After one particularly long day, I sat in the chair in my dressing room, head leaned back, eyes closed. I had arrived at the set this morning at six and had worked straight through lunch, working on scenes that required a lot of running and other physical activity. It was now after five and I found myself too tired to even drive home. There was a light tapping at my door and I told whomever it was to come in without even opening my eyes.

"Danni? You okay?"

It was Robert. I opened my eyes briefly and glanced up at him. "I have a headache."

"Long day?"

I just nodded.

"Well, I hate to make it worse, but..." He dropped a script in my lap.

I opened my eyes and picked it up. "What is this?"

"Revisions." He stood behind me and began to lightly rub my temples as I looked at the script.

"They were editing some of the scenes we did last week and they weren't working, so... they've rewritten them and want to try again."

I sighed, already knowing the answer to my next question. "And when do they expect us to re-shoot these scenes?"

"Well... They were hoping we could learn the revisions tonight and be ready for shooting first thing in the morning."

"So..." He walked back around to face me. "Should we work at your apartment?" He grinned and offered his hand to help me up. He seemed surprised when I took it. I just didn't feel well enough to fight with him.

He looked concerned. "Come on, Danni. We'll get something to eat on the way. I know you skipped lunch and I'll bet that's the cause of your headache."

"Fine. But you'd better go by your trailer on the way and get what you need for tomorrow 'cause there's no way I'm going to feel like bringing you back tonight."

He raised his eyebrows at me. "Are you asking me to sleep over?"

"Just do it before I change my mind. I'll wait in the car." He turned to go to his trailer. "Oh, and Robert?" He looked back and I threw my keys at him. "You're driving."

He was right about the headache. It began to fade as soon as I had something in my stomach. When we had finished eating, I took a long shower. After all that running I had done today, I felt like I needed one.

I towel dried my hair, put on blue jeans and a sweater, and came out of the bathroom. Robert was sitting on the floor, leaned back against the chair with the script in his hand. He looked up and smiled. "Feel better?"

"Much. So did you read through it all? What did they change?" I walked over and sat down beside him so I could read over his shoulder.

"Not anything big. It's just mostly a lot of little things. Like they think the scene where we first met didn't turn out well. They're not really changing a lot of our lines; it's mostly our actions. Then they're going to try some different camera angles and see what they can come up with."

"Oh. Well, maybe that won't be so bad then. Where do you want to start?"

He picked a scene to start with and we went through each of them several times. There were only three so it didn't take as long as I had anticipated and we were pretty comfortable with them by ten o'clock.

By that time, my headache had started to return and I was still really tired from the events of the day. "Robert, I'm going to bed. You know where everything is if you need anything."

"You're starting to sound almost hospitable. If I didn't know better, I'd think I was starting to grow on you."

"Don't get too used to it. I think it has more to do with being tired than anything else."

He smiled. "So, do you want me to tuck you in?"

"I think I can manage. And remember the rules. If at any time any part of you touches my side of the bed..."

He interrupted. "I know. I'll be sleeping outside. You don't have to worry about me. Maybe you should practice what you preach."

I gave him a look, shook my head, and walked into the bedroom, closing the door behind me.

Robert woke up and glanced over at the clock. Two a.m. He was unsure of what had awakened him, but found that I was once again curled against him. He shook his head and smiled softly as he wrapped his arms around me. In doing so, he noticed something. Instead of the thick pajamas I had worn the last time we had shared a bed, I was wearing a short, silky chemise. He was completely awake now. He whispered my name but didn't get a response. He closed his eyes and tried to go back to sleep, but couldn't. Softly, almost involuntarily, he ran his hand down my side and over my hip. When he came to the end of the gown, his hand brushed lightly over my thigh. I made a faint noise and pressed in closer to him. His eyes widened.

Okay, I've got to wake her up now. She really needs to move back to her side of the bed, cause there's no way I'm going back to sleep like this. He whispered my name again, but still no response. After watching my face for a moment, he just couldn't resist and brought his lips gently to mine.

