Blake buttoned his shorts and draped the blanket over them. This time, when she leaned against him, she had no trouble falling asleep to the rolling motion of the bus and the steady rise and fall of his breathing as he nodded off, too. Rio was coming at them closer and closer each silent minute that passed.

Julia had no idea what to expect, but she knew that whatever happened wasn’t going to be anything like her long, lonely days in São Paulo, or her darker nights at home.

Chapter Eleven

Rio

Thursday

Julia had dog-eared the page in her guidebook for budget lodgings in Rio, but Blake told her to put the book away. They were approached by a throng of drivers crowding around the bus station, and he went with the one who grabbed their bags first and ushered them toward his cab.

“Hotel Copacabana,” he instructed, and did his best to haggle the rate down before they set off into the busy morning.

“Copacabana?” Julia said with eyes wide as she flipped through the guidebook. “Blake, I don’t know quite how to say this but I—”

The car turned quickly and in the back seat Blake jostled against her. He took the opportunity to reach for the book and close it.

“Nonsense, this is on me.”

He tried to use his most authoritative voice, the one he’d perfected on set for when he needed everyone to shut up and do their jobs so that he could do his. But naturally she wasn’t falling for it.

“You can’t do that,” she said, striking back with what must have been her equivalent listen here tone, the one that doubtless made countless teenagers spit out their gum, crack open their textbooks, and sit cowering until she told them what to do.

“I can, I will, and I am.”

“Your accent gets stronger when you argue,” she laughed, and he’d have said she won the tiff by completely disarming him except for the fact that they were still heading for the stretch of hotels along the famous crescent-shaped beach and there was no way he was going to let her pay.

“Making fun of the opponent won’t earn you any points,” he said, and he tried to scowl but it was hard to look unhappy when she was so damn cute in the morning, her hair disheveled from the ride even though she’d tried to smooth it out, pillow creases still on her cheek.

“I wasn’t making fun!” she exclaimed, and then leaned over and whispered in his ear even though the driver hardly spoke any English and probably couldn’t hear them, “It’s cute.”

“The opponent will remember this when we’re in our hotel room overlooking the ocean.” He winked.

“I’m serious, Blake,” she said, her tone changing once again. “I can’t ask you to do that.”

“You’re not asking, I’m offering. And I’ve never stayed here, but what better excuse to stay in a nice hotel with a beautiful view on a world-famous beach than the two nights I have with you. Besides, after that hostel and a night on the bus, a comfortable bed sounds to die for.”

Julia grinned. “Okay, I’ll grant you that. But I want to go on the record that I didn’t ask for the royal treatment and have no expectations for anything you have to do for me. A tiny hostel somewhere is totally fine.”

Blake leaned over so that his hand was on hers and his breath in her ear. “There is one expectation you can have for something I’m going to do to you, but it’s definitely something I very much want.” He bit her ear gently and then slid away, looking out the window like he hadn’t said a thing. When he snuck a glance back, she was blushing furiously, a devilish light in her eyes. God he couldn’t wait to be in that hotel room, lying her back on the bed, spreading her legs…

He owed Jamie big time. The whole time he’d sat in the bus station, bags packed, waiting for his ride to Argentina, he hadn’t been able to get his friend’s words out of his mind. She said she wasn’t sure about me from the beginning…but she took the risk anyway. Jamie had been trying to tell him something. Something important.

Chris hadn’t been wearing a giant sign that read Your Future Is Here and neither had Jamie. But they didn’t go running just because there were no guarantees.

It wasn’t that Blake was looking for a relationship—far from it. He was just tired of things inevitably ending. A single night with someone forgetful couldn’t be said to end when it had hardly even begun. A night and then another day and then the thought of more nights, more days to come… Well, that was a different story.

But like Jamie had said, The only thing you can do is try. He knew he had two days left. He wasn’t going to let himself miss out because of what might happen down the road.

He was done worrying, done denying himself the things he eyed from afar but thought he shouldn’t have. Which was why he knew exactly what hotel he wanted to stay in. Blake had been traveling simply, staying at clean but basic lodgings like the hostel in Foz do Iguaçu. He’d been raised by a single mother in a small town outside Melbourne. One of the things he was most proud of was being able to buy her a house and take care of her so she no longer had to work. That was the only part that felt good about the money the show had brought in.

Kelley was the one who’d been thrilled with their newfound fame and fortune, relishing the opportunity to buy clothes without considering the price tags, eating out all the time because they could. Moving in the elite circles of actors and TV personas, Blake had started to feel like the world around him was less real, less solid than he’d once supposed. Kelley’s about-faced change proved that he didn’t want his whole life to be like that.

But it was more than the desire to stay grounded that made his stomach constrict when he looked at the checks from the broadcasting company growing his bank account even while he was abroad. While he was able to take off from work to travel the world before his next season started, he didn’t like knowing that he was only able to do it because of the success of The Everlastings. In other words, because of the appeal of Kelley and Liam together onscreen.

If he didn’t spend the money, he could pretend it wasn’t there. He could avoid thinking about why he was off traveling in the first place, or how his life had changed, or whether he deserved his success at all.

With Julia, though, he didn’t want to think. He knew the first step to showing her a wickedly good time would be a room with an ocean view. He’d walked by the hotels on the beach the last time he was in Rio but hadn’t gone in. Now he had a second chance. A chance to enjoy what he had.

They pulled up in front of a tastefully ornate building bordered by tall palm trees rustling in the ocean breeze. Blake was glad to see Julia’s eyes widen, taking everything in. The hotel was part of a strip along the beach, amidst the bustle of the street, the crash of the waves, the colors and sounds of the busy morning getting underway. It was honeymoon suites and “May I take your bags, sir?” on one side of the street, and on the other, bathing suits, white sand, beach umbrellas, and a blue so bright and endless it stretched into sky.

He got them a room on the top floor, with broad windows that looked over the whole stretch of land. They could see the street below and then the crescent of sand that made up Copacabana Beach. To the right, where the tip of one crescent swept back into another curve, was Ipanema, and more beaches extending farther beyond. To the left they could just make out the distinct hump of the famous Sugar Loaf Mountain jutting straight out of the sea.

That was Rio, a city of contrasts. Mountains, oceans, skyscrapers, sprawling slums known as favelas, everything jammed together and not enough lifetimes to ever experience it all. He was torn between wanting to rush out and do everything and wanting to stay in and do everything to Julia before he lost the chance.