“That’s an understatement. I wasn’t satisfied with my work, with the direction my career was taking, with the future I saw ahead for me. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt happy.” He reached out to cover her hand with his on the table. “But I was happy when I was with you.”
He heard her breath catch in her throat. “Oh, Kit.”
“You wanted to know why I came looking for you. That’s why.”
She bit her lip.
“You’re wondering what I want from you now, aren’t you?”
She nodded a bit warily.
He could certainly understand that. He wasn’t sure, himself, what he’d expected when he came in search of her.
He looked down at their hands on the table. It seemed so natural to touch her. To be with her. He didn’t want to go back to L.A. and try to forget her again. For one thing, he knew he would be no more successful at doing so now than he had been before. Not with so many unresolved emotions between them.
He looked into her eyes again, finding their expression troubled—but, he thought hopefully, receptive.
“If I was an insurance salesman, and you and I had met at a church social, and I asked you out to dinner, maybe a movie—what would you say?” he asked impulsively.
Savannah’s eyebrows lifted. “Now, how am I supposed to answer that?”
“Honestly.”
She shrugged. “I would probably say yes.”
“Why?”
She eyed him uncertainly. “Why?”
“Why would you say yes? Because I would seem like a nice enough guy? One you wouldn’t mind getting to know a little better?”
“Well…yes. But—”
He nodded, finally satisfied that the biggest problem standing between them was his celebrity status. So all he had to do was convince her that he was just a regular guy who’d been knocked flat off his feet by a very desirable woman—her.
It wasn’t going to be easy. For one thing, he wasn’t just a regular guy. The Academy Award sitting on the mantel in his apartment had interfered with that, at least until some other screenwriter became the flavor of the month.
He scooted a few inches away from her, then stuck out his right hand, offering it in a classic handshake. “How do you do, Ms. McBride? I’m Kit Pace. I’d love to sell you some insurance, but how about dinner and a movie first?”
He was delighted when she laughed, though it was little more than a reluctant chuckle.
“You’re insane, you know,” she murmured.
“Probably.” He doubted that he would be here now, otherwise. “But I’m relatively harmless. Will you give me a chance to prove that?”
“I told you, Kit. It’s not you I’m worried about. It’ s everything that goes along with being seen with you.”
“You’re going to let the gossips dictate your life? Are you really going to give them that much power over you?” He deliberately made his tone challenging.
Savannah lifted her chin. “You don’t understand.”
“Not entirely,” he agreed. “And I’d like you to tell me why you’re so skittish about the grapevine. But first I want you to tell me that you’ll give us a chance. Introduce me to the real Savannah McBride.”
She tilted her head and regarded him consideringly for a long moment. And then she reac
hed out and placed her hand in his. “Hello, Kit Pace. I’m Savannah McBride.”
His fingers closed firmly around hers. The challenge had been offered and accepted, he realized.