Come A Little Bit Closer
Page 7
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Nicola all but leapt around the kitchen island to show off her engagement ring. It wasn’t a standard diamond solitaire, but a stunning grouping of multicolored stones in a unique hammered-gold setting.
Clearly, Valentina thought as she admired the ring, Sullivan men did nothing by halves.
What, she suddenly found herself wondering, would it be like to belong to one of them? And to know that a strong, beautiful Sullivan would always be there for you?
It was far harder than it should have been to shake the silly questions out of her head as she and Nicola finally rejoined the brothers. Surely, she thought as she reached for her glass again, a couple more sips wouldn’t make her lose her head.
Only, when she realized Smith’s dark eyes were on her as she took a sip, she suddenly knew that if anything was going to make her lose her head, it wouldn’t be the drink.
It would be him.
She was about to put her glass down and excuse herself from the impromptu family celebration out of sheer self-preservation when Nicola asked, “How are you liking San Francisco?”
It was a perfectly easy question, one that should have been simple to answer. Only, with Smith standing mere inches away, his eyes holding a tight focus on her as he waited for her response, simple became nearly impossible.
Valentina could feel her heartbeat fluttering against her pulse points, along the inside of her wrist and on the side of her neck, and knew her skin had started to flush with the heat she always felt when Smith was close.
She hadn’t wanted to sense his interest, had told herself she didn’t want it directed at her, but after their conversation in his trailer the week before, and the way she’d caught him looking at her on set with a dark, hungry gaze more than once, she could no longer deny it. Nor could she deny that it felt like he was trying to see behind her conservative clothes and tied-back hair, that he wanted to look deeper into her than she wanted him to see.
“I love San Francisco. Although it’s been warmer than I expected.” The sun had just set, but she suddenly felt so overheated in Smith’s kitchen that she had to unbutton her suit jacket and slip it off her shoulders.
“You and your sister must have brought the sun with you, because last month we were all wearing our ski gear to go get the mail in the thick fog,” Nicola said with a laugh that lit up her already stunningly pretty face.
No wonder Smith’s brother was smitten. Not only was Nicola talented, but she was clearly a very nice person as well.
“I’m all for fog,” Marcus said as he pressed a kiss to his new fiancée’s cheek, “especially if it means it’s up to me to keep you warm.”
Valentina didn’t know much about the music business, but she guessed that at Nicola’s level of pop stardom, it wasn’t too different from being a movie star. And yet, somehow she’d managed to find love with a man who clearly didn’t want her for anything other than herself.
Why, Valentina wondered, hadn’t her mother been that lucky with any of the actors she’d dated? If only one of them had had a heart of gold, everything would have been different. Better.
Unfortunately, the only gold had been in the rings on their wandering hands when they thought her mother wasn’t looking. Valentina had learned a few simple, but effective, defensive moves in her early twenties. At the very least, she’d learned how to take care of herself and her sister.
“What parts of the city have you had a chance to see so far?” Marcus asked.
Valentina shook off her thoughts as she smiled and said, “Just the best movie set in the world.”
“Smith knows this city better than all of us,” Marcus told her. “He’d be a great tour guide.”
“Tell me, Valentina,” Smith said so smoothly she almost wondered if the three of them had scripted the setup before she walked in, “what San Francisco landmark would you like to see most?”
During the past few minutes, Valentina had realized that the problem with seeing Smith be so easy, so comfortable with his family, was that she almost forgot to keep her walls up around him. It reminded her of the way she was with her sister.
Good thing she’d locked her heart up tight against actors a long, long time ago. And it was with maximum-security prisons in mind that she gave him her one-word answer.
“Alcatraz.”
Only, instead of getting the very clear message in her response and backing off, Smith’s eyes were full of laughter. Neither Nicola nor Marcus did a great job of hiding their own laughter behind a couple of choked coughs, either.
In the end, even Valentina found herself unable to hold back her own smile.
Which was when she knew she needed to leave immediately. Because she was getting too comfortable with Smith and his family, feeling too warm and cozy and right with them.
“Thank you so much for including me in your celebration,” she said with a warm smile for Marcus and Nicola, “but I should probably be going. I’ll let Tatiana know that we’re rescheduling our meeting, Smith.”
Only, before she could lift her bag back onto her shoulder, Marcus was saying, “Actually, we were just dropping in for a few minutes to share the good news with Smith. My mother is expecting us for dinner tonight.”
The next thing Valentina knew, she was shaking the happy couple’s hands, they were both hugging Smith goodnight, and she was standing all alone in his kitchen as he walked them out. The sound of the front door closing caused her heartbeat to quicken once again behind her breastbone.
There was no reason to panic just because they were alone. And if the fact that he was clearly so close to his family and so happy for his brother had softened her a bit, well, she could handle that softness.
Couldn’t she?
Chapter Four
After that first day on set, when Valentina had pulled Smith into his office and warned him not to mess with her sister, she’d made sure to steer clear of him, and had been perfectly polite when they met in a group to discuss an issue with the script or wardrobe or Tatiana’s schedule. Even when she was watching them shoot a scene, she held perfect focus on Tatiana.
Too perfect.
Only, if her plan had been to try and fade out of his sight, she hadn’t succeeded. Because it didn’t matter how many times he reminded himself that he didn’t have time to focus on anything but his movie.
He just couldn’t get Valentina out of his head.
It wasn’t just because of her incredible legs or exotic beauty. In Hollywood a great figure and pretty face were a given. But after seeing her with Nicola, and the genuine pleasure Valentina had shown over the stunning engagement ring and their happy-ever-after, he was reminded of just how much family meant to her. She was all business on set—and with him—but as soon as her sister needed her for anything even remotely emotional, she immediately stopped being a business manager to transform back into a sister. One whose love ran so deep that she didn’t hold anything back.
