“Nicola called. She and Marcus just received the arrangement of purple tulips you sent them at his winery as an engagement gift. She’d like to thank you directly rather than just through me. Could I give her your number?”

“Of course you can.”

She couldn’t read his expression as he continued to look at her. “Forever love—” His eyes darkened with the heat that was so much a part of him she was surprised the whole trailer hadn’t already gone up in flames. “—is the meaning of that flower.”

Valentina tried to ignore her rapidly beating heart. “It seemed appropriate for them.”

“It is.” Smith leaned one shoulder against the wall and crossed his feet at the ankles as if he had all the time in the world to chat with her. “I was surprised to hear that you’d sent them an engagement gift.”

“I’ve always thought that real love that comes without any strings should be celebrated.”

Where had that come from? She didn’t need to be discussing love with Smith Sullivan. Especially when something told her that if she gave him even the slightest bit of insight into who she was, he’d find a way to take advantage of it.

“I agree with you,” he told her, “especially given how many strings people try to knot together in this business. It’s one of the reasons I wanted to make this movie, even knowing people will try to write it off as a simple love story.”

She was surprised by just how well they agreed with each other on that point. Surprised, and frankly frightened at the prospect of how many other things they might agree on given the chance...

And yet, she thought as if watching herself from a distance, it seemed that once she’d gotten going on a roll with all of her opinions about what love should and shouldn’t be, she couldn’t find a way to stop herself from spouting, “I’ve always wondered why love has to be so full of conflict and strife. Why can’t love be simple? Why can’t it just be as pure as two people who realize that they can’t live as well, or as happily, apart as they can together?”

Smith’s eyes grew even more intense with every word she spoke. When she finally managed to close her mouth, he said, “I spent months struggling with the screenplay for Gravity before I could find the heart of what you just said so eloquently. That love doesn’t have to be hard. And passion can exist without the contrast of a fight. I see it with each of my siblings who have found love, the way safety and desire can be one and the same.”

His words were so gentle and warm that she felt as if she were stepping into his strong arms even though they were still several feet apart.

“Marcus and Nicola are part of the reason I have to make this movie. Because, as you just said, love without strings should be celebrated.” When his mouth curved up, his beautiful smile worked almost like gravity to pull her toward him. “Nicola also called me to make sure that I knew how great she and Marcus thought you were, just in case I was stupid enough to miss it.” His smile turned unabashedly sensual. “I assured her that, for all my faults, stupidity isn’t one of them. Come out on a date with me, Valentina.”

Panic swamped her in an instant, the key scenes of any “relationship” they might possibly have playing out as clearly as any of the dailies she’d watched just that morning. If she let herself be wooed into a date, and then his bed (because how could anyone possibly date Smith without begging him to make love to her?), she had no doubt that despite hating everything about the spotlights and media and fame that came with his life, she’d foolishly fall head over heels for him...mere moments before he moved on to the next movie, the next set, the next woman who presented a challenge.

All of which was why she made sure her answer was as direct as his question had been. “No.”

Any other man would have taken her refusal for what it was: a negative response that she had no intention of altering. Ever.

Smith, of course, wasn’t like any other man she’d ever met. So instead of giving her a hurt look and walking out of her trailer with his tail between his legs, he moved closer yet again, all but pinning her against the window.

“From the first moment you and I met, there’s been something between us.”

She wasn’t foolish enough to argue with him. Not when his statement was almost stupidly on point...as stupid as acting on those obvious sparks and letting them turn into flames that would burn her heart to ashes.

“You’re a very attractive man,” she admitted, “but since ten million other women are also attracted to you, I figure there’s no point in making a big deal out of it.”

“Only ten million?” he teased her.

Valentina honestly didn’t know whether to laugh or slap the arrogance out of him. Nor would she take the third—and most obvious—option of melting at his feet like pretty much any woman alive would be doing right now.

Why couldn’t he just get mad like a normal guy would when his attentions were being denied? All his teasing did was make her want to tease back. “Okay, probably more like a hundred million. But the end result is the same.” She paused to make sure he understood her very clearly this time. “I’m still not interested in going out on a date with you.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t date actors.”

He nodded as if it was a very wise decision. “Me either.”

She did a terrible job of hiding her surprise from him. More like shock, actually, given what was printed about him on a regular basis in the entertainment magazines.

Then again, hadn’t she been in the business long enough to know what a crock most of what the entertainment press dished out to the public really was?

“How about this?” he said in a voice that was far too reasonable for her comfort. “When I’m with you, I’ll be a director. Or a producer. Even a lowly screenwriter, if it makes you happy.”

She shouldn’t have laughed at the laundry list of titles, but how could she not? And it was true, Smith Sullivan was much more than just an actor.

Still, that didn’t change anything.

“How about I clarify my position?” She mirrored his reasonable tone perfectly. “I don’t date anyone in the business.”

There, that should do it. How could he possibly argue with that?

But when he didn’t look the least bit daunted, her stomach clenched. She told herself it wasn’t due to need, or desire, or the sparks that kept leaping and growing between them.