He was far too aware of Zee.
“I have the space.” His voice came out low and gritty.
“Okay then.”
“I’ll show you to my place after work.”
She stepped closer, face tipped up to his.
Church had seen plenty of beautiful women in his life, but Zee’s face wasn’t the kind that hit a man all at once.
It crept up on him.
Her features were simple in their beauty, the kind someone might miss at first glance. A straight nose, softly defined cheekbones and a mouth that seemed made for soft smiles rather than dramatic ones.
Her hazel eyes were what held him the longest. In certain light, they were green like the pines on the mountains. In others, warmer—brown threaded with gold that caught the sun.
Her hair framed her face in loose waves that never seemed styled, just brushed back enough to stay out of her way while she worked.
It wasn’t the polished, camera-ready beauty he was guarding on the movie set.
Zee was real.
When she reached out and touched his hand, electricity zapped up his arm. “Thanks, Church.”
He didn’t move away. He couldn’t if he tried. “We should get to the set.”
As if she finally realized she was touching him, she let her hand drop. “Can’t be late.”
They rode together to the set. As he guided the truck down the narrow country road that wound through the foothills outside Willowbrook, the tires hummed.
Zee turned her head to the window and issued a sigh. “It’s so beautiful. Isn’t it gorgeous?”
He shifted his gaze from her to the landscape beyond. Morning light spread across the valley, washing the world in pale gold.
“I don’t know how I didn’t notice the changing of the leaves.”
She twisted to give him an incredulous look. “You’re joking.”
He shrugged. “Guess I’ve been so focused on getting things ready at the facility that I wasn’t looking at the world.”
Lower in the valley, fields stretched wide, the tall grasses bending lazily in the breeze. A thin ribbon of mist clung to the far field where the ground dipped toward a small creek. Above it all, the mountains rose sharp against clear blue sky. They approached a bend in the road.
“I don’t think I could ever get tired of this view. Stop right here.”
He glanced at her in surprise, then braked slowly on the roadside.
“I feel like I’ve been searching for this view my entire life.”
His throat tightened at her words. “More than one person has found peace in these mountains.”
She met his stare and nodded. “Peace. That’s exactly it.”
A weathered split-rail fence ran along the road here, gray boards silvery with age. The place carried the kind of importance that felt different from the rest of the world.
After a long minute, he looked at her. “Ready?”
“Yes. We don’t want to be late. They might think we slept in.” She giggled, and the sound made his lips quirk.
