Chapter Eleven
A short while later when they stepped out under the full moon, Valentina's her breath caught as she took in the incredibly romantic, and unexpected, scene. Water crashed on the rocks just below a table set for two, with four portable heaters ringing the white tablecloth.
A vase in the center of the table held a single pink rose.
The meaning of the flower he'd picked was loud and clear as he extended his hand to her: desire and passion.
"Hungry?"
She nodded, knowing there was more than enough moonlight for him to see that she was hungry for far more than food, if he looked closely. He held out her chair and when he sat down opposite her, the table was small enough that their knees bumped underneath, making her smile through the nerves that attraction had brought front and center. He poured a glass of cabernet from Marcus's winery and handed it to her.
He lifted the covers off their plates and her stomach grumbled in appreciation at the lobster and crab before her. She had no idea how he'd managed to get such delicious food delivered to the island. Their tour guide had left them alone again and there was no chef or waiter around as far as she could see.
"I agree with your stomach," he teased, and picked up his fork to dig in.
Valentina took her first bite and a small moan of pleasure slipped out. "So good."
She didn't see that Smith had stopped with his first bite halfway to his mouth, his eyes dark, hungry, as he watched her.
But she couldn't miss how hoarse his voice was suddenly, as he said, "I'm glad you like it."
When was the last time she'd eaten a really good meal? She honestly couldn't remember, with the long hours she'd been putting in since filming began.
She took another bite and her eyes closed on their own. "I forgot how much I like good food." She tried to tamp down on the greed racing through her veins as she turned her focus back to him. "This is amazing. Your boat. The private tour. Dinner." She reached for his hand without thinking. "Thank you."
He slid his fingers into hers. "I'm glad you invited me to come with you."
She couldn't keep the smile off her face, not when he'd gone to all this trouble for her and it had been such a wonderful night already.
"Well," she teased, "I could see how much you wanted to see Alcatraz again. Do you have some story ideas kicking around in your head about it?"
"Maybe. You?"
She was surprised by his question. Surprised enough to say, "I can't stop wondering about the women on the island."
"Makes sense that the only women on the island were married."
She nodded. "It does, but who says they were all happily married?" At his raised eyebrow, she explained, "What if one of them was in love...but not with her husband?"
His eyes lit. "Are you asking, what if one of them fell in love with one of the prisoners?"
"Yes," she said as the excitement over her brand-new idea took even deeper hold. "And what if he'd fallen in love with her, too, even though both of them knew there was no way they could ever be together?"
Smith didn't say anything for a long moment and she wished she'd never said a word.
"I love the idea, Valentina." His thumb slid across the sensitive skin on her palm as he said, "Tatiana told me about the script you've been writing."
"I'm going to kill her." It was one thing to tell George when they'd known him practically forever. It was another to spill her secret project to a man she'd been trying so hard to keep as an acquaintance. Even if he was getting closer every day.
"You know how little sisters are," he agreed, though it was clear that he loved Tatiana spilling Valentina's secrets to him. "I'd like to see it."
"My screenplay?"
"Yes. Tatiana told me what it was about and I have a feeling I'm going to like it. A lot."
She shook her head, pulling her hand from his. "No."
"You love to say no to me, don't you?" he teased, but there was an undertone of frustration beneath it. "Do you think I'm doing a good job with Gravity?"
"Of course I do. You've got us more on track than any of the other movies Tatiana has worked on."
"Then why won't you let me see your script?"
"Because I don't want you to think that's why I'm here with you tonight."
Smith's free hand was warm as he brushed it across her cheek. "I would never think that, Valentina. Never."
God, it was so tempting to lean in closer to him.
No.
She. Would. Not. Ask. Him. To. Kiss. Her. Again.
Trying to turn her focus from anything but his shockingly seductive mouth, and how much she wanted to feel it pressed against hers, she asked, "What else has my darling little sister told you?"
"Are you sure you want to know?"
Her heartbeat kicked up. Even in her weakest moments, she hadn't told her sister about her feelings for Smith, about the way he turned her inside out.
"Always so worried," he murmured. "You know Tatiana loves you too much to ever hurt you in any way."
