Good Girl is a work of fiction. Names, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

A Loveswept Ebook Original

Copyright © 2016 by Lauren LeDonne

Excerpt from Blurred Lines by Lauren Layne copyright © 2015 by Lauren LeDonne

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Loveswept, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.

LOVESWEPT is a registered trademark and the LOVESWEPT colophon is a trademark of Penguin Random House LLC.

ebook ISBN 9780399593994

Cover design: Okay Creations

Cover photograph: Kotin/Shutterstock

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Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Jenny

Noah

Jenny

Noah

Jenny

Noah

Jenny

Noah

Jenny

Noah

Jenny

Noah

Jenny

Noah

Jenny

Noah

Jenny

Noah

Jenny

Noah

Jenny

Noah

Jenny

Epilogue

Dedication

Acknowledgments

By Lauren Layne

About the Author

The Editor’s Corner

Excerpt from Blurred Lines

Jenny

A week ago, I had my first burrito baby.

I mean, I didn’t know I was even pregnant. Thank God I have the tabloids to tell me these things.

It happens that way sometimes, at least in Hollywood, land of the flat bellies.

See, if your belly isn’t completely flat, if maybe you’ve put on a few pounds courtesy of a penchant for extra guacamole on your Chipotle burrito…

Bam. You’re at the grocery store buying tampons and M&M’s and you glance over, and there you are, all over the rag mags. Pregnant.

Or at least accused of it.

Because the tabloids don’t seem to care that it’s been quite some time since a guy’s been near my…ahem. Apparently in Hollywood you don’t need a guy. All it takes to get “knocked up” in L.A. is a tortilla the size of a hubcap and an avocado or four.

Let me be clear: I am not pregnant.

I just like to eat. A lot.

To be honest, up until last week, when I naïvely ordered extra sour cream while wearing a tight-fitting T-shirt that apparently accentuated the fetus that wasn’t there, I hadn’t really thought a lot about Hollywood beauty standards.

I mean, for starters, I’m not Hollywood. At all.

I live in the Hollywood Hills, yes. I rent a Hollywood director’s home, yes. Even did a tiny cameo in a movie a few months back.

But I, myself, am Jenny Dawson.

A country singer.

Don’t.

Roll.

Your.

Eyes.

I get that country music can be polarizing, I do, I really do. But I swear I don’t twang about dead dogs and dusty highways. I just write songs about real life. My life. And then I sing them.

Formerly in the shower, and now on the radio.

Where was I going with this?

Oh, right. Hollywood. And how I’m not it.

It’s not that I hate Los Angeles. Sure, the traffic sucks, and the women of SoCal have more than their fair share of silicone between the shoulders, but the city’s got its good points too. The weather. The ocean. The shopping.

But the paparazzi thing has been getting under my skin.

I’m not one of those girls who moved here to get famous. I was already famous, courtesy of All of Me going double platinum last year.

When my agent and label suggested that some time in L.A. might be good for maintaining my “mainstream” popularity, I didn’t really fight it. See above points about weather and ocean.

But I wasn’t counting on being quite so center stage all the time.

I certainly wasn’t counting on the fact that I’d be embracing the homemade smoothie revolution. And actually, embracing is a strong word. Let’s just say I had to actually read the instructions before I knew how to work the fancy blender. And yes, I may have allowed my weight gain, and the tabloids’ notice of it, to shame me into the land of kale and quinoa.

And there you have it. The backstory of why I’m currently standing in the kitchen of a rented house, wearing yoga pants and a pink sports bra, and trying to work up the courage to ingest the green goo in front of me.

Stalling, I snag a piece of organic kale out of the package and drop it to the floor. I’ve never known my orange Creamsicle of a Pomeranian to turn down human food before, but Dolly is not digging the kale. The leaf makes it into her snout, only to be promptly ejected onto the floor.

“You’re supposed to be my healthy-eating coach,” I say, giving her a reproachful look. In response, the little dog gets into her favorite pounce position and squares off with the piece of discarded kale, barking at it twice in that sharp small-dog yip that’s been known to send a grown man or two heading for the hills.

