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With those bulging muscles, Tessa was prepared for a hard handshake, but Grant obviously took it easy on her.

She was thankful.

“So this is who I’ve been hearing about,” Grant said.

Tessa was shocked. “You’ve heard about me?”

The giant man nodded. “Yeah. We, uh, have some friends in common.”

Damon put a hand on Grant’s muscular shoulder. “You know, Grant helped create the Daddy Guard. And he knows our pal, Athena.”

“That’s awesome!” Tessa said. “Sounds like there’s a very active community around here. With Athena’s and the store and all that.”

“Indeed there is,” Grant said. “But I’m just glad Damon has found someone as cute and sweet as you so quickly. I was worried about him. But now I think everything has worked out just fine! You two are perfect together⁠—”

“Uh, Grant, buddy,” Damon interrupted. “We… aren’t together.”

Confusion filled Grant’s eyes. “Huh?”

Damon shrugged.

Tessa did too. “We’re just friends.”

An awkward silence swirled among the trio for a moment.

“Guys, I’m sorry,” Grant finally offered. “I just assumed…”

“Don’t mention it,” Damon replied. “It’s all good.”

“You know, it’s kind of cool you thought we were together,” Tessa said, even though alarm bells rang in her mind, warning her that she might do that thing where she felt awkward so she tried to talk her way out of it only to make the situation worse. But she couldn’t stop herself. “Because we are pretending to be together. And that means we’re selling it! Of course, Damon could. But I’m not an actress. So it’s a compliment that you thought⁠—”

Her eyes drifted from Grant to Damon and she saw a strange look on his face—a mix of horror and affection, as if he found her cute—if such a mix was possible.

“And gaffers! I’m going to shut up and watch the gaffers now. Excuse me,” Tessa said. “Nice meeting you, Mr. Baker.”

The big man chuckled. “Please, call me Grant. I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other a lot more. And again, I’m sorry to just assume. This was all on me.”

As the action movie star walked away, he called over his shoulder, “Let’s hang out soon. My Sadie would love to make a new friend.”

Tessa nodded and gave him a little wave, though she realized he probably didn’t see the gestures. She was too nervous to actually speak again. The odds of her saying something to make the situation even more uncomfortable were pretty high.

Once Grant was gone, Damon stood beside her and kept his eyes trained on the gaffers as they worked hard to rig some lighting for an upcoming scene.

All around them other crew members were hard at work, rolling cameras into position, staging the set, and cleaning up certain spots.

“So, Grant thought we were together. That’s funny,” Damon said.

“I know, right?”

They watched the crew for another minute.

“Like I said, that’s a good thing. It sounds like you all are a close-knit community and word is spreading. I bet Lissa is going out of her mind with jealousy!”

“Oh, she’s super jealous,” he agreed. More silence passed before he said, “Hey, do you want to see my favorite spot on the lot? Unless you want to see more of the soundstage.”

She looked up into the high, rounded ceiling, imagining all the crew members from the 1930s and beyond who’d worked up there. Next, she looked at the set before her—just a boring living room—and wondered if that was the very spot where Rick’s Café had been in Casablanca.

Bogie and Ingrid faded from her mind and she turned her full focus back to Damon.