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“Don’t say that. You’re special to me.”
She swallowed and broke his gaze. “I’m not. I’m just a celebrity that wants to get out.”
She was so much more than that. But he honestly wasn’t sure he could put it into words, so he bent down and lightly brushed his lips against hers. The kiss ignited a fire inside him, and he pulled her closer. His lips danced with hers. A wave of water washed over his feet and up his ankles, sending a shiver through him. Dani smiled and pulled back. “You’re still bothered by the cold?”
“Not really paying much attention to it, to be honest.” He kissed her again. His world tilted as the sensations of kissing her tingled across his skin.
She put her arms around his neck and leaned into him, deepening the kiss. He wasn’t sure exactly when he’d fallen in love with Danica Jordan, but this evening, he was sure he never wanted to spend his time with any other woman.
When they finally broke apart, he placed his forehead on hers and cupped her cheeks. He loved her with all of his heart. And now, he just had to gather up his courage to tell her.
Dani pulled back and rubbed her arms, not meeting his gaze. “Austin…we need to talk.”
That didn’t sound good at all. He nodded, mentally preparing himself for whatever she was going to say. “All right.”
“You’re leaving tomorrow.”
“I know.”
“And…” She seemed to struggle with what to say. “I think we should say good-bye.”
What exactly did she mean by that? “You don’t want to see me in LA?”
She frowned. “I don’t want to give you the wrong impression.”
“And what impression would that be?”
“I can’t date you.”
Austin’s head swam, and he fought to keep himself from stumbling back. “Why?” Did she dislike him that much?
“I just need to find myself.” She wouldn’t look him in the eye. “Plus, you’re famous.”
He worked his jaw as he thought about what her words implied. He was famous. If she were with him, she’d still be under a microscope. He understood her desire to get out of the media’s attention, but if she really cared for him, she wouldn’t let that stop her.
Which meant Dani didn’t feel the same way about him. He swallowed back the hurt. Dani didn’t love him.
“I’m sorry. I can’t do it. I can’t live with my life on display anymore. You said so yourself. If I start living a normal life, people will get bored and go find someone else to look at.”
Yes, he’d said those words. But he hadn’t been in love with her at the time. He didn’t realize his own words would come back to haunt him. He shoved his hands into his pockets. “Is that what you really want?”
An expression came over her face that he couldn’t quite read, but it was gone before he could really take it in. She nodded. “Yes.”
“Then, I support you.” He said the words, but he didn’t mean them. He didn’t want her to say good-bye. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. He wanted to kiss her again and make her forget that the paparazzi even existed.
But that wasn’t fair. If she wanted to live in obscurity, that was her choice. A lump in his throat caused him to swallow and step back. He needed to get away from Dani before he did something totally embarrassing, like beg her to give him more of a chance.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. He thought maybe she was blinking back tears, but she turned from him, and he couldn’t quite tell.
He waited until she turned back toward the resort before trailing after her. He didn’t want to be the one to pick up his shoes first and destroy the illusion of a family that he’d imagined.
Chapter 29
Dani clicked the computer keys, her essay almost done, which was good because the school library was going to close soon. It had been six months since the Grand Cayman incident. No, the video wasn’t gone from the internet, but she’d managed to blend into a new life, attending UCLA and working at a mom-and-pop coffee place. At first, the paparazzi was in her face, but Austin had been right. As she settled into her new life, the public lost interest.
Her father hadn’t been too happy with her decision not to do the publicity tour with him, but he’d mellowed out since she enrolled in school. It helped that UCLA was his alma mater. He seemed pretty happy that she had chosen that school.
Her phone chimed and she fished it out of her bag. It was her father, which made her happy. But even though she liked hearing from her father, a tiny part of her was disappointed it wasn’t Austin.