“I know,” I tell her with a sigh. “I wish it were fried too. But if half the country thought you were knocked up, you’d be trying to prove them wrong too. Desperate times, Doll.”

I poke a finger into the blender, scoop out a bit of the green gunk, and stick the finger in my mouth.

“OMG. No.”

I reach for my phone and call someone who will serve up a large dose of tough love.

Amber picks up on the first ring. “Hi!”

“Who was it that told you smoothies taste like milk shakes?” I ask by way of greeting.

“Why?”

“I want their address so that I can deliver them an actual milk shake and make them confess how wrong they are.”

“I believe my exact words were that it tasted like a healthy milk shake,” my best friend counters.

“That’s the equivalent of those cardboard chips that say they’re baked instead of fried. The ones that claim to taste the same or better. Lies!”

“The healthy-eating phase is going well, then?”

I sniff the blender. “Super.”

“It’ll get easier. By the way, I bought you subscriptions to some of my favorite fitness magazines. My treat.”

“Treat’s a strong word there, Am.”

“Sorry, babe. But we’re not nineteen anymore. We’re twenty-two, and gone are the days when we could eat pints of ice cream every day and look like sticks,” she mutters.

“Says the girl who’s still a size two.”

“Because I’m eating a spinach and quinoa salad right now.”

I make a face. The truth is, Amber Fuller, best friend since preschool, is far more Hollywood than me, and she’s never even been here. The girl’s never lived anywhere other than Tennessee, and yet somehow she’s learned to embrace a gluten-, dairy-, and flavor-free existence in the land of barbecue, biscuits, and cornbread.

“Seriously, though, you know you’re freaking gorgeous as you are, right?” Amber says. “Is that what I’m doing here? Pep talk?”

“I’m burrito pregnant,” I mutter.

“I hate that you’re letting that bother you,” she scolds as I go to the pantry and grab a bag of chocolate chips. “The tabloids are crap. You know that.”

I do know that. But I’m also human. Reading the not-so-flattering things about yourself sucks. Even more so when they’re untrue. And not being able to go to the hair salon without a dozen paps in your face, not being able to get a manicure without every beauty blog weighing in on the color you choose…it gets old.

I know, I know. Poor little famous rich girl, right?

I’ve got zero right to complain, but knowing that doesn’t make me any less inclined to burn every single picture of my belly bump.

Being in the media spotlight, I can handle. I don’t like it, but it’s part of the job. I get that. But never in my wildest dreams did I imagine just how much of the stuff you read in the magazines is pure fiction.

I knew I’d be followed, ridiculed, analyzed. I just thought it would be based on stuff I’d actually done.

I dump a handful of chocolate chips into the blender. Chocolate fixes everything.

Tucking the phone between my ear and shoulder, I put the lid on and flick the blender back on, sort of relishing the hacking noise the chocolate chips make as they whir.

“What the heck is that noise?” Amber asks.

“Just throwing some carrots into the blender,” I lie.

“Oh, good call! I love how carrots add that delicious bit of sweetness,” she says.

I roll my eyes. Sweetness my ass. They’re carrots.

“It does make for a sort of ugly color, though,” Amber continues. “Yucky and brown.”

My smoothie is now indeed yucky and brown, although not from vegetables.

I stick my finger into the brown sludge and scoop out another sample, more enthusiastic this time.

The enthusiasm, as it turns out, is not warranted. Chocolate and kale are not complementary flavors. Shocker.

I give up. Grabbing the bag of chocolate chips, I ditch the blender and head into the living room, Dolly trotting behind me with her stuffed chipmunk clenched in her little mouth, pausing every two steps to thrash it.

I sit on the couch, and she hops up beside me, curling into a little ball and resting her head on the toy.

“How’s the smoothie?” Amber asks.

“Good,” I say, popping a couple of chocolate chips into my mouth. “Super good.”

“We’ll make them eat their words,” Amber says gleefully. “Next time they post a picture of you, it’ll be to talk about your washboard abs.”

