Liam wiped his face with his hand, gathering himself before he opened the door and sank into the seat. The engine started with a roar as the wet cold lifted gooseflesh on his arms.
Unwilling to lay his heart on the line, he tested his theory. “Couldn’t have planned that any better.” His voice betrayed no hint of the disappointment that threatened to swallow him whole. He pulled from the curb, narrowly missing a photographer who’d closed the gap. “That’ll be all over the sites in the morning.”
“Perfect timing,” Chloe said.
He turned on his wipers, wishing he could so easily wash away the past few minutes.
Chapter31
Liam cradled Chloe’s face, his gaze intent on her, eyes smoldering. “You’ve come back into my life, and I don’t know how I lived, how I breathed, without you. You’ve captured a piece of my soul and I don’t want it back. I don’t want anything but you.” His eyes dropped to her lips. His Adam’s apple bobbed.
Chloe’s heart skipped a beat. She fisted her clammy hands. She’d known rehearsing this scene would be difficult. Not to mention awkward after last night. But it was crucial he get it right.
Awareness crackled between them as tension wove a web around them, cocooning them in a sensual haze. The memory of that spectacular kiss sent her airborne, rising, floating. Until she recalled the pinprick of his words afterward that had sent her plummeting back to earth.
He cleared his throat. “This is where you push me away. I meanCate. Cate pushes me away.”
Chloe blinked. “Oh.Right.” Belatedly Chloe shoved his shoulder. A half-hearted attempt that barely budged him.
Their gazes held. It wasn’t the end of the scene. Not hardly.
Liam delivered the next lines. It was practically a soliloquy.
Her mind drifted for the millionth time to last night when he’d melted her knees with that kiss. But the moment, the way he’d stared down at her, had been calculated. Maybe he and Spencer had even arranged for the photographers’ appearance as they’d done at the bookshop. She went cold inside.
She should’ve known better than to believe it was real. Her brother had warned her not two weeks ago what was happening. His words now buzzed in her ear like a pesky mosquito. And she had listened to him! She’d been so careful to keep her guard up—no easy feat with those smoldering glances Liam aimed her way in public.
“Chloe?”
Oh. He’d stopped speaking. His last words rang in her head. He stared down at her uncertainly.
Time for the kiss.
“I, uh, I think we’re good,” she said.
“Yeah.” He eased away from her. “We’re all set.”
“Right.” She grabbed Buttercup off the couch, and the cat yowled at having been snatched from slumber.Be still,youingrate. The feline settled in Chloe’s arms—her furry, if begrudging, shield.
“Any suggestions?” he asked.
“Nope. Nailed it.” She tried for a big smile. She was so full of it. She hadn’t even heard that last part. “You’ve got this.” Of course, with his scorching looks and tender phrases, Cate would be a fool to deny the man anything.
“Great. Good.” He checked his watch. “I should be going anyway. I have—uh—errands. And stuff.”
They still had a good hour before they had to be on set. Apparently she wasn’t the only one eager for escape. Did he feel it too—that electric tension that connected them like a power cable? Was that why he’d seemed so distant since last night? She sensed the potent connection even in the moments when no one was around. When it was just the two of them talking, laughing, just being together. Or maybe he was just that good an actor. Maybe it was all in her head.
You’re an idiot, Chloe.
She avoided eye contact all the way to the door, all the waythrough their awkward good-bye. Then she closed the door and sank against it, her heart giving one final shudder as Buttercup leaped from her arms and scampered away.
The bay was beautiful tonight. The sky was an inky canvas sparkling with a million diamonds. The pinpricks of light reflected off the sea, dazzling the surface. A warm breeze blew across the beach, carrying hints of salt and woodsmoke from a nearby fire.
The area was deserted except for cast and crew. Chloe settled on a chair in the video village. Her heels bounced on the footrest. Ledger and Cate would be at the waterline for most of the scene. The lighting crew had the area lit with an ethereal glow.
She spotted Liam and Daisy walking from the wardrobe trailer, unspeaking, their expressions serious and focused. There was no levity to the atmosphere tonight. They were behind schedule, they were filming a crucial scene, and no one wanted to mess it up.
Chloe tucked her trembling hands beneath her and watched the TV screen as the two actors took their places. Elliot relayed a message to them from Rex, then scurried off on some other errand. Simone and the others joined her in the video village some distance from the shore.
