She smiled and nodded. She wanted him to kiss her. Didn’t matter that glass or cops surrounded them, or that a serious threat still lingered. The police were in no rush to get people out of the house. Their mission was to do it safely no matter how much time it took. He was stuck here with her looking up at him like he owned the world.
“Do you think the shooter left yet?” she asked.
He shrugged and shouldn’t have, because even that small movement rubbed him against her thigh and sent a missile of lust crashing in his gut. A little gasp sounded in her throat as her wide eyes looked up at him. Yeah, she knew exactly what she did to him.
“Good thing this balcony is made of adobe and not glass,” she said softly, working hard to keep the conversation going. She laughed. “Unless he has a grenade launcher. That would be bad.”
Troy nodded his agreement. “Very bad. But I think we can rule that out.”
“God, I was kidding. You make it sound like—”
“Hey, folks. You two okay?” an officer asked from inside. Dressed in all black and covered in body armor, he looked like he’d entered a war zone. Maybe he had.
Julie barely glanced at him. “Just dandy.”
Troy couldn’t help but smile at the deadpan delivery.
“Good deal. Then it’s time to get you outta there.” He tossed protective gear and a large bulletproof shield that landed next to them.
“Use that to cover yourself and move backward into the house. We’ll get you out safely from there.” He tossed out a blanket to cover the glass that littered the whole balcony. “Let her go first.”
Troy lifted an insulted eyebrow and looked down at Julie. “Did he think I’d go first?”
She let loose a long-suffering sigh. “He clearly doesn’t know you the way I do.” Her smile lit him up. Damn.
* * *
Two days later, the shooting was still the major talk of the nation because nothing newsworthy had happened since. Julie flipped off the television, tired of watching the footage. She inspected the scabs on her hands and knees from crawling though broken glass. The paramedics on the scene had fixed her up, and she’d thankfully avoided another hospital visit. Her cuts and scrapes would heal and be long forgotten before she’d get Troy Mills out of her mind. The man was gorgeous and funny and he’d saved her life twice. If he hadn’t tackled her onto the balcony floor, she’d probably be buried by now. A big believer in signs, she took his presence as a door the universe wanted her to knock on.
This time they’d exchanged numbers. So why hadn’t he called? Because of her personality, her looks or her life? All of the above or none of the above?
She paced the house nervously and kept an eye on the clock. The sun had sunk over the mountaintop a while ago. Ari had asked to come over again because he’d wanted to avoid the prying eyes of people at a restaurant. The night she’d been discharged from the hospital, he’d canceled at the last minute, leaving Cal feeling dejected after losing her chance to talk to him about the movie. Julie had sent him an email about Cal auditioning for the role, and Ari had actually met with her. Had he made a decision? Was that why he wanted to see her in person?
Until this morning, her place had been ground zero for news vans and paparazzi. Maybe it was time to find a more secure home. She had no gate, no walls or fence to keep people out. She was in the same home she’d bought after the second season of The Only Way. She’d fallen in love with her ranch house in Fryman Canyon. The downside came with the house’s location. She had practically no front yard, and anyone could walk up and ring her bell.
Her show had been doing well enough, but it hadn’t become a major television hit until its third season. By then, she’d had the house and had made it her dream home. She couldn’t imagine building a wall or a fence and no one had seemed to care that she lived here. But she’d be an idiot not to consider more security or protection after the recent events.
It was one thing to be shot by a sniper when other people had been hit too, but it was another to be the victim of two shootings. Someone was out to