Page 53 of Keeping Zita

“You did. When I paid the check at Sunny Side Up and when I handed you your coffee.”

“Sage, I’m trying to apologize here,” she said in exasperation.

“And I’m telling you that you have nothing to apologize for,” he returned.

Then he shocked the hell out of her by stepping into her personal space and taking her medical bag from her hand. He dropped it on the ground at their feet and pulled her into his arms.

His hug felt amazing, and even though she wasn’t sure she deserved it, she closed her eyes and leaned into him, soaking in the affection he was freely giving her.

“You’ve had a hard day,” he said softly into her hair.

“No more than usual,” she replied, still not letting go of him.

The strong clean scent he’d had that morning was gone, but she could still smell the faint traces of his soap. Now, he also smelled like he’d been working out. Sweating. But it wasn’t bad. Actually, Lord help her, Zita liked it. A lot.

Taking a deep breath, she pulled back, but he didn’t let her go. His arms stayed around her waist. Zita put her hands on his chest and licked her lips. “Did you have a good day?”

“Surprisingly, yes. I went over a few details about the costumes, but most of my work is pretty much done until the choppers arrive. It was fun to watch Logan get so into his character today. And it’s amazing to see the inner workings of how a movie comes to life. It’s a lot more work than I assumed.”

Zita nodded. She’d felt the same way the first couple of movie sets she’d worked on.

“I don’t like the way Silas watches you though.”

She blinked. It was an abrupt change of topic. “In what way?”

“Calculating. An inappropriate intensity. As if he’s thinking way too hard about something.”

His words made Zita uneasy, but she shook her head, too tired to think about the bodyguard tonight. “Thankfully we won’t be around each other much. Unless he gets hurt, I honestly have no need to talk to him or interact with him at all. If he’s holding some sort of grudge against me because of Carmen, that’s his problem, not mine. We have a week here, then I won’t see him again.”

“I’ll still keep my eye on him for you.”

There. That. Sage was being amazing again. Making her feel safe once more. “Can we go?” she asked, looking around and realizing they were now the last ones on set, and it was fully dark.

“Of course. Sorry,” Sage said, letting go of her and leaning over to grab her bag.

“I can get that.”

“I know. I’ve got it.”

He put it in the back of his Jeep as she got into the passenger seat. They were on their way back to Fallport in minutes. The drive back to town took longer in the dark, and by the time they arrived back at the motel, Zita was starving but too tired to think about trying to find something to eat.

Sage pulled up in front of her room and said, “Head on in, I’ll be back in about ten minutes.”

Zita frowned. “Back?”

“I’m going to grab us some food. It’ll probably just be fast food, but we both need to eat.”

“Sage, I’m tired. I’m just going to go to bed.”

“You need food, Zita. You didn’t eat nearly enough today. Just nibbled. I’ll be quick. It won’t take more than ten minutes, then ten more minutes to eat, then you can sleep. Your body needs the calories, the fuel. You’ll never be able to keep up this pace for a week if you don’t take care of yourself.”

Tears threatened. He was being so…kind. And it felt amazing to be taken care of. It had been so very long since she’d had anyone who looked out for her the way Sage was. “Okay. No fries though. Protein. Maybe a chicken sandwich.”

Sage nodded. “I’ve got it. Go in, get comfy, I’ll be back before you know it.”

Zita was more appreciative than she could say at that moment. She got out of the Jeep, grabbed her bag so she could reorganize it and restock it with the extra medical supplies she had in her motel room, and watched Sage drive off through her room’s big window.

She changed into a pair of sweatpants and an oversized T-shirt, then prepped her medical bag for the next day. Surprisingly, by the time she was finished, Sage was back. She heard his Jeep pull into the parking space in front of her room, and she had the door open before he needed to knock.