Why Resist a Rebel - By Leah Ashton Page 0,67
to admit that I hurt, too. For you.’
And for herself, too.
‘I’m not familiar with love, you know?’ Now she looked away, but only for a moment. ‘I don’t know how to recognise it—how to filter it out from my ancient habits—to distinguish it from misguided infatuation or fantastical daydreams. But when I wasn’t with you, when I walked away from you—that didn’t make it easier. What I felt didn’t go away, not even a little bit. What I was feeling for you ruined everything.’
But she was smiling, and he realised he was smiling, too.
‘I don’t want this, you know?’ She nodded out of the door, towards the hordes of people and the observant cameramen who were trying to peer through the black tinted windows. ‘But I didn’t want this even without the movie-star thing. Even if you worked in Props, or wrote scripts, or didn’t even work in film at all.’
‘Me either,’ he said. ‘I thought I was good at going it alone. That I had it all sorted, the best way to live my life.’
‘Me too!’ she agreed, and laughed briefly. ‘And it’s risky changing direction.’
‘What if I decide this way is better? Then what happens if it doesn’t work out?’
Ruby nodded, her eyes widening in surprise. ‘Exactly. It’s scary.’
Dev shrugged. ‘I decided it was worth the risk.’
And it was. Even when she’d said no, it had still been worth it. Even though it had sucked. Really, really sucked.
His life wasn’t going to be about regrets any longer. Except—even then, when he’d laid his heart on the line—he hadn’t been entirely an open book. He’d still withheld one thing.
‘I love you, Ruby Bell.’
Quick as a flash, she replied, ‘I love you too, Devlin Cooper.’
Then for long moments they smiled huge, idiotic grins at each other.
Over her shoulder a camera flash momentarily stole his attention, bringing him abruptly back to reality—to his reality.
‘What about the paparazzi, Ruby? The gossip and the rumours? With me, it’s as good as guaranteed.’
She shocked him when she shrugged. ‘I used to think that I had to prove something to the gossips—prove them right or prove them wrong. But you know what? I don’t care any more. You arrived on set amidst a storm of rumours, and you didn’t change one thing—you didn’t react, you didn’t engage, you didn’t deny. You were just you.’ She paused, then reached out to grip his hand. ‘People can say whatever they like about me, or you, or us—but I know the truth. We do. And I’ve decided that’s all that matters. I’m in control of my life, no one else.’
She was amazing. If he hadn’t fallen long ago, just that would’ve pushed him over the edge.
‘Do you want to walk the red carpet with me, Ruby?’
She nodded, and amongst a sea of camera flashes he opened his door, and stepped out, only to turn and offer her his hand.
She slid across the seats, and swung her gold stiletto heels onto the red carpet. He bent closer to whisper in her ear.
‘This is serious, you know that? For ever stuff. Happy every after, like in the movies.’
‘No,’ she said, so firmly he went still. He caught her gaze as she looked up at him from the car’s leather interior. ‘Not like in the movies,’ she said, ‘and not like in fairy tales.’
Finally she reached out to take his hand, letting him pull her to her feet.
They stood together, side by side, the red carpet before them, fans screaming, cameras as good as shoved in their faces. But all he was aware of was Ruby, of her hand in his, and the look in her eyes as she looked up at him. With love, and with everything she had to give.
He knew he was looking at her in exactly the same way.
‘This is real life,’ she said.
* *
Keep reading for an excerpt from The Taming of a Wild Child by Kimberly Lang.
We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin KISS story.
You think of flirting as an art form! Harlequin KISS stories are all about the delirium of a potential new romance—where fun-loving heroines and irresistible heroes just can’t get enough of each other.
Enjoy four new stories from Harlequin Kiss every month!
Visit Harlequin.com to find your next great read.
We like you—why not like us on Facebook: Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks
Follow us on Twitter: Twitter.com/HarlequinBooks
Read our blog for all the latest news on our authors and books: HarlequinBlog.com
Subscribe to our newsletter for special offers, new releases, and more!
Harlequin.com/newsletters
ONE
The only thing worse than waking up naked in a