Page 107 of Breaking Free

“How about a rain check for tonight?”

“Absolutely,” he replied. “Better?”

She shrugged her shoulders and bent her neck once more. “Much.” Twirling around, she gazed up at him. “You’re good at that, too.”

“I’ve been a rigger for longer than I care to admit. You learn things.”

Not wanting to think about all the other women he’d tied up then massaged the next morning, she headed to the fridge to get creamer.

“Are you ready for today?” He grabbed the freshly toasted bread and brought it, along with a plate of crispy bacon—just the way she liked it—to the table.

“No,” she admitted, joining him with her coffee. “But I have to be.”

“You did great the past two nights. You didn’t seem self-conscious at all.”

“I had you as a distraction,” she confessed.

“Would you like me to go with you today instead of Axyl?”

Filled with a rush of excitement at the unexpected offer, she wanted to grab it with both hands. As quickly, second and third thoughts made her reconsider. “But you were up all night.”

“That’s not a problem. I’m used to it.”

“You also haven’t had a break all week. I can’t ask that of you.”

“I offered, Piper.”

Oh-so tempted, she imagined him there while she was nearly naked in bed with another man. Talk about awkward. Even if it was only Dirk, it might make things worse, not better.

Reaching across the table, she placed her hand on his. “I appreciate you sacrificing sleep to be there for me, but I might focus better if you’re not around. No offense.”

“None taken.”

“Good. You may have dodged a bullet, anyhow. We’re scheduled to go until six, which is a long day, but with Dirk involved, I can imagine it going even longer.”

“Why do they cast him at all if he’s such a pain in the ass?”

“I asked the same thing. Except I didn’t say...ass.”

His lips twitched when she whispered the last word like the police were listening in and might break down the door and arrest her.

“They don’t cuss in Last Chance, Iowa?”

Her eyes widened, and she rapidly shook her head. “Not around my mother. She wouldn’t say ‘hell’ while reading scripture in Bible study.”

“What would she do instead? Skip it?”

“She’d spell it out or say, ‘the awful place’ or whisper ‘down there’ while pointing. Once, I heard her call it Satan’s hangout.”

This time, his lip twitch turned into a full-blown grin. It was the second day in a row she had made him smile. Now, she was determined to keep the streak alive.

He stared at her over his mug, eyes alight with amusement. “I’m amazed your parents were okay with you moving to LA to pursue an acting career.”

“I didn’t exactly give them a choice, which is why I had a late start. Twenty-seven is older than most wannabe actresses who leave home hoping to be discovered. But I had to work and save to support myself. Even then, the first six months out here were hard until my notary business got rolling.”

“What about the condo? I know personally they aren’t cheap.”

“I’m subletting from a friend of my aunt who hopes I win an Oscar one day and take her to the award show over her”—she used air quotes here—“holier-than-thou sister.”

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