I responded almost immediately, running my hand up over his chest and softly returning the kiss.

"Mmm...Robert..."

Before he even had a chance to respond, I pressed my body firmly against his and kissed him more intensely, slowly sliding my tongue into his mouth. He responded hungrily at first, moving his hand over my thigh and inching my gown up ever so slightly. He had rolled me to my back and was almost on top of me when he stopped suddenly and looked at me, finding my eyes still closed. "Danni..."

"Hmm?"

"Danni, are you even awake?"

I opened my eyes and smiled at him. "Don't know. It kind of feels like a dream." I put one hand on the back of his head and pulled him back to me, kissing him and running my other hand down his chest and over his stomach until I found the hem of his boxers and slid a couple of fingers under the elastic.

He stopped kissing me and carefully watched my face as he slid both hands under my gown and pushed it up over my head. He tossed it aside and put a gentle hand to my face. "Danni... you're not going to come after me in the morning with a shotgun, are you?"

I couldn't help but giggle a little. "I guess I might. But are you going to worry about that or are you going to concentrate on the fact that right now there's nothing I want more than to feel you inside of me?"

I guess that was all he needed to hear. What followed was, without a doubt, the most incredible love making experience of my life. His hands and lips moved over me in a way that I had never known possible.

When the sun began to peek through the window at six, I was still curled against him, my head on his shoulder, my face pressed into his neck. I opened my eyes and tilted my head up, finding that he was already awake. He smiled but watched me guardedly, like I might freak out at any moment. "Morning, Danni. How are you feeling?"

I smiled at him. "Why? You afraid I'm reaching for the shotgun?"

"Are you?"

"Well, if I had one..." I ran my hand over his chest, pausing to feel his heartbeat under my fingers. I was already regretting what I had done. I sighed and looked at the clock. "Wow, we're supposed to be at the set in an hour and a half. I should really take a shower." I was up and in the shower before he could respond.

When I came back into the bedroom, towel wrapped around me, he was sitting leaned back against the headboard, watching me curiously. "Danni... are you okay?"

I walked over to the dresser and began searching for clothes. "I'm fine, Robert, why?"

"Are you mad at me?"

As I pulled out a pair of jeans, I turned to look at him. "Robert, you've seen me mad at you. Have you ever known me to not let you know when I'm mad at you?"

"No, but..." He watched as I walked to the closet in search of a shirt. "Danni, could you sit down for just a minute? You're just acting so strangely that I thought maybe you feel like I took advantage of you while you were sleeping last night."

I walked over and sat down beside him, smiling slightly. "Is that what you think happened?" "Well, no, but I thought maybe that's how you saw it."

I smiled a little wider. "I would love to make a case for that, but it might be a little difficult since I was never asleep."

He looked puzzled. "What do you mean? You were asleep. When did you wake up?"

"Well... I was asleep when you came to bed, but I was awake when I moved to your side. I was awake when I curled up in your arms; I was awake when you whispered my name, awake when you ran your hand over me and awake when you kissed me."

He looked at me for a minute without saying anything, then raised an eyebrow. "You were awake the entire time?"

I nodded silently and he smiled slowly. "So... I guess you could say you took advantage of me while I was asleep."

I rolled my eyes. "I wouldn't go that far. Now go get a shower or we'll be late."

He got up and headed for the shower but turned in the doorway. "Wait a minute. If you're not upset about last night, why are you acting so weird?"

"I'm not acting weird. I'm getting ready for work, which is what you should be doing."

I had begun getting dressed and he looked me over slowly and smirked.

"What is it now, Robert?"

"Nothing, it's just... you're sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine."

"So...you always wear your panties inside out?"

I looked down and smiled, slightly embarrassed. "No... I guess I'm just a little distracted."

He smiled and walked back over to me. When did that amused smile that used to make me so irritated become so... sexy? "And all this time I thought I wasn't having any effect on you. It makes me feel better to know I'm such a distraction."