“I don’t want washboard abs. I’d settle for somewhat flat,” I say, patting my little tummy pooch. The truth is, I have a pretty good-ish body, I think. Not as skinny as Amber, but I’m healthy-looking. Five-seven, medium boobs, good legs. But the belly’s always been a problem area. Every bit of chocolate and, yes, burrito goes straight to the stomach.

“You’ve got to shake it off, babe,” Amber says. “You’re a musician first and foremost. People shouldn’t care if you have hooves and a wart for a face if you can sing great music.”

She’s right. Of course she’s right.

I eat another chocolate chip, but it doesn’t taste good anymore. I toss the bag on the coffee table and flop back against the couch cushions.

When did I turn into this person?

When did Jenny Dawson, small-town daughter of a CPA and a seventh-grade science teacher, start caring about a bunch of jerks with big cameras and petty celebrity bloggers?

Since when did I start eating kale?

It’s like one minute all I needed to be really, truly happy was my guitar, and the next I was shoved onto a pedestal as America’s sweetheart and was living in daily terror of falling off.

“It’ll pass, you know that,” Amber is saying around what sounds like a mouthful of very dry salad. “Everybody loves you. Heck, even the ones that did think you were pregnant started calling your offspring ‘America’s baby’ and began knitting baby booties.”

“That’s just creepy,” I say, running a hand over Dolly as she begins squeaking incessantly on her chipmunk.

“Okay, no more moping,” Amber says. “I’m pulling up my fave site right now so you understand that they’ve already moved on, and tomorrow nobody will remember that you were supposedly preggo.”

I want to tell her not to bother, and that I don’t care. But I do care. I don’t know when I started caring, but I do, and I hate it.

Here’s the thing: do you ever feel like a stranger in your own skin?

I used to think that was the sort of crap they only said in those Academy Award–nominated coming-of-age films, but lately that’s how I feel: like a stranger in my own skin.

I have everything I wanted: a career in music. People pay me money—a lot of money, if we want to get crass about it—to do my dream job. I should be thrilled, and I am. Or at least I pretend I am.

But it came with all this other stuff that I just wasn’t expecting. Or maybe I was expecting it, but I wasn’t planning on how icky it would make me feel.

Stuff like being told that a move to Los Angeles would make me more palatable to the mainstream.

Yes, those are the words that were used.

Stuff like being told that highlights and eyelash extensions and a freaking juice cleanse were nonnegotiable if I wanted to “make it,” and yes, I’m using air quotes right now.

Let’s just say that publicist isn’t around anymore—I haven’t completely sold out.

Don’t be too impressed with me, though.

I mean, I did let my agent talk me into taking a bit part in a movie, although admittedly, I sort of had fun with that.

But then I let my agent convince me that a temporary relocation to Los Angeles might freshen up my sound and save me from the dreaded sophomore slump.

The funny thing is, the album I’m working on now—correction, the album I’m supposed to be working on now—isn’t my sophomore album.

The one that went double platinum, the one that won record of the year, the one that had six number-one singles—that was my sophomore album.

It’s just that nobody remembers the first.

I know twenty-two is probably too young to say this, and ask me again when my albums are numbering as many as Madonna’s or Dolly Parton’s or Garth Brooks’s. But I’m saying it anyway, because it’s my reality: I don’t have favorites among my albums. And while I’m not resentful that the second did better than the first, I am resentful of the fact that people pretend like Just for Now never happened.

Anyway, point is, I think we can safely say I escaped the sophomore slump. It’s the third-album slump I should be worried about.

And worried I am.

Secret time: I’ve been living a lie for the past three months.

Everyone thinks I came to Los Angeles to write my next album, and that’s true.

Everyone also thinks it’s going well and that I’m nearly halfway done.

That’s the part that’s not true.

I haven’t written a single note or a single lyric since I’ve moved here. Or rather, I have, but not anything that I intend to use.

My biggest fear isn’t that the world thinks I’m pregnant, or that Stunning magazine thinks my favorite pink lip gloss washes me out, or that anonymous comments on entertainment sites say that because I took my best friend to the Grammys instead of a guy, I must be a lesbian or completely unlovable.

My biggest fear is that all of those things have gotten into my head so thoroughly that they’ve destroyed the one thing that’s always mattered: the music.

