my car if you’re more comfortable with that. Be forewarned—it’s a loud, slow, and truly ancient VW bug, so it won’t be very luxurious. I’m fine with whichever you prefer.”
“Would your bug make it that far without breaking down?”
“Probably not, but I’m good at fixing it. I always keep a huge tool kit and some spare parts in the backseat.”
He grinned at me and said, “I think we should probably carpool with Phoenix.” I nodded in agreement, and he kissed my cheek before climbing out of bed and heading to the bathroom.
When he came back a few minutes later, he smelled minty and his hair was combed. I took a turn in the bathroom and used my toothbrush, since I’d had the foresight to move my stuff to his room the night before.
He’d already started packing by the time I returned to the bedroom. “I really want to work on the costumes to go with your fantasy makeup when we’re in San Francisco,” he said, “but is it crazy to bring along my sewing machine? It’s portable, but the carrying case is pretty big and I don’t want to take up every bit of space in your friend’s SUV.”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll hold it on my lap if there’s no room in the back.”
“For six hours?”
“Sure.”
“That’s very sweet, but I’d never ask you to do that.”
“You’re not asking,” I said, “I’m volunteering. It might not come to that anyway, but definitely bring it.”
“Okay. I know you’ll be at work a lot of the time, so it’ll be nice to have a way to keep busy.” He glanced at me and asked, “Do you think it’d be alright if I visited you on the movie set? I’d love to watch you work, even if it’s just for an hour or two.”
“I’d love that.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to get in the way or anything.”
“You absolutely won’t be in the way,” I assured him, “and I’m flattered that you want to see what I do.”
“I’m so proud of you, Riley. Look how far you’ve come in just four years! It’s amazing that you’re a Hollywood makeup artist.”
“Like I said before though, I was just hired as an assistant. The only reason I’m doing Will’s makeup is because he and I met through Phoenix and hit it off, so he asked to work with me exclusively. There’s a whole hierarchy in the makeup department, and I was at the very bottom of it. But stars are allowed to bring in their own makeup artists or make special requests, and that’s literally the only reason I’m doing more than fetching coffee and catering to the whims of the lead makeup artist.”
“You’re selling yourself short. If you weren’t good at what you do, Will wouldn’t have asked you to do his screen makeup, and the lead artist wouldn’t have signed off on it.”
I grinned and said, “I’m great at what I do, no false modesty there. I just don’t want to mislead you into thinking I’m super successful or anything. After this movie wraps, I’m going to go right back to the bottom of the hierarchy, assuming I can even find another job in the field.”
“The experience you’re gaining on this movie will help, won’t it?”
“Oh, for sure. This’ll look great on my resume. But the fact is, there are only so many jobs to go around, and a hell of a lot of makeup artists are constantly trying to break into the movie business.”
As he folded some pajamas and placed them in a suitcase that was open on the bed, he asked, “How’d you get your first movie job?”
“When I was in cosmetology school, a guest speaker came to talk to us about careers in the film industry. I struck up a conversation with him after class, and we ended up going out for coffee. He’s a friend of mine now and got me my first job, which led to the next two. It’s definitely a field where it pays to know people.”
Gabriel studied me as he folded a pair of black pants. “I used to think you were an introvert, same as me, but I was wrong about that. You’re actually very outgoing.”
“Oh no, you were right the first time. I can be social, but afterwards I totally need to go hide in my makeup cave and recharge.”
He grinned and asked, “Makeup cave?”
“I once heard a scriptwriter refer to her home office as her writing cave, so for lack of a