Chapter 29
Twenty-Nine
Liana’s feet burned in the hot sand, but she didn’t move a muscle as the makeup artist reapplied her lip liner for the third time—and it was only nine o’clock.
The Costa del Sol, known for hot sunny days, was living up to its reputation on this morning, and Liana began to droop from the heat.
She wanted nothing more than to dive head first into the foamy waves that crashed against the sugar-white sand in the south of Spain.
“Feet,” she said without moving her lips.
“What?”
“Feet burning.”
“Oh! Why didn’t you say so?” The makeup woman hustled Liana to the cooler wet sand. “Sorry about that.”
A wardrobe assistant followed them and readjusted Liana’s white string bikini.
When the woman grabbed Liana’s breasts like they were two hunks of meat, it was all Liana could do not to smack her.
Instead she did what she always did—she stood still and let them manhandle her.
Whatever it took to get the job done so she could get back to her hotel and be alone.
Usually, she looked forward to the Sports Illustrated shoot.
Often she saw other models who had become acquaintances over the years, and in the past, she had enjoyed the camaraderie.
But this year there were a bunch of fresh new faces, many of them so caught up in their own hoopla Liana couldn’t be bothered with getting to know them.
That, like everything else since she left Rhode Island, would take too much effort.
She was in hotter demand than ever after all the media attention her relationship with Travis had generated. Artie had her heavily scheduled well into next year, and that was fine with her. She had discovered being busy was preferable to idleness, which gave her too much time to think.
Artie had finally told her more about the “tidbit” he had mentioned during her vacation.
He was in negotiations with the world’s top cosmetics company to make Liana “The Face of L’élégance.
” Artie was ecstatic about it, most likely because he would make a fortune in commissions on the deal.
He was disappointed by her lackluster reaction to the plum offer, but Liana told him to work it out. She didn’t care about the details.
Standing on the sidelines watching Liana intently as the makeup artist gave her face one last thorough inspection were two of the four men who now accompanied her everywhere she went.
They were nice enough and did their best not to be overly intrusive, but Liana was always aware of them.
The media had been so relentless in their pursuit of her, first in Milan and now in Spain, she’d been grateful to have the bodyguards.
She knew the paparazzi were salivating for just a scrap of information about the status of her relationship with Travis, but she wasn’t talking and was confident he wouldn’t either.
As she did so many times every day, she thought of him and wondered if he missed her anywhere near as much as she missed him.
Over and over again she replayed that last conversation with him, asking herself each time why she couldn’t have just given him the guarantee he’d needed.
But then she remembered how unyielding he had been, and she got mad all over again.
She hadn’t appreciated his ultimatum. I wasn’t ready to make a commitment based on just two weeks together, and it wasn’t fair of him to pressure me the way he did.
But after spending more than a week without him she wished she had that last night to do over.
Right about now she’d give him anything he wanted if it meant she could be with him again.
“Are you ready, sweetheart?” the photographer called.
A spike of white-hot pain seared Liana. “Don’t call me that,” she snapped.
Unaccustomed to such a sharp tone from her, the shocked photographer, makeup artist, and wardrobe assistant stared at her.
“Let’s get this done.” Liana walked to where the surf met the sand and struck the pose the photographer wanted, pretending not to hear him mutter, “Fucking bitchy models.” She didn’t care what any of them thought of her. Not anymore.
By the time the day finally began to wind down, Liana ached everywhere. She dreamed of a hot bath, room service, and her king-sized hotel bed.
“Okay,” the photographer called. “That’s a wrap for today. Noon start tomorrow. Thank you, everyone.”
Liana relaxed her pose and bent in half to knead her burning calf muscles.
Her feet were wrinkled like raisins from the hours of standing in the surf, and her neck had kinks that might be permanent.
She took a last yearning look at the surf, wishing she had the strength to dive in the way she’d wanted to all day.
But even that would take too much effort.
Her personal assistant handed her a robe.
“Thanks.” Liana tossed the robe over her arm as she walked slowly up the beach to where she’d left her flip-flops and tote bag.
Stopping for one big stretch before she continued on to the car that waited to return her to the hotel, Liana looked up and gasped when she saw Travis watching her from the top of one of the huge hills that lined the beach.
