.”
Just then, someone knocked twice on the trailer door before tugging it open. Jake stepped inside and looked at Max. “Sorry to interrupt. The crew’s all here. Ready to start filming for the day when you are.”
“Go ahead and get things moving. Will you let Brooks know I’ll be right out?”
Jake nodded once. “Ten-four.” He hesitated a moment and his gaze turned to me. “Oh, and Asher’s looking for you,” he said. “I told him I’d let you know.” He glanced over his shoulder briefly. “I think he’s headed in this direction, actually.” With that, he stepped out of the trailer again, letting the door swing closed behind him with a bang.
Max put his tumbler on his desk and cleared his throat. “I’m going to go get the team started for the day. Tell Asher we’re pretty much ready when he is. I’m going to have Gideon and Brooks covering him first. Get it taken care of while we have the good daylight.”
“Sure thing.”
Just as Max pushed the trailer door open again, Asher pulled it, and Max nearly tumbled down the stairs. Luckily, Asher caught him by the arm and they both laughed it off, but Asher’s laugh sounded forced, not as sincere as Max’s.
“Whoops,” Asher said immediately. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t mention it.” Max’s tone was bright. “Honestly, the number of times I’ve tripped on these stairs… they should come with a hazard warning.”
Asher chuckled again, softly, and nodded. “They definitely should.” As soon as Max left, Asher shut the trailer door behind him and leaned his back against it. “Hey,” he said softly.
“Hey.” My stomach fluttered from being in close proximity to him.Get it together, I chastised myself.You’re just friends. With benefits, maybe, but still just friends.
He cleared his throat and looked at his feet for a second before looking up at me again. When he spoke, his voice was soft. “Thank you.”
I shrugged and waved away his thanks. “I didn’t do anything special.” My heart thudded hard in my chest, as if it were trying to escape my ribcage.
Asher took a few steps toward me, closing the gap between us until we were barely a foot apart. “You talked me through my panic last night. It helped. A lot.”
I drew in a shaky breath and tried to force my heartbeat to steady. My hands ached to be on his body. “Are you ready to do this?”
