Heat Wave - Real Heat Book 2

Chapter two

Chapter 2

We practically threw money at the waitress and dashed out the door. The balmy Sydney night cloaked us as we walked along the waterfront, linked at the arm.

My voice shook slightly as I asked, 'So, where are we going? We can catch a train to almost anywhere. Or there's the taxi option.' Please don't say yes; I can't afford it.

Tanner crept his arm around my waist, cleaving me to his side. 'Nah, we can walk from here. It's just a little mosey 'round the corner.'

I smiled at his use of mosey, trying to quell the flurry of excitement coiling in my body. 'You know, I seriously wouldn't have recognised you without your hat. But I like seeing you this way too.'

'Yeah, my hat is still a part of me,' he explained, 'but I find these days it causes more trouble than it's worth when I'm out in public.'

'Of course,' I said, giggling. 'A gorgeous cowboy in his hat. Do you ever get asked for autographs?'

'Um ... you'd be surprised,' Tanner said. 'Hey, listen, Maddie ... if you work in production, do you watch much reality TV?'

'Ew. No, I don't. I mean, I barely watch any TV, but definitely not that rubbish. The Real Lives of the Internet's Most Famous Cats, So You Think You Can Sing, and Please Marry My Boy? As if any relationship can last when you're both on screen pretending to be the best version of yourself.'

Tanner glanced at me, his brow tangled in distress. 'You don't believe people can find real love on those shows? I got a couple of friends who met on one and are doing pretty well.'

Not wanting to destroy his belief in the on-screen romances, no matter how implausible they were, I tempered myself and said, 'Look, I'm sure there are exceptions—people who are soul mates and just happen to meet on TV. But love isn't about sleeping with a person while you're off in some exotic location without any real world concerns. It's about still loving that same person when they steal your covers in the middle of the night, or drink the last of the milk without telling you.'

'You seem to know a lot about good relationships.'

I shrugged. 'Not from personal experience. But I've had friends who hooked up when we were all away on a film shoot somewhere beautiful, with catering and rooms that magically got cleaned every day. Whenever those same couples got home, it fizzled out after a month or so.'

Tanner gave me a sly look. 'How about you? Did you ever knock boots with anyone on set?'

I couldn't answer. I wanted to be honest, but the sad tale of my last so-called relationship was a sordid and depressing story I didn't want to sully such a perfect night. 'Um ...'

Suddenly, fireworks exploded over the harbour, as if I'd conjured them from sheer desperation. 'Wow, look Tanner! Oh!'

I stopped at the side of the pier, resting a foot on the solid wooden sleeper at the edge and leaning on the railing. Awed, I stared up at the bursts of brilliant blues and ruby reds. Tanner threaded his arms through mine, pressing into my back. 'Somehow, I just knew that you still loved fireworks. That lil' girl I loved is still a part of you, ain't she?'

'Honestly? She never grew up.' With Tanner intertwined around me, the fireworks lighting the sky before us, and the promise of sex in the air, I was the happiest I'd been in a long time.

Tanner's breath heated my ear, sending flames racing down my neck and arm. His lips grazed the soft part of my lobe as I raised a hand to his head, clutching at his hair. As he sucked the lobe into his mouth, I moaned, my knees buckling. Tanner held me tight, one arm supporting my hips, the other on the plane of my belly.