He caught my hand and rubbed his thumb over my ring. “Crossfire.”
My heart hurt in the best way. “Love you, too, ace.”
BRETT disengaged from his fans and headed over to the tent, looking grim.
“Having fun yet?” I asked him, hoping to keep him feeling positive.
“He wants you back,” he said bluntly.
I didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”
“If you’re going to give him a second chance, I should get one, too.”
“Brett—”
“I know it’s tough with me being on the road—”
“And based in San Diego,” I pointed out.
“—but I can make it out here often enough and you can always meet up with me, see some new places. Plus, the tour ends in November. I can come stay out here for the holidays.” He looked at me with those green eyes of his, and the attraction hummed between us. “Your dad’s still in SoCal, so you’ve got more than one reason to come out.”
“You’d be reason enough. But, Brett … I don’t know what to say. I’m in love with him.”
He crossed his arms and looked exactly like the wickedly delicious bad boy he was. “I don’t care. It’s not going to work out for you with him, and I’ll be around, Eva.”
Staring at him, I realized nothing would convince him but time.
Brett stepped closer, then reached out to run his hand down my arm. He stood over me, his body curved into mine. I remembered other times we’d stood like this, the moments right before he pressed me back against something and f**ked me hard.
“It’s only going to take once,” he murmured in my ear, his voice sinful as always. “One time inside you and you’ll remember how it is between us.”
I swallowed past a dry throat. “That’s not going to happen, Brett.”
His mouth curved in a slow smile, revealing that decadent dimple. “We’ll see about that.”
“I can’t believe they’re so much hotter in person,” Ireland said, looking over at where the guys were doing their prelaunch interview with the TV show host. “You, too, Cary.”
He smiled, his teeth dazzlingly white. “Well, thank you, darlin’.”
“So …” She looked at me with those blue eyes that were so like Gideon’s. “You used to date Brett Kline?”
“Not really. Honestly, we just used to mess around.”
“Did you love him?”
I thought about that for a minute. “I think I was close, maybe. I could have fallen in love with him under different circumstances. He’s a great guy.”
Her lips pursed.
“What about you?” I asked. “Are you seeing anyone?”
“Yes.” Her lips twisted ruefully. “I really like him—a lot—but it’s weird, because he can’t let his parents know he’s dating me.”
“Why not?”
“His grandparents lost most of their money to that scheme Gideon’s dad ran.”
My gaze went to Cary, whose brows were lifted above the line of his shades.