He ran one finger slowly down my arm and kissed me softly. My knees buckled as I had visions of pulling him back in bed and calling us both in sick. I fought to keep my composure. "Hate to disappoint you, Casanova, but I was distracted by the idea of being late for work, not you." He shook his head and went on in to the bathroom.

We worked together most of the day, re-shooting the scenes that had been rewritten the day before. Unfortunately, that meant that I didn't have a lot of time alone to think about what had happened. I tried to go off by myself during lunch but he found me. I had gone outside through a door at the back of the studio that wasn't used very often, thinking no one would find me. I had grabbed a pack of cigarettes that Robert had left laying around the set earlier in the week and was halfway through one when he opened the door. I jumped and quickly put the cigarette to my side, but not before he saw it.

He narrowed his eyes as he looked at me. "What are you doing?"

"Uh..Nothing, I..."

"Where did you get that?"

I sighed and handed him the pack. "You left it laying around the set earlier this week."

"And you picked it up because...?"

"Because I wanted a cigarette! Why is it any of your business? You, of all people, certainly have no right to tell me not to smoke!"

He shrugged. "Okay, fine. So smoke. I just thought that we were friends and that, as I friend, I had a right to tell you that once you get started it's really hard to stop, and it's not worth it."

I raised an eyebrow. "Thanks, Robert, 'cause you know, I never would have guessed that from the warning on the package." I paused but as he opened his mouth to say something, I interrupted. "Why are you here?"

He gave me a strange look. "What?"

"Robert, the conquest is over. You won. There's no need to follow me around being charming anymore."

He definitely looked taken by surprise. "Wow. Okay. Seems we need to talk."

I shook my head. "I don't want to talk. I'm fine."

He pulled a cigarette out of the pack and lit it. "Yeah, you're fine. That's what you said this morning, right around the same time you said you weren't mad at me. Obviously neither of those things are true so why don't you tell me what's going on. You regret that we had sex last night?"

"Yes. No. I... sort of. Robert, I'm not mad at you, I'm... I guess you could say...I'm afraid of you."

He raised an eyebrow. "You're afraid of me? Why are you afraid of me?"

"Because from the day I started working with you I've done everything I know to do to push you away. But the harder I pushed, the harder you pushed and somehow... I wasn't prepared to like you, Robert. I came to this set ready to hate the spoiled little filmmaker's son who had everything handed to him, including an incredible amount of talent..." I paused and sighed, rubbing my hand over my eyes and looking down. "And then, little by little, you shattered every pre-conceived image I had of you. Except for one."

"And that is?"

"That you're a philanderer. And I'm terrified that you're going to keep pushing until you make me fall in love with you."

When I looked up, his expression seemed to be a mixture of shock and confusion. A minute or so passed before he spoke. "Danni, it's really cold out here. Can we finish this conversation inside?"

"It's okay. Go on in. I'm finished. But, can I have another cigarette before you go?"

He put a hand on my waist and guided me to the door. "Well, I'm not finished, and no, you can't. If you want to pollute your lungs you can do it with your own money."

Without another word, he guided me to my dressing room and closed the door behind us.

I sat quietly on the loveseat, wishing I had never started this conversation and he sat beside me.

"Okay... Just a couple of questions right off the top of my head... First, you think I'm a philanderer?"

"Robert, take a minute to look back on your relationships. You don't think you are?"

"No! I don't see myself that way at all. Okay, so maybe I've had a few superficial relationships, but just because I've had trouble finding the right woman... Why are you looking at me like that?"

I shook my head. "Because I think you actually believe what you're saying. Okay, so if you don't intend to have 'superficial relationships' as you call them, then what exactly was your intent toward me?"

"Well, I.. I guess I didn't really have an 'intent' toward you, so to speak. I've just really enjoyed joking around with you and chasing you. I honestly never thought you'd give in." He paused and gave me his most charming smile. "What's wrong with you anyway? This whole thing is entirely your fault! Curling up next to me in that little, whatever you call that thing, did you really think I'd be able to resist?"

