CHAPTER EIGHT
'SORRY, I only have one baseball cap,' Valentino said, holding the car door open for her.
'That's okay. My fame hasn't reached small seaside towns yet.'
He grinned at her lame joke and for some reason she felt better. Though she wasn't really interested in feeling better. What she wanted was TJ's signature on the bottom line of a contract and the weekend to be over. And not necessarily in that order.
She sighed, turning her mind away from work for once. 'Why do celebrities wear baseball caps to hide their identity?'
'Because Lyons bought all the Akubras?'
Miller burst out laughing, suddenly enjoying the fact that he was relaxed and casual. So much simpler than being uptight and serious. So much freer... Maybe there was something to recommend the casual approach sometimes.
She noticed people looking at the silver bullet as they drove down through the main part of the town. 'Bet you wish you'd brought my car now.'
He grinned. 'We'll park around a corner.'
'What if someone steals it?'
'Dante has insurance.'
'And Dante is...?'
'My elder brother.'
'What are your sisters' names?'
She sensed more than saw his pause. 'Katrina and Deanna.'
She was about to ask him another question when he pulled the car into an empty car space and jumped out. Was that another topic of conversation that was out of bounds?
She wondered why he didn't like talking about his family and then decided to let it go. She had to remember that he wasn't with her because he wanted to be, and talking about their personal histories wasn't part of that. Nor was what had happened on the beach, but she didn't regret it. The way he had touched her had been indescribably good.
'Where are we going?' Better not to think about something she'd rather not dwell on.
'Window shopping.'
Miller raised an eyebrow. 'You like window shopping?'
'I'm looking for something.'
Narrow Victorian-era seaside shops overlaid with modern updates and sweetly dressed cafés advertising Devonshire teas lined the quaint street.
'Want to tell me what it is?'
'Nope. I'll know it when I see it.'
Despite the fact that her curiosity was well and truly piqued Miller decided to stem her need to know and show Valentino how well she could go with the flow when she chose to. Even if it killed her!
Glancing into tourist inspired shops displaying far too many knick-knacks no one could possibly want, she nearly walked into a small child when Valentino stopped outside an ice cream shop.
She looked at him and he raised a questioning eyebrow.
Ice cream? Really?
It was just what she needed and an ear-to-ear grin split her face.
She glanced at him, so big and handsome, standing in the queue, and her chest felt tight when he remembered her favourite flavour.
Deciding that there was absolutely nothing behind the gesture, but warmed by it nonetheless, she graciously accepted the cone and together they wandered into a small park.
By tacit agreement they veered towards a weathered picnic table and perched on it when Miller discovered the bench seat was covered in bird poop.
Valentino leant back on one hand, his T-shirt riding high enough to reveal the top button of his low-slung jeans, hinting at the line of hair bisecting his toned abs.
Miller swallowed and glanced around the pretty park, pretending rapt attention on the two toddlers shouting instructions at each other on the nearby play equipment. She really didn't want him to know that just the sight of him licking his ice cream and sprawled back like that was enough for her to instantly recall their tryst on the beach that morning in minute detail.
'Where did you grow up?'
His unexpected question brought her eyes reluctantly back to him, but she was glad of the innocuous topic to focus her attention away from the physical perfection of his body.
'Mostly in Queensland, but after my parents divorced my mother moved to Melbourne.'
He studied her and she forced herself not to squirm under his regard. 'How old were you when they divorced?'
'Ten.'
'And do you like Melbourne?'
'That's difficult to say. Whenever I came home from boarding school it seemed like my mother had moved to another suburb.'
'Why did she move so often?'
'We rented, and there's not much security in rentals. Which I found hard because I've always been the type of person who needs...' She struggled for a word that didn't make her seem boring compared to him.
'Certainty?'
'Yes.' Her lips lifted into a self-deprecating smile.
'Have you ever travelled?'
'No. I was always set on working and buying my own place. Even from a young age I knew what I wanted to achieve and set out to do it. That probably makes me boring in your eyes.'
Valentino shook his head. 'Determined. I know what that's like.'
Miller concentrated on finishing the delicious ice cream, feeling the tension ease out of her body. 'I guess you do.'
'So what was your childhood dream?'
Miller flashed him an exasperated look. So much for that fleeting moment of relaxation! 'I can see why you're going for your eighth world title,' she said sourly.
A wolfish grin split his face. 'I have been told I can be somewhat tenacious at times.'
'I think that's a polite way of saying you're pigheaded.'
He laughed and she liked the sound. Liked that he didn't take himself too seriously.
'Is it really that embarrassing?'
'No...' She scratched her head and then realised he had accurately read her body language and sighed, knowing his curiosity was well and truly piqued. And really it wasn't a huge secret, or anything to be ashamed of. 'When I was about eleven I dreamt of living on a huge country property. I always saw myself in a small circular room, overlooking a paddock full of horses and-'
'Why circular?'
'I don't know. Maybe because I loved The Hobbit...'
'Fair enough. Go on.'
'It's not very exciting,' she warned.
'Go on.'
'And in this dream I would divide my time between illustrating children's books and taking the horses out into the hills whenever I wanted.' She stopped, feeling silly giving voice to something she hadn't thought of in years. Of course she wouldn't tell him her ultimate dream. No one knew about that.
'Nice dream.'
She heard the smile in his voice and glanced at him reclining on the weather-beaten table, the afternoon sun gilding his features into a perfect mask of casual decadence.
Her heart caught and she cleared her throat, slightly embarrassed to have shared so much of herself. 'Yes, well, as my mother pointed out, it's almost every young girl's fantasy to own horses, and she wasn't paying for me to attend the best boarding school in the country to become an out-of-work artist.'
Miller heard the note of bitterness in her voice and wondered if Valentino did as well. It made her feel ashamed. Her mother had only ever wanted the best for her.
'So you stopped dreaming and took up a serious vocation?' he guessed accurately.
Regretting whatever tangent had got them onto this topic, Miller shifted and pulled her legs up to her chest. 'Dreams aren't real. That's why they're called dreams.'
'Following them gives you a purpose.'
'Putting food on the table gives you a purpose-as my mother found out to her detriment. She had me young and didn't complete her education. It made her vulnerable.'
He leant forward, his hands dangling over the front of his knees. 'And I can see why she wouldn't want that for her daughter. But I doubt she'd want you to give up on your dreams altogether. If we don't follow our dreams, what's the point of living?'
His voice was gentle and it annoyed her. Was he being condescending?
'You don't know my mum. She has a special bottle of champagne in the fridge for when I make partner.' And there was no way Miller could imagine disappointing her when she had sacrificed so much for her.
'But it's still her dream for you, not yours.'
She flashed him a sharp look but nevertheless felt compelled to answer. To explain herself. 'My mother has valid points.'
'I don't doubt she means well, Miller, but are her points really valid?'
His gentle query made her edgy, because it was the same one that had been taking up her head space since TJ had started subtly hitting on her.
Feeling slightly desperate, she jumped off the table and faced him. 'It would have been selfish of me to pursue art when my mother gave up so much for me.' She glanced in the direction of the sun and wondered about the time. 'We should probably get back.'
He cocked his head to the side and made no attempt to move. 'Maybe she shouldn't have pushed you so hard in the direction she saw as right. And what about your father? Didn't he help with the bills?'
She shook her head. 'I think he tried to help. For a while. But he lived on a commune, which meant that he didn't have the means to contribute to the private school my mother chose.'