Thrill Me (Fool's Gold #18)(19)

She turned and adjusted one of the lights, then stepped back to the camera. “Okay, leaning forward. You love the wine. You’re going to have sex with Scarlett Johansson later.”

He shook his head. “I’m not a big fan of Scarlett.”

Maya glared at him. “Del, it’s early days yet, but I can be forced into killing you. Just so we’re clear.”

“You’re crabby.”

“Yes. It would help to remember that. Wine and sex and action.”

She picked up the clapperboard, changed take one to take two, then positioned it in front of the camera and snapped it shut.

“Sound speeding,” she said. “And we have action.” She pointed at him.

Del hesitated a second, feeling ridiculous, then obligingly thought about wine followed by sex. Only instead of the very pretty Ms. Johansson, he remembered what it had been like to kiss Maya.

Her mouth had been soft. The kind of soft that gentled a man, despite how much he wanted the woman in question. Because a mouth that soft deserved attention. Slow attention and careful nurturing.

Even though he and Maya had become lovers that summer, he’d made sure to spend a lot of time just kissing her. Because that had been its own reward. And if he’d known how rare a mouth like hers was, he would have done it even more.

“Del?”

He swore silently and pushed the memories away. “In Fool’s Gold, you can taste wine.”

She motioned for him to do it again.

He said the line three more times, using different inflections, sometimes smiling, sometimes not. When they were done, he glanced at the sunrise.

“We should have that over my shoulder,” he said. “It would be a great shot.”

She glanced to where he pointed, then shook her head. “Too much light. I can’t control it with the equipment I have with me. Plus, the way the sun is angled will mean shifting the picture so the eye line will be off.”

“It’s a great shot,” he repeated. “We should try it.” When she didn’t answer, he added, “I’ve done some shooting of my own, Maya. I know what I’m talking about.”

He waited for her to say something like his amateur shoots were nothing compared to her professional experience. He had a feeling that in her position, that was what he would have been saying.

“Fine,” she said at last. “We’ll do it my way, then we’ll do it your way. Once we’re back in the studio and editing, we’ll see what’s what. Fair enough?”

He nodded.

They shifted the equipment so that the sun was over his shoulder, then he put his foot up on the trunk and raised his glass of wine.

“I’m thinking about coffee this time,” he told her as she reached for the clapperboard. “Lots and lots of coffee.”

She laughed and called for action.

* * *

MAYA WAS STILL tired when she walked into The Fox and Hound to meet Elaine for lunch. The previous day’s photo shoot had gone until sunset. They’d gotten some great footage, but today she was wiped out. She was sure Del was equally tired. Posing in front of a camera didn’t sound like work, but it required complete focus, not to mention a lot of standing. By the end of the day, her brain was fuzzy and her back hurting and she was sure he felt a lot of the same. Today she was playing catch-up and tomorrow would be all about the editing. She was curious to see how their shooting styles would translate onto the screen.

She wanted to say she knew her stuff would be better, but she’d been in the business long enough to know it wasn’t always possible to judge. Sometimes the unexpected jumped out at the viewer. Not often, of course, but sometimes. Del could surprise her.

She smiled when she saw her friend had already been seated at a booth.

“Hi,” she said as she sat across from Elaine. “How’s it going?”

Before Elaine could answer, their waitress walked over. Maya studied the sixty-something woman and tried to hold in a grin. It seemed that in the past ten years, Wilma hadn’t changed a bit.

She still wore her hair short, with glasses perched on her nose. She snapped gum and looked ready to take on the world.

“You’re back,” she said to Maya, then nodded at Elaine. “We’re doing a new roast beef sandwich with a horseradish cream. The bread is from the bakery. Trust me, order that, or you’re an idiot. What would you like to drink?”

They both ordered iced tea.

“I’ll give you a minute to look over the menu,” Wilma said with a sigh. “Not everyone listens to me.”

When she’d walked away, Maya leaned toward her friend. “I think I’m getting the roast beef sandwich.”

“Me, too. How was the photo shoot yesterday?”

“Good. Long.” Maya shook her head. “Your son can be stubborn. He seems to have forgotten I’m in the business. He had ideas about every location.”

“Good ones?”

“We’ll see when we start editing.”

Elaine smiled. “I can tell by your tone, you’re thinking he’s made some bad choices.”

“They’re his to make. As I said, we’ll see. Maybe he’s secretly brilliant.”

“If he is, he wouldn’t make a secret of it. Trust me, none of my boys would.”

Wilma returned with their iced teas. As Elaine ordered the sandwich, Maya noticed there were shadows under her eyes. She studied the other woman more closely and couldn’t help thinking she seemed tired. No, not tired. But there was something off.