A New York Love Story (18 page)

“No, he's not…” Cade grumbled. “Listen, I'm driving and it's snowing, and if you keep provoking me like this, we'll have an accident!”

They had spent almost two hours in Zack's bakery. They all had a lot of fun. Zack let her taste several delicious cupcakes in addition to the cake! She thought it was incredible meeting another kind and fascinating man in just a few weeks. It was already a miracle to have met Cade!

After they left the bakery, Cade took her to see the river, such a sight under the snow! Now they were driving back to Staten Island, and she was thinking that no one before had done so many things to make her happy. It wasn't just the beautiful new sofa, the pizza party with her best friends and the birthday cake – there were many other details that had really touched her. She couldn't stop thinking of how he had helped her to get through the dinner with her mother, and his attentiveness throughout the entire evening. Everything he had chosen – down to the birthday cake – was something specifically thought of just
for her
. Her wish, when she had blown out the birthday candles, wasn't so different from her wish at the lighting of the Rockefeller Christmas tree. Maybe to express the same wish twice had strengthened her hope.

“I can't see anything with all this snow, but I think we've arrived.”

Clover recognized the new Christmas lights now decorating her windows and, resigned, she gave a loud sigh. It was four o'clock in the morning and she was exhausted, but the idea of separating from Cade was unbearable. “Yes, we've arrived… my house is the only one still illuminated. I didn't expect to get home so late!”

“Do you regret it?” Cade pretended to be indifferent, but Clover wasn't fooled – not even for a second! She understood he was eager for her answer.

“You know perfectly well I'm not regretting anything! Do you need reassurance, Mr Celebrity?”

“Don't tease me, redhead!”

They got out of the car in front of Cade's garage. He was a few steps from her when his feet slipped on the ice and he lost his balance. He grabbed her arm and they both fell onto a big pile of snow on the side of the path.

“Are you ok?” he asked, trying to get back on his feet.

“Yes, and you?”

“Except for my deeply hurt pride, everything is fine…” he mumbled.

She burst into laughter, so contagious that he started to laugh too.

“You should have seen your face, so incredulous! You couldn't believe it, right?” she was laughing so hard, she cried.

“I
never
fall…” he looked at her, frowning, but his eyes were full of hilarity. “You're the one who's always got her ass on the ground!”

“The Prince of Hollywood went belly up in the snow! Justice has been served! I can't always be the clumsy one…”

“But I promise you, it won't happen again!”

“I wouldn't be so sure … Now that it's happened, you won't forget it, and then the fear of falling will make you clumsy and you'll eventually fall again… and I will laugh…”

A handful of snow hit her mouth, stopping her laughter instantly.

“That'll teach you! You can't tease a celebrity and hope to just get away with it.”

Clover responded swiftly, throwing a big snowball at him. Then, while he tried to dry his face, she said, “It's not fair to take revenge on a poor, fragile woman who's sinking in the snow under the weight of a movie star.”

“Oh – my god! Sorry! I'm crushing you. I didn't realize.” Cade tried to get up, but she put her arms round his neck, happy to have him on top of her.

“You are not hurting me. The snow is soft…”

“And so are you,” he smiled.

Hugging him, lying together on a big pile of snow, white snowflakes swirling around them, Clover thought that she had never been so happy before… ever. She looked at Cade's beautiful features and thought again about all the things he had done for her, and for the first time she felt really
unique
.

“It has been the best birthday of my whole life…” she mumbled, wanting to say much more.

He kissed her sweetly and passionately. She felt her body melting, in spite of the icy snow they were sitting in. That kiss seemed to last an eternity, yet she felt the longing for more when he let her go to stand up.

But then, embracing her tightly, he returned to her lips to kiss her more. She moaned, responding with all her desire. She realized only later that he was dragging her – still kissing her – towards his front door. He was able to unlock it – who knows how! – still keeping her tightly wrapped round him. Inside a pleasant warmth enveloped them.

