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His question left her thinking that he had a way with words as well—his cut her to the core, not so much with what he said, but with the way he said it. With little effort, he left her feeling hollowed out. And that put her on the defensive. “I thought you deserved the truth.”
“I’m not really sure what I deserve, but right now it feels like I’m being punished for something I can’t help.”
She got up from the couch, buttoning her blouse. She couldn’t believe he was going to use that as his excuse. “I’m very sorry about that.” She pointed in the general direction of his crotch. “A cold shower might help.”
“Cute. Real cute. That’s not what I mean.”
“Oh. Sorry.” Wave after wave of embarrassment battered her. Could she possibly make this any worse? She didn’t dare try to make it better. “Look, I’m sorry. I think we should just say good-night and forget this ever happened.”
He shook his head, not looking at her. “Whatever you say.”
She thought she’d felt hollowed out before, but now it was as if she didn’t exist. Wanting to do nothing but hide, she rushed upstairs and closed the guest room door behind her, ducking under the comforter and curling into a ball. Tears came, and she hated that more than anything.
How was she going to do this job? How would this ever work? She couldn’t spend day after day coaching Adam through interviews and running interference at photo shoots. She’d never make it, knowing how badly she wanted him, knowing what a horrible idea it was to give in to feelings like that.
She wiped her cheeks, willing the tears to stop. She had to get through this or else she’d fail, and that couldn’t happen. She just had to get her act together and find a way to get Adam off her mind. She needed a plan.
Six
Before last night, when was the last time Adam had been turned down? He didn’t care to remember, but it sure stung. The fact that it came from Melanie and that he’d waited an entire year for a chance only made it worse. Was he really that far off base about their chemistry? Because she certainly seemed to care a hell of a lot more about her job than about him.
When she pressed against him on the couch, he’d had only one thought—the electricity was back. It jolted every atom of his body. How could that be one-sided? How could two people create that much heat if only one person felt it? How else could she so easily put on the brakes? Something didn’t add up, that was for sure.
Melanie clopped down the stairs with her overnight bag in tow. He wished he hadn’t noticed how pretty she was in the morning, fresh-faced and lovely, even when wearing a distinct frown.
“I would’ve gotten that for you if you’d asked,” he said, pulling his jacket out of the closet.
“I’m okay to do it myself.”
“I’m sure you are.” He folded his arms across his chest. Creating a physical barrier made it easier to ignore his deep desire to invite her back upstairs and kiss her as he had last night, only this time with an entirely different, naked, ending.
She drew a deep breath in through her nose, avoiding anything beyond a blip of eye contact. “I need to ask a favor. I just got a notification from the airline that my flight is overbooked. They bumped me.”
“And?” He had a strong suspicion about the question that was coming. He just wanted to hear her ask for it.
“I was wondering if there’s room on your corporate jet for me to ride along.”
“I don’t know. Jack really prefers having two seats. He’s a big boy.”
Melanie dropped her chin, delivering that hot look of admonishment. “Really? Are you really that mad about last night? Because you know as well as I do that it’s not a good idea for anything to happen between us. It would be reckless and stupid. It would be a huge mistake.”
Adam hadn’t planned on prompting that little rant. And would she stop using that damn word—mistake? Well, then. “Yes, you may join me on the plane back to New York. Of course.”
“Oh. Okay. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Buttermilk.”
“Did you really just call me that again?”
“It seemed to fit today. Not sure why.”
An hour and a half later, they were on board the plane, just the two of them, the pilot and, of course, Jack. Normally, Jack would curl up on the floor at Adam’s feet. Sometimes, he’d attempt to climb into his own seat, although that always ended disastrously as he was far too big. Today, he’d parked himself next to Melanie, his head on her lap. Traitor.
