“I’ll be fine, Seth. I’m not one of your vulnerable, fragile actresses,” she said gently.
“Jesus, Gia—”
“Listen to me.” He blinked, startled at her interruption, giving her a fierce look. “I’ll be fine. And so will you.”
She wasn’t sure she believed it, at least on her part. But she was an actress, wasn’t she? What else was there to do but say the words, keep breathing, and put one foot in front of the other. She didn’t completely agree with Seth’s estimation of whether or not Hollywood romances were advisable, but she understood his doubts. She respected his history and his choices.
“I think, under the circumstances, I should sleep in the other room tonight,” she said, staring at the carpet. When he didn’t respond, she started for the door, rolling her suitcase behind her.
“Gia.”
She spun around, unable to disguise the tear that had fallen down her cheek.
“I’ve fallen in love with you.”
She closed her eyes and several more tears fell at his stark admission.
“I know,” she said in a strangled voice. “I’ve fallen in love with you too. That’s what makes this whole situation suck so much. Because unlike in the movies and in make-believe, it’s not enough. That’s one thing in common you and I have. We work in the industry, but we can tell the difference between reality and fantasy. You don’t want me to change for you, and I would hate it,” she clenched her teeth, struggling to find her strength, “so hard if you changed for me. See . . . I think you’re perfect the way you are.”
He looked like the weight of the world had just dropped on him, but he didn’t stop her this time as she walked away.
* * *
Seth had a rough night.
He lost count of the number of times he stood to go and confront Gia in the bed where she slept. Soothe her. Hold her. But it would just turn out like it had the night after they’d gone to Rill and Katie’s. They’d smoke up the sheets. They’d feel this incredible connection.
And then they’d be right back where they’d started.
Maybe it would be better if he insisted they talk in the car on the way to the airport. Sex wouldn’t be a factor then. It would just be Gia and him and the road, with nowhere to hide and no distractions.
Yeah. That’s what he’d do.
At around dawn, he got up and made coffee, setting out a cup, spoon and a packet of Splenda for Gia. He frowned, pain going through him. How she took her coffee was one of the thousands of things he’d learned about her during their time together. He knew there were millions more to learn. And dammit, those little, fascinating things about her, those tiny threads of the tapestry of her character, they were his to discover. To cherish.
He grabbed his coffee along with a bottle of water. If only they could stay in the woods forever, things would be so much simpler.
He thou
ght he heard Gia rustling around in the bedroom down the hall. Again, his feet seemed to have a mind of their own, urging him to walk down that hallway toward her. At the last second, he forced himself to take the stairs to the workout facility instead. They would talk on the trip to St. Louis. He would explain that he wasn’t the same man he had been when he first laid eyes on that beautiful, glowing girl in the Joan of Arc costume.
Or he was . . . but with Gia, he was different somehow too.
He’d been on the treadmill for nearly an hour when a strange prescience went through him. He slowed to a walk, and then stepped off the machine. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Had it been a sound that had alerted him? He glanced at the security panel on the far wall.
It had been deactivated.
He cursed viciously. Grabbing his phone, he raced up the stairs.
“Gia?” he bellowed down the hallway. There was no response. “Gia?” He rushed to the bedroom where she’d spent the night, finding it empty, the bed made. He hurried to the bedroom they’d shared, flinging open the door. There was a bad, hollow feel to the place.
She was gone.
He rapidly grabbed his keys and wallet. He flew out the front door within seconds.
Her red cardigan immediately caught his attention, even though she was quite a distance away. She stood next to a black sedan along with a brown-haired young man who looked unfamiliar. The car was parked on the shoulder of the country road that led to the long driveway of the house.
He started to eat up the distance between them.