My biggest fear is that I’ve lost the music.

I pause in stroking Dolly’s velvety ears (and yes, you’ve probably guessed by now that my dog is named after the incomparable Ms. Parton) as I realize that Amber’s fallen silent both in chatter and in her quinoa chewing.

Either it’s finally sunk in that her salad tastes like crap or whatever it is she’s found on her celeb gossip site is bad news.

“What is it?” I asked resignedly. “Is it twins? Am I having burrito twins? They run in my family, you know.”

“Sweetie…,” Amber says in a gentle voice that has me tensing.

I love Amber to death, but she’s not usually one for sweet-talking. She’s more the type of friend who will actually tell you that a certain pair of jeans absolutely makes your butt look big.

I go very still, wondering if I’m going to need more chocolate chips for this. “What? Tell me.”

“Have you ever hooked up with Shawn Bates?”

I make a face. “Yuck, no.”

“But you’ve hung out?”

“No. I’ve met him, like, twice. Maybe three times.”

“When was the last time you saw him?”

My heart is pounding now, because there’s an urgency in Amber’s voice that I’m not used to hearing. “I don’t know. The Grammys, I guess. We had our picture taken together, I think.”

Shawn Bates is one of those ridiculously good-looking guys who’s also been blessed with a decent voice. He won best pop vocal album three years in a row.

He was up against me for album of the year. I can’t imagine he was thrilled about losing, but he was friendly enough. A little skeevy, but maybe that’s because I only know his reputation. And I, of all people, know not to believe everything you hear.

“Do you have your laptop handy?” Amber asks in that scary quiet voice.

Oh, crap. Instinctively I know this is bad. Really bad.

I stand, heading into the kitchen, where I left my iPad, Dolly trotting along at my ankles, happy and oblivious with her little chipmunk in her mouth.

“Which site?” I say as I turn on the tablet.

“Any of them.“

As it turns out, I don’t even need to go to a celebrity gossip site. I was reading Google News this morning with my coffee, and it’s still up on my browser window.

Only this time…

This time I am the news.

I stare blindly, clicking on the top article, my eyes reading the headline about a dozen times before my brain finally registers it: “Does America’s Favorite Good Girl Have a Secret Seductress Side?”

Below the headline is a picture of me and Shawn at the Grammys, both of us with awards in hand. My head is tilted back in a laugh, and even though I know my happiness comes from winning the award rather than my proximity to Shawn Bates, I have to admit that I look semi-smitten with the guy.

His eyes are locked on my cleavage, his smile far more intimate than it has a right to be considering that our conversation lasted only a split second longer than the picture itself.

At the time, I’d thought the shimmering pink dress the perfect combination of sweet and sexy, but looking at it now, with this headline, it seems garish. My smile’s too wide, my posture too open, my smoky eye makeup too much…

“Jenny. Talk to me,” Amber says.

“It’ll pass, right?” I say, still unable to look away from the photo to actually read the article.

Amber doesn’t reply, and Dolly lets out a sad little whimpering noise before sitting on top of my foot as though trying to shield me from what’s to come.

“It’s just another stupid rumor,” I say. “The tabloids are getting exceedingly bold. I can sue, right? And Shawn can sue, and we’ll—”

“Shawn confirmed it,” Amber says.

My ears buzz. “What?”

“This morning. Coming out of the gym, the vultures were all over him. Instead of keeping his mouth shut, Shawn said, and I quote, ‘Look, I’m not proud of my actions, but I can’t be the first guy to get pulled into Jenny Dawson’s vortex, and I’m sure I won’t be the last. At this point, all I can do is look forward and try to make amends.’ ”

“What is he talking about?” I squeak, my eyes closing as I pull hard on my ponytail in frustration. “Make amends for what? My vortex? Is that a thing?”

“It gets worse,” Amber says, her voice miserable.

“I don’t know how that’s even possible.”

“He’s not the only one who’s confirmed the story.”

I blink. “Someone else is also delusional?”

“Yeah. His wife.”

“Oh my God,” I whisper.

