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pulling her to his side. “Finish your story. How did you end up still dating him when you got to Hollywood four years ago?”
    She shrugged. “I’m honestly not sure. When we were about to graduate, I said I was moving to Hollywood to pursue a career in acting. I was sure he’d stay in Iowa. His family has run this funeral parlor for generations, and he was always planning to take it over.”
    “Funeral parlor? Seems fitting.”
    She shook her head, stifling a giggle. “You’re bad!”
    “You like me when I’m bad.”
    She couldn’t respond to that remark, so she continued her story. “Anyway, he said he was coming too. His degree was in business, so he said he was going to be my manager.” She shuddered. “I told him I wouldn’t have need of a manager for a very long time. I was sure I’d be waiting tables for years, waiting for my big break.”
    “How long were you there before you auditioned for Jo?”
    She laughed. “Two weeks. I think I’d still be waiting tables if we hadn’t auditioned together that day. I still watch some of our shows in awe. You have so much raw passion when you act. You make me look good.”
    He shook his head. “You really don’t get it, do you?”
    “Get what?”
    “It’s not me.”
    Valerie frowned. “Well, it’s not me. My chemistry with Bob on the show is awful.”
    “It’s us, Val. Neither of us has what it takes alone. When we’re together, everything is pure magic.” Jesse pulled her onto his lap, straddling him, knowing he could see into her eyes as he talked to her that way. “I heard what you said to Curtis when you were fighting yesterday. He said he could feel the ice forming on your lips when he kissed you. And you said, ‘Because I don’t have any passion for you, Curtis.’ Does that mean you feel passion for me?”
    She nodded. “I do. I know I shouldn’t, but I do . I always have.”
    He cupped her face in his hands. “Why shouldn’t you?”
    “Because it means I’m being unfaithful to Curtis.” She shook her head. “I should never be unfaithful.” Why did she still feel a need to be faithful to a man she’d never had feelings for?
    “Did you ever agree to go out with him? Did you ever agree to let him kiss you? Or did he just do those things, because they were what he wanted.” He knew then he could never take the choice from her about anything. She had to be in control of her own destiny, whether he felt like he knew what was right for her or not.
    She shrugged. “He just did them, but I was his girl.”
    “Why were you his girl? Did you ever want to be his girl? Or did you just do it because you thought you were supposed to?”
    “No, I never had any feelings for him. He made me think—well, he told me I had a heart of ice so often, I believed it. He was always calling me the ice queen.” It still hurt to think about it.
    “You don’t have a heart of ice, Valerie. You are the most passionate woman I know.”
    She looked away, over his shoulder at the wall behind him. “Only with you,” she mumbled, her voice barely loud enough for him to hear.
    He gathered her close and simply held on to her. She told him exactly what he needed to hear. She was his, whether she knew it yet or not. “When did he start hitting you?”
    She closed her eyes, not wanting to continue her story. “Can we talk about something else?”
    He shook his head. “Not yet. Not until I know everything. I need to be able to protect you.”
    “What if I want to be able to protect myself?” She never wanted to feel as helpless as she’d felt with Curtis again.
    “Then you need to start carrying a gun. Have you considered a concealed handgun course? We spend most of the year in Texas, and handguns are legal there.”
    “I couldn’t shoot anyone.”
    Jesse sighed. “Then we’re back to me protecting you, aren’t we?”
    “Maybe I could take a self-defense course?”
    “Curtis is six-four. He’s a bear of a man. You’re barely five feet. I don’t