Free Heat Wave by Kate J. Squires

have to be on your game, people, because these competitors are livewires and anything could happen at any time. Greg, Maddie, nice of you to join us.’
    â€˜Hey, Marc!’ Greg waved. ‘We’ve been here the whole time—didn’t you see us? We’ve just been practicing our surreptitious skills, ninja camera moves, you know how it is.’ Greg performed a karate kick, raising his arms like a crane, and everyone giggled.
    The bald Hispanic man shook his head, smiling. ‘Fine, then. If you guys are so good at blending in, you can film from inside the stairwell as the girls walk out and cross to Beau, then join the rest of us down on the deck.’
    Oh, fecking brilliant … Watching ten beautiful women introduce themselves to the man who owned my heart—it sounded like a torture personally designed to ruin my sanity.
    I looked past Marc to the ship’s bridge where Maxine stood, silhouetted against the dark windows, overlooking the deck like a beady-eyed crow. Our gaze connected and she arched a pencil-thin eyebrow. The message was clear: Don’t screw up.
    Sighing, I trailed after Greg through the warm evening air. ‘Where are the women meeting Tan—Beau anyway?’ I asked.
    Greg grabbed his gear from the equipment pile and nodded to another door, leading to a staircase. ‘At the top of that there’s a private hot tub deck. They’ve got him standing up there, and the girls will meet him one by one, then go down to the party by the stairs on the other side.’
    We climbed the narrow steps, my thighs aching from all the flights I’d walked already. As we reached the top, Greg started fiddling with his camera, setting up close to the wall, while I checked out the run sheet on my tablet.
    When I was satisfied I was across the details for the rest of the shoot, I looked up and studied the little deck. It was only the size of a double garage, with the Jacuzzi in the corner covered and decorated with flowers. Large ferns and fairy lights shielded the deck from the outside world, creating a magical space— the perfect location for meeting your next true love.
    From inside the dim stairwell, we were hidden in the dark, which meant that when Tanner emerged from the other side of the deck accompanied by another small crew, I could drool over him shamelessly without being seen. My cowboy looked edible; in a midnight-blue shirt over black jeans and boots with his bright smile shining, he was a force of nature. People couldn’t help but stare at him, helplessly grinning.
    Tanner tipped his black hat at the other female assistant, who dissolved into giggles like a five-year-old before scurrying off. His soft brown eyes looked confident and excited, with no hint that he might have been grieving what the two of us had shared less than twenty-four hours before. I clutched at my throat in a combination of lust and desperation. I can’t do this …
    The second crew set up their camera on top of the Jacuzzi, filming across the deck to capture every glance and nuance Tanner was about to share with ten women who weren’t me. The cameraman fiddled with his lens, then looked up, irritated. ‘Hey, Greg! You in there? I need a stand-in to get my focus right—get over here.’
    Greg yelled back, ‘I’m busy!’
    â€˜Don’t be a douche, man. My shots are gonna be way more valuable than your arse POVs.’
    â€˜Bite me.’
    â€˜Do you want me to radio Marc?’
    â€˜Jesus …’ He turned to me. ‘Maddie, can you please go and help?’
    â€˜Me? I … I can’t, I’m …’ I had nothing.
    â€˜Please?’ Greg gave me puppy-dog eyes. ‘We’re already in strife from running late. Be a pal?’
    Swallowing thickly, I nodded and handed him my tablet. ‘Okay.’
    After my shower earlier, I’d twisted my hair up into a bun. Needing the shield my tresses provided, I pulled it