Chapter 10

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Lily sat on the boat, watching the beautiful scenery of Georgia's barrier islands as it passed. It was her first trip to the island, but she had heard all about it from Cassie and Mason over the years, and she was excited to see if it was as beautiful as they claimed.

She had been thinking long and hard about her self-revelation a few days previous, and the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. She had been asked to become who she was as a teenager, klutzy, awkward, and shy, and it had been easy for her to reassume her teenage personality in the process. Granted, her character was not supposed to be shy, but Lily always had been and still was although it was easier not to be when she was able to do a better job with her appearance.

The ferry taking them to the island was full of people and equipment, it included herself, Jo, Tom, Cindy, and Finn. The camera and lighting crew would be traveling to and from the set every day as they were needed. Some of the filming was to take place on the small little island, but most of it would be on private property on the mainland.

Lily let her eyes bounce off everyone, including the captain of the ferry whose name was Otto. She had arrived at the dock early, so they had struck up a conversation about the wildlife on the island, and it had made Lily even more excited to visit.

Otto looked over at her and gave her a friendly wink. Lily smiled back before looking away and directly into Finn's eyes. His face was passive, and he did nothing to acknowledge that he had witnessed the wink, causing Lily to wondered if he had.  Jo was pushed up against him talking about something in a low voice, but Finn wasn't commenting one way or the other, as his eyes watched Lily. It was an intense stare, and it was making her uncomfortable, so she turned to look at Tom, who was talking to Cindy while looking at Jo.

It struck Lily as funny that everyone was talking to one person but thinking or looking at someone else, so to hide her amusement, she stood and walked to the opposite end of the boat in the back of the small wheelhouse. The view was of the back of the boat and scenery they had already passed, but it was still beautiful.

She stood by herself for a few minutes before someone joined her, and when she looked up, it was to find Finn standing next to her, looking out at the water. So much for her moment of peace.

"Do you care to share what you find so amusing?" he asked, looking down at her.

She smiled again thinking about it.

"Oh, just little girl thoughts," she hedged.

"You took that personal, didn't you?" he asked.

"Tell me it wasn't personal, tell me that the entire scene wasn't real only acting, and I'll let it go." She looked up at him, challenging him. She didn't think he was a man to back away from a challenge.

"I can't deny it. I think you're impossibly young and naïve, way out of your comfort zone, and I think you will get stomped on by the likes of me, Jo and Tom, acting is not the career for you." He looked away from her as he said the words.

"Is it because I can't act or because I'm a klutz and make a mess of everything, is that why you don't like me?" she asked. If they were going to have a come to Jesus meeting and lay it all out, she might as well not hold back.

"What makes you think I don't like you?" he asked, still not looking at her.

"We've worked together for two weeks now, and you only tolerate me at best," she pointed out to him.

He smiled, an honest to goodness smile as if he was amused, and it made him look years younger. Lily swore she saw a dimple flash in his whiskered cheek. "To be fair I only tolerate everyone at best, why should you be any different."

Lily smiled in return, realizing that it was true.

"And for the record, I think you could be a phenomenal actress if you ever let go of all of your hang-ups."

"Hang-ups?" she asked. It was an honest question, she knew she had some, but she wondered what Finn thought they were.

"You worry too much about everything. You worry about what you look like, what other's think, if you're doing something wrong, you don't let go and just let it happen, you constantly fight everything by second guessing it." He smiled again. "I happen to think your klutziness is charming."

"But, I hear a but in there," she encouraged.

"But, if you keep doing this in a year or two, you'll be jaded and bored like the rest of us. Some of us do it for money or because we thrive off of it, but I don't think either reason is your reason."

"Then what is?" she turned to look at him with disbelief.

"I don't know, and I'm not sure you even know." He turned to look down at her, and they stared at each other for a moment.

"Why didn't you kiss me, the script called for you to kiss me?" she suddenly asked as her gaze dropped to his lips.

"I didn't feel it was the right moment." This time he was the one evading the question.

"But you wanted to make me kiss you?" she asked.

"I wanted to see if I could make you want me to kiss you," he explained without really explaining anything.

"Why?" His reasoning truly perplexed her.

"You're a lovely young woman, and I wanted to see what desire looked like on you." He looked down at her letting his gaze linger on her lips. "Would your eyes grow larger, would you flush in excitement, would you part your sweet little lips in anticipation?" He touched her bottom lip briefly with his finger.

It was the sexiest thing she had ever heard, and she swallowed hard. "I'm not the least bit lovely, at least not looking like this." She reached up and tugged on a curl.

"Doubting yourself once again, or fishing for more compliments?" he asked, and if she didn't know better, she would swear he was teasing her.

She was about to object when Otto called her name.

"Lily, look over there, that's the church where you will be filming!" he called over the sound of the engine.

Lily and Finn stood in silence as they watched the area he pointed to pass, all she could make out was the top of a building and lots of trees covered in moss.

"It's not much further to the island now!" Otto called.

Lily nodded. "You know, I meant what I said in the scene we filmed. I am a lot tougher than I look."

He pushed away from the edge of the boat. "For your sake, I hope you are," he said softly before turning and leaving.

Lily remained by herself for the rest of the trip, replaying their conversation in her mind. Finn was an intense man, and that was when he was holding back, she couldn't help but wonder what he would be like when he stopped.

It took them another twenty minutes to dock, and Finn jumped off the boat and tied it up as if he had been doing it his entire life. It was another little tidbit to file away.

It took them a while to disembark, but eventually, everything was offloaded, and Otto was on his way with a wave goodbye. It was early evening, and the cicadas were starting to hum in the trees. Mason came strolling down the path towards them with a smile of welcome.

"Hello all, Otto got you here on time for dinner!" he said by way of greeting. Cindy, Jo and Tom, you're with us in the house. Finn and Lily, you're in the foreman's cottage."

There were several objections voiced about the arrangements, but Mason held up his hand to stop any argument. "Part of the reason we're staying here is to bond as a cast, and Lily and Finn need to bond the most. Don't worry Finn; there are separate bedrooms with locks on the door, so your virtue is safe although you do have to share a bathroom."

Mason led them all toward the main house which was massive with a large deep front porch running the length it. Off to one side was a little track, and about fifty yards down it was a small little cottage that looked very welcoming in the evening light. Lily and Finn, you go that way, everyone else, follow me. Dinner is in half an hour in the main house."

Lily silently nodded before she turned and headed towards the cottage. They were only supposed to be on the island for a week, and suddenly that seemed like an eternity.

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