She made a sound of frustration and even that had his body reacting. “Whether you or I enjoyed the kiss is irrelevant. I can’t kiss you again.” Before he could do anything more than raise his eyebrows at her emphatic statement that they both knew didn’t do a darn thing to erase the heat between them, she said, “And you know why. We’ve already talked about this.”
“We did,” he agreed, “but why don’t you tell me again why you won’t go on a date with me.”
“You’re an actor.”
Smith had been telling stories for long enough to know a thing or two about pacing. The time had been right earlier to take a kiss they’d both needed, and then, on the heels of all that heat, to push her for the invite to Alcatraz. He figured he had just a little more wiggle room left.
“After that kiss, I think you’ll agree that I deserve another reason, one that doesn’t lump me in with a bunch of self-obsessed scum.”
“You’re one of the biggest movie stars in the world, and people are dying to know anything they can about you, including whom you choose to date.” She shook her head. “I can’t imagine anything worse than being in the spotlight. And if I were to go out on date with you, that’s exactly where I’d end up. “
Of all the problems Smith had with finding the right woman these past few years, this hadn’t been one of them. The women in his world always loved the spotlight, so much that he’d wondered if he’d ever find one who wanted him for any other reason.
But he didn’t doubt for one second that Valentina was telling him the truth. Especially not when she’d said “I can’t imagine anything worse than being in the spotlight” with such vehemence.
“Look,” she said in a much gentler tone, “we have to work together for the next few weeks. If we’re going to go see Alcatraz together tomorrow, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be under the false assumption that this,” she gestured between the two of them, “is ever going to happen again.”
At thirty-six, Smith had fame, he’d made a fortune, he’d traveled and partied and thrown himself into his work for two decades. Now he was ready for what came next: to be with a woman he not only desired, but with whom he could share his life, his dreams. A woman with whom he could grow old. He was also ready for kids to play with on the beach, to throw balls with in the park, to let loose with their cousins at a family party.
So even though he’d heard Valentina’s reasons loud and clear, and even though he couldn’t deny that his life came chock full of spotlights, Smith refused to give up. Not when something told him that she might very well be the one...and that if he didn’t fight like hell for her, he’d never stop cursing himself for a fool.
“How about this? I won’t kiss you again until you ask me to.”
She barely hesitated before saying, “I’m not going to ask you to kiss me again.”
“Yes,” he said softly, “you will.”
She blinked at him. Once. Twice. Three times before saying, “I still don’t understand why you’re trying so hard when I’ve given you every reason to let me go.”
He wouldn’t kiss her until she asked, but he’d said nothing about putting limits on touching her. He moved closer again, close enough to reach for the tip of her ponytail and run his fingers through her long, soft hair.
“Ask me to kiss you again, and I’ll remind you of one of the reasons.”
The look she gave him said, Nice try, even as she said, “You must have shared plenty of hot kisses with other women.”
“Not that hot. Not even close.” He paused just long enough to let his fingers slide from her hair down to the exposed skin above the collar of her fitted wool jacket. She shivered beneath this barest of touches. “And neither have you.”
Chapter Nine
Valentina had never been so thankful for Smith’s busy schedule or her sister’s popularity. It meant that they’d been interrupted in his office before one kiss could turn into any others, and that she could go straight back to her own office and bury herself in her workload...with Smith only edging into her mind every other second, rather than every single one.
Because even as their kiss dove into increasingly deep and dangerous waters, she could feel his patience, and how tightly he’d been holding on to his control.
With a heady shiver of anticipation she knew she shouldn’t be feeling, Valentina could no longer deny the absolute certainty that Smith’s patience was going to run out soon.
And that hers would, too.
Even though she’d tried again and again to keep her distance, she hadn’t been able to keep from getting closer instead.
With every word he spoke, she could feel her defenses crumble just a little bit more. Had he chosen that final moment before the knock came at his office door to reach for her, she would have gone to him, with him, without a protest, without a care in the world for all her reasons for staying away from him.
Just as Valentina was trying to complete the impossible task of dragging her focus away from Smith’s kiss and back to her email, Tatiana popped her head in.
“Got a second?”
Valentina immediately got up from behind her computer. “Always.” She put her arms around her sister and gave her a hug hello. “What’s up?”
Her sister’s gaze sharpened on her. “I actually wanted to check on you.”
“Me?”
“Is everything okay?”
Dozens of responses flew to the tip of Valentina’s tongue: Smith kissed me. Or I kissed him. I honestly don’t know what happened. Only that it was good. So good that I can’t seem to find my center again.
But even though she badly wanted to talk to her best friend in the world about her twisted thoughts and feelings, she didn’t dare. Not when Tatiana was working so closely with Smith. Her job as lead actress on the major feature film was hard enough on her. The last thing she needed to be worrying about was whether or not her sister was getting along with her all-powerful co-star.
“George asked me the same thing,” Valentina said with a smile. “I think I’m officially too old to get away with missing a few hours of sleep.”
Tatiana rolled her eyes. “You’re not old, you just work too hard. And because that’s entirely my fault, I’m treating both of us to a spa day on Saturday.”