Without missing a beat, Gina crossed the threshold and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. He returned it with one arm, since the other still held the door.
“What are you doing here?” Paparazzi swarmed around this hotel, which was why they always met at her apartment.
“I had to see you,” she said into his shirt. Tipping her head back, she gave him a tremulous smile. “When I heard you hit the floor…”
He brushed loose strands of hair back from her face, relishing the freedom of such a simple move. It was so hard holding back around the cameras. “Don’t worry. It would take a lot more than that to put me out of commission. I was more worried about you.”
He limped backward a few steps so she could shut the door. When they were alone, finally, blessedly alone, he leaned against the wall and pulled her in for a long, searching kiss.
The now familiar scent of coconut and hibiscus enveloped him in its sweetness.
Breaking the kiss, he dipped his head and snuffled the sensitive area behind her ear. “Mm, you smell good enough to eat.”
She giggled. “You’re tickling me.”
“I’ll tickle you somewhere else, if you want.”
Her laugh turned husky. She pressed closer. “God, Stone, I was so fucking scared for you. I thought you’d hit your head.”
Slinging an arm around her shoulder, he shuffled back to the bed—and only leaned a little bit of his weight on her. She helped him climb onto the mattress and settled the ice over his knee again.
“I’ll be fine by tomorrow.” He patted the bed next to him, and she toed off her sandals and snuggled in against his side. “We’ll dance next week and get great scores, and we’ll make it to the finals. You’ll keep your job.”
A little voice in his head chimed in with a snide,And then what?
He pushed it away. Even if they didn’t make the finals and Gina got cut from the show, she would still follow her dreams. She wouldn’t let it stop her.
More importantly, she wouldn’t leave the industry, no matter what setbacks she suffered. She was too talented and too hardworking to give up on herself.
It was one of the things he loved about her.
Yep. There it was. Damn it. He loved her.
He filed that away for the time being. It would only complicate things.
She hugged him and pressed her face to his chest. “It’s not just about my job.”
His stupid heart thumped faster. “No?”
“No.” She slumped against him. “I was scared foryou.I care about you, you know.”
He swallowed. She never would have broken her rule for him if she hadn’t cared. “I know.”
She idly flicked her finger along the edge of his beard. “How did we get here?”
“Here?”
“Not here in the hotel room. You know what I mean.”
“It feels inevitable.”
“Don’t give me that nonsense. You can’t tell me you didn’t think I was some high-maintenance LA chick when we first met.”
He chewed on the corner of his mouth. “Well…”
She laughed. “I know how I looked. My producers hadn’t given me any indication of where we were going, except that I should dress warmly.”
Now he was curious. “Where did you think you were going?”
