After ignoring the EMT, I strode over and nudged a young man aside so I could assess Finn’s injuries. Before I had a chance to give him a good once-over, he stepped right up against me and wrapped his arms around my waist before leaning his head against my chest.
“I’m sorry,” he said almost too quietly for me to hear.
Damn it felt good to hold him. “What for?” I snuck my hands up the back of his jacket and shirt to feel the warm skin of his lower back. His entire body was shaking.
He let out a derisive laugh. “Claim… Hugging you in front of these people. I just…”
He didn’t need to say it. I could tell he just needed someone. Someone he could trust. Someone just for him.
Knowing his mother was here and he’d still called me made me both angry and sad for him. “It’s okay. If you hadn’t called, I would have been upset when I found out. And I don’t ever mind you hugging me whenever you want or need to.”
His body seemed to relax slightly, and I remembered how unsteady he’d appeared. “Come on. Let’s get you inside.” I kept an arm around his waist as I led him into the chalet. His mother was ensconced on the sofa surrounded by magazines, an iPad, a Starbucks cup, and a cashmere scarf-blanket thing half draped over her legs. She was on the phone.
“Oh, there are people here. Gotta go, darling.” She ended the call before realizing Finn was injured. “What in the world?” She stood up and came over to him, fluttering her hands around him as if unsure where to touch. If she decided to touch anywhere, I was probably going to make a rude noise.
I moved past her and guided him into the bedroom and then the large bathroom before closing the door in her face with a murmured, “Give us a minute.”
When I turned to Finn, I could see him tense his jaw. I thought he was going to snap at me about being dismissive to his mother, but that’s not what he said at all. “I shouldn’t have gotten you involved. I really am sorry. It was a moment of weakness.”
I leaned in and kissed him as gently as I could. He made a whimpering noise in his throat and leaned in for more. His body was plastered against mine so tightly, I had a hard time taking in a full breath. My hands landed on his ass and squeezed before I remembered why we were there.
“Fuck. Stop. We have to stop. You’re hurt. Let’s get you cleaned up, and then that medical person can take a look at you.”
When I pulled back, I noticed Finn’s eyes were full of tears, and he was leaning his head back in hopes of keeping them from spilling.
“Shit,” I murmured, pulling his head down and wiping them away as carefully as I could with my thumbs. “Did I hurt you? Fuck.”
“No,” he breathed. “You didn’t hurt me. I needed… I wanted… just… thank you for coming here.”
This man. He wasn’t at all the cocky actor I’d taken him for at first. He was so fucking vulnerable and incredibly lonely. I was beginning to see his need to be loved like a beacon, shining brightly for all the world to see.
But nobody fucking saw it at all.
Except me.
My back teeth ground together. “You can call me anytime. Do you hear me? Anytime. You are never a burden to me or my schedule. Never. Now… what happened out there?” I busied myself getting a washcloth under some hot water so I could wash him off.
“I was doing the tyrolean traverse high above the floor of the ravine. The wind picked up, and I told them we needed to wait for the conditions to improve before continuing. But the helicopter was only booked for a few hours, I guess…” His forehead crinkled. “Wait. Wait. Where was the helicopter? They’re not supposed to fly in wind like that, and I don’t remember… fuck. They weren’t there! They weren’t fucking there when the wind picked up. So who… who the hell was filming other than Joel in the cherry picker?”
I didn’t follow half of what he was saying other than to grasp the point that this film and the people in charge were assholes who clearly didn’t give a shit about looking out for one of their main stars. Even if they didn’t care about Finn, they should have cared about their reputation. It didn’t make any sense for a high-budget film to run that way.
“Did you fall?” I asked, wondering how that was possible if he was at Tempter’s Chimney. It was a canyon with two giant rock faces squared off opposite each other. As he spoke, I carefully wiped the dirt and makeup off his face.