Page 7 of Resisting You
“You and me… you always said it would be a bad idea. Why?”
Her expression softened and the playful flirt quickly gave way to the normal Rosa I’d come to know over the last two years.
She tucked her wildly curly hair behind her ear. “Because,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “I would ruin you, Noah Tripp.” The salty sea breeze caught her words, nearly floating them out to the ocean.
Her expression became suddenly solemn, as though this wasn’t sarcasm or playful banter, but something she truly believed.
“Youwould ruinme?” Somehow, I doubted that.
“You have fame. And a reputation to uphold. You have people and a team.” Her gaze drifted to my mouth and just knowing that her attention was there on my lips caused my pulse to quicken. The effect of her stare was so potent, it was almost like a caress on my skin.
“What does that have to do with us?”
She sighed, dragging her gaze away from my mouth—my face. The aftershocks of her attention were still palpable and left gooseflesh on my skin.
“You know my father’s a politician. I grew up in the public eye. They tore apart and scrutinized my every move. If I went to a high school party, then I was a wild child. Got straight A’s one semester? They speculated that I was clearly cheating. Shifted in my seat a little at my father’s rally? I was undiagnosed ADHD. My rebellious teenage years almost cost him the election. I felt terrible and guilty and… I just… I never want that life again. I never want my choices in life to run the risk of ruining my partner’s dreams.”
I swallowed hard. Well, shit. My fame had always gotten me so far in life. So much of what I had could be credited to it.
She played with her straw, dipping it in and out of her daiquiri. “And ifyou’rehappy with your life, I don’t want to make you feel bad for your success and choices, Noah.” She paused, glancing at me, her eyes dark, glistening orbs in the low-light of the bar. “Youarehappy, right?” She paused to tap her straw to my discarded pint glass. “Shitty beer aside.”
“Yeah, I am,” I answered automatically. And it was the truth. Iwashappy.
Mostly.
Sure, I didn’t always love being famous. But I loved my job, I loved acting. And while being a public figure could get kind oftiresome, it also came with the territory. I didn’t think I’d change it for anything.
“Good,” Rosa said. A pinch in her eyes told me there was more to that response beneath the single word she spoke.
“So… we’re friends, right?” I asked, the word souring in my mouth like I’d taken a bite of lemon.
I watched as her smile dropped for only a moment before she quickly plastered it back on. “Friends,” she confirmed with a nod. Then she lowered her lips to the straw, taking another big gulp.
How many drinks had she had tonight? Three? Four?
She lifted a delicate hand and dragged her fingernail down my jaw and across my bottom lip.
It was intentional. Seductive. And as she lowered the finger away, I licked my bottom lip as though I could taste the remnants of her touch.
“Rosa,” I said, my voice a graveled ghost of what it usually sounded like. I slid my hand across the bar, draping it over hers and giving a gentle squeeze. “I hate the media attention, too. I don’t want to drag anyone into this lifestyle—even the people who think they want it. I doubt they really understand what they’re signing up for.” She nodded and I could see the agreement in her eyes. But before she could answer, I continued speaking. “But don’t think for asecondthat you would ruin me or my reputation. Got it?”
She rolled her eyes, softening the motion with a small smile. “You say that now. But I’m telling you, I’m like a dirty penny. A bad luck charm.”
“Why? Because once when you were a teenager, you did something stupid that landed you in the papers?”
She sighed and swirled her finger across the rim of her glass. “It wasn’t just the once…”
I didn’t know what that meant exactly, but she didn’t seem to want to go into more detail. “You know, a relationship is hard to hide in my line of work. But one date? That can be hidden from the media. One night together to see if this is worth exploring.”
Her smile flickered like a dying flame. “I think we both know that that one date will be really good. And we’ll be left in the same spot as before. Wanting two different trajectories in life.” She swallowed and my gaze followed the musculature of her throat with the movement. “I just wish?—”
“Hey,” Mark came over, interrupting her with a stupid chuckle.No. I could have punched him in the fucking broad nose right there for interrupting her. “Got a couple of shots for ya from the ladies at the end of the bar.”
I glanced up to find the girls who had come over for a selfie giving me a shy wave. “And I brought one for you, too,” he winked at Rosa. “Didn’t want you feeling left out.”
“Both of these are for me?” I gestured to the shot glasses of Jack Daniels sitting on the bar in front of me.
Mark shrugged. “Guess so. Theyeachwanted to buy one for you. And they were very specific that both were to go toyou.” He tapped the top of the bar twice before heading back toward waiting customers.
