Page 47 of The Bombshell and the Bodyguard
He nodded. “I can see that for you.”
“What about you? You said it was hard to have anything ‘consistent’ with the demands of your job.”
Wilder looked down and quirked his lips to the side. Then his eyes came up to meet mine. “I haven’t downed nearly enough shots to talk about my love life.”
Lifting the bottle, I grinned. “Let me pour you another.”
Suddenly, I had no interest in leaving the island.
Chapter Sixteen
Not Easy
Jessica
Wilder downed a few more shots of rum, while I finished my drink slowly. I knew my tolerance—not much—and I didn’t want to miss athing.
Unfortunately, he didn’t suddenly open up and tell me all his secrets, but he didagree to watch a movie with me. Of course, hewaskind of a captive audience, but still… at least he didn’t seem to mind.
We sat side by side on the rug, sharing a cobbled-together dinner of fruit, nuts, crackers and cheese. As darkness fell, it was like we were the only two people left in the world, there in that little ring of warm firelight.
And I had a vision of what it would have been like to date him in high school—if he hadn’t been two years older. And infinitely cooler. And my brother’s best friend.
Both our lives had moved on since then—so far from where we’d started it almost felt like a different lifetime—but my feelings for him had never changed.
No, that was a lie—they were even stronger now. It was hard to guess what Wilder was feeling.
“Just one movie” turned into a Terminator movie marathon. We laughed and cheered, trading opinions on the series. And for perhaps the first time since we were kids, I saw him relaxed and comfortable.
Why was he usually so uptight around me?
I didn’tthinkhe was that way with everyone, and from what Hap said, Wilder was plenty comfortable around women in general.
So it was just me.
It didn’t make sense.Wasit possible the attraction was not one-sided? Could he also be harboring a secret crush?
That thought had my heartbeat rushing so loudly in my ears it was hard to hear the last few scenes of the movie.
When it ended, I looked over at him, drinking in the sight of his beautiful face in the flickering light of the end credits.
“I used to have such a crush on you when we were kids,” I said softly.
Wilder’s gaze whipped away from the screen to meet mine. “You did?”
His voice sounded strained, which gave me hope—and courage.
I nodded. “I think all the girls did, but I felt a sort of... ownership over you—I guess because you were at my house so much, and I felt like I actuallyknewyou instead of just being infatuated with theideaof you like they were.”
For long moments he was quiet, just holding my gaze as a parade of emotions passed behind his eyes. Finally, he spoke. “Jess, I—”
Next to Wilder, the satellite phone rang. He grabbed it immediately and answered. “Yeah. Hey Gray. Got some good news?”
Of course, I couldn’t hear the voice on the other end, but I read Wilder’s body language. It wasn’t good news. His shoulders sank.
Strangely my spirits rose. I was no longer in such a hurry to get home. If the stalker had been captured, our reason for staying here would be gone.
“Oh. Okay, sure, yeah, I can talk to him. Put him on.” Wilder’s eyes darted over to meet mine then flickered away again. “Hey Hap. How are you man? How’s Rachel?”
