Escape to the Tuscan Vineyard

Chapter Four

The air left my lungs. What the hell was he doing here? I tried to get a second look, but it was too late; he’d gone. No doubt about it, though. Even with the slightly shaggier hair and the beard and cap, there was no mistaking those eyes. It was him. This was teetering on the edge of breaking my one and only rule. No second dates. Which could also be interpreted as ‘don’t ever see them again’. It hadn’t started out as a rule, it was more of an accidental dating style, but once Josh had gone, having a man in my bed for more than one night, had never felt right. And then it just became my way. I couldn’t imagine having that kind of relationship again – sharing breakfast together each morning and a bottle of wine on a Friday night. Those were things I did with the girls now.

I hadn’t planned on seeing Pete/Blake again, yet here we were. In a code-red violation of my core way of being. Not to mention the potential mess of mixing work with pleasure. Men were supposed to be for one night only and that was that. Especially those allegedly on a fleeting visit to London. I was going to have to pivot pretty quick if Pete Freeman was, in fact, Blake bloody Thomas.

‘You OK?’ Lucy asked, as we got back to the room. ‘Not starstruck are you?’

I took a gulp of my coffee, which wasn’t helping with the shock. Shit, shit, shit. I didn’t know what to think. Should I be delighted that a hot, Hollywood actor was semi-stalking me or annoyed at the fake-name and no doubt fake-everything-else?

‘Not at all. I haven’t ever seen Outlaws, so I don’t know him.’

‘Whatttt? Well Google it now and have a look,’ Lucy said, aghast.

‘No, it’s fine, I’d prefer not to know, honestly…’

Lucy pulled out her phone and started speed-swiping. ‘Just a second… let me find ittt… Yes. Here he is.’ She handed me her phone, then busied herself in one of the cupboards. And there, frozen on the screen, dressed in full cowboy regalia and sitting on a black stallion, was Pete. Or – as the rest of the world knew him – Blake. His body was tanned and glistening. White shirt and dark blue jeans with battered leather cowboy boots and silver spurs. He looked so unbelievably hot. I felt sick.

‘Mm-hmm,’ I said, nonchalant, as the clip started auto playing at maximum volume.

‘We gotta get outta here before the sheriff gets wind of this. Imma thinking youse might know the way to…’

‘How do I turn it down…?’ I asked, pressing buttons in alarm. There was a sharp knock on the door, as Lucy ran over, but she stopped in her tracks as Blake walked in, his voice still bouncing off the walls.

‘Howdy, ladies,’ he drawled, with a smile. I nearly threw the phone out the window, as Lucy took it from me and made the noise stop. ‘I thought I’d do the rounds and introduce myself.’ Blake briefly looked at Lucy, then set his eyes on me. I had no choice but to style it out.

‘That’s a great idea,’ I said, more confident than I felt. ‘Go for it.’

He laughed. ‘Thank you. Well, hi, I’m Blake Thomas. Master Moonman. You might recognise me from Outlaws?’ he said, nodding at Lucy’s phone.

‘I definitely recognise you from somewhere,’ I replied, keeping my gaze steady. ‘Nice to meet you, Blake. I’m Abi. I’m one of the make-up assistants and will be making up your moon head for filming each day.’

‘And I’m Lucy – also make-up – Abi is assisting me.’ Lucy reached out shyly to shake Blake’s hand.

‘Good to meet you both.’ Blake’s eyes twinkled and his star-quality vibe filled the room. ‘The heads look pretty great, don’t they?’ he said, walking over and picking one up.

‘Oh, I… you’re not really allowed to…’ I said, worried he might drop it.

‘That’s OK, Abi. He’s fine,’ Lucy said, dismissing me, as he carried on regardless.

Blake held the moon head up to the light and looked inside. The shell was made from fibreglass and the inner skin would be a tight-fitting silicone around his face.

‘We’ll need to update your skin test when you have a few minutes,’ Lucy said, keen to have everything in order. ‘Yours, and the other Moonman.’

‘Travis isn’t here yet, but I can do mine now if you like?’ Blake unzipped his gilet and sat down. ‘Top off, is it?’ He looked at me with the question.

This day was already very weird, and it was only 10 a.m. I wasn’t quite over the shock of seeing Pete/Blake in the flesh again, yet, and now here he was, sitting in our perfectly laid-out room, about to whip off his top.

‘Er… no, just roll one of your sleeves up, please,’ I said.

Lucy poured some water into a bowl and started stirring in the silicone mix. ‘Your paperwork doesn’t list any allergies,’ she said. ‘You’ve never had any trouble with anything before, then?’ Blake shook his head. ‘And you haven’t worn prosthetics for any of your other roles?’

‘Not for work, but plenty of costumes over the years,’ he said, with a wink. ‘I’d know if I had a problem with silicone.’

I wiped Blake’s wrist with disinfectant, then covered it in Vaseline. His skin was hot to touch, and his eyes were on me, watching my every move. I clicked the lid back on in a fluster and gave him a fleeting look, as Lucy brushed on a glob of red silicone and we both stood back to let it set.

‘It’ll only take a few minutes and then we can peel it off,’ I said, pulling out my folder and flicking to Blake’s page, pen poised to write down anything unusual.