I returned the smile. "No. At least I was hoping you couldn't. Robert, last night was incredible. And I guess I don't really regret it. I'm just afraid that, in the long run, it's going to lead to me getting hurt."

"See that's another thing. Why would you be worried that you're in danger of falling in love with me? I was under the impression that you barely tolerate me as it is."

"Well, gosh, every other woman in the world is in love with you! Why should I be any different?"

He frowned at me. "Okay, don't you think that's maybe just a slight exaggeration?"

I tilted my head. "I don't know. Why don't you tell me, 'Heartthrob of the Universe'."

I think I may have embarrassed him a little. He gave me a mock stern look. "You're really asking for it, you know. Seriously, Danni, I like you. I've had more fun working with you than I have with anyone in a long time. And the last thing I want to do is hurt you. So if you want me to back off, I will."

I thought about it for a minute. "You know, I'm not even sure I want you to back off. Let's just take things as they come. I'll take my chances. You're bound to do something to annoy me on at least a daily basis, so I should be okay."

"Okay. So... does this mean the fight's over? We can kiss and make up now?"

I grinned. I knew he was joking but I couldn't resist. I leaned in and kissed him softly, taking his lower lip between mine as I ran my hand slowly over his chest.

When I pulled back he gave me a surprised look. "I was kidding..."

"I know. Come on, lunch was over ten minutes ago. Don's probably pulling his hair out waiting for us."

As I opened the door to my dressing room, Matt was standing on the other side, poised to knock. He looked surprised to see Robert standing right behind me.

"Matt! What are you doing here?"

"Well, you haven't called in a couple of weeks. I wanted to stop by and see how the movie's going before you leave for Venice." He looked over at Robert and gave me a knowing smile. "I see you're getting along with Robert better than you were the last time I saw you."

"Barely. I've just learned to tolerate him."

He raised an eyebrow. "And you were in your dressing room with the door closed because..?"

"We had some issues to discuss. But we're finished now." I turned to look at Robert as if to signal that this was his cue to exit.

"Not to worry, Matt. She is vicious, but I've managed to hold my own." He turned to look at me with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "I don't have lipstick on my face, do I honey?"

I narrowed my eyes and then gave him my best fake smile. "I don't think so, sweetheart, why? Were you having trouble applying yours?"

He grinned and went to leave, but the evil look I was giving him didn't stop him from pinching my butt on his way out. I jumped and would have smacked him if he hadn't gotten quickly out of reach. He shrugged his shoulders at Matt, as if he didn't know what he'd done. "I'll just leave you two alone. Oh but, Danni..." He tapped his watch. "Lunch was over ten minutes ago, so..."

As Robert walked off, Matt turned back to me. "Well?"

"Well, what?"

"There's something going on. Aren't you going to tell me about it?"

"There's nothing going on. He's just being himself. I mean, I'll admit that he's not as bad as I originally thought, but he's still annoying."

He smiled and shook his head. "Danni, five years is a long time to know someone and, believe it or not, I can read you pretty well. You may not want to admit it, but you like him." I sighed. "Matt, did you come to check the progress of the movie or to harass me about my co-star?"

He smiled again as he took my hand. "Sweetheart, of course I came down here to check on you! But it just so happens that one of the crewmembers told me that the two of you left the set together last night and returned together this morning. Now since that seems to indicate that he spent the night at your apartment, I was just wondering exactly where in your apartment he slept. Was it the chair? Or did he just prefer the floor? Oh, but I forgot! You have that big king-size bed! Plenty big enough for two.."

"You know, Matt, I don't know what you're trying to suggest, but I have to get to work now." I walked off before he could say another word.

Don met me halfway on my way back to the set. "Danni, there you are! Good. Listen, we're all set up for your next scene. I need you to go really quickly to wardrobe and get changed." He pushed me toward wardrobe. "Quickly, please!"

