His dark brows lifted as though in question. “Could what?”
Heat rushed to her cheeks. The more she willed herself not to blush, the warmer her face became. “I don’t know.”
“Ah, but you do know.”
If her face grew any warmer, she was quite certain her hair would spontaneously combust. “If you don’t want to go—”
“Oh, I definitely want to go now. I just need to grab something.”
Of course he would.
Without waiting for Ric, she attached the leash and was out the door in a jiffy. What was it about that man that could rattle her so much? Luckily, there was a light breeze. She welcomed the rush of air, even if it was warm.
“Hey, slow up,” Ric called from behind them.
She supposed she couldn’t act like she hadn’t heard him, not after inviting him to join her. She pulled on the puppy’s leash, getting him to slow down. Gia came to a stop. She refused to let Ric get to her. After all, he was just a guy—a sexy movie star sort of hunky man. And when he stared into her eyes, like he was doing right now, her knees went weak.
She waited for him to catch up to her. “Sorry. Gin is in a rush.”
“Is it the puppy who’s in the rush? Or is it you?”
She chanced a glance at Ric to find him smiling at her from under a navy-blue ball cap. So that’s what he had to grab. Didn’t he know that no hat could hide his good looks? And that sexy smile—was he flirting with her? Her heart picked up its pace as did her footsteps.
But she wasn’t going to let him know he was getting to her. “Why would I be in a rush to get away from you? After all, I was the one who invited you on this walk, remember?”
“Oh, I remember. I also remember you blushing.”
“Oh, you. You’re insufferable.”
At this point, he broke out in a deep, hearty laugh. This only made Gia blush more. She picked up her pace, not wanting him to see the affect he had on her.
At last they reached the park. As the puppy stretched its legs, Gia pretended to be intently interested in a red flowering plant. She would do anything to avoid Ric’s inquisitive gaze.
“Are you going to ignore me after inviting me on this walk?” His words echoed her thoughts.
She stifled a groan and then proceeded to plaster on a friendly smile. “I was just intrigued by this flower. I don’t think we have it in Tuscany.”
He held out his phone and snapped a photo of the flower. “There. All taken care of. I’ll have my assistant track down the plant for you.”
She wasn’t sure that was necessary. Still, she said, “Thank you.”
She glanced at him before quickly turning away. Something had happened tonight. Maybe it was that man assuming they were a couple. Or maybe it was going to dinner with Ric as though it were natural for her to accompany him to important business meetings. Whatever it was, the delicate balance in their relationship was tipping over into the heart-pounding, staring-into-each-other’s-eyes, kissing-like-there’s-no-tomorrow area. And she’d just promised him time to figure things out. Why did this all have to be so complicated?
“Gia, wait.” He reached out for her hand.
Her heart lodged in her throat. She stopped and turned to him. Her gaze met his once more. Did he know what she was thinking?
Ric reached out to her. His thumb gently caressed her cheek. A sigh whispered across her lips. All the while, their gazes connected.
She wanted to ask him what was happening. Where were they going to go from here? The words hovered in the back of her mouth, but her lips refused to cooperate. The words faded away.
When Ric’s gaze lowered to her lips, she knew his thoughts had strayed to the same idea she’d had. He was going to kiss her. And in that moment, she wanted him more than she wanted anything else in the world—
“Hey, aren’t you the guy from the movie?”
The voice was like a bucket of cold water thrown in the face. Both she and Ric pulled back as though they were doing something wrong. Were they doing something wrong? Had they been saved from making another mistake?
Her mind said one thing while her heart said something quite different. And right now, she didn’t know which one to listen to because the pounding of her heart was too distracting.