She couldn’t help but smile at the thought. She laid her hand on his arm. “Aww. I hope it’s a great baby-making spot for the two of you.”

He grinned. “Me, too.”

The shoot went well. She and Elliott fell into an easy rhythm, laughing with each other as they posed together. She had on a hellaciously tough dress with a corset, so bending was difficult. Showcasing the dress was paramount, of course, as was setting a romantic mood. Elliott was as helpful as possible, and she was glad she had him as a partner for this segment.

All in all, it took about an hour and a half. By the time they were finished, her back was aching and she couldn’t wait to get out of the dress.

She kissed Elliott on the cheek and wished him and Sharma well on their baby-making vacation, then moved off toward the dressing area.

It was only then that she noticed Grant standing in the shade. He had put on dark sunglasses, which made him look tall, dark, and oh so dangerous.

She’d totally forgotten about him.

“You’re still here. I’m so sorry. I got caught up with work.”

“That’s what you’re supposed to do, isn’t it?” He picked up her hand and kissed the back of it. “You look beautiful, by the way.”

“This dress is a pain in the ass. The corset is tight as hell and I can hardly breathe. I don’t know why some woman would want to wear it on her wedding day.”

He laughed and walked with her toward the building they were using for dressing and makeup.

“So you’re more a get married in the courthouse kind of woman?”

She shrugged. “I’ve never given it any thought, to be honest.”

“Really? I thought wedding day stuff was something all women thought about from the time they were little girls.”

Weddings made her think of marriage. Which made her think of her mother. Then her father. Him leaving, making promises he hadn’t kept. And why she never wanted to get married or be tied to a man.

She stood at the door to the dressing area. “Not me. All I’ve thought about from the time I was seventeen was making sure my brother and sister had food, a roof over their heads, education, and that they never felt abandoned like I did.”

Once again, she’d opened her mouth and all these truths spilled out. She had no idea why she kept doing that with Grant. Now he stood there, studying her, and she felt exposed. And it wasn’t because of the clingy, tight-as-hell dress. No, she felt emotionally vulnerable. And that scared the hell out of her.

“I … have a few things to finish.”

Fortunately, he didn’t ask her to expound on her truth-telling. He simply said, “I’ll wait for you.”

She didn’t know what else to say, having said too much already, so she nodded and slipped away.

NINETEEN

KATRINA CONSTANTLY SURPRISED HIM. NOT ONLY WAS she fun and sexy, but she was also serious.

Maybe too serious sometimes.

Oh, sure, she took her job seriously. He admired that about her, because he did the same thing. There was always plenty of time for play, but when it came time to work, you had to focus. He had no time for people who didn’t respect their work. He already knew Katrina did, because he’d seen it firsthand.

She had plenty of professional goals. But he had no idea she didn’t have personal dreams.

Not that every woman needed to have dreams of getting married, or that some dude on a white horse holding a sword over his head would swoop in and save her. He was starting to learn a little more about her every time he was with her, though, and it was becoming more and more apparent to him that she’d sacrificed a lot for her family.

Her youth, and all the fun that should have been associated with that. When he was seventeen, he’d been partying his ass off. Yeah, football and college had been a priority for him, and he’d been damn serious about it, but he’d also found time for partying and girls and doing all those fun things a young guy should be doing.

Katrina, though? She’d landed a job as a model, and as far as he could tell, she hadn’t partied anything off. She’d had a laser focus on making money, establishing her career, and making sure Leo and Anya had been taken care of.

Admirable as hell. And really sucked for her.

Maybe it was high time she make up for that lack of fun.

He could definitely help in that area.

So when she finished talking to the photographer, he grabbed her hand.

“Hungry?”

“I’m actually more tired than hungry. Someone kept me up late last night.”

“Yeah, I noticed that when you passed out before I did.”

She tugged on his hand. “I believe it was you who gave out first.”

He studied her, loving her competitive spirit. “Let’s call it a draw.”

“If that’s what you need to feel better about yourself.”

He smirked. “Okay, food first, then I’ll let you get some sleep, since I’m sure you had a full day of work and barely ate anything.”

She sighed. “You’re right about that. As much as I’d like to fall face-first on the hotel’s bed and sleep, I do need to eat something.”

He waited outside while she went and changed clothes. When she came out, she was wearing a light blue sundress and her hair fell down her back in soft black waves.

He’d like to lose himself in her hair, tangle his fingers in it, bury his nose in it while he was buried inside of her.

His cock twitched just thinking about it, so he figured he’d better think about something else. He walked up to meet her.