“My gym bag—with my deodorant and a change of clothes—is in my car.”
“Oh, I can get it for you.” He brought her a mug. “Lots of milk and one sugar, right?”
“Yeah. How did you know?”
“I’ve watched you make it enough times in the studio kitchen.”
She sniffed the coffee, filling her nostrils with the rich, caffeinated aroma, then took a sip. “Good job.”
He whipped off the towel, giving her an eyeful before he stepped into forest green briefs and khaki cargo shorts. “Where are your car keys?”
“My purse.” She pointed to the bedside table.
After pulling on a T-shirt and the Mariners cap he’d bought in New York, he plucked the keys from her bag and gave her a wink. “Be right back.”
Once he was gone, Gina flopped backward on the bed. What were they doing? When she didn’t think about the future, everything with him was great. The sex was amazing, Stone was kind and conscientious, and she liked how she felt when she was around him. Helistened.He enjoyed hearing her thoughts and feelings.
Ruben had never listened. He’d only talked—about himself, his plans, his connections. When they did talk about her, it was in relation to his plans and connections.
And the last three… or five… guys she’d dated for longer than a few weeks hadn’t been the greatest listeners, either, but she’d chosen them specifically because they weren’t all that interested in her life. She’d wanted to keep her romantic entanglements as far from her career as possible, which was why she ended up dating guys who she wasn’t especially interested in.
She knew this about herself. Her MO was to casually date one man at a time whenever she got lonely, while still putting her career first. She gravitated toward men who were also devoted to their work. Entrepreneurs, athletes—she’d even dated a lawyer because he spent most of his time at the office or the gym. In other words, guys who made no demands on her time, and who didn’t tempt her to change her goals. And when it was time for them to part ways, she hadn’t cared.
Stone was the first man in a very long time who made her wonder how they could work it out.
Too bad she didn’t have an answer.
Twenty-Three
“I’ll walk you to your car.”
“You really don’t have to.” Gina checked herself in Stone’s bathroom mirror. Her hair was still wet, but at least she didn’t look like she’d spent the night in her dance partner’s hotel room, fucking his brains out. Thank goodness she kept a fully stocked gym bag in her trunk. “I’ll see you soon enough at the studio.”
Stone leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his broad chest. Even though she’d spent the whole night with him, she wanted more. More talking, more cuddling, more kissing. Stretching up on tiptoe, she lifted her face for a kiss. With her eyes closed, she got a good whiff of his forest scent. It clung to her, too.
“Why do we smell like Christmas trees?”
He jerked his chin toward the tub. “My sister makes soap with essential oils. You used it today.”
“You used it on me,” she corrected. “I do not recall having the energy to bathe myself this morning after someone—who is supposed to be resting his knee—did me good against the shower wall.”
His grin flashed, bright against his beard. She loved when he grinned like that—sexy, playful, and a little naughty. “You liked it.”
“Of course I did.” She looped her purse over her shoulder. “I’d let you do it again if we weren’t expected at work.”
He picked up her gym bag before she could reach for it. “Let me be old fashioned and walk my lady to her car.”
His lady.The phrase made her stomach flip in a pleased sort of way. “Okay, fine.”
Gina had parked in a paid spot in the guest lot outside. Stone took her hand as they walked and she smiled up at him. When they turned the corner, there was a shout.
“There they are!”
Gina blinked, stomach sinking. “Oh,no.”
The paparazzi had formed a wall on the other side of the parking lot’s fence. Cameras flashed. Skeevy-looking guys with hungry eyes shouted her name, and Stone’s.
Stone put an arm around her, turning her away from them. Fumbling in her purse, Gina pulled out her sunglasses and slapped them on.