Of course Valentina knew that. But she'd been hurt by family before, by a loving mother who had all but disappeared after their father's death when her daughters needed her the most, and then had come back as another woman entirely.
"Besides, it's not Tatiana's fault that she spilled the beans. I was grilling her for anything she would tell me about you."
"What else did she spill?"
"How you were a total Bon Jovi fanatic as a teenager."
Valentina had to laugh at herself. "Their songs are really quite intelligent and poetic if you listen to the lyrics."
"I agree," he said with a grin. "I'll make sure to tell Jon about his beautiful fan."
"You know him?" she asked before muttering, "Of course you know him. Just so you know, I may have to smother my sister with a pillow tomorrow night. Sorry you're going to have to find a new co-star this late into filming."
Smith was the one laughing this time, but then his expression shifted into a more serious one. "She also told me how you dropped out of college to manage her career."
Valentina couldn't stand Smith's thinking she'd been living a life of sacrifice for the past ten years. "I've loved every minute of it."
"I know you have. It's what makes the two of you such a great team. You both love what you do, Tatiana in front of the camera, you behind your laptop."
She picked up her fork, determined to enjoy the rest of the incredible meal. "Now that you know some truly embarrassing things about me, it's your turn to share your worst." She pointed her fork at him. "And don't cheat by telling me something I could find in an interview."
He gave her a look filled with pure innocence. "I would," he said as he also picked up his fork, "if there was anything embarrassing to share."
"So you're perfect, huh?"
He raised his eyebrows as though he was hurt. "You don't think I am?"
She couldn't hold back her laughter. "No." She shook her head as she took a bite of scalloped potatoes, then washed it down with a sip of the very smooth cab. "I definitely don't."
When he didn't laugh with her, she thought for a moment she'd insulted him. But then she realized he didn't look upset.
He looked pleased.
"You never see me as a movie star, do you?"
She could sense just how serious his question was. And how much her answer meant to him. Maybe a day, a week ago, she could have brushed it off with an answer to placate him. But she'd come to respect - and like - him too much to do that.
"You surprised me the first time we met." She twirled the stem of her wine glass in her hand and tried to find the right words to explain. "I've met so many actors over the years, between the ones my sister has worked with and...the ones my mother has dated." She pushed away the twinge thinking about her mother always brought to keep her focus on the man sitting across from her. "I thought I knew exactly what to expect from you. After all, you're more famous, more successful, than any of them."
She shook her head, remembering sitting in his San Francisco production office that first day they'd met. Just looking at him had made her warm all over, especially when he held her gaze with his dark eyes and she'd felt the crackling attraction between them even with George and Tatiana in the room.
"Your phone rang and when you saw who was calling, you got the biggest smile before you excused yourself to answer it. I wanted to think you were one of those people who thought he was so important he could take calls in the middle of a meeting." She looked up and met his warm gaze. "But you were talking to one of your sisters, asking her how she was feeling, if the doctor had told her anything else about the size of her babies." And Valentina had started falling for him right then and there.
Still, she needed to make one last gasp at saving herself, didn't she?
Fortunately, she knew exactly how to do it: with a pointed reminder of what he did for a living.
"You're right that I haven't seen you as a movie star since that very first day we met, but this - " She gestured at the table, the yacht moored off the pier. " - isn't the kind of magic an ordinary man can pull off. Thank you for a fairytale evening," she said softly. "It's not one I'll ever forget."
"Me either," he said, and as his eyes dropped to her mouth for a split second, she thought for a moment that he'd forget his promise not to kiss her. But then, instead of kissing her, he said, "How about dessert?"
Her desperate brain turned the word dessert into a kiss and she nodded with enthusiasm. "Yes, please."
He reached down for a pink box and Valentina's hands shook, not with nerves, but with nearly unbridled lust, as she reached for the box top and uncovered dessert.
Desire tangled with joy as she looked down at the two oversized cupcakes on the plate. One of the cupcakes had a frosting picture of Smith behind prison bars, gripping them tight with a cute, but pleading look on his face.
The other had a cartoon version of Valentina made out of frosting, dangling the key to his cell with one finger, a wicked look sparkling in her eyes.
Valentina didn't ask for a kiss, couldn't have possibly wasted another second with words, as she reached out, slid her hand around the back of his neck...and kissed him.