“What’s wrong?” That vulnerable look was back in her eyes.
He hated that he’d put it there. He didn’t want to see her guard go back up. He wanted to kiss her eyelids and work his way back down to that delicious mouth.
But that wasn’t logic talking. Even if she actually wanted him for more than a stolen kiss, what kind of future could they have?
He was still framing her face, and his fingers twitched reflexively. “I probably shouldn’t have done that.”
“Why not?” she asked.
Unable to stop himself, he brushed a thumb across her cheek. So soft. “Sometimes I forget who you are, Mia.”
She turned her face into his palm, nuzzling the tender flesh.
Have mercy.
“What do you mean?”
Despite how she was responding to him, he was a fool to think she’d ever choose him. She was so far out of his league it was laughable.
He shook his head. “You’re Mia Emerson. What could you want with an average guy like me?”
Her brows charged together. She grabbed the hands that were on her face and held them with both of hers. “Levi... you’re not an average anything. You don’t see yourself the way I do.”
He gave her a droll look. “I went online and looked you up, Mia. Okay? I admit it. I knew you were engaged to Wesley Hughes, but I didn’t know you’d dated so many other celebrities. I’m just a regular guy here. How can I measure up to that?”
“They’re just regular guys too, Levi. Don’t be blinded by all the hype. I go out with other celebrities because it makes sense to date men in the industry, that’s all. They understand the craziness that goes with my life.” Her chin came up. “And sometimes a girl just needs a date for the Oscars, you know.”
He gave a dry chuckle at the absurdity of that sentence. They were from different worlds. He supposed that was her way of saying the relationships had been casual.
“Levi, you’re an incredible man. I’ve been watching you around here. You’re loyal and hardworking and steady...”
He gave a wry smile. “That honestly sounds kind of boring.”
She was shaking her head. “No. A girl like me—a girl who didn’t have so much of that growing up—values those things an awful lot.”
He regarded her for a long moment. “Fair enough. Can I ask what happened between you and Wesley?”
“You didn’t read about it online? There are hundreds of articles.”
“I want to hear the truth, and I want to hear it from you.”
She gave him a long, steady look. Then she sighed and sank to the ground amid the piles of books.
His body groaned at the distance she’d put between them, but he was to blame for that, after all. He made room amidst the book piles and sank onto the floor beside her.
“We met at a mutual friend’s New Year’s Eve party, and he asked me out. We dated a while, had a lot in common. My career was on the verge of exploding. His hadn’t quite taken off yet. But he was tenacious, and he seemed patient enough to wait for his big break. He didn’t seem jealous of my success—something I’m really sensitive to because of my parents’ relationship.
“Anyway, we fell in love, and when he eventually asked me to marry him I said yes. We started planning the wedding—and the honeymoon—” She gave him a dour look. “Then I heard about this role I thought he’d be great for. I knew the producer and got him an audition. He got the part and soon after that—very soon—he dumped me.”
“Do you think...?”
“He used me? Oh yeah. I mean, he never owned up to it. He gave me other reasons. We ‘weren’t a good fit.’ But I couldn’t help but notice that insight only came along after I’d gotten him the role of his career.”
Levi clenched his jaw. He wanted to pound the guy. No wonder Mia was so guarded. “I’m sorry. It must’ve hurt to be used that way by someone who was supposed to love you.”
She gave him a wan smile. “Sadly, it’s just part of the business.”
“Don’t let him off the hook that easily. Using people is wrong. Using their feelings against them is even worse. He asked you to marry him. That means something where I come from.”
