Page 67 of Keeping Zita

“I’m not.” Then she shook her head a little wryly. “Are we really doing this? After only knowing each other for such a short time?”

“I feel as if I’ve known you forever,” he countered.

He wasn’t wrong. Zita felt like that too, but she also felt as if she should keep reminding him how fast they were moving, because it wasn’t exactly acceptable these days to jump into a serious relationship so quickly. Definitely not acceptable for her to uproot her life and move across the country just to be closer to a man.

Her parents were going to have serious misgivings. And her brother would probably want to have a “talk” with Sage. But Zita had no doubt he’d win them over, just as he had her, simply by being himself.

“I’m yours, Zita. Lock, stock, and barrel. I don’t care if everyone thinks I’m besotted. Because I am.”

She liked that. A lot. The idea of him belonging to her.

And she wanted to be his in return.

“You ready for today?” he asked, and she was glad he’d lightened the mood a little. Things had gotten intense, and while she was happier than she could even express, it was also a little overwhelming. She’d basically just decided to completely upend her life, and bringing talk back around to the here and now was a relief.

“As I can be. You?”

“Oh yeah. I hope the pilots Grubbner got are as good as he says. That they can actually fly.”

“I’m sure they’re the best…though not as good as you, of course.”

He chuckled. “Yeah.” Sage sat back, but not before his fingers caressed the back of her neck gently before releasing her. “Can I stay with you again tonight?”

Zita smiled. “Of course.”

“Awesome. I should probably tell Edna that I don’t need my room anymore, but she seems like the kind of lady who wouldn’t take kindly to a boy and girl shacking up together if they’re not married.”

Zita giggled. “Right? I totally got those vibes too.”

Sage stared at her for a beat, and she wondered what he was thinking. But before she could ask, he turned and reached for the door handle, and the spell between them was broken.

Zita got out and grabbed her bag, and together they headed toward the group of people milling about, getting ready for the day to start.

Sage was in his element. And it made Zita smile watching him with the helicopter pilots. He’d spoken with them at length that morning, and from what she could tell from her vantage point, they were getting along and everyone seemed pleased.

And when the scenes with the choppers were filmed, Zita saw Sage’s hands moving as if he was in the pilot seat of one of the multimillion-dollar aircrafts. The director had given him a headset, and Zita assumed he was talking with the pilots directly.

She was no expert, but it seemed as if the scenes were going extremely well. That the pilots were doing exactly what both Grubbner and Sage expected them to.

Zita was watching Sage so intently that she wasn’t paying attention to anything or anyone around her…so when someone bumped her shoulder, she let out a little screech of alarm and quickly sidestepped to the left.

Looking over, she saw to her surprise that Silas Graves was standing next to her. Right next to her. In her personal space. She hadn’t thought much about him for the last few days, as she’d been too busy, and she had no idea why he’d sought her out today.

She was quick to realize it wasn’t for a social chat.

“You need to stay away from the Night Stalker,” he said in a low tone.

“What?” Zita was still trying to get her heart to calm down after he’d scared her so badly.

“Obi-Wan. You throwing yourself at him is embarrassing. For everyone on set. You need to stay away from him.”

Zita was so confused. Why in the hell did Silas care if she and Sage were together? “Not that it’s any business of yours, but why are you so interested in what I do with my time away from the set? I don’t get in your face about what you’re doing, so why are you on my case?”

She was done being nice. Sage was right, the man had been giving her creepy stares for too long now. He’d also been a total jerk while guarding Carmen, but she had no idea what his agenda was now.

“I’m just warning you. Stay away from the guy…or else.”

Zita would’ve rolled her eyes at the overly dramatic warning, but now that she looked at him—really looked—he seemed deadly serious, and the last thing she wanted was to antagonize him. Even though she was surrounded by people, she wasn’t sure what he was capable of.