“Like what?”
His eyes glittered in the dim light. “Like you wouldn’t be invited to the party.”
“Oh, I wasn’t?—”
His lips settled on hers—hot, hard, thorough—and all reasonable thought deserted her. The more she kissed him, the more she wanted to go on kissing him. The feel of his lips on hers. The tender way he cupped her face with his hands. His long, lean body and the hardness of his chest pressed against hers. She felt safe, cherished, protected. She felt like she belonged in his arms. Like she came alive when he was kissing her. Like life was more exciting, more pleasurable, more real.
But this was an illusion, wasn’t it? Hank was a television star. Somehow, he was tearing down the walls she’d built to protect herself from men like him. Men who took and never gave. Men who wanted her heart but wouldn’t give her theirs in return. Men who would throw expensive parties with their fancy friends and then return to their high-class world and leave her behind.
She pushed at his chest until he broke the kiss,breathing hard. Spending time with Hank was dangerous. She should end things now, before she did something she would later regret. She rubbed her hand across her lips, which stung from the scrape of his whiskers. “We should stop.”
His eyes still glittered, but he complied, glancing at his Rolex watch. “C’mon, I still have to show you the backyard. I’ll try and keep my hands to myself.” He grabbed a flashlight from a table in the corner.
She hesitated, biting her lip.
“Please, Beth. I’d really like you to see it.”
What was the big deal about seeing the backyard, if this was their official last date and he kept his distance? She nodded. “Okay, Apollo. Lead the way.”
Hank made a face at her use of his television name but placed his hand on the small of her back and guided her forward. The warm heat of his palm sent a tingle to the top of her head and the tips of her toes. A dream formed in her mind. A dream that the pressure of his hand on her back represented far more than a casual relationship. A dream that she was his and he was hers. A dream that there would be a reward at the end of the rainbow for them—a fairytale ending straight out of one of his television episodes.
The screen door clicked behind them, putting an end to her ridiculous thoughts. They stepped into a large, square backyard. A tree towered over one part of the yard, and Hank flicked on the flashlight and led her toward it.
“This tree must be at least a hundred years old. I climbed it once or twice when I was a kid.”
She placed her free hand on the scratchy bark and looked up into its tall branches, which glowed white where Hank aimed the flashlight beam. “That’s an awfully high tree for one small boy. How did you get into it?”
He stood behind her. She could feel his breath on her shoulder, and she fought the urge to lean against him.
“I was a monkey. I shimmied up the trunk until I could grab a branch.”
“What did you do once you were up there? What could you see?”
“The stars. I used to watch until I saw a falling one and wish on it.”
“And what did you wish for?” She held her breath, half wanting to know what the little boy Hank longed for and half wanting no answer, so she wouldn’t find herself more charmed by him than she was already.
“Truth?” His voice was low and deep, the hushed tone seeming to convey the deepest confidence in the dim light.
She turned to look at him. “Yes, please.”
“I wished for a home. I wished that my mom and dad got along and would stay in one place. I wished that I could stay in Cleveland forever and not be dragged across the country, moving from city to city as my dad looked for work.”
“Oh, Hank.”
“None of those wishes ever came true.”
“I’m sorry.” And she found that she was. Sorry for the little boy who’d longed for a stable home.
“It’s okay. I’ve given up making wishes on falling stars. Childish really—putting the burden of my deepest desires on something entirely outside my control.”
She grabbed his hand and squeezed. “It’s not childish. It’s wonderful. We have to keep wishing and dreaming. That’s the whole point of living. Not everything is within our power to control.”
He brought their joined hands into the air. A shiver danced down her spine at the contact. “This is one of themany reasons I like you. You find something good in everything.”
She tilted her face up to him. The heat of his body surrounded her. He leaned against the tree trunk and pulled her in front of him, his muscular arms wrapping around her middle. She should move. She shouldn’t let her curves relax into his warm heat. But the temptation to enjoy the feel of his arms around her proved too much to resist. She snuggled into his chest and stayed put.
His breath stirred her hair. “Did you ever wish on a falling star?”
