Ryan was cool and professionally distant.
He showed me no special favor, no separate inappropriate acknowledgment while we were filming. I could have been just another off-the-street extra as far as anyone could tell. That was fine by me; I didn’t want a fuss.
Without the extraordinary media hype and devoted fan adoration elevating his status, Ryan was just a regular guy; sweet, caring, humble, funny—trying to do his best being an actor. He was so in his element here. My heart rate stabilized under the surge of love and pride I felt for him and I breathed easier in his calm.
“But I would grab her with my right hand,” Ryan stated as we did another walk-through. His hand was sealed around my upper arm.
“Do you want me to flinch or . . . ?” I asked, as we continued to work out all of the little details.
Within a few minutes, my big film debut was over and I was moved out of the shot so Morgan could take my place. I found an open space off to the side to watch Ryan continue on without me.
“You can relax now. You did really good, by the way.”
I looked over my shoulder, not recognizing the male voice.
“I don’t think we’ve ever met. Hi. I’m Aiden.”
I blinked several times, toggling my eyes between the large-veined hand he extended toward me and the rest of the man standing before me. His hair was styled and colored exactly like Ryan’s. He even wore the same clothes Ryan had on. The resemblance was freakishly uncanny, although Ryan had much nicer eyes and was a hell of a lot better-looking than this attempted copy.
Regardless, sheer fascination had me staring.
“I’m one of Mr. Christensen’s stunt doubles. I don’t bite.”
“Hi. Sorry. I’m Taryn.” I reached to shake his hand, thankful that he didn’t manhandle me. I noticed Nicole Devin walking toward me rubbing her nose, but she stopped to speak to someone else.
Aiden pointed his chin toward the camera.
“I was watching. From over here you looked like you did a great job.”
His
compliment
seemed genuine.
“Thanks. I hope I didn’t screw it up.” When Aiden smiled, two tiny dimples formed in his cheeks. “I think you did just fine. You looked like a pro.” He offered me a cup of water, which I politely accepted. “Was that your first time?”
I took a sip and nodded.
“I guess you got pretty lucky then—getting chosen for that spot. You’ll definitely be in the final footage. Not many extras get to claim that much face time.”
I shrugged. “Guess this is my big claim to fame then, huh?” I joked.
“I’m sure you’ll get a lot of mileage out of this with your friends, too. You should be able to milk this one for months.” Visions of Marie and Tammy hugging me into a choke hold made me laugh. “I think you’re right. My friends will definitely torment me for a long time over this.” I noticed Aiden’s eyes dip down and linger on my chest while a sliver of his tongue swiped his lips, gazing with an apparent hunger to breastfeed. Yeah, I know. No bra and it’s cold in here. I quickly crossed my arms over my chest.
Aiden shook his head infinitesimally, as if my gesture broke the spell to draw his attention back to my eyes. “Hey, he’s coming this way. Do you want me to ask him for an autograph for you? Maybe we can get him to pose for a quick picture. That ought to hold your girlfriends off for a little while. I hear he’s a nice guy.”
A tiny laugh of absurdity slipped out. This guy has no freaking clue who I am, does he?
I guess it doesn’t matter to him because he’s mostly just staring at my boobs.
I glanced over toward Ryan, noting his look of displeasure before he stopped to engage Paul, the stunt coordinator. Paul removed his baseball cap and was scratching with one hand and pointing out maneuvers with the other. “No, that’s okay. I don’t want his auto—”
“So . . . Karen. Are you from Vancouver?” Aiden interrupted, motioning toward the ground as if to accentuate that we were actually standing in Vancouver.
“No. Ryan’s my—”
Paul waved his hat and Aiden heaved his body away from the wall. I doubt he even heard a word I said. “Shit. That’s my cue.
Time to go to work. I hope you don’t run off anywhere.”
Before I could say anything more, Aiden trotted away, glancing back at me briefly.
I found a discreet place off to the side where I could watch the rest of the filming.
As per the script, a barroom brawl ensued.
Even though Ryan filmed most of the live action, Aiden handled the more intricate stunts, like having chairs slammed down on his spine. I was glad it was his body taking the abuse and not Ryan’s. I had other plans for Ryan’s body, and they didn’t include patching cuts or watching him writhe in pain all night.
Aiden winked and smiled when he filled his paper cup at the cooler next to me. “Why are you hiding all the way back here?” I shrugged. “Just staying out of the way.” He pushed the edge of his T-shirt sleeve up, flexing beefy biceps as he crossed his arms. “Ah, where’s the fun in that. I could have used your help in there.” I thought about the irony. “No thanks. I get enough of barroom beer muscles back home. It’s purely a spectator sport for me.” It had been a while since I had to break up a brawl in my pub, though my trusty baseball bat was never out of reach.
Aiden glanced over his shoulder. “I could definitely use a cold one after that last stunt.
We have to gather some people together and go out for a few drinks.”
I knew better than to answer him, so I let his comment go and politely excused myself to relocate to a better vantage point.
After several more takes, my new friend found me again.
“Looks like we’re just about wrapped. So, ah, you have any plans after this or are you going to let me take you to dinner?”
“Take me to dinner? No.” I was shocked that he even asked. I walked away, staring off at the man I was planning on having for dessert, when Aiden followed me. Ryan’s gaze met mine, and when he caught sight of me having another conversation with my new admirer, his eyes narrowed on me with a look of obvious displeasure.
“I see. You’re hoping for a chance with him, aren’t you?” Aiden uttered in a mix of mockery and what I perceived to be jealousy.
“Well, I don’t mean to burst your bubble, but I hear he recently got engaged, so I’d say your chances are slim to none.” I wanted to say, “No shit. I’m his fiancée, dumbass,” and then thank him for discouraging a random woman from hitting on Ry-an, but Ryan was storming his way over to us with blatant concern plastered on his face. I wondered if all this casual flirtation on Aiden’s part was pissing Ryan off, but in eight more seconds I was going to find out for sure.