“I can imagine.”

He eyed me speculatively. “Trev mentioned you still hadn’t made up your mind about the job yet.”

I swallowed because I didn’t expect him to bring up the PA position. My mind was almost made. I was on the verge of saying yes, but I needed someone to give me that final push into the deep end of the pool. Whether I flailed and went under, or succeeded in swimming to the top, was all on me.

I cleared my throat. “Right, yes. It’s just that I teach piano and I need to find someone to cover my lessons,” I lied. I knew several old college friends who’d jump at the chance to fill in for me. I just didn’t want to get into the whole thing about Trev’s and my rocky past, and the difficulties that could ensue.

“You’ll find someone. Come on, say yes. It’s only three weeks, and it’ll be good for my mental health to see your pretty face every day,” Paul went on charmingly. Was he flirting with me?

I smiled. “Well, we wouldn’t want your mental health to suffer.”

Right after I said it an arm came to rest casually along my shoulders—a hot, sweaty, muscled arm. I didn’t have to look to know it was Trev. “You came,” he said, gazing down at me.

I tried not to fixate on the way his chest rose and fell with his laboured breathing. “Yes, I did.”

“So, what do you think?”

“I think this must be what the inside of your brain looks like,” I teased.

“Nah, the inside of his brain looks like Car and Driver magazine with a few pages of Playboy thrown in,” Paul joked.

Trev chuckled his amusement. “Don’t forget Food & Wine. You know I like a bit of food porn with my actual porn.”

“In that case, I better not let you see that picture of Eva Mendes eating a whole pizza by herself. I don’t want you scandalizing our female company,” said Paul, shooting me a wink.

“I could eat a whole pizza by myself right now. I’m starving,” said Callum as he, Leanne and James joined us. He didn’t have a top on and it was a little hard not to look at all those defined muscles and tattoos, but I managed to keep my gaze from wandering. Leanne, who came to stand next to me, went up on her tiptoes and whispered in my ear, “Atta girl. Don’t give him the satisfaction. He does it on purpose.”

I smirked and glanced at her, noticing a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

Callum stood under a horizontal bar and reached up to grab it with both arms. Then he started doing extremely impressive pull-ups, but I followed Leanne’s instructions and ignored him. She let out a loud yawn and patted her mouth.

“Well, it looks like we’re all done here. Do you guys want to go grab food then head home? I’m in the mood for an early night.”

She looked at everyone except Callum, and I tried not to laugh at how obviously it bothered him. He dropped down off the bar, muttered something about taking a cold shower, then skulked off to the other side of the gym.

“You shouldn’t torture him like that,” said James. “You know his ego can’t take it.”

Leanne made a derisive scoff. “He’ll be fine. Every day this week I’ve barely seen him put so much as a vest on during workouts. It’s purposeful and you know it.”

“Oh, the games we play,” Paul sighed. “I’m going to shower, too. Reya, are you coming to eat with us?”

I glanced at Trev, who no longer had his arm around my shoulders. He looked like he was thinking about something real hard, but I had no idea what. I returned my attention to Paul. “Sure. If it’s okay with everyone else.”

“Of course it’s okay,” Trev answered before Paul had the chance. “Why do you think I invited you over?”

His open, friendly expression got a smile out of me. “In that case, I’m in.”

I arrived home a few hours later, after enjoying a genuinely fun meal with Trev and his freerunning co-stars. I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I’d laughed so much, and a surge of enthusiasm to go travelling with them filled me. This wasn’t just about Trev. This was about the entire group. The atmosphere that surrounded them was incredibly appealing. It didn’t make much sense, because I was only twenty-six, but somehow they made me feel young again. Their lust for life and all-around playfulness shone a light on the fact that I was old before my time. I was so bogged down in worries and fears that I’d forgotten how to be young and just enjoy each day as it came.

I felt like they could teach me how to do that, too.

Flopping down onto my sofa, I flicked through my phone and brought up the messages I exchanged with Trev earlier. I decided not to do what I normally did. I wouldn’t linger on what ifs and possible repercussions. I’d just do what felt right in the moment. My pulse sped up as I typed out a new text.

Reya: Okay, I’ll take the job.

A few minutes later Trev’s response came through.

Trev: FANTASTIC! I promise you’re going to have a great time :-D

I blew out a breath and lay my head down on a cushion, hoping he was right.

Six.

As soon as I accepted the job, things moved fast. I met up with Jo and Neil and they walked me through the daily filming schedule and what would be required of me. I called up an old college friend of mine who also taught piano, and she agreed to cover my lessons. Like me, she was happy for any extra work she could get.

I also began looking into places where I could perform and started to get excited about the prospect. By the end of the week, I had several bookings for Paris, as well as one for Brussels and another for Barcelona. That was the good thing about having videos on YouTube; people could easily check out my music and make a decision. The gigs weren’t as high paying as the ones I’d been trying for here, which was probably why they were easier to get, but it was the experience I was after rather than the cash.

I knew every musician said some variation of the same thing, but I really didn’t play for the money. Obviously, if that were the case then I would’ve quit years ago. In fact, I’m not sure I’d ever want to be super rich or famous. So long as I had enough to live comfortably I was happy. But more than that, I liked connecting with people one at a time. If I was super famous I wouldn’t be able to do that anymore. And I liked being able to walk down the street, completely anonymous. I was such a private person that being well known would drive me insane.