That was the last I’d seen of that smile.
Inwardly, I cursed Mac. Though he wasn’t my father or stepfather, it felt like he was. I owed my entire career to him, and he’d been a damn good friend and role model over the years. Still, he could be tactless and sometimes didn’t think things through. Didn’t think how things might be for people who didn’t bulldoze their way through life as he did.
So yeah, I’d wager that Ronnie had no idea she’d be meeting her stepbrothers tonight. That couldn’t have been easy. I think she was six or something when Mac left. That had to hurt. And then to find out that her dad had remarried to a woman with children? That was the kind of thing that could mess kids up for a long time. My own dad died when I was just a baby. My mom was great, but I’d been thrilled when my best friends’ mom married Mac. It was like I got a new father, too.
But only because Ronnie had lost one.
“More steak sauce?” Tanner’s voice cut across me as he offered the bottle to Ronnie, who shook her head. He’d already apologized twice more for nearly running her down today. She might be over it, but he wasn’t.
I hated to see such a pretty young woman so miserable. Not that it was okay for less attractive people to be unhappy, but I couldn’t help but note that Ronnie really was stunning. I’d seen pictures of her before she arrived in Utah, but they didn’t do her justice. She looked nothing like Mac, which was a damn good thing, in my opinion. Her hair was dark, almost black, and it cascaded around her shoulders with a hint of waves. Her lashes and brows were dark too, which made her eyes look huge. And gorgeous.
Every once in a while, her bare arm would brush up against mine. Her skin was smooth and even, but it was her muscles I admired most. Keeping myself in shape was essential to my career. If I couldn’t do all the moves needed in fight scenes, then there was no way I could instruct others like Tanner and the rest of the stunt crew to do them, too.
It was clear that Ronnie took care of her body. And yes, the effect was beautiful, but more than that, I admired her for caring about her health and fitness. I got the feeling that she and I had a lot in common, and I hoped that at some point, she’d let her guard down long enough to see that.
Aiden had barely said two words to her after he introduced himself. He was too busy badgering Mac about the next car chase scene they’d be filming. Aiden always wanted to do the driving himself even though Tanner was the pro. He’d trained in pretty much every stunt driving technique there was.
Ronnie didn’t appear to be following the conversation, and I didn’t blame her. Car chases didn’t interest me much, either. I preferred fight scenes where actors—or stunt people—worked their asses off to make the most realistic and exciting sequence they could.
Time to make conversation that Ronnie might actually be interested in. “How often do you run?”
“Every day,” she said, and then her face darkened. “Or I used to. Things have been hectic lately.”
I bet they had. A young woman didn’t call up her estranged father and ask for help if things were going well. “Maybe we could run together sometime? I’ve got a break in my schedule tomorrow afternoon around three.”
“That sounds great.” For a moment, her milk-chocolate eyes looked stress free, but then she frowned. “I mean, if I can get a break then, too.”
“What department will you be working with?” I’d asked Mac that same question yesterday, but he hadn’t given me a firm answer. By the look on her face, I’d say he hadn’t given Ronnie one, either.
“I’m not sure.”
“Don’t worry, there’s a lot of stuff that needs to be done.”
“That’s what Tina said.”
“Oh, you met her?” Tina was pretty much the mother hen of our production. I lowered my voice. “We all think she has a bit of a crush on Mac.”
Ronnie nodded. “He’s still married, right?”
I got the feeling that she was asking not to point out the impropriety of Tina’s crush, but because she genuinely didn’t know.
“Yes.” Until recently, Ronnie’d had a very active online presence, that much I knew. Someone that familiar with technology would have no trouble finding out every aspect of Mac’s life, or the life of anyone at this table. The fact that she didn’t seem to know much about her father or stepbrothers meant she hadn’t wanted to.
Given her past, I couldn’t blame her, but the men at this table meant the world to me. I hoped that eventually, she’d give them a chance. In the meantime, I couldn’t help being a little smug that her contempt for Mac, Aiden, and Tanner didn’t seem to extend to me.