One Special Moment - Brenda Jackson [56]
Sterling tipped his head back and laughed. Once again it occurred to him that he had laughed more in the past four days than at any other time in his entire life.
“I want to kiss you,” he said, bringing her closer to him. Deep down he knew he should back away. Things weren’t going as he’d originally planned. His relationship with Colby was to be all business and nothing more. But whenever he was around her, business was the last thing on his mind.
“I want you to kiss me, too, but I know for a fact James and Cynthia are at the window watching us.”
Sterling smiled. “Let them watch. They would expect us to kiss goodbye, wouldn’t they?”
“I suppose so,” Colby said.
Sterling lowered his mouth to hers. The kiss, to his way of thinking, was just as sweet as all the others had been, only too brief. Way too brief.
Afterward, he hugged her to him, knowing he would indeed miss her and that very thought bothered him.
It bothered him a lot.
Chapter 13
Seven days.
That’s how long it had been since he’d last seen Colby, Sterling thought for the hundredth time that day. He was trying to concentrate on the script that had been delivered to him that morning. And he couldn’t keep his mind on what he was doing.
It had been seven whole days.
Seeing his concentration level was at an all-time low, he stood and went to the window and looked out. The view of the ocean was beautiful, but not as beautiful as it had been that day he had watched Colby rousting about in it.
Sterling knew he ought to get back to the script. Filming would begin in five weeks; that was two weeks after he returned from his honeymoon. The last thing he wanted to do was think about Colby, but that was the very thing he was doing.
He had refused to call her by convincing himself of “out of sight, out of mind.” And he wanted to get her out of his system. But to his utter dismay, that hadn’t worked with him, which was very confusing. Never before had a woman effected him the way Colby had. His past affairs with women had always been a way to release his lust. They had been brief and meaningless liaisons. But Colby touched him on a different level, one that wasn’t just physical.
He had tried desperately to close his mind and thoughts to her, needing distance to get his mind back in focus, and to reinforce the reason for her place in his life. He kept telling himself that she was just another woman, like all the others, whether they were fashion models, other movie stars, or star-crazed groupies. He wanted to believe there was nothing about Colby that was so special. But deep down he knew that in itself was a lie.
He pulled in a ragged breath as he shifted his gaze from the ocean to the sun that was blazing bright in the sky. Why did things with Colby have to be so complicated? Getting through each day was hard enough, but his nights were even harder. He would lie awake during all hours just thinking about something she’d said or something she’d done, and would find himself smiling or laughing out loud like a fool. He was no longer able to take a walk on the beach without thinking of that night when their passion had nearly flared to the point of no return. While his better judgment told him she had done the right thing by calling a halt to things between them before they had gotten out of hand, another part of him still ached for something only she could give him. He needed to find complete release in her arms.
In the midst of his thoughts, he looked around and saw Simon enter the room. “Yes, Simon, what is it?”
“Security just called, sir. You have a visitor at the front gate.”
Sterling went over to the table to pour a glass of wine. He wasn’t in the mood for company. “Who is it?”
“A woman by the name of Angeline Chenault.”
The glass froze in Sterling’s hand midway to his mouth. His body stiffened. “Who did you say?”
Simon heard the sharp hardness in Sterling’s tone and didn’t understand the reason for it. “Security said the woman identified herself as Angeline Chenault. Can she be admitted?”
Into Sterling’s mind sprang