Never Standing Still (The Never Duet #1)(10)

Riot had an awesome handshake.

It was firm, warm, and he held on to my hand just a little longer than necessary, which caused an involuntary blush to creep over my face.

“Hi,” I said, still shaking his hand. “I’m Kalli.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” he said, his words floating through the air and caressing my skin like silk.

“Likewise,” I said as he finally released my hand.

“Isn’t he perfect?” Lexi cried, hopping up and down, clearly excited.

“He sure is,” I said, making my cheeks burn even more. I heard him chuckle and looked at him as he slid his hands into the back pockets of the soft, worn, with holes-in-all-the-right-places jeans he was wearing, which only caused his washed-until-it’s-as-soft-as-a-cloud t-shirt to stretch over his chest, and his biceps to become the most magnificent things in the room.

“Kalli, why don’t you take Riot to Lexi’s trailer and get all the info you need. We’ll wait here. We’re still going over a few things for the shoot, but we should be ready to head out when you’re finished.”

“Sounds great,” I managed. I looked to Riot and said, “Shall we?”

“Sure. Lead the way.”

I made my way back through the set, still paying close attention so I didn’t fall, and then continued to Lexi’s trailer.

“So,” I said, turning back to him, trying to engage him in light conversation like a professional. “Riot? That’s a really interesting name.”

He smiled and ran a hand over his jaw which had a delicious amount of stubble covering it. “Yeah, it’s pretty unusual. My agent loves it though, wouldn’t let me change it for the business.”

“It’s not a stage name?”

“No, but it sounds like one, doesn’t it? It sounds fake and pretentious.”

He was smiling, but I suddenly was afraid I’d offended him.

“Oh, no, not at all. It’s just not a name you hear all the time. Or at all. I’m sorry,” I rambled.

“No, don’t be,” he said as he laughed. “It’s fine. People just hear Riot and they think I’m trying to be some bad boy actor, and I’m not.”

“Oh, well, at least your name isn’t boring. Mine is pretty forgettable.”

“I think your name is beautiful,” he said with so much sincerity it made my breath shudder.

“Thanks,” I murmured. We made it to the trailer and I opened the door, allowing him to enter, and then followed, plopping my bag on the table. I was surprised to see Lexi’s assistant wasn’t there, slaving over her calendar. But it gave us more room to work. I pulled out my notebook, tape measure, and a pencil.

“I just need to get some measurements.” I looked him up and down, trying to gauge his size. I had gotten pretty good at guessing; sometimes I didn’t have the luxury of measurements.

“So, I’m sure you’ve done this before, it should only take a few minutes.”

“No problem,” he said as he raised his arms into a T, like a pro. I smiled, partly because he was being agreeable and partly because with his arms raised I could see a sliver of skin just above the waist of his jeans. I wrapped the tape measure around his chest, having to get closer to him so that I could grab it behind his back.

Good God, he smelled good.

“George said you were on a flight here. Where’d you come from?” I made note of the measurement and wrote it in the notebook, moving the tape measure lower.

“San Francisco,” he said, looking straight ahead. “I live there because I don’t want to live in Hollywood, but it’s still close enough that I can make it there in a day if I need to.”

“Smart. Hollywood is kind of a different world,” I say, looking up at him and smiling. I found it incredibly easy to smile at him.

“I love acting, but I don’t love the whole Hollywood mentality. I’m a little more, uh, chill than most people in So Cal.”

“Gotcha. I agree. I wouldn’t fit in there either.”

“Are you from Portland, then?”

I made another scratch on my notepad and then moved to measure the distance from shoulder to shoulder, trying to seem as if I didn’t notice all the muscles under the thin cotton of his shirt.

“No, I live in Seattle when I’m not working.”

“I’ve never been there.”

“Oh, well, it’s a fun city. You know, Space Needle and all.”

“And the guys who throw fish are there.”

I laughed. “True.”

“Maybe someday I’ll make a trip to see those guys.”

“I’m sure they’d be happy to see you. They might even let you catch a fish.”

“They do that?” he asked, sounding almost like a little boy, so excited at the thought of catching a fish being hurled at him through the air.

“Sometimes. But it’s usually for a special occasion. It’s not something they just let anybody do. It’s kind of a big deal.”

“Hmmm.” He sounded like he was trying to figure out a puzzle, trying to come up with a plan to get them to let him catch one of their fish.

I took a deep breath and knelt to the ground, softly landing on my knees in front of him, trying to keep the blush from my face. I pretended to look at the ground as I closed my eyes and took another hopefully silent deep breath. I’d never had a moment I could remember where I was so flustered by someone I was working with, but kneeling in front of Riot, being this close to him and in such a vulnerable position, had my blood thrumming through my veins.