I really didn't move all that quickly. I was dreading working on this next scene. My character had been kidnapped by the mobsters and was tied to a chair. This was a problem for me because I'm a little bit claustrophobic and I especially can't stand to have my arm or leg movement restricted. I hadn't told anyone; I was just planning on working through it as best I could.

When I got back to the set, Robert was sitting in the chair I was supposed to be tied to. He looked me over, taking in the tight leather pants and v-neck sweater. "Nice outfit. Love the wardrobe people on this movie."

I shook my head at him. "What are you doing here? You're not in this scene."

"I know, but I don't have anything better to do, so I thought I'd hang around and watch. Besides, someone has to tie you to this chair."

"And you've decided to take it upon yourself?"

He shrugged and grinned at me. "Why not? Sounds like fun! Here, sit down."

I sat resignedly and he gently pulled my arms behind my back. I quickly jerked free, just on instinct. "Wait. Do we have to do this now? They're not ready yet, are they?"

"Well, they'll be ready by the time I get you tied. Now relax and give me your arms."

I sighed and tried to relax as he took my wrists and began wrapping the rope around them.

When he was finished, he crouched beside me and looked at me. "You okay? You're breathing a little funny."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm a little claustrophobic."

"Wow. And all this time I thought you were fearless. If you're this bad now, what are you going to do when I tie your ankles?"

"I guess I'll take deep breaths and hope we can do this in one take."

He watched my face closely as he tied my ankles. Don had returned, still in a hurry. "Robert, you about done there? We're ready to go! Oh, and make sure they're tied tight. We can't have the ropes coming loose while she's struggling to get free."

He stood up and smiled at me. "Good luck."

The rest of the day was long. It took them awhile to get a take they were happy with and somehow a ten-minute scene turned into three hours. Thankfully, when it was finished, they told us to take the rest of the day off.

I was changing clothes and thinking about how good a hot bath sounded when someone knocked on the door. I knew it had to be Robert. I opened the door just a crack and looked at him. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah, you can let me in."

I sighed and opened the door. "You know, if you keep following me around like this, people are going to get the wrong idea."

"What, you're afraid they might think we're sleeping together? Oh wait, we are."

I turned toward the mirror to run a brush through my hair. "I don't really think you can say that we're sleeping together when it only happened once, Robert."

He came up behind me and slid his arms around my waist. "Well, we could remedy that..." He gently pushed my hair aside and began kissing my neck. I closed my eyes, leaned back against him, and almost dropped the brush.

He turned me to face him and grinned. "So? Your place or mine?"

I was okay until I looked into his eyes. Then I panicked. "Robert, I... I think I just need some time. It's been kind of a long day, and I just want to go home. Alone."

He frowned at me. "Well, okay. But you know where to find me when you change your mind."

Unfortunately, as soon as Robert left, I missed him. I sat down and tried to take some time to think about what I was doing. I knew that no matter how hard I tried to push him away, I was already falling for him. And somehow I had the feeling that no matter what I did I would eventually wind up back in his arms. I sighed as I grabbed my keys and headed for the door.

This is just a heartache waiting to happen.

I headed toward Robert's trailer, but stopped as I saw someone else approaching from the opposite direction. The girl was blonde, medium height, and looked to be about thirty. I watched as she walked up to Robert's trailer and knocked on the door. He opened it, they talked for a minute, and he let her in, closing the door behind her. The sudden feeling of jealousy that welled up in me unnerved me. The thought even crossed my mind to go bang on the door anyway, if only to interrupt what was going on. Instead, I simply shook my head and headed for my car. I should have known. I turned him down, so he called someone else. I might have been more upset if I hadn't suspected something like this all along. Even so, that hot bath was sounding better and better.

Robert was already on the set the next morning when I got there, but I managed to sneak past him, heading straight for make-up. I really wasn't looking forward to the day because I knew that if everything went according to schedule I would wind up tied to that chair again. First we were supposed to work on the scene where I actually got kidnapped and then move on to the one where Robert comes in and rescues me. I got into my wardrobe and went to the set, bumping into Robert on the way.

