Page 92 of Holiday Star
“What else don’t I know about you?” I ask, thinking of our game from earlier as I watch the shore recede, the people who walk along it becoming so small they look like toy figurines.
Caleb tilts his head, squinting in the sunshine. “Je parle un peu Francais, ma cherie,” he says in perfectly accented French.
“What does that mean?” I laugh in surprise, the sound echoing across the surface of the water.
“I said, ‘I speak a little French, my dear.’”
“Don’t tell me.” I hold my hand up to him, still chuckling. “You once played a famous physicist who lived in Paris, and you had to learn French for the role.”
Caleb laughs with me. “Not quite. My on-set tutor lived in France for a while, so he had a pretty good accent.”
Imagining what it was like for him as a kid makes the laughter die in my throat. I’m somber as I ask, “That must have been lonely? Just having a tutor and not going to school with a bunch of other kids?”
He shrugs, his gaze skittering along the tree line. “It was lonely, but I was so busy I didn’t really notice. Filming means long days. We’d shoot for sometimes fifteen, eighteen hours in a row.”
“Kind of like my shifts in the hospital, when I’m there for up to twenty-four hours.”
Blue eyes meet mine. One corner of his mouth lifts into a teasing smirk. “See. I told you we have a lot in common.”
“Hmm. If you say so.” I remain noncommittal but can’t stop the smile that slips past my lips.
I lean backward, letting my hands on the bench take my weight, and close my eyes. The sun is warm on my skin. The air is filled with birdsong and the rhythmic sound of Caleb’s paddling. A serene feeling comes over me.
I keep my eyes closed for so long that Caleb says, “Hey. No falling asleep over there.” He uses the tip of the paddle to splash a bit of water my way. Droplets stain my pants, darkening them from navy blue to black.
Opening my eyes, I blink in the sunlight, dappled by clouds that pass overhead. “I’m awake. I’m awake.” I laugh, holding up my hand in case he splashes again.
We’ve reached the center of the lake now. Caleb drops the paddles and lets us drift. He looks around at the wall of green trees that surround us. The trees are tall but dwarfed by skyscrapers that rise behind them, sending spires of brick and concrete high into the air.
“It really is beautiful here.” His gaze rests on my face as he ends the sentence. My skin warms from more than just the sun overhead.
“Have you never been here before? On this lake?” I ask.
“No. You?”
I shake my head no. “I’ve been so busy working that I haven’t gotten to explore all the places in the city I want to see yet. Alvina’s been showing me some things, though. She’s an excellent tour guide. Have you spent a lot of time in New York before this?”
“I actually have a place here, a condo on the Upper East Side. I don’t spend as much time in New York as L.A., but I come for premieres, press parties, interviews, that kind of stuff.” Caleb leans forward, his elbows resting comfortably on his knees. His mirror image ripples, dancing in the water next to the boat.
“Oh, I see.” I widen my eyes dramatically. “Fancy stuff.”
That makes him smile, a small grin. “Exactly. Fancy, that’s me.”
I tilt my head, gazing at him through my lashes as I gently taunt, “Are you going to show me something fancy, Caleb?”
His grin widens into a smirk. “I’m sure going to try.”
We’re flirting with each other. It’s dangerous but delicious in a tantalizing way. Like the appetizer before the main course. The opening overture before the symphony starts. The anticipation of what comes next is painfully sweet.
Caleb must sense it too because he’s up and crossing slowly over to me. His movement makes the boat tip wildly.
“Careful!” I cry out, grasping my seat with both hands. “Don’t capsize us.”
We’re both laughing by the time he sits next to me, squeezed in tight on the small bench. The boat rocks back and forth, bumping us up against each other with the motion.
Our laughter fades as Caleb stares down at me, so close that I could count each individual eyelash framing wide, serious eyes. My heartbeat seems to halt, hitch, and then speed up in response.
We lean toward each other, magnets drawn together. I watch as his lips part and feel mine do the same. The boat bounces and sways beneath me. My eyes flutter closed, and that’s when it hits me.
