EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT: Hearts on Air

Excerpt

Trev stood by the far corner of the roof talking to the director, Barry, while he limbered up and stretched. You’d think he’d be decked out in athletic gear, but instead he wore a hoodie, a pair of loose-fitting jeans and Nikes. In this get-up he reminded me so much of the boy I first met in a dark, crowded nightclub, the one who was full of smiles and easy charm.

He caught my eye and gestured for me to come over. I closed the distance between us and shot Barry a polite smile.

“I want you to meet an old friend of mine. This is Reya. She’s filling in for Jo while we shoot.”

“Nice to meet you, Reya,” said Barry, reaching out to shake my hand. His expression was polite but businesslike. He looked like a man with a long string of tasks to complete—slightly harried. “I hope you’re quick on your feet, otherwise this lot’ll run rings around you.”

“Oh, I’m aware,” I replied with a laugh.

“Anyway, I better be off. I need to go talk to Callum.”

When he was gone I turned to Trev. “That sounds serious.”

“Not really. Somebody always needs to talk to Cal. It’s like the sun rising in the morning,” he joked, then continued more seriously. “Used to be they had to talk to me as well.”

I smiled at him. “But not anymore because you’re a grown-up now?”

He winked. “I’ll never be a real grown-up and we both know it, but let’s keep that our little secret, yeah?”

Something came over me with his wink and I folded my arms to keep from doing anything ridiculous—like swooning.

“Our little secret.” I nodded.

“So how’d your day go with Leanne and Paul?” he asked, fluttering his eyelashes when he said Paul’s name. I pinched him lightly on the arm, knowing he was teasing me for my crush. It wasn’t really a crush. At least, it wasn’t anymore. Now that I’d spent time with him I knew all I felt for Paul was friendship. I still admired him, because after all, he was extremely talented, but now he felt more like a little brother than anything else.

“It went fine. I had fun. Is this a camera?” I asked, poking at the contraption hooked up to the neckline of his hoodie. I guessed it was for all those first-person shots they used in the show.

“Hmm, why so thin on the details?” Trev asked back, ignoring my question. “Did you and Paul have a romantic smooch by the riverside or something?” He wasn’t letting up.

I narrowed my gaze, refusing to let him get to me. “Why? Are you jealous?”

Trev walked around me, or should I say prowled. There was intensity to his movements, even though his eyes were smiling. I shifted, my back brushing the wall at the edge of the building as he penned me in. He tilted his head, his attention moving over my features when he finally answered, “Maybe.”

My stomach flipped and our gazes held until Leanne interrupted us. “Hey, you two. Neil’s handing out bottles of water if you want some.”

Trev finally dragged his eyes away from mine. “Nah, I’m good.”

“I’ll go get one,” I said, needing an escape. I felt Trev watch me as I walked away and like always, his attention had me questioning myself. What was I doing here? I mean, what was I really doing here? No matter how much I convinced myself it was all for the music and the travel, I had to admit that a part of it was to do with Trev. I’d be ninety and still asking how high whenever he said jump. It was an unwelcome thought.

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Hearts - Recommended Reading Order

(standalone stories with interconnected characters)