"Hey Danni, you feeling better this morning?"

"Yup. Right up until they put those ropes back on."

He grinned at me. "Hey, don't worry. I'll be busting in there to rescue you before you can even start to feel claustrophobic."

I rolled my eyes as I looked over at him. "My knight in shining armor?"

"Did you ever doubt it?"

I gave him a smile that wouldn't have fooled anyone. "I've really got to get to work, but I'll see you after awhile." I walked off, leaving him looking a little confused.

The scene where I was kidnapped required a lot of yelling on my part and by the time we were finished, I was afraid I didn't have much voice left. By eleven, Don was happy and ready to move on.

"Okay people, we have about an hour until lunch. Get Danni tied, get Robert over here, and lets see if we can get another scene out of the way."

We went through the scene a couple of times then took a short break while they re-adjusted the lighting. We were standing there making small talk and he actually had me laughing a little when I looked up and noticed the blonde I had seen at his trailer last night approaching the set.

Robert followed my gaze, and when their eyes met she waved at him. He waved back and then turned back to me. I raised an eyebrow. "Someone you know?"

He nodded. "Gina. She's a...um..."

I smiled and finished his sentence for him. "A result of you philandering?"

I think I may have actually struck a nerve because he almost looked angry. "No. Yes, she's an ex, but we're just friends now. She's in the area and I told her I'd take her to lunch. She's just a little early for some reason."

Don announced that we were ready to go again and cut off any further conversation. I glanced over at Gina as she smiled adoringly at Robert and rolled my eyes.

This scene was actually fairly simple. It called for Robert to rush in and untie me. We'd share a quick embrace and then run out. We hadn't had any problems with it up to this point. But this time...

Robert came in and untied me. He helped me up and hugged me quickly. But for some uncontrollable, insane reason, when I was supposed to give him a very short kiss, that jealous feeling that I had the night before took over. My hand was at the back of his head and I ran my fingers ever so softly down his neck and continued down his back while I deepened the kiss. Of course he knew immediately that something wasn't right but didn't try to stop me. He also didn't really do anything to encourage me. Turning slightly to where the cameras couldn't catch what I was doing, I slowly slid my right hand into his left front pocket. That got a reaction. Actually, it got more than one but the only one I was concerned with was the one Gina could see. He wrapped his arms around me and pressed me against him.

Don was outraged by this point. "Cut, cut! What are you doing to me? By this time the mobsters have come back in and captured both of you!"

Robert didn't let go of me and I grinned, pleased that my idea had worked. I spoke in a whisper. "Um, Robert, I think Don wants to start over."

"Yeah. He can start over as soon as I'm finished."

I gently disentangled myself from his arms and sat back in my chair. They tied me again, we started over, and we got a take that Don was happy with. I actually think that he just figured anything was an improvement after that last take.

Robert turned toward Gina to find her glaring at us, arms crossed. I smiled and headed off to my dressing room before the fireworks could begin.

As I started to change clothes, I heard voices and realized that Robert and Gina weren't very far away. I opened my door a crack and looked around. Apparently they weren't that close, she was just loud. I could hear Robert's voice but I couldn't make out what he was saying. I could hear Gina loud and clear.

"How dare you? When we were dating you always chastised me for being jealous and I was right all along! You can't do a single movie without getting involved with your co-star!"

Robert was saying something but, once again, I couldn't quite make it out. He seemed to be trying to calm her down, but to no avail. Soon I heard her yelling again.

"Don't bother trying to explain. I thought maybe you'd changed, but you obviously haven't. You're still a philanderer and you always will be!"

I couldn't control my laughter at that so I quietly closed my door. As I sat down and took some time to think, I couldn't believe what I had just done. It was really unusual for me to let jealousy take over like that, especially in such a public way. Everyone on the set was going to be talking now. And someone was bound to tell Matt. I really didn't want him to know that he was right from the beginning. And if I could just keep it from him a little while longer we'd be in Venice and then it would all be over. Robert would go back to LA and things would go back to normal. Back to L.A.... Just a little while longer and he'll be gone. I may never see him again... Before I could continue along that line of thought there was a knock at the door. When I opened it Robert was standing there. I struggled to put on my most innocent face as he looked at me with raised eyebrows. "You gonna let me in?"

