Then he kissed her. Soft and gentle, and full of the love he had yet to share. Her hands rose to his chest. Flattened for a moment, then fisted in his T-shirt. He drew back and waited for her lashes to lift. The longing in her blue eyes sent his heart soaring, but other emotions cast shadows that couldn’t be ignored.
“What are you afraid of?” he asked.
She didn’t look away this time, though he noted her throat muscles convulsed in a hard, audible swallow. “I’ll never be like Jennae, or any of the other women you date.”
“Dated. Past tense. And if you were, I wouldn’t be here.”
Another flicker of hope in her eyes. Before it could flourish, her stubborn little chin tilted and she stated, “I saw the press conference, Trent.”
He frowned. Which one? Ten seconds into his desperate attempt to recall which event and what he’d said, she filled him in.
“On the steps in front of the hospital,” she said softly. Hurt colored her voice as she added, “After everything we’d been through, you said you barely knew me and then joked about where to get a new boat.”
Ah. Things were becoming so much clearer. “Obviously, you’ve never dealt with the press before. If I’d have admitted we had a relationship you wouldn’t have had a moment’s peace,” he countered.
“You told your friend quite emphatically at the hospital nothing was going on between us.”
“I told my publicity manager there was nothing going on that he needed know about. I hadn’t talked to you yet, I wasn’t going to stand there and tell him how I felt.”
“Why not? You’d already made it clear how you felt back on the boat.”
Her expression mirrored the one she’d worn when he’d inferred their night together meant nothing to him.
“I wanted those words back the instant I said them, Halli.”
She didn’t appear convinced. He shoved away from the car, hands fisted at his sides as frustration sank teeth into his determination. She’d pushed him away in Italy, yet now he found himself defending why he’d left.
“The look in your eyes that day…I knew I held your world square on my shoulders and it scared the hell out of me. Living up to expectations has never been my strong suit, and I couldn’t stand the thought of letting you down.”
“No matter how things turned out, Trent, I wouldn’t have blamed you. You’d more than proved yourself.”
“Not to myself.”
Her hand on his arm urged him to face her again. “And now?” she asked softly.
“I’m working on it.”
Their eyes met for a long moment. The air thickened with expectation. Halli knew what she wanted to say, but was still scared to believe in the fairytale staring her in the face. Trent was the one who broke the silence.
“You said what we’d shared wasn’t real.”
“Can it be after only four days?” she wondered. “You kissed me and then walked away with nothing more than a take care, sweetheart.”
“Distancing technique. Remember?” A wry laugh accompanied the swipe of one hand through his hair. “God, you nailed me with that one. Never realized I did that until you threw it in my face.”
His parting words took on a whole new meaning. Her heart leapt with joy. Geez! She’d recognized it on the boat, how’d she miss it in the hospital? And all the times she’d gone over the conversation in her head?
Trent took her hands in his. “Since the moment we met, Halli, you were different than anyone I’d ever known.”
“Yeah…I annoyed the hell out of you.”
“And you didn’t like me,” he added.
“Only when I thought you’d kidnapped me.”
“Still, that was new for me. To add insult to injury, I found myself more and more attracted to you, yet at every turn you gave me the cold shoulder. Women don’t usually resist my natural charm, and my confidence didn’t handle it very well.”
“I suggest your confidence stop confusing ego for charm.”