Page 4 of Stunts and Sparks

Clearly uncomfortable with the silence, Heather attempted small talk. “So, how did you get into the business?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Being a Navy SEAL is pretty physical. I knew I’d fail miserably at an office job. Professional sports was never really my thing. I’m not really a team player.”

“Can’t say I’m surprised,” she said.

“Why?” he asked her with a quick nudge. “Too much charm?”

She snorted and then popped another mini quiche in her mouth. “I wouldn’t call itcharmexactly, but it’s definitely… something.”

Cole frowned. She wasn’t laughing, and that bothered him. He usually found it easy to talk to women. They’d laugh at his over-the-top confidence, and the ice would be broken right away. Rather than letting Heather’s seriousness bother him for long, Cole became determined to break through it. He was going to win her over, whatever it took. Anyway, it would be much more pleasant to work with someone who knew how to laugh — someone who liked him if nothing else.

“Would it help if we started over?” he said. He held out a hand. “Hi there. I’m Cole Reynolds. I believe you and I will be working together.”

Heather reached out and shook his hand. She was game at least. That was something. He felt like he had a chance, so he grinned at her and said, “It’s great to finally meet you.”

“It’s such a relief,” she said, and Cole squinted at her, trying to figure out where she was going with this. “Because before you got here, there was this total asshole pretending to be you. He was just so cringey, thought he was funny or something. He even stole one of my mini quiches.”

“Hey, now,” Cole interjected. “I asked first.”

She glared hard at him. “I’m sorry, who did what now?”

He stopped himself and reconsidered. “I mean, I’m sure whoever it was asked permission first.”

“And what if I told you he didn’t?” She started to smile but put a quick stop to it. “Would you believe me?”

“I’d have no choice,” he said, “since you’re the only real witness here.” He had wanted to make her laugh, but it turned out she was the one amusing him.

“And what would you say to the guy if he was here?” She kept her smile up, clearly enjoying her little win.

He decided to let her enjoy it. “I’d tell him that was unacceptable behavior. He should have asked first. Very ungentlemanly of him.”

Now his charms seemed to be hitting the right mark. She laughed and nudged him. “Well, I’d say the new guy is much better company, anyway. Good thing you replaced him.”

“Good thing,” Cole said. She smiled so broadly that he had to remind himself to breathe. She was gorgeous, especially when she smiled. He was determined to make her smile as often as possible. Her smile lifted his mood more than he wanted to admit, but that wouldn’t stop him from shooting for a smile with every interaction he had going forward, as long as she was amenable.

CHAPTER 3

HEATHER

The stunt was going to be a dry run this time, although they always had cameras running just in case. Heather stood opposite her costar on her mark. As she understood it, she and Cole would be intercut with the two stars. They just had to go through the motions so the editors could digitally splice everything after the fact.

The set was less than impressive, but Heather knew it would look completely different after the digital-effects people got to it. They were on the top of a building, a constructed rooftop in a studio setting. The actual building was only two stories high, and behind them was a green screen, where the effects people would eventually add a city skyline. This would be the first time she had performed the stunts with Cole specifically rather than her practice partner.

In Heather’s opinion, they were starting with one of the more difficult stunts, and she wished they wouldn’t. To her, it made way more sense to start with something easier, especially since she and Cole hadn’t been able to do any kind of rehearsal together. Stunt work required precision, clear communication,and a whole lot of trust. She and Cole had none of these yet, especially not the trust. They simply hadn’t been allowed to build it. Scheduling issues, they said. Wasn’t it just always about scheduling issues?

Heather faced Cole, standing on her mark. The ticking of a metronome sounded in her ears. This would be how the two of them would keep time. What they were doing, this choreographed fight, was more of a dance than anything. It would just look like violence.

They got the cue to start, and Heather made the first move. It was two steps forward, four around. Hit every mark. Pivot. Kick. Cole grabbed her ankle and threw her down. She rolled away from him, shooting back up like her life depended on it. She was on the ground for less than a second.

In this scene, her character was meant to be the aggressor, coming face-to-face with the antagonist who killed her father for the first time. She waited the required seconds for Cole to get into his place. During this time the two stars would have a brief exchange that would be intercut with the action scenes.

Heather ran at Cole again. She swung to hit him, and he blocked her wrists, all to the click of the metronome. In her head, she counted the strikes. Hit, hit, hit, kick, hit. On the last hit, Cole caught her wrist and pulled her in.

“Freeze!” the director shouted, and Cole and Heather obeyed.

They were only a few inches apart. Cole had Heather’s wrist caught in his hand, and he was smiling down at her in a way that made her cheeks burn. He smirked at her, clearly noticing her blush. She wanted to tell him that it had nothing to do with how attractive he was, even though it probably would have been a lie.There was something humiliating about being scrutinized this closely. Heather always had a protective barrier between herself and the rest of the world. It was how she managed to keep herself whole and deal with all the anxiety she might be feeling at any given time. Just shove it down and pretend not to feel it at all.

Then he winked at her.

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