Page 16 of Stunts and Sparks

He nodded down at the brace she wore. “Broken?”

She shook her head. “Nope. You were right. But they recommended I brace it anyway just to let it heal better.”

He squinted at her wrist. “There’s no way handcuffs will fit around that thing.”

“I know,” she said, and she started to remove it. “I’ll just have it on between stunts.”

“Do you think that’s wise?”

“It’s what I have to do,” she said with a shrug.

The film crew came to handcuff her and put her into position in the car, and Cole had to stop himself from wringing his hands at the sight of it. They were cuffing her by her injured wrist. He had known, of course, that was going to happen, having shot this scene before, but just seeing it filled him with a protective instinct he didn’t even know he had.

He got into the car and glanced over at her. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked.

“I’m fine,” she said, but he didn’t entirely believe her.

The director said, “Action!” and Cole started to drive. Normally, he would have gunned it, speeding faster and faster until he reached the end of his run. But he couldn’t stop glancing over at Heather’s poor wrist in handcuffs. To make sure that there would be no chance this stunt could reinjure her, he drove slowly and carefully. He drove the way he’d been trained to drive at the speed he was supposed to go.

At one point, Heather glanced over to him as if to ask him,Are you sure?He just winked in response, and the smile that brought out in her gave his heart something to beat about. She was brilliant and beautiful, and he was ready to give her the benefit of every doubt in every situation. The drive itself was exhilarating, but it couldn’t hold a candle to the look she gave him when it was over.

“Thank you,” she said as the crew helped to remove her handcuffs and replace the brace. “I know that wasn’t how you wanted to do it.”

He dismissed her thanks with a wave of his hand. “Don’t worry about it. I am capable of compromise sometimes, you know.”

“I didn’t, actually. You seemed pretty uncompromising before.” She elbowed him as they walked to the bus that would transport them back to the set.

“Don’t you go thinking it was all about you, though. I just don’t want to have to work with someone new. It’s exhausting to teach a new partner, and I’ve just gotten used to you.” He helped her into the bus and followed her to her chosen seat. “May I?” he asked before sitting down beside her.

She nodded. “You don’t have to ask or anything. It’s cool.”

When they were back at the set, they ate lunch together in the courtyard. Everyone else on the set seemed to watch them with caution, as though they expected them to break out into an argument at any moment. Cole couldn’t blame them if that’s what they thought. The two of them had not gotten along terribly well when they first started working together.

He remembered the first lunch they had shared together. This time she offered him a mini quiche off her plate. “Try this one — it’s really good,” she said, handing it to him. The difference was remarkable. He could hardly believe one weekend at a couple’s boot camp could have such a huge effect, but it had. For this result, he could almost forgive the director for insisting on such a ridiculous plan. If it worked, it worked.

After lunch Heather and Cole were sent to rehearse a sparring scene. They couldn’t film it because she had to wear a brace for anything with such a high level of risk. It was one thing to ride in a car wearing handcuffs. It was another thing to film a climactic fight scene in which she was supposed to take several falls.

They were in a room with blue mats on the floors and walls. Fluorescent lights washed out most of the colors and should have been the most unflattering lighting possible. But Heather still looked like a dream to Cole. It didn’t hurt that she was still wearing her all-leather costume. They stood apart and readied themselves. There would be no metronome this time, so Cole was going to count aloud to mark their moves.

Heather rushed him on cue, and he blocked her, grabbed her, and swung her until her back was against his chest. She pretended to twist out of his grip and kick him. He took the hit and threw her down, but he did so gently, guiding her like a dancer to the mat. He still wasn’t willing to risk injuring her further.

“Oh, come on!” she said when she was down. “You can do so much better than that.”

“Not with your wrist injured, I can’t.”

She shook her head, clearly disappointed with him. “I’m wearing my brace, and I know how to take this fall. It’s not like my fall in the obstacle course. This one is practiced. I have it memorized. Just guide me down in the right direction.”

Cole stood opposite from her again and narrowed his eyes at her. “I don’t know.”

“Let’s go!” she shouted, and she rushed him again.

This time he let her down a little harder, but he still guided her fall too much. He knew it was too much as soon as he saw her expression when she hit the mats. Her disappointment was obvious. “First you’re angry that I’m careless, and now you want me to be less careful,” he said to her as he helped her to her feet again. “Make up your mind, will you?”

“It’s a balancing act,” she said, “a huge part of the job, and you know it.”

“More like a tightrope.” He laughed.

“So walk it,” she challenged him with an irresistible expression on her face. Her eyes were practically sparkling with mischief. That look reminded him why he’d gotten into the business in the first place. He had wanted to have fun, and right now Heather looked like a blast and a half. The way she challenged him, the way she winked at him, drove him absolutely crazy.

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