Clearly, Valentina thought as she admired the ring, Sullivan men did nothing by halves.
What, she suddenly found herself wondering, would it be like to belong to one of them? And to know that a strong, beautiful Sullivan would always be there for you?
It was far harder than it should have been to shake the silly questions out of her head as she and Nicola finally rejoined the brothers. Surely, she thought as she reached for her glass again, a couple more sips wouldn’t make her lose her head.
Only, when she realized Smith’s dark eyes were on her as she took a sip, she suddenly knew that if anything was going to make her lose her head, it wouldn’t be the drink.
It would be him.
She was about to put her glass down and excuse herself from the impromptu family celebration out of sheer self-preservation when Nicola asked, “How are you liking San Francisco?”
It was a perfectly easy question, one that should have been simple to answer. Only, with Smith standing mere inches away, his eyes holding a tight focus on her as he waited for her response, simple became nearly impossible.
Valentina could feel her heartbeat fluttering against her pulse points, along the inside of her wrist and on the side of her neck, and knew her skin had started to flush with the heat she always felt when Smith was close.
She hadn’t wanted to sense his interest, had told herself she didn’t want it directed at her, but after their conversation in his trailer the week before, and the way she’d caught him looking at her on set with a dark, hungry gaze more than once, she could no longer deny it. Nor could she deny that it felt like he was trying to see behind her conservative clothes and tied-back hair, that he wanted to look deeper into her than she wanted him to see.
“I love San Francisco. Although it’s been warmer than I expected.” The sun had just set, but she suddenly felt so overheated in Smith’s kitchen that she had to unbutton her suit jacket and slip it off her shoulders.
“You and your sister must have brought the sun with you, because last month we were all wearing our ski gear to go get the mail in the thick fog,” Nicola said with a laugh that lit up her already stunningly pretty face.
No wonder Smith’s brother was smitten. Not only was Nicola talented, but she was clearly a very nice person as well.
“I’m all for fog,” Marcus said as he pressed a kiss to his new fiancée’s cheek, “especially if it means it’s up to me to keep you warm.”
Valentina didn’t know much about the music business, but she guessed that at Nicola’s level of pop stardom, it wasn’t too different from being a movie star. And yet, somehow she’d managed to find love with a man who clearly didn’t want her for anything other than herself.
Why, Valentina wondered, hadn’t her mother been that lucky with any of the actors she’d dated? If only one of them had had a heart of gold, everything would have been different. Better.
Unfortunately, the only gold had been in the rings on their wandering hands when they thought her mother wasn’t looking. Valentina had learned a few simple, but effective, defensive moves in her early twenties. At the very least, she’d learned how to take care of herself and her sister.
“What parts of the city have you had a chance to see so far?” Marcus asked.
Valentina shook off her thoughts as she smiled and said, “Just the best movie set in the world.”
“Smith knows this city better than all of us,” Marcus told her. “He’d be a great tour guide.”
“Tell me, Valentina,” Smith said so smoothly she almost wondered if the three of them had scripted the setup before she walked in, “what San Francisco landmark would you like to see most?”
During the past few minutes, Valentina had realized that the problem with seeing Smith be so easy, so comfortable with his family, was that she almost forgot to keep her walls up around him. It reminded her of the way she was with her sister.
Good thing she’d locked her heart up tight against actors a long, long time ago. And it was with maximum-security prisons in mind that she gave him her one-word answer.
“Alcatraz.”
Only, instead of getting the very clear message in her response and backing off, Smith’s eyes were full of laughter. Neither Nicola nor Marcus did a great job of hiding their own laughter behind a couple of choked coughs, either.
In the end, even Valentina found herself unable to hold back her own smile.
Which was when she knew she needed to leave immediately. Because she was getting too comfortable with Smith and his family, feeling too warm and cozy and right with them.
“Thank you so much for including me in your celebration,” she said with a warm smile for Marcus and Nicola, “but I should probably be going. I’ll let Tatiana know that we’re rescheduling our meeting, Smith.”
Only, before she could lift her bag back onto her shoulder, Marcus was saying, “Actually, we were just dropping in for a few minutes to share the good news with Smith. My mother is expecting us for dinner tonight.”
The next thing Valentina knew, she was shaking the happy couple’s hands, they were both hugging Smith goodnight, and she was standing all alone in his kitchen as he walked them out. The sound of the front door closing caused her heartbeat to quicken once again behind her breastbone.
There was no reason to panic just because they were alone. And if the fact that he was clearly so close to his family and so happy for his brother had softened her a bit, well, she could handle that softness.
Couldn’t she?
Chapter Four
After that first day on set, when Valentina had pulled Smith into his office and warned him not to mess with her sister, she’d made sure to steer clear of him, and had been perfectly polite when they met in a group to discuss an issue with the script or wardrobe or Tatiana’s schedule. Even when she was watching them shoot a scene, she held perfect focus on Tatiana.
Too perfect.
Only, if her plan had been to try and fade out of his sight, she hadn’t succeeded. Because it didn’t matter how many times he reminded himself that he didn’t have time to focus on anything but his movie.
He just couldn’t get Valentina out of his head.
It wasn’t just because of her incredible legs or exotic beauty. In Hollywood a great figure and pretty face were a given. But after seeing her with Nicola, and the genuine pleasure Valentina had shown over the stunning engagement ring and their happy-ever-after, he was reminded of just how much family meant to her. She was all business on set—and with him—but as soon as her sister needed her for anything even remotely emotional, she immediately stopped being a business manager to transform back into a sister. One whose love ran so deep that she didn’t hold anything back.
