Page 79 of The Love Dare
“You’re one to talk,” he says, indicating her hair.
She glances into a shop window to find an absolute bee’s nest atop her head. Some locals offer up a few catcalls and she buries her face in his chest—not from embarrassment,just overwhelmed by this happiness bubbling inside her, so potent and so powerful she doesn’t understand how she hasn’t exploded from the sheer amount of feeling whirling around inside her.
The crew isn’t far behind, so she and Tyler finally give up the chase, opting for some gelato instead. They sit on the church steps, huddled close. A band starts playing. Couples find their way to the makeshift dance floor, swaying beneath golden streetlamps, some old, some young, some foreign, some local, all emanating joy. An older Italian man comes over and sweet-talks Winnie into a dance. She’s pretty sure Tyler thinks it’s entertaining at first, until a little line forms of more older gentlemen willing to test their luck with the kind American girl who couldn’t find it in her heart to tell their friend no. Tyler’s under no such qualms as he storms across the piazza, practically growling them off. They elbow each other and laugh, a knowing look in their eyes as shouts ofil torosuddenly fill the air.
“Christ,” Tyler mutters as he shakes his head. “What am I going to do with you?”
“I don’t know,” she muses with a teasing tug on his tie, bringing his eyes back to her. “But I can’t wait to find out.”
His blue eyes blaze like the center of a flame. They stay there, twirling in each other’s arms, for as long as production lets them. On the way back to the hotel, Tyler slips his jacket over her shoulders.
She spends the next two days without him wrapped in that warm wool, letting the scent of him soothe her soul, trying not to think about the other women and the other dates. She knows they’re nothing more than a contractual obligation to Tyler, but it’s still not easy being trapped in a hotel room, all the while knowing he’s out there being spoon-fed romance at every single turn.
She loses count of how many times she furls and unfurls the little scrap of paper Tyler handed her, letting his carefully crafted transcription and the eternal words of William Shakespeare wash over her.
Never doubt I love.
She doesn’t.
Doubtinghimhas never been the problem.
The minute she steps into the ballroom for the next puzzle ceremony, Victoria just so happens to trip and spill an entire tray of champagne down her dress before Tyler arrives. Either Victoria’s the clumsiest person in the world, or it’s deliberate. Still, Winnie bites her tongue, not wanting to give the producers exactly what they want—a scene. Instead, she pretends to believe the profuse, over-the-top apologies and retreats up to her hotel room for a new outfit.
I’m strong, she thinks.
He’s worth it.
I won’t let them break me.
Tyler stops mid-conversation the moment she walks back into the room. Relief flashes visibly over his features. He turns away from the four women surrounding him and marches directly over to her without so much as a parting word. After taking her by the hand, he leads her through an open doorway. The moment they’re alone, he hooks his arm around her waist and spins her until her back is against the wall. His arms come to either side of her face, caging her in. A wild intensity lights his gaze.
“I thought you were gone.”
“Gone?” She shakes her head, not understanding.
“For a second, I—” He cuts off, voice escaping him. “When I didn’t see you, I thought maybe you left.”
The vulnerability in his voice makes her heart pinch. Understanding hits like a tidal wave. “No, Ty, I would never justleave.” She cups his face in her hand, running her thumb over his cheek, trying to soothe the fears away. “I would never disappear like that.”
“I know. I just?—”
His throat catches, Adam’s apple bobbing, as if stuck on the weight of his own insecurities. He closes his eyes and leans into her touch as he entwines their fingers, holding hers against his face for a prolonged moment. When he finally reopens his eyes, his gaze is no longer fearful but fierce. He steps closer, sandwiching her against the wall. One of his thighs presses between her legs. He lifts her hand from his cheek and holds it against the stucco instead, while his other thumb and forefinger grip her chin, tilting her head up. Anticipation tightens Winnie’s chest. Voices trickle through the opening. Five feet away, the other women are chatting, completely unaware of what’s happening on this side of the wall. She knows she should respect them enough to step away, but she can’t bring herself to move. Not when Tyler is staring at her as though he would let the world burn down around them if it meant never letting go.
“You won’t run?”
“I won’t.”
“You promise?”
“I promise.”
He slides his hand to cup her throat, possessive and demanding as he seals the promise with a kiss. Winnie’s never felt so worshipped, so wanted in her life. Her free hand twists in his shirt, clutching him to her as the rest of her melts in his arms. Polite chatter hums softly in the background, a reminder of how reckless this is, how easily they could be discovered. She can practically see the split screen in her mind. But she doesn’t care. For once in her life, she doesn’t give a damn what anyone else thinks. Let production paint her the harlot. Let the world think what they will. She can’t find it in her to care about anythingbeyond the fire scorching her from the inside out, a molten heat only Tyler’s hands, and Tyler’s lips, and Tyler’s words have ever made her feel.
Try as she might to be quiet, a moan slips through her lips.
Tyler pulls back, breathing heavily as he drops his forehead to her shoulder and grips her waist in his very strong, very capable, very large hands. “I’m so fucking done with these cameras, Win.”
“Two weeks.” She breathes the words like a prayer. “Two more weeks of filming.”
