She had to come to terms with the idea that she’d slept with a man who had no intention of sharing the important parts of himself. Great. If she let herself, she could be half in love with him already. The care and tenderness he’d shown in bed seemed completely juxtaposed to the man behind the wheel now.
She refused to be angry with herself only because she’d had the best sex of her life with this man, and that had to be worth a little aggravation. Only she knew herself too well. If she continued to sleep with him, she’d fall hard. No way would she fall for a guy who couldn’t meet her halfway.
Suddenly the instant change of weather seemed apropos.
* * *
The warning signs were clear. Troy read her body language. She’d just written him off. He couldn’t blame her. He’d never been a big talker. Had never really confided in anyone. He didn’t have a mother or any siblings. He hadn’t talked to his father in almost two decades. He’d been a loner almost his whole life. Though he’d made some friends at the gym, he hadn’t even seen them in weeks because of his new schedule with Ari. Blake was a good kid, but their interaction was mostly business.
Frustration pounded through him. He liked her so damn much. He more than liked her. She was quick-witted, easy to smile and levelheaded. Though she was world famous, she didn’t take herself too seriously and she knew what mattered most. People. Relationships. He’d had two of the most amazing nights of his life with this woman, not to mention the great conversations and all the laughter, and as the seconds ticked by, he watched his chances with her sputter and die. Did he dare open up? Did he really think it would make a difference when it came to building something solid between them?
The Hollywood starlet and the private investigator. He shook his head, didn’t see that picture at all.
But did he want to blow the absolute best thing he’d ever had? Not if someone paid him a hundred million dollars and told him he’d never have to spy on a cheating spouse again.
“We moved because my dad and uncle had a falling out.” Troy hit the blinker, moved to the left lane and passed an old Chevy truck.
The look she gave him was loaded with interest and maybe a touch of concern. “I’m sorry. That must have been hard.”
He nodded. “I was closer to my uncle than to my own father. I didn’t see my uncle that often, but when I did, we had fun. Sometimes I wondered if that was why my dad moved us.”
She turned back into him as if sharing this information was some kind of gift. “What did you do for fun?” With her head cocked to the side and small grin playing on her lips, she looked like some kind of teenager, not a Hollywood icon in the making.
Troy remembered their times at the lake. The hours spent in the boat with their lines in the water. “We used to fish.” He moved back in the right lane in front of the truck.
She nodded and waited, expecting more since he’d opened up that much.
“A lot,” he added.
Her eyebrows lifted. And, more, they said.
The steady drizzle slacked off to sprinkles and Troy shut the wipers off. “He had a cabin on a lake and we used to make s’mores by the fire pit at night. Those were about the only times I had any candy. My father didn’t like sweets. His idea of dessert was smoking a stogie.”
She chuckled. “Hate the stogies, but mmm, I love s’mores. I haven’t had one of those in years.”
“Maybe we’ll do that.” He glanced at her and grinned at the sparkle in her eyes. “You do like your chocolate, don’t you?”
She lifted the last Kiss in her hand. “Ha. Understatement. But, that’s probably what saved my mom in that explosion.” The memory doused her good humor. She looked up at him, her eyes narrowing a fraction. “Is that where we’re going? This place by the lake in Massachusetts?”
She was too smart for her own good. Not that she wouldn’t have figured it out when they arrived, but all he’d mentioned was Boston and having s’mores by the lake, and she’d latched on to where he might be driving them. Like him, she was an observer. A thinker. Probably because she