She heard a groan come from way down deep in his chest. “Chloe.”
Oh God, she was this close to kissing him, a man who was still a stranger despite the fact that he’d seen her naked and provided her a warm, safe place to spend the night.
No!
Stumbling back, the branches from a tall grapevine lancing her between the shoulders, she said, “You should get back to work. They’re probably waiting for you.”
But he didn’t move, didn’t so much as shift his weight. Instead, he simply smiled at her, that intense heat still in his eyes. Along with something that truly had her shivering in her shoes.
Determination.
Focus.
“I’m sure they’re still working on Amanda’s makeup,” he told her, but she heard what he was really saying loud and clear. I’m not going anywhere. So why don’t you stop trying to run and just give in to what we both want? It’ll be good. I promise.
Wanting desperately to negate the hot, pulsating desire between them, she said, “All caps is a bit much, don’t you think?”
He frowned for a split second before he caught on and grinned again. “I figure if I’m going to have a nickname like Hotstuff, I might as well own it.”
How could she do anything but grin back at him? He was just so darn likeable. It wasn’t his fault that he was sexier than sin. She shouldn’t keep holding that against him.
“Come with me.” He held his hand out. “I’ll introduce you to the crew.”
She looked down at his hand. She badly, so badly, wanted to take it. But she couldn’t.
Telling herself he’d understand if he knew her reasons—and that he probably already understood due to the bruise on her cheek—she simply stepped beside him and started walking. She didn’t have to look at him to sense his disappointment that she hadn’t reached out for him, too. But he didn’t say anything as he fell into step beside her.
“This is such an incredible part of the country,” she said. “How long has your brother owned the winery?”
“Nearly a decade. We all thought he was crazy, at first, taking all those farming classes at UC Davis. Now we’re all wishing we’d thought of it first.”
She turned to him in surprise. “Don’t you love what you do?”
That moment when his eyes connected with hers shocked her every single time. He should be the one in front of the camera, knocking down female hearts like dominoes with that incredibly potent gaze.
“I do,” he agreed. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t sometimes think about cutting down on the traveling and settling down with a pretty wife and a backyard full of cute kids.”
“Are there cameras following us?” she joked, making a show of looking over her shoulder.
“No, why?”
“Because you just said pretty much what every single, thirty-year-old woman on the planet wants to hear. And actually sounded like you meant it.”
“What about you?” When she frowned, he said, “Is that what you want to hear?”
Refusing to acknowledge the pang of longing, she shrugged. “Just thinking about making it through the next day, right about now,” she said in as offhand a manner as she could manage.
She could see the models and crew waiting for him, but instead of hurrying over, he stopped walking and turned his back to everyone else. She had no choice but to stop, too.
“I took care of your car.” He gave her a small smile. “It's been towed off to a better place.”
Working to fight down the panic at being completely without a vehicle she said, “It didn't have many miles left on it anyway.” She tried to smile back. “Thank you for dealing with it. I'll pay you b—”
He cut her off before she could finish her sentence. “Stay, Chloe. Stay here at the winery while we’re shooting for the next few days.”
She licked her lips, shook her head. “You’re busy. And I need to…” She paused, knowing all she had ahead of her were problems, at least for a while.
“Stay,” he said again, more softly this time, but with that determination, that focus she was so afraid of threading through every letter in the word.
And, ultimately, that was the main reason she needed to leave. Because she had no intention of getting involved with another man. She was still learning how to be alone, how to rely on herself, how to trust again. It hadn’t even been one year since filing for divorce. She wasn’t ready for another relationship.
And she definitely wasn’t ready for determination. For focus.
Or for a man whom she could so easily—too easily—lose herself in completely.
She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I c—”
“Please.”
He hadn’t come any nearer, hadn’t gotten in her face and demanded her agreement, but the gentle entreaty in his voice was like warm arms wrapping around her, pulling her close.
“Don’t agree to the whole week. Just take it one day at a time.”
And one night at a time, too.
She heard the words even though he hadn’t said them. And that was when Chloe knew just how weak she really was, because she couldn’t stop herself from saying, “Okay.”
She could feel Chase studying her, knew he didn’t like her answer even though she’d just given him exactly what he wanted. But whatever he was about to say was interrupted by a skinny young man with big, thick-framed purple glasses.
“Chase,” the man said, “everyone’s ready for you.”
His gaze continuing to hold hers for another long moment, Chase slowly turned to the person she assumed was his assistant.
“Jeremy, this is Chloe. She’s my special guest. Be sure to show her a good time today, would you?”
Jeremy’s eyes flashed over the bruise on her cheek before quickly flitting away. “Oooh, someone to share all the gossip with.”
The young man reached for her hand and grasped it before she could pull away and then he was walking away with her and chattering in her ear.
Chloe threw a desperate glance at Chase over her shoulder, only to find him grinning at her. How did he always manage to be three steps ahead of her?
And—just as she’d asked herself last night—why the heck didn’t she mind a whole lot more?
Fifteen minutes later, Jeremy had her settled into a comfortable chair where she could watch the action. Chase was photographing three young women in absolutely gorgeous ballgowns.
Amanda had been positively stunning. But all three together? She couldn’t stop herself from turning to Jeremy and remarking, “That’s a whole lot of beautiful up there, isn’t it?”