‘I hardly felt a thing,’ Blake said, fluttering his eyelashes at Lucy, as she gazed at him. ‘Any chance of a coffee while I wait?’

‘Yes! Of course!’ I said, jumping up. ‘I’ll go.’

‘No, no, he asked me,’ Lucy swooned, skipping out and closing the door, leaving the two of us alone.

I turned my back and started clearing away. ‘I’ll just run these few things through to the kitchen,’ I said, hurriedly.

‘Not so fast,’ Blake said, his legs wide open and arm outstretched. ‘How’s Ibiza, Abi?’

I stopped, unsure how to play it for a second, then turned to face him with a chuckle. ‘I’m having a great time thanks, Pete. How are you?’

He laughed. ‘All these little white lies, eh? Can’t trust anyone these days.’

‘At least we were both lying, I suppose.’

‘I thought you were joking when you asked me my name. Couldn’t believe my luck to have some anonymity for once. But why did you say you’d gone away? Didn’t you want to see me again?’

‘Got it in one, cowboy,’ I said, and flashed him a smile, not keen to explain any further.

‘Wow. That’s pretty brutal.’ He shook his head, clearly surprised.

‘I’m sure you’ll find someone to make you feel better,’ I said, my head on one side. ‘You’re not bad looking.’

Blake laughed. ‘You think? Number eight in GQ’s sexiest men of all time, this year, thank you very much.’

‘That far down the list?’ I shot back, playfully.

‘Is this supposed to itch?’ Blake asked, nodding at his arm.

‘No,’ I walked over quickly, to check it. There shouldn’t have been any problem at all. It was a simple skin test. Blake stood up to give me a closer look.

‘Mmm, your perfume…’ Blake sniffed the air. ‘…is bringing back happy memories.’

I gave him a quick smile as he stood uncomfortably close, invading my personal space and he shuffled even closer as I leant in.

‘I think it would be easier if you sat down, actually,’ I said, taking a step back.

‘Oh, really?’ He towered over me with a wolfish smile.

‘Yes.’ I took another step back. ‘Please.’

‘Owwww!’ Blake lifted his arm and winced. ‘It’s burning!’

‘Is it?!’ I pushed him into the chair in panic and knelt down to examine the silicone. No sign of heat, or irritation. I picked at one of the corners and it came away clean, as Blake closed his legs around my back and pulled me in.

‘What are you… doing?’ I said, pushing him away. ‘Pete? I mean Blake! I’m at work!’ I gave a nervous laugh to try and make light of the situation.

‘Don’t worry about work, I’m the big star here, remember. No one will question me.’

I looked up at him, horrified. ‘It’s not just a work thing. I’m very flattered, but I’m sorry, I’m not interested.’

‘Oh, come on, Abi, that’s not what you were saying in the sauna.’ He leant down and tried to kiss me, trapping me with his knees.

I turned my head away. ‘Stop it, I’m serious…’

‘You’re really not into me?’ he said, in disbelief.

‘No!’ I looked him straight in the eyes to make it crystal clear. ‘Get off me.’ My hands were shaking as I tried to stand up, but he was too strong. He leant back with a smile and put his hands behind his head, his legs solid, pinning me into his crotch.

‘Here we are!’ Lucy breezed into the room with a tray of coffees and stopped dead, in the doorway, as she took in the scene. Blake loosened his grip and I quickly stood up, adjusting my jumpsuit. Lucy’s eyes darted between the two of us, the tiniest frown on her face. ‘Everything OK?’

‘Absolutely,’ I said, fixing on a smile. ‘Blake was feeling some pain from the patch test.’

‘And Abi offered to help me out,’ Blake said, with a smirk.

Lucy slowly made her way across the room. ‘OK… let me check it for you,’ she said, handing Blake his coffee. I stood behind her as she examined his wrist, furiously eyeballing Blake, my heart thudding. He gave me a slow smile over Lucy’s head and the smallest of shrugs, making it clear he called the shots around here. He could do whatever he wanted.

‘It seems fine?’ Lucy said, looking up at us both.

‘Yes, that’s what I thought,’ I replied.

‘It felt like an itch I needed to scratch,’ Blake sniggered.

Lucy worked her way around the silicone with a small metal tool, gently lifting it up.

‘The Vaseline should mean this doesn’t hurt but brace yourself while I peel it off.’ She ripped the strip off clean, leaving nothing behind, then turned it over to show Blake’s skin and veins, cast into the rubber mould.

‘Wow, it really does pick everything up, doesn’t it?’ he said, staring at it.

‘Yup, that’s the idea,’ Lucy said. I stayed silent, afraid my tone would give me away. I was so angry. ‘Keep an eye on it for the next twenty-four hours and if there’s no irritation, we can get going with the casting tomorrow.’

‘Sounds awesome,’ Blake said, hopping off the chair and unrolling his sleeve. He picked up his gilet to go. ‘I’ll send Travis down when I see him. Good to meet you both.’

‘You too, see you tomorrow,’ Lucy said.

‘Bye,’ I said, quietly, avoiding his gaze.

Blake gave us a pearly-white smile and walked out. What an absolute piece of work.