Page 12 of Keeping Zita

Taking a chance, Zita reached out and put a hand on his forearm.

She felt him jerk under her. He glanced down at her hand, over at her, then turned his attention back to the scene being filmed.

Feeling awkward, as if she’d done the wrong thing, Zita decided she should leave him to his thoughts, find something else to do…maybe go off and complete that report after all.

But as she started to pull her hand away, Sage moved. Putting his right hand over hers where it lay on his arm.

Taking a deep breath, Zita stilled. His palm was warm, and when he squeezed her hand lightly, she closed her eyes in satisfaction.

He lifted his hand a moment later, and she let go of his arm, placing her hand back in her lap. But when she looked at him now, he seemed…less tense. It felt good that she’d been able to help in a small way.

A couple of minutes later, the scene was completed and Henry seemed satisfied that he’d gotten the shots he needed. The production designer approached Sage at that point, asking if he’d look over the pictures of the choppers they’d be using in the extraction scene being filmed in a couple weeks.

Sage nodded and stood. Zita got to her feet as well—she couldn’t put off writing that report any longer. She never knew when the next emergency would occur, when her skills would be needed, and the last thing she wanted was reports piling up. That was a good way to forget something, to get details from one episode mixed up with another.

Sage followed the production designer for a few steps before abruptly turning back toward Zita, still by her chair. When he reached her, he said in a low voice, “My friends and I sometimes hang out at a bar slash restaurant called Anchor Point. We’ve made plans to get together a few days from now. It’s nothing fancy, really a hole-in-the-wall place, but…if you’re not busy, I’d love to introduce you to everyone. Hang out with you away from the set.”

Zita’s heart was beating a million miles an hour. Was he asking her out?

No. Not really. Especially since he’d made a point to tell her that all of his friends would be there. And he’d already made it clear he wasn’t interested in dating at the moment. But…it wasn’t as if she had any plans. After she left the set, all she did was go back to her budget motel and try not to be bored out of her skull. Besides, she’d love to meet his Night Stalker teammates.

She did her best to keep her voice calm and steady. “I’d like that.”

“Great.” He pulled out his phone. “If you give me your number, I’ll text you the details. Address and time and stuff.”

Zita felt as if she were in high school all over again, and the boy she had a crush on had asked for her number. She recited her digits to Sage, and then felt her phone vibrate with a text right before he put his phone back in his own pocket.

“You’ve got my number now, in case anything comes up. See ya later.”

“See ya,” she echoed.

He once again went to follow in the direction the production designer went, but he turned once more, still speaking in a low voice. “Thanks.” He gestured toward the set with his head.

The next time he walked away, he didn’t turn back or stop.

Zita’s heart was still beating too fast in her chest. He didn’t need to thank her for supporting him when he was experiencing something intense while watching a scene, but he had.

Shit. This wasn’t good.

Zita liked Obadiah Engle way more than she should. Than was healthy. If she was smart, she’d turn down the invitation to spend more time with him. Come up with some sort of excuse why she couldn’t go to Anchor Point.

Telling herself that she could be just friends with him, that she’d be gone before too long, that nothing would ever happen between them because their lives were too different and he didn’t want any kind of relationship, casual or otherwise, didn’t make the butterflies go away.

The truth was…Sage affected her more deeply than any man had in a very long time. She would probably get hurt by encouraging this…whatever this was between them.

But she wasn’t going to say no. Wasn’t going to back off. She was going to live for once. No matter the consequences, she wouldn’t have any regrets. For the first time in what seemed like forever, Zita was going to follow her instincts.

And they were screaming that Sage was a man worth getting to know.

CHAPTER FIVE

Three days later, Obi-Wan was still wondering what had come over him. Why he’d asked Zita to come to Anchor Point. He wasn’t looking for any kind of relationship, but there was something about the woman that made his heart beat faster and stirred him deep inside like no one ever had before.

It wasn’t just one thing about her either. It was everything he’d observed and learned. The way she stayed calm in the face of other people’s anxiety and hysteria when there was an emergency on set. He’d watched her deal with both minor and major issues already. From the woman with the heart episode a few days ago, to a compound fracture of someone’s wrist, to a mild concussion, to food poisoning. She was unflappable. And he liked that—a lot. Because that’s how he had to be behind the controls of his chopper. No matter what went wrong, he and his fellow pilots had to deal if they wanted to live. If they wanted everyone onboard their helicopters to survive.

He was a problem solver, and he really liked that Zita seemed to be as well.

But it was also her keen observational skills. He hadn’t even realized he was getting so worked up while watching that scene with Logan greeting his teammates a few days ago. Not until she’d put a hand on his arm to comfort him.