and they do or say or discover something that makes me smile, I get a little of that magic back for a minute.’
When he remained silent, curiosity made her turn her head so she could try and read his expression. He was still staring at her, thick lashes still at half-mast so she couldn’t see his eyes properly. It was disconcerting.
Then he tugged on a ragged corner of her heart with a low, rumbled comment. ‘You used to believe in magic more than anyone I’d ever met…’
Cassidy felt a hard lump forming in her throat, and immediately felt the need to turn her face away, dropping her chin and hiding behind a strand of hair that had escaped from her up do as she tried to open the lid of the salad dressing. ‘Like I said. It gets knocked out of you with age.’
Was this lid cemented on? She pursed her lips and felt the cap digging into her palm as she tried twisting it with a little more force, shifting her shoulder so she was literally putting her back into it, while forcing words out through tight lips at the same time.
‘Just part—of life—that’s all. Nobody’s fault. Or any—’
A large hand settled lightly over her fingers and Cassidy’s chin snapped up. He gently removed the bottle from her hand and opened it with one deft twist of his wrist. Then he held it out for her, warmth shining from his eyes and the corners of his mouth tugging upwards. ‘Borderline babbling again, Malone.’
Sighing heavily, she reached for the bottle. ‘You’re the one in charge of the magic these days—industry of dreams and all that. Maybe I handed on the baton.’
Will’s head lowered closer to hers, his voice dropping an octave. ‘You’re saying I couldn’t make magic back in the day?’ Apparently it was enough to bring one of those smiles her way. ‘I think my ego might be bruised.’
That wasn’t the kind of magic she’d meant. But before she could form a coherent sentence he turned away, lifting the steaks from the counter-top and walking out onto the deck. Leaving Cassidy staring through the glass at him and feeling distinctly confused. Her inability to read him was really starting to bug her.
Once the steaks were on the fancy stainless steel grill he had on the deck, Will closed the lid and came back to the open door, leaning on the frame and studying her before he took a deep breath and asked, ‘How are you feeling?’
‘Better.’ She smiled before turning to put away everything she hadn’t used. ‘I’ve stayed upright for more than twenty-four hours now—go me.’
‘How do you feel about a trip tomorrow?’
Cassidy’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. ‘Where to?’
‘Magic land…’
Leaning forward in her seat on the golf cart, Cassidy couldn’t help but grin like an idiot at her surroundings. It was better than Christmas as far as she was concerned.
‘You want to stop and take a look around?’
Yes! She turned to nod enthusiastically at Will. ‘Please.’
It might have seemed like an ordinary street to some people, but to Cassidy it really was magic land. From the second they’d pulled up at the studio’s parking lot it had been nigh on impossible to keep the smile off her face. She’d dreamed about places like this for most of her life—but to actually be there…
To Will, visiting the back lots of a studio was probably like taking a busman’s holiday, but there wasn’t a single thing that Cassidy didn’t find fascinating, with an almost child-like glee. Every large warehouse structure they passed was the cover of a storybook waiting to be opened; every extra in full costume was someone she wanted to talk to; every truck full of props was an adventure playground. And the streets of the back lot, with houses and storefronts and windows and open doorways, were just calling out for fictional characters to live there and tell their stories. Cassidy could practically see them walking around, hear their voices as they spoke.
She even found her imagination filling in the words…
With her short lap belt undone, she turned in her seat and found Will standing beside the open-sided cart. He held out a large hand to help her down, and in her excitement Cassidy forgot all the reasons why she shouldn’t let him hold on to the hand she slipped into his as he led her down the deserted pseudo-New York street.
After a few steps he asked, ‘You want to see inside?’
Nodding, she threw another smile his way.
So Will took them to the nearest open doorway and stepped back, setting her hand free to allow her to go ahead of him. ‘Some have a room like this they can dress to be any kind of store they want, but most of the buildings only go back a couple of feet from the frontage.’
Cassidy turned a circle in the empty space, tilting her head back to look up at the skeletal structure of wood and ladders. Her nostrils were filled with the scent of that same wood warmed by the Californian heat outside, and it was all too easy to see why there were so many fire extinguishers around. The danger of fire would always be a worry for a studio. The whole place would go up like a tinderbox, wouldn’t it?
‘When they dress the room they put in a false ceiling and leave space to hang the lighting. If you look outside you’ll see there aren’t any door handles or streetlights; they get changed by the props department according to the era of the shoot…’
Drinking in every word, she felt her chest fill with what felt distinctly like joy. It had been such a long time since she’d felt that way. She could have wept with how wonderful everything was. To some it might have seemed false and empty, a charade—but not to her. To her it was a world full of possibilities…
Will’s deep voice lowered until it was barely above a whisper, making Cassidy wonder for a moment if he’d even realised he’d spoken out loud. ‘Yeah, I had a feeling you’d love this.’
Lowering her chin, she caught her breath when she realised how close he was to her. There was the beginning of a smile in the green of his eyes, and the accompanying warmth she could see seemed to reach out and wrap around her like a blanket on a winter’s night. Then his gaze studied each of her eyes in turn, thick lashes flickering.
The intensity forced Cassidy to silently clear her throat before she could speak. ‘I do. It’s amazing. Thank you for bringing me here.’
Will studied her for another long moment that made her feel as if time stood still. Then he took a breath and looked around, shrugging wide shoulders beneath the pale blue shirt he wore loose over his jeans. ‘Sometimes seeing where movies are made can help with the writing process. Anything that can be filmed on a back lot or on a stage saves money on the budget. Studios like that.’
It all came down to business for him, didn’t it? He saw everything in terms of the bottom dollar. Another thing that was different. Yes, Cassidy knew it was part of his job—but it was yet another reminder that he wasn’t the same Will Ryan she had known. In the last twenty-four hours she had actually convinced herself she’d seen brief glimpses of the old Will she had loved. But every time she thought she saw something in him that might help rebuild the merest shadow of the relationship they once had—and would therefore make it easier to remember how well they could work together—it was as if a switch flipped inside him. Then the Will she didn’t know and couldn’t read was back.
It