Cade unbuttoned their coats and putting his arms round her waist, pulled her closer. Damn! All these winter clothes created such an irritating barrier! She caressed his chest, happy to hear his heart racing as fast as hers. She stood on tiptoe to reach his lips again, and he lifted her up. One of his hands slipped under her sweater and the contrast between his cold fingers and her warm skin, startled some clarity back into her mind, clouded by pleasure and passionate desire.

“My hands are so damn cold, I know,” he whispered. “But they will get warm soon, I promise.”

Clover nodded, but this sudden chill had re-activated her rational side. Yes, everything was magical. She just wanted to abandon herself in Cade's arms, lose herself in a vortex of passion, and spend the whole night – and beyond – in bed with him. Yet, she knew very well that Cade and this relationship were only an idyllic parenthesis in her life. Would she be able to return to her small monotone life after Cade's departure?

Her voice was trembling as she said, “I think I should go home now…”

“No way!” he answered, holding her even more tightly.

“I'm serious,” she tried to move away. “This whole thing is a fantasy!”

“I don't agree,” Cade took her face in his hands, searching for her eyes, “and you really don't agree either.”

“Tomorrow we will regret this…”

“Not me, for sure!”

You are not risking your future peace of mind…
she thought, looking down and stepping back. Yet, her hands were still holding his arms. She felt so ambivalent. It was so painful to really let him go. “We're too different, Cade.”

“It doesn't look that way to me, not at this moment anyway.”

“Tomorrow your mind will be clearer and you'll agree with me.”

“I don't think so…”

Clover observed him. His face was tense, both because of his restrained desire and her sudden coolness. His hands, holding her waist, were warm now, and she felt his heat penetrate her skin and touch the nerves beneath it.

It would be easy – too easy – to surrender. She had never felt so tempted before in her life. Just the idea alone was powerful enough to scare her. To trust someone totally was unthinkable, without taking into account the fact that Cade was an actor – someone who fakes emotions for a living. Yet, he seemed sincere right now and she wanted to take the risk so badly – maybe for the first time in her life. Although she knew how different their lifestyles were and that the probability of getting burned by this experience was high, a part of her still wanted to take the risk…

But, after a tough battle, the fear of being unable to deal with all these emotions prevailed over the desire to abandon herself. She did what she knew how to do best, get out of there!

When Cade saw her heading to the door, he rubbed his hands over his face, unable to stop her, and too discouraged to try. He let her go.

He wanted this woman, heart and soul. His desire went beyond the physical urge. Clover had somehow reached his heart. When she wasn't around, he missed her badly. It wasn't something he was used to feeling…

But he knew as well as she did that their relationship was a fantasy. She was right. They had very different lives and they lived far away from each other. Although he was rediscovering the importance of seizing the day and life's simple joys, he was acutely aware that his career, obligations and commitments waited for him in LA. It would be difficult at the very least to make everything compatible with Clover's life.

Yet, when he was with her, he forgot everything. He realized that her doubts were legitimate, but at this moment he just felt frustrated and angry. He took off his jacket, threw it on the floor and began to kick it… then he heard the doorbell. His heart jumped in his throat. It was four o'clock in the morning, the only person who could be behind that door was the person who left a few minutes before.

As soon as he opened the door, he saw Clover's face, reddened by the cold. She threw herself in his arms with a sigh. Cade hugged her and closed the door, his anger completely forgotten.

This time he wouldn't give her a chance to change her mind. He lifted her up and carried her into the bedroom, his mouth glued to hers. Once inside, he locked the door and – in front of Clover's confused gaze – put the key above the armoire. “You can't reach up there without my help,” he said with a mischievous look.

“Basically this is a kidnapping!” she protested, but her eyes were burning with desire.

“Exactly.” Cade took off her jacket.

“Kidnapping wouldn't be good for your reputation…”

“Well, I will just have to suffer the consequences!” Her sweater followed her jacket to the floor.

“Are you ready to blow your career for me?” She unbuttoned his shirt so hastily that the buttons almost popped off. “I appreciate your spirit of sacrifice.”