"Of course. But I thought you were taking Gina to lunch."

He came in and shut the door behind him. "You know, it's funny, but she seems to have changed her mind about that. Any idea why?"

I couldn't contain my smile any longer. "I'm sorry, Robert. I honestly don't know what got into me, I just..."

He interrupted. "Well, first, you're not sorry so don't bother with the apologies. Second..." He shook his head and smiled slightly as he walked toward me, backing me into a wall. "I know exactly what got into you. You're jealous."

"Jealous? No, that's not... that's not possible." I was trapped against the wall now and was nervously looking for a way to escape.

He seemed to sense my claustrophobia kicking in and smirked as he put his hands on my waist and turned me away from the wall. "Danni..." He gave up trying to argue with me and simply pulled me against him, pressing his lips to mine.

It was unbelievable to me how much I wanted him, especially when he kissed me like that. I returned the kiss hungrily and curled my fingers through his hair. He backed toward the loveseat and pulled me down with him. He had slipped his hands under my sweater and started to push it over my head when I stopped him. "Wait.."

He stopped and looked at me questioningly, softly running his fingers over my back. "What is it Danni? You don't really want me, you just don't want me with Gina?"

I smiled and touched his face. "No, Robert. I want you. Just not here. Thin walls." I kissed him again and stood up, taking his hands to pull him up with me. "Let's go to your trailer."

"Okay. But you realize that when we leave here together people are going to know what's going on anyway."

I gave him an amused look. "Like they don't already know from the stunt I pulled earlier?" "So true. Well, if you don't care I don't." He took my hand and we walked to his trailer together, ignoring the stares.

When we got to the trailer, he opened the door and I walked in ahead of him. As soon as the door was closed I pulled my sweater over my head and turned back to him, wrapping my arms around his neck and smiling at him. "Is this about where we left off?"

"Hmm... pretty close." He began kissing my neck as I removed his belt and untucked his shirt, running my hands over his chest. He led me over to the bed and we continued to kiss hungrily while helping each other off with the rest of our clothes. He leaned me back and slowly moved from my neck to my shoulders and worked his way down until I couldn't stand it anymore.

"Robert..."

He searched my eyes and I didn't need to say anything else. He knew what I wanted.

Robert watched me, obviously amused, as I sat on the edge of the bed putting my shoes on.

"Are you in a hurry?"

"There's only ten minutes left of lunch. I don't want to be late again."

"You think they're going to start without us?"

"That's not the point."

"What is the point?"

"The point is that I don't want to be late."

I started to stand up and he grabbed my hand, holding it as he looked into my eyes. "Danni, how come every time we have sex you rush off?"

"Every time as in both times?"

"Okay, so you couldn't quite call it a pattern yet, but it's getting to be. Why?"

I tilted my head and looked at him questioningly, almost amused. "What do you want, Robert? You want to talk?"

"Well..."

I smiled. "Okay, Robert, let's talk." I pushed him back and straddled him, catching him by surprise. "Let's talk about Gina."

"Gina?" He looked like he was regretting the conversation already.

"Yes, Gina. Did you sleep with her last night?"

"I... How did you know I saw Gina last night?"

"I saw her come in your trailer while I was walking to my car."

"My trailer isn't on the way to your car."

I paused. "You're right. I was coming to see you." I leaned down and kissed him softly. "Did you sleep with her?"

"No. Why would I do that?"

"I don't know. Isn't that what philanderers do?"

"I am not a philanderer!"

"Really? Cause it seems I'm not the only person who thinks so."

He studied my face for a minute. "You overheard Gina."

I nodded. "She was pretty loud. Interesting choice of words, don't you think?"

