Page 6 of Keeping Zita

“That would be great, thanks.”

“All right. When you’re done with the AD, just come find me on the set I showed you earlier, where they’ll be filming this morning. And if you’ve got time after discussing the script, maybe you can watch some of today’s scenes.”

“Is that what you’ll be doing?”

For some reason, Zita’s heart beat faster at his question. Pleasure swam through her veins at the way he held her gaze as he asked. As if her response would decide if he’d stay or not.

“Yes. I’m always on set while filming’s going on. Just in case.”

“I’ll probably have a little time to hang around and see what this movie thing is all about then. I’ll find you when I’m done with the script supervisor.”

Something arced between them at that moment, and Zita wasn’t exactly sure what it was. Only that it felt good to be seen for once. She was kind of a ghost on the sets where she worked, at least until someone got hurt and needed medical attention. She hung out in the background and watched what was going on. But this man…he was looking at her as if he truly saw her. Was interested in what she said and what her plans were.

It was a heady feeling.

But it wouldn’t be smart to fall for him. She was a nomad. Her life was wherever the job took her. And he was a military man. Heading off on missions to who-knew-where, doing dangerous things that could very well get him killed.

No, she wasn’t interested in dating someone who worked in such a dangerous profession.

But a little voice deep down inside her was screaming that she was a liar. That if Obadiah Sage Engle asked her out, she would say yes before the words had finished coming out of his mouth.

But he wasn’t going to ask her out. She’d heard him tell Carmen that he wasn’t looking for a relationship. So she was being silly. Fantastical. She was dreaming.

He exited the trailer ahead of her and held out his hand to help her down the stairs. As their fingers touched, Zita swore she felt a jolt of electricity from the contact. He made no indication that he felt the same, but his fingers tightened on hers for a split second before he dropped his hand, once she’d stepped down from the last stair and had both feet on the ground.

Zita couldn’t help but look up at Sage as they walked toward the AD’s trailer. He had a strong profile, and his gaze constantly roamed the area, as if he was looking for danger in every nook and cranny. His shoulders were back and his head was up. He was full of confidence, and way more masculine than any guy she was used to being around.

And Zita had never been more attracted to a man than she was to the one at her side.

Shit.

CHAPTER THREE

“How was the movie set this morning?” Casper asked, when Obi-Wan walked into the conference room shortly after eleven.

“Good.”

“You get to meet Carmen St. James?” Edge asked, with a shit-eating grin on his face.

“Yeah, is she as beautiful in person as she is on screen? Or is it all makeup and editing that makes her so gorgeous?” Chaos chimed in.

“She’s pretty,” Obi-Wan told his friends, being as diplomatic as he could.

“What did you do? Did you meet Logan Striker? Did you get to see any of the movie being filmed?” Pyro asked.

Obi-Wan grinned. His friends’ excitement over his work on the movie was a huge relief. They could’ve resented the time he was taking away from his job. They could’ve given him a way harder time than they were about rubbing elbows with celebrities. But some joking aside, they were pretty supportive, and obviously looking forward to hearing about his experience on the project.

He was also relieved that his boss, Colonel Burgess, was allowing him to take time off in the mornings to go to the set. Yes, the man had recommended him for the military advisor job in the first place, but he was still appreciative that he was able to take so much time away from the base nonetheless. Of course, if an urgent mission came up, he was expected to report in, but Henry Grubbner knew his job as a Night Stalker pilot came first.

He spent the next ten minutes or so answering everyone’s questions and telling them how filming that morning went, and how he’d watched Logan crawl through underbrush on the indoor set over and over again. Wincing at makeshift sounds that would be recreated in post-production. It was actually a little more…tedious than he’d expected. Henry was an exacting director, and he wanted everything to be as perfect as it could be, which often meant redoing the same takes multiple times, until they were to his liking.

Eventually, Casper redirected the conversation to work, and the men began to research the area of their next mission. Occasionally they didn’t get advance notice of where they were going, but many times they had a few weeks to learn as much as they could about the terrain they’d would be flying over and through.

After a short break for lunch, the meetings continued for another couple of hours before everyone headed to the hangar for some flight time. Even though they were the best-trained pilots in the country, they were required to keep their skills honed by ensuring they had the hours needed behind the controls of their choppers while not deployed.

Obi-Wan’s copilot was Buck. Their most recent mission was down in South America, where the latter had met Mandy. In the middle of a rescue in the jungle, Buck had left the chopper to chase her down, and rebels in the area had forced Obi-Wan to take off without his friend and teammate.

The subsequent two weeks were extremely stressful. Obi-Wan second-guessed leaving Buck behind every day that he was missing. He’d had every confidence his teammate would be able to navigate the rainforest and make it back to Guyana with Mandy, but it was still a very difficult time.