Stunt Doubled: A Movie Star Standalone

And, yeah, I snuck a few peeks at his very fine ass, too.

He slowed slightly as the path began to rise. I couldn’t help being a little relieved at that. Evidently, I’d lost more stamina than I thought, because the climb wasn’t easy.

But it was worth it when we jogged through a narrow channel between the red rock mesas and emerged on the other side.

Ford slowed to a stop and I caught up to him, barely able to catch my breath. He didn’t look winded at all, but he didn’t look smug about it. “It’s the elevation,” he explained, seeming to read my mind. “You’re not used to it yet.”

Oh, right. I bent at my waist and rested my hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath. I hadn’t even thought about how much higher we were above sea level than I was used to.

Ford patted my back. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Maybe I should’ve taken a different route, but I wanted to show you this view.” He swept his hand out, and for the first time, I took in the scenery. An entire valley was open in front of us, ringed on almost all sides by rocky mesas, like the one we stood on.

It was incredible. I’d heard there were amazing national parks in Utah. If this was what the regular landscape looked like, I couldn’t even imagine how much more gorgeous the parks were. Maybe, after this shoot was done, I could rent a car and go tour one. Maybe even do a little rock climbing.

I straightened up and shielded my eyes with my hand so I could see better. There was a line of rocks off to the right, and I wondered if it was a dry creek bed. Most of the vegetation, if one could call it that, was in the form of dry, brown weeds. I even saw my very first tumbleweed rolling slowly across the ground. “It looks like there should be a herd of wild ponies racing through.”

“Yeah,” Ford agreed. “Not much for them to eat here, but it would be awesome to see.”

“Where do you live when you’re not on location?”

“Los Angeles.”

Oh. That made sense, since he was in the movie business.

“Ever been there?”

“No. I can’t imagine being around that many people.”

Ford nodded. “You seem to value your alone time.”

I tilted my head as I studied him. “Why, because I went to my room after dinner?”

“No, I get that. We know this isn’t easy for you. But you still don’t strike me as the type who likes crowds.”

“I’m not. In fact, if that tumbleweed gets any closer, I’m going to make a run for it.”

Ford laughed and then leaned back against the rock wall behind him. Then he winced and pulled away. “Ow.”

I couldn’t help grinning at him. “That’s what you get for going shirtless.”

“You didn’t seem to mind it before.”

“Nothing wrong with admiring the view.” Crap, was I flirting with him?

He cocked an eyebrow at me and then let his gaze sweep down and back up my body. “Agreed.”

After a few minutes, I felt refreshed, but I vowed to take it easy on the run back. I didn’t want to embarrass myself in front of Ford again.

He stretched his arms over his head—showing another impressive display of muscles—and then clapped his hands together. “Are you done admiring the view?”

He was referring to the canyon this time, right? “Yes.”

“Good. Why don’t you take the lead this time so that I can watch your ass.”

My jaw dropped before I could catch it. “I wasn’t doing that on the way here.”

“Sure you weren’t.”

“I was watching my footing. You could turn an ankle on a path like that.”

Ford rolled his eyes. “So does that mean you’re not taking the lead?”

“I don’t remember how to get back.” My voice was as innocent as possible as I lied to him.

He shook his head, clearly not believing me, but he turned and started back the way we’d come. “Enjoy watching your ‘footing,’” he called over his shoulder as he set off.

My run with Ford energized me, and after lunch, I was determined to find something useful to do. They’d put me on the payroll, so I was damn well going to do something to earn that pay.

Except Tina didn’t need anything.

And the costume department didn’t either.

Finally, around two, the assistant director stomped into the office. He marched past Tina and me, went into his office, and slammed the door. We barely had time to exchange a glance before he threw the door open again. “Mac’s kid! Get me coffee.”

“Sure, how do you like it?” It’s not like it was a thrilling assignment, but I didn’t have anything else to do.

“Hot.”

The door slammed again.

“Do you know how he takes it?” I asked Tina.

“He’s picky,” Tina said. It wasn’t much of a shock. “Some days I’m not sure he knows how he likes it. Just get a regular cup and bring back cream and sugar.”