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Yes, he did, and not just the character she portrayed. He might not know her name or true profession, but he knew more than those who did. “I wish there was a chance.” She closed her eyes, opened them to the stark truth. Nothing could ever come of this. Julian was a famous movie star, but she was no actress, body double or assistant. She didn’t live a fairy tale, but a dangerous profession with a regulation-issued gun and a dangerous criminal who would be furious when she caught him.After the mission, she’d go back to regular shifts at the police unit and Julian would go on to another movie and thousands – no millions – more fans. And he would forget her.
She didn’t belong in his world any more than he belonged in hers.
“My life isn’t a fairy-tale. Yours, well, yours just might be. This can’t be.”
He leaned forward. “We live in the same world, Destiny, the same country, even the same state. From our conversations, we like the same things, have the same point of view on so many subjects. I can’t say a lead a normal life, if there even is such a thing, but at least it’s an adventure.”
She sipped wine far sweeter than expected, just like his offer. “My life is already an adventure.”
“It is?”
The wine turned as dry as the desert as it snaked down her esophagus. Destiny Dane’s life wasn’t an adventure – Cheyenne Kirk’s was. She swallowed hard. “Look around. I went from a low level extra to dining on a multi-million-dollar yacht. I’d say that’s an adventure.”
His regard didn’t waver. “True, but that’s not what you meant. There’s something else, a reason that explains why your resume reads like a fairy-tale, why you treat me differently than the other men on the set.”
“That’s simple. No other guy attracts me like you do.” She gasped. “I meant excites.” She gasped again. “I meant arouses. I meant bothers!” She gripped the table. “Not that type of bothers.”
He laughed. “Now why don’t I believe you?”
“Okay, fine.”Get it together, Kirk.“I never pretended I didn’t lust after you. But that’s it.”
“You like me far more than you admit, and more than you want to,” Julian challenged. “Tell the truth, Destiny. Why are you so afraid?”
“I’m not afraid.” The wine glass in her hand creaked; she released it and picked up a pastry. “With me, what you see is what you get. Plain Destiny Dane.”
“There’s nothing plain about you.” Fervent words blazed the truth, then a second’s pause. “Or that name. What’s your real name?”
The appetizer lodged like a golf ball in her throat, and she choked into the linen napkin. She drank half a glass of wine before she could finally breathe. Her head churned like the waves of the sea.
Concern darkened his gaze. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. Just went down the wrong way.” Like his questioning.She clasped chilled hands.“Destiny Dane is my real name. Why would you think otherwise?”
“Most actresses use stage names.” He swirled his glass, but did not drink. “No offense, but Destiny Dane is clearly invented.”
Yes, it was. The resume writers truly had it out for her. The name sounded like an 80s stripper. “Maybe I’m just lucky to have a movie star name.” She tried to smile. “What about you, Mr. JulianStarcroft?”
He shrugged. “My fan club claims it’s my real name.”
“And what do you say?”
“It’s as real as Destiny Dane.”
She glared, and he softened. “I’m not accusing you of anything, Destiny. But your behavior makes no sense and your resume reads like a soap opera script. I’d like to help, but I need the truth. Are you in some sort of trouble?”
“Absolutely not,” she denied.
“That was passionate.”
“I really meant it.”
“Perhaps, or maybe you really want me to believe it. I’m sorry, I can tell you’re lying.”
Emotion surged. Of course, he could tell she was lying. They had some sort of connection, a bond that made deception impossible. She could resist simple attraction, yet this was far more powerful. He was all his fervent fans proclaimed him and more.
“Even you can’t deny it,” he said softly. “So why are you trying to?”
Because she wasn’t really an actress. Because she was an undercover operative on a mission. Because the fairy tale life of an actor’s girlfriend was just that – a fairy tale. “I can’t talk about it.”