Because of some spoiled rich kid I’d allowed past my defenses.
I pushed off from the ramp and started down the great expanse. I breathed in deep. In through my nose, out through my mouth. Adrenaline raced through my heart, and I funneled my fury into the stunt. As I took off into the sky, I threw in one of my best moves.
A flip over my head with my legs falling away from the bike.
Even I heard people gasp. As the ground came back into view, I knew I was turning and twisting more than I should’ve been. Around again. A dangerous move after already flipping once. I held my arms out to gain control of the bike. The move was unrealistic at best. The second my tires hit the ground, I skidded to a stop, turning the bike perpendicular to the camera and gazed off into the distance. Then, I pushed off and soared down the alleyway until the darkness consumed me.
“That was fantastic!” Voxx exclaimed.
The prop department came and took the bike from me before I passed off my helmet.
Voxx jogged down to me. He put his hand on my shoulder and pointed at me, leveling those piercing eyes at my own.
“I want that for the rest of this season. Got it?” he asked.
I nodded. “Nice to be working with someone who knows what he wants.”
Unlike Elizabeth.
“All right, everyone! Break for dinner! Then, we keep on,” Voxx yelled.
I winced at the command of his voice before I felt a familiar pat between my shoulders that pulled me from my angry trance.
“Looks like you need something stronger than apple juice,” Hunter said, grinning.
I grumbled. “At least tell me there’s pasta today.”
“Nope. But there is pizza, salad, and fresh garlic bread.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Pass.”
“Who the fuck passes on pizza?”
I shrugged off his touch. “I do. Today, at least.”
“The hell’s got your panties in a bunch?”
No use in hiding things from Hunter. Otherwise, he’d just get more annoying until I told him.
“Elizabeth broke off the engagement.”
Hunter blinked. “I mean, I’m shocked you two got this far with that crazy plan of yours.”
“Seriously, dude? Right now?”
“What? The girl’s a pain in the ass. Dense, at best. What was her reasoning? Another guy? A better deal? Daddy cutting up her credit cards?”
I cast him a look, and he snickered.
“Hard to compete with money nowadays,” he said.
“I’m fucked,” I said flatly.
“You’re not fucked, dude. With all the laws that have passed nowadays, you could marry me.”
I scowled at him. “You’d make a terrible wife.”
“Wait a second, who the hell said anything about me being the wife?”
“I did.”
He snickered. “If I took some pointers from a woman, I could be a good wife.”
“Good luck finding a decent one of those lying around.”
“I don’t know. I think she’s a decent one.”
He nodded and I turned around right as Syn Sycamore walked across the alleyway. With her long legs and her sizzling red hair, she had her eyes downcast to something in her hand. Possibly a script. Maybe her phone. I was too far away to figure it out.
“Or, you could just take her as a wife,” Hunter said as he clapped my back.
I rolled my eyes. “You’re an idiot.”
“What? You made a deal with one girl. Why can’t you make it with another?”
“With Syn Sycamore? Hollywood’s ‘It Girl’?”
“Uh, yeah. I’m pretty sure that’s who I just pointed at.”
I shook my head. “Nope. Uh-uh. I’m not getting into another deal with another raging bitch.”
“What? Where in the world did you hear that?”
“Literally, everywhere. I’ve been told by numerous people she’s an absolute dick.”
“Have you seen her being a dick to someone?”
I shrugged. “No, not exactly.”
“Look, you’re in a rough place. You need a fiancée to keep your visa, and fast. You don’t get to be picky. And you don’t really have your pick of the crop around here. This set is a damn sausage fest, minus a few extras and Syn Sycamore. You either cowboy up and grow a set, or you risk your career. Those are your choices right now.”
I rolled my eyes. “Can I have curtain number three?”
He swung his arm around my shoulders. “Plus, what if you get in good with her? I mean, think of the perks? Guaranteed another season on set. Possibly jobs wherever she might go. Maybe a bit of bedroom action?”
I shrugged him off. “I don’t want to sleep with the damn girl, or any girl for that matter.”
“I mean, I did just propose.”
“I’m going to break your nose.”
“Wouldn’t be the first time someone’s done that.”
I shook my head. “And anyway even if she was single, she’d never look in a stuntman’s direction. She’s a class-A actress who’s constantly in the spotlight, who she stands next to is important.”
He shrugged. “Then, I hope you enjoy your time in the Canary Islands. Because that’s where you’re headed if you don’t do something quick.”