“Good! Because I'm ready to martyr myself for the cause, until we collapse exhausted on this bed…” he began to pull off her pants. He felt her trembling as he ran his hands down the warm silky skin of her thighs. “Are you cold?”

“No, I'm just afraid of fainting in the middle of it…” she breathed heavily, coming closer to him.

Cade embraced her tightly. As soon as his body, stiffened by desire, felt hers surrender in its almost naked softness, his brain risked a blackout. “I've never made anyone faint before, but who knows… I could try, “he whispered in her ear, stroking her silky hair.

“If this is a challenge, I won't make things easy for you…” she began kissing his throat, moving her tongue slowly along the arch of his neck.

Cade felt a wave of heat and pleasure through his whole body. Clover realized it and whispered, “I've wanted to do this for a long time…”

“If we don't slow down, I'm afraid we'll both faint in a few minutes.” He held her wrists, while her body was moving rhythmically against his.

“So then we'll have time to recover and continue our experiment
later
…” she smiled, allusively, and then kissed him with such urgency it left him breathless.

With a moan of defeat, Cade stopped thinking.

*

The relentless vibration of his cell phone woke him up. It was somewhere, maybe in his pants pocket – wherever his pants were! Still confused and groggy from lack of sleep, Cade tried to ignore the repetitive sound. He felt pleasantly relaxed after a fantastic night of passion with Clover, who was still sleeping at his side. He turned over to embrace her soft, warm body. He couldn't remember a more beautiful awakening. The house was warm and silent. Only a few muffled noises came from the snow covered street and a soft light filtered through the curtains. A wonderful woman, her legs intertwined with his and her radiant hair on the pillow, slept peacefully in his bed.

They had made love until dawn, collapsing, exhausted, only at the first light of day. If it weren't for that damn phone ringing, he would have slept much longer! Yet, being awake now, to observe the sweetest and most beautiful woman in the world sleeping so close to him was an incredible pleasure.

She had a relaxed expression and her sensual lips, even fuller and redder from the countless kisses, seemed to smile. Her wonderful red hair was spread on the pillow, exactly how he had imagined it so many times. He stroked her neck with his fingers, moving down along her shoulder, her back and her hips. Clover's sensitive skin reacted to his touch, and he revelled in it.

She belonged to him. Her milky skin still showed the marks of his passion and desire. Her sweet smell penetrated his fingers and his entire body. That amazing night had been not only an encounter of bodies, but something far deeper.

Suddenly, the thought of their future assaulted him. It was a continuous disturbing, gnawing thought. How to reconcile their lives, so different and so far away from each other? But he didn't want to give up yet. Not after he had gotten to know her.

He was tempted to wake her up to make love again, but he knew Clover had to work in the afternoon. She needed some sleep after that intense night…

The sound of the cell phone returned persistently. He decided to answer it, to check it wasn't anything serious. He finally found his pants and put them on, while checking the phone that had been in a pocket after all. He had received seven emails, eight voicemails, several missed calls, plus four texts – most of them from Scott. He immediately opened the texts.

Let me know what to do. I don't know how you want to deal with the situation.

They are driving me crazy. I'm under siege!

Are you still sleeping? So, are the insinuations of the magazine correct…?

Your press office is ready to broadcast any statement you want. But, please, don't make me wait too long! I may have a heart attack before the end of the day!

Cade cursed under breath and started to open the emails. He already imagined what they were about…

That bastard had actually done it! The guy in the white car had probably been called by someone in the pizzeria who had recognized Cade. He had lurked outside and taken several pictures through the windows with his cell phone. Damn it! Cade opened all the photos. Although the resolution was extremely low quality, his face and Clover's were perfectly recognizable. The pictures showed Clover and he as an intimate couple – although no shot showed anything explicit – and of course none of Clover's friends were in the pictures. In this way it really did look like a date. There was also a photo in which they were on the verge of kissing, before getting in the car. Scott had attached the article that appeared that morning in the
Enquirer
, together with the photographs. Cade read it with growing anger.