"She was just blowing off steam because she's jealous. That doesn't make it true."

"You still don't think it's true."

"No."

"Robert, do you love me?"

He looked startled, almost panicked. "What?"

I smiled at his discomfort. "Do you love me?"

"Well, I... we haven't... you're..."

I interrupted him, softly touching his cheek. "Then it's just sex. And that makes you a philanderer."

I got up and walked across the trailer to where my sweater was laying on the floor. He sat up again and watched as I pulled the sweater over my head.

"Danni..."

"Yeah?"

"If I'm a philanderer, what does that make you?"

I smiled just slightly as I reached for the door. "Crazy."

I exited the trailer to find Matt heading toward it. "Danni, I've been looking all over for you!"

I smiled. He had that excited tone in his voice that let me know something was up. "Well, you found me! What's up?"

"I got you an audition for a play! Off Broadway, but it's a good play and I think you'll like it."

My face lit up. "Really? When?"

"Well, you'll audition this Saturday, right before you leave for Venice, but rehearsals won't start until after you're back."

I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "Have I mentioned lately how much I love you and how lucky I am to have you as my agent?"

He laughed. "No, actually, it's been a long time since I've heard that, but thanks." He looked over my shoulder to see Robert coming out of his trailer. "So, you want to tell me what was going on in there?" He nodded his head in the direction of the trailer.

I turned to see Robert headed toward us and my cheeks flushed a little. I wasn't sure why I was so desperate to keep this from Matt. I guess it's because I knew how well he could read me. I knew that while I could make Robert believe that he was nothing more than a fling to me, Matt would see immediately how hard I was falling for him. And I wasn't ready to admit that to anyone, not even myself. And then of course there was the added annoyance of letting him know that he was right all along. I hated that.

I searched for a plausible excuse for me to have spent my lunch break locked up in Robert's trailer. "It was nothing. We were just... working on our next scene. It needed some adjustments."

Robert walked up just in time to overhear me. "Adjustments?"

I turned and gave him a look. "Yes... to the scene we were working on?"

Matt looked from me to Robert with raised eyebrows. Robert seemed to be holding back a smile and, before I could say or do anything, he pulled me to him and kissed me.

Startled and slightly angry, I put my hand against his chest to push him away but he held me tighter, pressing me against him, softly running one hand up my back and gently curling his fingers through my hair at the nape of my neck. I sighed softly as I involuntarily melted against him. My hand slid down his chest and I returned the kiss.

Having achieved his goal, he let me go and put his lips to my ear, speaking just loudly enough for Matt to overhear him. "Oh, and Sweetheart, your sweater's on inside out." He kissed my lips again softly and walked off.

I ran a hand nervously through my hair as I watched him walk away, then cast a sideways glance at Matt. He was watching me with great interest.

"What was that?"

I sighed and crossed my arms across my chest. "Okay, you win. I slept with him. But it was nothing. It was just... I don't know, sexual tension built up from working on those love scenes all the time. It didn't mean anything."

"Danni... I already knew you were sleeping with him; I'm not stupid. I knew yesterday morning when the two of you came out of your dressing room that you were sleeping with him. It was written all over your face. My question was directed toward the way you dissolved in his arms when he kissed you just now. In all the years I've known you, I've never seen you act so... well, weak."

I was indignant. "What are you talking about? I did not dissolve in his arms and... and I'm not weak! I just... I was..."

"Danni... you're in love with him, aren't you?"

"Of course not! I..." I looked at him and realized there was no sense in lying to him. He already knew. "Yes. I guess I am."

"Does he know?"

"No. And there's no reason why he should know."

He gave me an almost sympathetic look. "You know you're playing with fire, right?"

I nodded and sighed. "I know. But I'll be okay."

"So what happened? How did you go from not being able to stand him to being in love with him?"

"I really don't have a clue. It just happened."

Matt just shook his head at me. "Okay. Well, I guess you'd better get back to work. I'll stop by again tomorrow with some more information for your audition."