“No, you need to enjoy the ride for once and take care of you and Ryan and let other people handle this.”

“I hate that I’m not there for you.”

“Tar, you are. You are. Please don’t think that.”

I leaned up against the wall next to the French doors leading out to the balcony, mesmerized by the breathtaking view of the Eiffel Tower glowing in the darkened sky. My mother had dreamed of seeing the tower her whole life but never did.

After I said goodbye and ended our call, I felt horrible for abandoning everything on her so I could be absent and carefree, running around the globe when she needed me the most.

But in a big way, having someone to take care of the bar was a huge relief, giving me a much-needed break from a life that I didn’t choose.

I knelt down to straighten up the mess Ry-an made when he dumped his backpack on the floor. The section of the newspaper he was reading on the plane was crumpled in the pile.

Curious, I paged through it, stopping on an article about another famous actor. I remembered distinctly that this was the last page Ryan read because shortly thereafter he appeared to be irritated by something and crammed the newspaper roughly into his pack. Right after that he laced his fingers tightly with mine. I thought maybe

Reparation had gotten a bad review, but there was nothing else in this section of the paper that had anything to do with anything in our lives.

As I perused the story, my breath caught.

The article stated that the couple had ended their four-year relationship, citing that their busy careers took them in different directions, ultimately causing their demise.

I glanced over at Ryan as he snapped the elastic band of fresh black boxer briefs around his waist, allowing me another de-lectable view of his chiseled abs. Could this be the reason why he was upset earlier?

Four years. That’s as far as they made it in their high-profile relationship. Four measly years. Perhaps in their eyes it was long enough. In my mind, ending a relationship after four years would mean a very deep scar would be left behind, bringing the kind of heartache and devastation that’s sure to kill a huge piece of your soul.

I looked down at the cell phone still clutched in my hand. I couldn’t even imagine only having four years with Ryan. And yet here I was, blissfully happy while watching Marie’s marriage fall apart.

Chapter 6

Tour “God, Paris is beautiful.” I hid behind the tiny split in the curtain trying to get clear shots of the sun rising over the landscape with my camera. “I have a view of the Eiffel Tower from my room!” I said excitedly, doing a little happy dance with my butt again.

Ryan laughed. “You know all your shots are going to have the glass reflection on them. Turn the flash off and go out on the terrace,” he mumbled around his toothbrush.

I toggled through the settings, trying to figure out how to use my new digital pocket camera. “Can’t. Don’t think your fans want to see me.”

Ryan groaned and pressed his chest to my back, looking over my shoulder. “How many are out there?”

“Too many to count.” I tugged the curtain shut.

“We can always come back. It’s different when they don’t know where I am. You have full access to my schedule. Anywhere you want to go—just put it on the calendar. It’s your job to manage my personal life, future wife.”

Oh really? That got me grinning. Then a sad thought struck me. “It’s going to be a while until you have time off to travel for fun.”

Ryan placed a soft, lingering kiss on my neck. “I know. We’ll figure something out.

And we also need to start thinking about building a house. Time that we had a place of our own to call home, don’t you think?”

Home. That word sent an instant wave of elation through my heart and a smile a mile wide across my face.

“Big log house with a big ol’ bedroom,” he mumbled with his lips pressed to my neck.

“How does that sound?”

“I think it sounds perfect. We’re definitely going to need a big ol’ bedroom for this.” I grabbed the newly formed erection pressing up against the crack of my butt. “We just had sex in the shower. You’re insatiable.” His hands palmed my breasts and a playful growl rolled up his throat. “I can’t help that you made me hard again. It’s all your fault.”

Like a cat stretching, I reached around his neck. “I bet if you went out there right now with that massive stiffy you’d stop a few hundred girls’ hearts from beating.” Like a naughty kid up to no good, Ryan seemed amused by my inadvertent challenge. “Since I don’t have enough time to properly bed you again, let’s test that theory, shall we?”