He stalked forward, careful to hold back his frustration. Her eyes widened a little, otherwise she remained perfectly still when he braced a hand on either side of her hips.
“Where’s the woman who lived life in the moment?” He leaned closer, searching for any crack in her composure, but the move backfired when her fresh scent played havoc with his senses. His next words came out in a gruff whisper. “The one who not only stood by me through danger, but screamed my name as we made love?”
Color flooded her face. “You want Italy Halli,” she accused.
“What’s wrong with that?”
She shook her head with a husky laugh. “She was a fluke. An accident, like the video and everything else that happened. Once I go back to Wisconsin, I’m just me again. You’d be bored in no time.”
Her mouth snapped shut as if she’d said too much. A spark of hope ignited, but she suddenly shoved against his chest. He reluctantly gave her some space and watched her move to the other side of the room. The urge to haul her into his arms was squelched between clenched fists.
“You could never bore me, Halli.”
She sighed, then surprised him by turning to meet his gaze directly. “Please don’t make more of this than what it was. I mean, it was fun, but none of it was real. You of all people should know that.”
His hope flickered in the cold draft left by her words. “Why don’t you enlighten me as to exactly what it was?”
“Two people in a desperate situation trying to survive.”
It was a hell of a lot more than that to him, but her stripped explanation undermined his natural confidence. The lead ball in his stomach grew heavier. He’d never worried about rejection before today, and the utter vulnerability caught him off-guard.
Self-preservation kicked in. He searched in vain for his character. The go-to guy without emotion. He’d gotten the job done; it was time to cut his losses and move on. Where the hell had that guy gone?
Somehow, he pulled a cocky half-smile out of the air. “Are we talking about sex again?”
If sadness tinged her smile, he figured it was wishful thinking on his part.
“As you pointed out on the boat, things happen in stressful circumstances, things we both know were never meant to be. There’s no blame, no obligation, nothing to worry about.”
Such great lines. She’d just handed him a graceful exit from a sticky situation. He didn’t want out…but clearly, she did. He finally located his character and headed for the door where she stood.
“So…this is it? You go back to producing television shows and I go back to making movies?” His hand rested on the door handle as he waited for her to look up. When she did, the
misery in her eyes made his heart stutter.
Until she said, “I’ll always be grateful for what you did for us.”
Grateful. If that didn’t say it all.
Trent didn’t think. Didn’t give himself a chance to second-guess the wisdom of grasping her arms, hauling her up on her tiptoes, and crushing her mouth with his. Her gasp of surprise was muffled by his lips. He seized the opportunity to deepen the kiss, desperate to memorize her addicting taste; her intoxicating scent; the heaven of her soft skin.
One last kiss, one last imprint, and he’d leave her to the life she’d planned before fate crossed their paths.
Only...she responded. Pressed her lithe body against his, damn her, and opened to the fierce plundering of his tongue. Fire licked through his veins. He might never have let go had the door not opened and slammed into his injured shoulder. Sucking in a pained breath, he set her away from him.
“Whoa—sorry,” Ben said, poking his head around the door.
One look at Halli’s darkened eyes and glistening lips and Trent knew he had to get out of there before he said something to screw up her neat little wrap job on the past week.
Ben started to back from the room with his IV stand, but Trent gritted his teeth and grabbed hold of the door. “We’re done here.”
Halli turned away without protest. Ben hesitated, but Trent simply slid his back along the door and into the hall to make his escape.
“Take care, sweetheart.”
Chapter 27
Halli no longer wondered. She knew the answer to the question she’d pondered two weeks ago on a sunny sidewalk outside the hospital in Menaggio, Italy.