In the Heat of the Spotlight

Luke paused in the doorway, his gaze on her face. ‘What is it?’

She glanced up at him, bemused that he would sense her mood so quickly and easily. She wasn’t even sure what she was feeling. ‘Nothing. Everything’s very nice.’

‘That’s a scathing indictment if I ever heard one.’ His gaze moved slowly over her, assessing, understanding. His forehead creased and he nodded. ‘I guess you’ve taken a few of these in your time.’

She shrugged. ‘One or two.’

‘Does it bring back memories?’

Did it? ‘No, just a feeling.’

‘Not a very nice one.’

She opened her mouth to deny it, then said nothing. This honesty thing was tough. ‘Maybe,’ she finally allowed, and Luke smiled faintly, as if he knew how difficult she found this kind of talking. Sharing. All of it awkward, awful, painful.

‘How have you flown under the radar for so long?’

‘By holing up in Vermont.’

‘And no one there gives you away?’

‘They’re a close-mouthed bunch. And they’re loyal to my grandmother.’ Too late she realised she’d said more than she meant to. Funny how that happened. You started being a little honest and then other things began to slip out. Soon she wouldn’t be able to control it.

‘Your grandmother? Was Julia Schmidt your grandmother, then?’

‘No.’ She moved over to sit on the sofa, rubbing her arms in the chilled air of the plane’s interior. ‘Are we going to get going?’

Luke sat across from her. ‘As soon as we’re cleared for take-off.’ He didn’t speak for a moment, just studied her, and Aurelie looked away from his gaze. She heard the plane’s engines thrum to life with a feeling of relief. ‘Champagne?’ he asked, and she nodded, glad he wasn’t going to ask any more questions.

It wasn’t until he’d handed her a glass and raised his own in a toast that he finally spoke again. ‘You know, this second chance thing?’ She eyed him warily. ‘It doesn’t work if you’re going to guard everything you say.’

‘I wasn’t,’ she protested, and Luke just arched an eyebrow. She took a sip of champagne, glad for the distraction. ‘I told you I’m not good at this.’ He said nothing and, goaded, she said a bit sharply, ‘It’s not like you’ve been baring your soul.’

‘Haven’t I?’ he asked quietly. He looked away then, and Aurelie felt a strange twisting inside as she thought of his words last night. Words which made a shivery thrill run all the way through her. I know enough to know I want to know more.

Did she want to be known?

She took a sip of champagne, the bubbles seeming to fizz all the way through her. Maybe she did. At least for one day. One date. That was safe enough, surely.

‘All right.’ She set her champagne glass on the coffee table between them. ‘What do you want to know?’

Luke turned back to her, bemused. ‘You look like you’re facing the firing squad.’

‘It feels that way, a little bit.’

‘I suppose you’ve always had to be careful about what you say.’

‘I haven’t always been careful enough.’ He acknowledged the point with a nod. There had been several tell-all exposés in various tabloids, all with too much truth in them. Aurelie felt herself start to prickle. ‘So what do you want to know?’

‘What do you want to tell me?’

She gave a soft laugh. ‘Not much.’

‘There must be something. Some small, innocuous bit of information that you don’t mind imparting.’

She smiled, felt the tension inside her ease, at least a little bit. ‘Well...I like bubblegum ice cream.’

‘Bubblegum?’ His jaw dropped theatrically. ‘You have got to be kidding me.’

‘It’s delicious.’

‘It’s way too sweet—’

She leaned forward. ‘And pink and sugary and with little bits of gum in the ice cream. Yum.’

‘Whoa.’ He held up a hand. ‘TMI.’

A bubble of laughter erupted from her, surprising them both. He smiled, a real smile, lightening his stern features in a way that made her feel suddenly breathless. His dark eyes glinted gold. She shook her head slowly. ‘I didn’t think you had a sense of humour, you know.’