You’re going to have to get over it.
He exhaled hard and dropped his phone on the counter with a curse.
His shower didn’t bring any enlightenment on just how he’d find a way to get over it. And breakfast was consumed with talk of his sisters’ escapades with school and friends and Cleo’s college prospects.
On set, he arranged for a tour with one of the production assistants, but when his mother opted out, Chase knew he was in for an earful. He picked up coffee for both of them at a coffee cart and settled with her at a small table out of the flow of foot traffic.
“What’s going on with you and Lila?” she asked the minute he sat down. “I hate seeing you on the cover of tabloids, son. I expect you to be more responsible, more professional.”
“I can’t always avoid them in this business. I try, but…” He shrugged, then explained the situation with Lila. “It was supposed to be a quick, simple favor—”
“And she took advantage of you,” his mother said. “Surprise, surprise.”
Peggy had seen Lila for what she was long before Chase had. And it seemed both his mother and Zahara could still see it. Chase was coming around. After Zahara’s accident, he knew Lila had to stay off the set. As soon as she showed up again—and she would—he’d have to play hardball with her.
“It’s tricky,” he told his mom. “Everyone knows everyone. Your reputation often precedes you at an audition. It’s all about how good your connections are, and Lila has pull in certain circles. I don’t like the way this situation turned on me, but I don’t need to piss her off either. And she really is in a tough spot.”
“You’ve got a good heart, Chase. I just worry about that getting trampled on around here.”
“It’s not all whispers and backstabbing. These are—mostly—good people.” Down the way, he caught sight of Zahara carrying gear toward the parking lot. “Here comes one of them now.”
He waited until he’d caught Zahara’s eye. “Hey, Z, have a minute?”
She stopped with a sassy smile and slung a gaggle of harnesses over her shoulder. “For you, but only a minute. We’re taking the bikes into the city for the next stunt scene.”
His smile faded. “I thought that was tomorrow.”
“Check your messages, handsome. It got moved.” While Chase scrolled through the messages on his phone and scanned the changes to his schedule, Zahara tu
rned her smile on his mom and offered her hand. “I’m Zahara. And you must be Mrs. Layton. I see a lot of you in him.”
Chase put his phone away as his mother shook Zahara’s hand. He could tell by Peggy’s smile that she was as instantly enchanted as Chase had been. Zahara had a velvety charisma that made people want to chat with her over coffee for hours. She was confident and warm, and she made whoever she was talking to feel like they had her complete focus. Between that and her mad skills, it was no wonder she was at the top of her career.
“Please, call me Peggy,” his mom said, returning Zahara’s smile.
“Zahara is our stuntwoman extraordinaire,” Chase told her. “If you have time while you’re here, you should really see her work.”
His mom’s smile faltered. “The one who got hurt yesterday?”
She shook her head. “Much ado about nothing. Men, pffft.” She rolled her eyes at Chase. “They think we women are fragile.”
He slapped a hand against his chest. “I never said you were fragile, and even if I thought so, I’d never tell you to your face.”
She laughed, one of those genuine, warm, carefree laughs he remembered from before. And now, her eyes sparkled as she looked at him. God, he’d missed that.
“You know…” his mom started, and with those two words, Chase knew she’d seen the spark between them. Because she was about to go on a matchmaking expedition right on the spot. “Chase promised to take us out to dinner tonight—”
He tilted his head. “I did?”
“And we’d love it if you could join us,” she continued, ignoring him. “Two of his sisters are here, and the middle one lit up when she heard there was a stuntwoman on site.”
Zahara looked at Chase. “Two of your sisters?”
“There would have been three,” Peggy said, “but my oldest is about to graduate from college. She’ll be disappointed she missed this.”
Chase pushed his hands into his pockets and lifted his brows at Zahara. “You know you wanna.”
She laughed again, and he was sure he could never get tired of that sound. “One condition,” she told his mom. “You share at least a couple of those really embarrassing childhood memories about Chase.”