Stunt Doubled: A Movie Star Standalone

Maybe this was a western? Except instead of riding a mustang, he’d been driving one. At least I thought the red car parked on the road a few hundred yards down was a Mustang.

Ford followed my gaze. “Why’d you leave the car all the way down there?” he said to Aiden.

“I wasn’t thinking,” the movie star admitted. “I just slammed on the brakes and hopped out. I wanted to see if you were okay.”

His eyes were the color of the most decadent dark chocolate. “I am. Honestly. But are you?” I lifted my hand to point at the cut on his cheek. I had to stop myself from touching his smooth, tan skin. I’d never considered myself the kind of person to get starstruck, but apparently, I was.

Aiden’s mouth twitched into a sheepish half smile. “The makeup department did that.”

Ford grinned. “I told you that if you kept flirting with Kim’s new assistant, she’d deck you.”

Aiden rolled his eyes. “It was for the scene.”

I looked around, but there was only one car in sight, then I looked up at Ford who was almost as tall as Aiden. “I thought you said they were filming a car chase.”

Aiden set the cowboy hat on his head and nodded. “We were, but they needed a shot of me racing away.” He glanced in the direction of where the others were set up. “I should probably get back to it. We’ve got some more shots we need to get before we lose the light.” I nodded even though the sun was so damn bright it didn’t look likely to set anytime soon. “It was nice to meet you, Veronica.”

My breath caught in my throat. Aiden Hunt knew my name? Mac must’ve told him. “It’s Ronnie, actually.”

His smile was devastatingly handsome. “Nice to meet you, Ronnie.”

“Shit, I should’ve introduced you,” Ford said. “Ronnie, this is—”

“Aiden Hunt.” My voice was breathier than usual. “It’s nice to meet you, too.” I put my hand out and his long fingers engulfed mine. But his gaze was on Ford, who seemed to be fighting laughter.

“No wonder you were so quiet,” Ford said to me, a smirk on his face. “I thought you were dazed and confused from the fall we took. But instead, you were mesmerized by Mr. Movie Star here.” The laughter he’d been holding back came out in a deep chuckle.

“I’m confused now,” I said.

“I’m not Aiden, I’m Tanner,” Aiden said.

“What?”

Ford shook his head. “Didn’t Mac tell you? Aiden and Tanner are twins. Aiden’s the star, Tanner’s his stunt-double—the man who makes him look cool.”

Aiden—no, Tanner—grinned at that. “I do my best.” He didn’t look smug at the misunderstanding, but I was embarrassed, nonetheless. First, for getting starstruck in the first place, and second, for fawning over the wrong man.

“No way the studio execs would let Aiden do any stunt driving,” Ford continued. “Anyway, can you give Ronnie a quick ride back before you do your next shot?”

Before Tanner could respond, I broke in. “I don’t need a ride.”

Ford looked skeptical. “Are you sure? It’s got to be at least five miles.”

“I jogged out here with no problem.”

“But that was before you got tackled by a fight coordinator,” Tanner said. “I don’t mind driving you.”

“Thanks, but I’m fine.” To prove it, I jogged in place for a few seconds. Ow. I stopped and did some gentle stretches.

Ford shrugged but accepted my answer. “All right. When you get back, look for Tina. She’ll help you get cleaned up and can take care of those cuts on your legs.”

I looked down at my bare legs. I hadn’t even noticed the small cuts, but apparently, Ford had. For some reason, it suddenly hit me that he’d saved my life. “Thank you for what you did.”

Ford’s green eyes brightened. “Anytime. Always happy to take a tumble with a pretty lady.”

Tanner elbowed Ford, but his come-on was so cheesy that I had to laugh. A moment later, he did too. Impulsively, I reached out and touched his arm. “I mean it, though. Thank you.” Then I turned to Aiden—dammit, Tanner. “It was nice meeting you, too.”

Now that I knew who he was, I could see that his smile lacked some of the cockiness that Aiden’s was known for. “You too, Ronnie. See you later.”

I doubted I’d be spending a lot of time with stunt people, but it was nice to know a few people working on this production.

I waited until the two handsome men took their leave before I jogged off at a slow pace. If I was going to fall on my ass—again—I wanted as few witnesses as possible. So far, my new life had consisted of one embarrassing situation after another.

Still, I’d take embarrassment over angry mobs on the internet. I wasn’t quite sure where a near-death experience fit into that equation, but hopefully someday soon, I’d experience something better.