Never Standing Still (The Never Duet #1)(9)

“You have a life.” I stilled at her words. She was, in her caring, best friend kind of way, asking for information about my life. I hadn’t been very forthcoming with her or Megan, and they never pried. In fact, I’d never told either of them about Marcus.

“Yeah, but I can do this part—getting on a plane at a moment’s notice or just driving to another state. I’ve built my life around it.”

“Hmmm,” was her only response as her lips were still wrapped around her straw.

“Besides, usually for one or two day shoots there isn’t a lot of need for an assistant. I’d usually have some more notice and be a little more prepared. And when I get booked for longer shoots, like movies and TV shows, that’s when an assistant would make more sense. There’s a lot more involved in those kinds of jobs.” I was rambling to try and keep the topic of conversation off my life at home.

Marcus wasn’t a dirty secret, but he also wasn’t a reason for people to feel sorry for me. And he definitely didn’t need anyone feeling sorry for him. I only kept him from Ella and Megan because it was easier. Easier than explaining my whole history to them. They’d never meet him anyway.

I shook my head, trying to jostle the thoughts from my brain. Marcus was the focus of my life, all the time. Just because I didn’t tell everyone about him didn’t mean I didn’t love him more than anything in the world.

I realized my fingers were starting to hurt from gripping the steering wheel so hard. I loosened my grip and shook out one of my hands.

“Who do you think it’ll be?” Ella’s voice broke into my thoughts.

“What?” I asked, confused.

“The male lead. Who do you think it’ll be?”

I shrugged. “It could be anyone, I guess.”

“Justin Timberlake?”

I laughed. “No, not Justin Timberlake.” Well, I guess it could be….

“Why not? George Lebowitz is a big deal. He worked on that one movie with Justin. They could be besties.”

“First, I don’t think guys can be besties. And second, I think Justin’s got bigger things he’s working on than a Lexi Black music video shoot.”

Ella laughed. “A girl can hope.”

“Besides,” I said, turning a corner, heading to another upscale costume shop, “Lexi said she was going for an up-and-comer. Someone kind of unknown. I don’t think JT fits into that category.”

“You’re probably right,” she sighed.

We both laughed and I felt the tension from just a few minutes ago fading away. I exhaled, letting the last of it go. This was why Ella was my best friend. She didn’t care who I was. She accepted me at exactly face value and she didn’t expect anything more.



“Okay,” I said, staring at my car packed full of the things we’d acquired throughout the day. I checked the time on my phone and then looked to Ella. “Do you think you could drop me off at the studio and then run to Nordstrom for those shoes?”

“Yeah, of course. Do you want me to come back for you?”

“Let’s play it by ear. It might make more sense for me to grab a cab and meet you.” I waved my hand in the air, not really wanting to make a decision at the moment. I just needed to get back to the studio.

We pulled up to the doors of the studio and Ella got out to switch seats, giving me a good luck hug, and then I watched as she backed out and left. I walked in the front doors again, but the receptionist wasn’t there. It made sense, it was getting late. I wandered through the halls, hoping I remembered the way to the correct sound stage. I found my way and smiled when I entered, recognizing the complex set.

Standing in the middle of all the steel beams, with just one light shining down on them were George, Lexi, and a man who I assumed was the male lead.

My boots made a clacking noise as I walked toward them. I pushed my shoulders back and straightened up, wanting to make another good impression on everyone. As I got closer, I had to start stepping over pieces of the set: metal poles, ramps with slight inclinations, and giant gears seemingly buried halfway into the ground.

I was watching my feet, not wanting to fall and make a fool of myself, but when I got close enough to look up, my eyes were caught by the man who already had his eyes on me.

He was absolutely breathtaking. His eyes. My God, his eyes. I’d never seen eyes that color. They were golden, a shiny caramel color. And he was smiling. His smile was heartbreaking.

“Kalli, glad you made it back. We’ve got our male lead.” George was speaking, but I had yet to take my eyes off the beautiful man standing next to him.

“Uh,” I stammered. “Hi.” I managed to look away from him and focus on George, trying to recover from the humiliating exchange.

“Kalli Rivers, this is Riot Bentley.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Riot said. Sweet baby Jesus. His voice was deep and musical. I’d never met anyone with a voice I wanted to listen to forever, but his was gorgeous. I looked at him and his hand was out, waiting for me to take it. I swallowed, hopefully silently, even though I could feel my throat working too hard to push down all the sensations building up.

I reached out and took his hand, managing a decent grip. That was something I felt passionately about: a good handshake. I hated it when women just gave their hands and then let them lay there like limp noodles in the other person’s hand. Participate in the hand shake, for crying out loud.