She shook her head with a smile. He was even bigger than her brothers. He could hold his own. ‘You’re okay. They’re all back home.’
‘Why are they so protective? Is it just because you’re the only girl?’ His brow creased. ‘Sounds like the old-fashioned double standard.’
‘It’s a little more than that.’ She paused, debating. She’d wanted to escape the controls of her childhood, but at the same time she yearned to be able to be honest. And she was free to be so now, right? So, despite the risk, honesty won out.
‘I was sick for a while. Cancer. But I’m all good now.’ She braced herself. If he was scared off by that, then he wasn’t the man she’d thought he was.
‘When?’
‘I was seventeen when first diagnosed. I had chemo. Radiation. All the things for a while.’
‘That must have been tough.’
‘We all get tough stuff to deal with.’ She nodded jerkily and then forced a smile at him. ‘Don’t feel sorry for me. I’m fine now. But that’s why lots of things are new.’
She didn’t regret telling him. Complete honesty was liberating. Because she was sure there was something elemental in this connection. Something far deeper thansuperficial. And, as he gazed at her, the sharp scrutiny in his eyes slipped away to reveal sombreness...and suddenly her own emotions rose.
‘I was orphaned at ten.’ The bald sentence was roughened with huskiness. She was sure he didn’t say that often. ‘Don’t feel sorry for me.’
She was certain he didn’t say that often either. ‘Okay.’
Orphaned at ten. No wonder there weren’t any big Thanksgiving feasts. Did he have siblings? Aunts or uncles who’d taken him in? She didn’t think so. Was that why he lived in a hotel suite most of the time? But he offered nothing more. Instead, they measured each other thoughtfully.
‘You’re not going to ask me anything more?’ she eventually asked.
‘You’ll tell me if you want me to know anything else,’ he said. ‘You’re not curious?’
‘I’m crazy-curious but I’m trying to hide it.’
‘Failing.’ He grinned. ‘So now you’re on the other side of the world.’
‘Living in the moment.’ She nodded. ‘Seizing the day and the opportunities each brings.’
‘That’s what this is, an opportunity?’
‘Definitely.’
‘For what?’
‘An experience.’
He leaned forward. ‘You don’t even want to know my name?’
He was so strong. So much bigger than her. With his size and strength, he could crush her. But in that moment, when they’d fitted so close in the alcove of the building, the rest of the world and all its dangers had simply disappeared. He’d been strong but gentle. Maybe it was madness but she knew she was safe.
‘Does it really matter?’ she whispered. ‘Will it make any difference to what happens?’
‘None at all.’
An illicit thrill shivered through her. This was a risk, yet in her bones she knew it was okay. He wasn’t just the protective sort. He’d once been broken too.
‘Then, no. Don’t tell me.’
CHAPTER THREE
ROMANKNEWHEshouldn’t have brought her here but, now that he had, the empty sensation he’d battled for days eased. He wanted to watch her. He wanted to listen to her rushed speech and see that delighted smile flash. He wanted to scoop her close. He should tell her his name, but he didn’t want to. He should ask her what hers was, but he didn’t want to do that either. He didn’t want to muddy this intensity with details that didn’t matter. Because she’d told him something deeply personal, something she didn’t tell everyone—he’d seen the flash of vulnerability in her eyes.
And he? Since when had he ever talked to anyone about his past? He hadn’t. Not even a little. Most people he met already knew—the ‘tragic family past’ of the supposedly ‘eligible billionaire’ was regularly rehashed in trashy socialite articles online. He loathed it. He didn’t want pity. He certainly didn’t appreciate people prying, as if they could somehow make it better. As if they could ever understand. He had everything but he’d lost everyone. He’d been in the accident that had killed his parents instantly, the one from which his baby sister had gone missing, never to be found. He’d been left alone. And nowadays alone was what he liked to be.