his shoulder and winced. Damn it. The fall had hurt him more than he cared to admit. He watched the new doctor come out of her trailer and whistled under his breath. She was a stunner. Even with her long blonde hair captured in a plait and wearing a simple white T-shirt and low-slung cotton trousers, anyone could see that she had a body that could drive a man crazy. Add the aristocratic nose and the cool, almost icy blue eyes and Kendrick knew she would be a challenge. But what the hell? That was what made her interesting. Years of dating women from all walks of life had honed his instincts and already he suspected that Dr Elizabeth Morgan might be his toughest challenge yet.
Elizabeth put a few pieces of fruit and cheese on her plate and looked around the mess tent for a place to sit.
She’d hesitated about going for lunch. She hadn’t had much of an appetite over the last couple of years and the last three months had put paid to the little appetite she did have, but she knew she had to eat. She couldn’t risk getting ill. She had no doubt, and neither could she blame them, that the film company would replace her in a heartbeat if they felt she wasn’t up to the job.
However, she almost changed her mind when she arrived at the dining tent. It was crowded and she couldn’t see an empty seat. As she was about to retreat back to her trailer Kendrick appeared by her side, his plate piled high with grilled chicken and rice. Unlike her, it seemed as if he had a pretty good appetite.
Catching her look, he grinned. ‘Protein. Good for repairing muscle, isn’t it?’
Elizabeth shrugged. ‘Doesn’t look as if you have much problem in that regard.’
When his grin widened, she realised that she had spoken without thinking. ‘I mean … you assured me there was no damage after your fall,’ she added hastily, annoyed to find she was flushing
‘Tell you what,’ he drawled, ‘why don’t we find a place to eat outside in the shade? It will be more comfortable, apart from anything else. The fans they use to try and keep the air circulating in here aren’t much good.’
She didn’t want to have anything more to do with Kendrick than she had to, but as she opened her mouth to refuse she saw that he had already turned away to go back outside. There was nothing she could do without seeming rude except follow.
He was right, there was more air outside. Moreover, a little breeze had come in from somewhere, cooling her overheated skin. Kendrick pulled out a folding chair for her, before easing his long, powerfully built frame into one beside her.
‘So, tell me, Lizzie, what brings you here?’ he asked, forking a piece of meat. ‘All the way from England? I would guess London if I had to narrow it down.’
She noticed he was no longer speaking like a cowboy from a movie. In fact, despite the American accent, she could have sworn he had spent some time in the UK.
‘You’re correct,’ she said. ‘London. But I spent some time in America before …’ She bit her lip. She didn’t want to go there. She didn’t want to talk about her life back then. She definitely didn’t want to think about Simon and she couldn’t bear to think about Charlie. ‘Before going back to the UK,’ she finished lamely.
Kendrick studied her thoughtfully for a moment.
‘What about you?’ she asked, before he could ask her anything else. ‘If I’m not mistaken, you’ve spent time in the UK too.’
‘And you’d be right. I went to boarding school in England. My parents travelled a lot and my mother is English. But we were talking about you.’ Kendrick neatly turned the conversation back.
‘Nothing much to tell.’ At least, nothing much she wanted to tell. ‘I went to medical school—St Bart’s?’ She raised her eyebrows in question. When he nodded, indicating he knew it, she continued. ‘I trained in emergency medicine and then worked with the London Air Ambulance service for a year. That’s about it.’
‘Married? Kids?’ His eyes dropped to the bare finger of her left hand. Elizabeth sucked in a breath.
‘I was married but it didn’t work out,’ she said evenly. This was exactly the kind of conversation she wanted to avoid.
‘I’m sorry.’
‘Don’t be. It happens.’ She placed her plate to the side. ‘Isn’t it time for filming to start again?’
‘It’ll probably be closer to two-thirty before it gets under way. Our leading lady isn’t known for her timekeeping.’
When he smiled at her, his eyes creased, revealing faint laughter lines. She wondered if everything amused Kendrick.
‘In that case, I guess I’ll go along to the medical trailer. There might be someone who wants to see the doctor before filming starts.’
‘Do you know where it is? I could show you if you like.’
‘Philip took me there earlier. Anyway, don’t you have to be on set, getting blown up or something like that?’ she said, more sharply than she intended. The trouble was, and she didn’t know why, this man was getting under her skin, despite the fact she had just met him.
Kendrick looked baffled. He stood up, slapping the dust from his trousers.
‘Sorry, Lizzie. I hope I didn’t say anything to offend you.’
Elizabeth felt herself go cold with embarrassment. He was right. Despite his blatant interest and the way he looked at her, he’d been friendly and welcoming. He wasn’t to know that she was barely holding it together. That since Simon had left her, she’d erected a shield around herself. And then as Charlie had become sicker and sicker … A wall of pain slammed into her and she swallowed hard.
None of that excused her appalling manners. Kendrick wasn’t to blame for any of it.
‘I’m sorry, that was rude of me. I’m just a little …’ she struggled to find the right word ‘… out of sorts, that’s all.’
The ready grin flashed, but before he could say anything, a loud screeching noise made them both whirl round.
‘What in the name of …?’ Kendrick said.
Philip was using some sort of megaphone in an apparent attempt to summon the cast.
‘He needs to get that thing tuned.’
As they shared a smile, Elizabeth’s heart missed a beat. He had the devil in his bright blue eyes, she thought irrationally.
‘Have to go, I’m afraid,’ Kendrick said, sketching a salute. ‘We’re going to need you too. Philip has been putting off this scene until you got here.’
‘What kind of scene?’
‘I have to drive a car off a cliff.’ The matter-of-fact way he said it made it sound as if this was what most people did as a part of their daily routine.
‘Oh, really?’ she said with a lift of her eyebrow. He had to be winding her up again, but this time she wasn’t going to fall for it.
‘Don’t worry. I jump out of the car once it goes over the cliff. I’m not actually in it when it hits the ground. Or at least I hope I won’t be.’ He muttered the last few words.
‘Let me get this right,’ Elizabeth said. ‘You are in a car that goes over a cliff, but you jump out in mid-air? And how do you get back on the ground? Fly?’
‘It’s not as difficult as it sounds. They’ve removed the rear window. Once the car goes over, I climb out and sort of sky-dive to the ground. I’ll have a parachute.’
She still didn’t know whether to believe him. It sounded too fantastic.
But as the trucks, loaded up with cameras, cast and crew, including Elizabeth, rolled out into the desert coming to a stop at the top of a cliff, she realised that Kendrick hadn’t been teasing her.
Philip was hustling everyone to get into position. ‘We don’t have much time, folks,’