Her heart began to beat faster, and her breath got caught in her throat as he made his way down the rocky path.
Wearing khaki shorts and a long-sleeved white shirt rolled up over his tanned forearms, he had never looked better to her.
As he approached, Liana’s bodyguards closed ranks around her.
“It’s all right, you guys,” she said softly, and they backed off. Liana resisted the urge to jump into his arms. “What are you doing here?”
“I, uh . . .” He glanced over his shoulder to where everything had come to a complete stop with all eyes focused on them. “Is there somewhere we can talk? Without an audience?”
Liana studied his handsome face for a long moment and was struck by how exhausted he looked. “I have a car and driver waiting for me. Do you want to come with me?”
“Yes,” he said with visible relief. “I very much want to go with you.” He took the robe that still hung over her arm and held it for her.
She turned back to him as she tied it around her waist.
He freed her long hair and let it slide through his fingers.
The longing on his face was almost enough to undo her, and had there not been so many people watching them she would have reached for him right then and there.
In the parking lot, Travis handed his rental car keys to one of Liana’s bodyguards, who would follow them. The other bodyguard got in next to Liana’s driver. Photographers with long-range lenses recorded her every move from a roped-off area. They had gone crazy when they realized who was with her.
When they were settled in the backseat, Liana turned to Travis. “I can’t believe you’re here. How did you know where to find me?”
“I asked your mother.”
Liana raised an eyebrow. “I’m surprised she told you. The last time I saw her she wasn’t too happy with you.”
“Suffice to say I had to use a considerable amount of charm to get her to tell me what I needed to know.” He reached for her hand. “How’d you get so tanned?”
“It’s fake.”
He ran a hand over her arm as if to see if the tan would rub off. “Wow, it doesn’t look fake.”
“You know what the best part of the fake tan is?”
“I can’t imagine.”
“No tan lines.”
He swallowed hard, and his eyes never wavered from hers.
“Travis . . .”
He kissed her hand. “We’ll talk, sweetheart. When we’re alone.”
Thrilled to see him, Liana realized she had been dead inside without him.
Just a few minutes with him, the feel of his hand wrapped around hers, and hearing him call her sweetheart brought her right back to life.
He was her life. That was suddenly so obvious she wondered how she ever could have questioned it.
“I never had any idea how hard you work,” he said after a long period of silence during which neither of them was able to look away from the other.
“How long were you up there watching?”
“A while. How do you hold a position for so long?”
“Painfully,” she said with a grimace. “I’m aching from head to toe at the moment.”
He shook his head with dismay. “And you have to do it again tomorrow.”
“Not until noon, thank God.”
“As least you’re in a beautiful place for all this torture.”
“Have you been here before?”
He shook his head. “Luckily, I’ve been to South America a couple of times, so I had a passport, but I’ve never been to Europe.”
“Never?” she asked, her eyes wide with amazement.
“We can’t all be globe-trotting supermodels.”
“You could’ve been,” she teased, remembering their discussion about how well he wore an Armani tuxedo.
“I’d rather live out of the back of a Pinto.”
They shared a smile that warmed Liana all the way down to her tired bones. “How are Beck and Jessie doing?”
“They got married the day before yesterday at North Point. It was very sweet and touching, just the two of them, me, and a J.P. We all wished you were there.”
“Just think,” she said with a dreamy smile, “they’re married because of our fling.”
“They got their happy ending. Will we get ours?”
“I hope so.” She squeezed his hand. “I really do.”
The driver pulled into the palm tree-lined driveway at the Hotel Duques de Medinaceli in downtown El Puerto de Santa Maria, and the driver and bodyguard got out of the car.
Travis stopped her when she started to go out the door the Spanish driver held for her. “I came right from the airport in Jerez to find you. I need to see about getting a room.”
She reached for his hand. “No, you don’t.”
“I don’t want to be presumptuous, especially after the way we left things the last time.”
“You’re not being presumptuous. Get your bag, and come with me.”
As she led him through the luxurious hotel, the bodyguards followed at a respectful distance. “Do you know what I love about Europe?” she asked.
“What’s that?”