I don’t know much about Shawn Bates’s wife, but pretty much everyone knows their story. Childhood sweethearts who started dating in middle school, they got married right out of high school, shortly before Shawn got famous.

There are always rumors that he’s cheating, but like I’ve said, I don’t put much faith in rumors.

One thing I know for sure is that if he is cheating, it’s not with me.

“She posted a tearful selfie on every single social media platform along with a big old statement about how she and Shawn are going through a rough patch, but their love is stronger than any country-singing home wrecker.”

“I’m not a home wrecker.”

“I know that, J. But you have that song, and there’s that picture—”

“The song was euphemistic!” I say, referring to my first hit single, a song I wrote about all the things that can come between a couple once the honeymoon period’s over: the TV, bills, iPhones, work. Those are the home wreckers.

Not me.

My phone buzzes with an incoming call, and I pull it away from my face to check the name. When I see who it is, I decline it.

“Candice is calling.”

“As she should be, as your publicist.”

“I don’t want to talk to her,” I say, my voice panicked. “I don’t want to talk to any of them. I want this all to go away.”

“And it will,” Amber says in a soothing voice as Dolly licks my shin. “But J, this one’s going to have some staying power, I think. It’s not just the tabloids, and you know everyone loves a good cheating scandal.”

“I didn’t cheat,” I whisper as tears threaten. “I don’t even know this guy. I don’t understand why this is happening.”

“I know. But it is.”

See what I mean about Amber being the tough-love kind of friend?

“It’s happening, honey, and here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to bring in the cavalry. You hang up with me and call everyone. Candice, Barb, the label. Have them bring in the attorneys who can start screaming defamation, and—”

“I don’t want to play the game,” I interrupt.

“What game?”

“The he-said/she-said game,” I say quietly as I scroll through the rest of the article with a new sense of calm…until I find the tearful selfie of Shawn’s wife.

She looks sweet. That’s the crappy part. Kayla Bates looks sweet and heartbroken, and my heart aches for her too, even though she’s sort of just ruined my life.

“You have to,” Amber argues. “You can’t just let them walk all over you.”

“You know how this works,” I say. “People like to believe the worst. It won’t matter what I say.”

“Okay, true, but you can’t just ignore this, Jenny. This one’s not going away on its own. Not for a long time. You saw the headlines…America’s good girl just went bad.”

I wince. I hate that label. I hate that a halo’s been thrust atop my head simply because someone somewhere decided that I have an innocent-looking face.

I hate even more how easy it is for that halo to be knocked off.

“Los Angeles will eat you alive,” Amber says, trying again with that unfamiliar gentle tone.

“I know,” I say as I turn off the iPad screen with quiet purpose as the reality of what I need settles in. “I’m not staying.”

“Thank God,” Amber says with feeling. “Come home. Stay with your folks or with me or with Kelly—”

“I can’t go home to Nashville,” I interrupt. “They’ll find me there. Heck, they were camped outside my parents’ house after the burrito baby incident, and this is bigger.”

“Where will you go?”

I smile grimly as I begin to formulate a plan. “Let’s just say that it’s off the grid. Like, all the way off the grid.”

Noah

“Dude. Are you holding a wrench?”

I glare down the length of my body as a tasseled shoe kicks lightly at the sole of my work boot. “Well, how the hell did you think a sink got fixed, Vaughn?”

My best friend—one of them—kneels down so that a preppy, Kennedy-esque face comes into view along with the tasseled shoes. Somehow I’m not even the least bit surprised to see that friend wearing a suit, even though we’re currently in a decrepit mansion about forty minutes outside of Baton Rouge.

This place doesn’t have a single bar of cell service, but Vaughn’s wearing a purple tie.

Purple.

For God’s sake.

“Here’s the thing, Preston. I don’t think about how sinks get fixed. People do that for me,” Vaughn says.

I grunt. “Don’t call me that,” I say, directing my attention back to the rusty pipe directly in front of my face.

“Why shouldn’t I call you that? It’s your name,” Vaughn counters.

“Teddy, Teddy, Teddy. We’ve been over this. My boy’s name is Noah.” This from my other best friend, Finn Reed, who’s right about most things, but not the name.

Well, he is right. But not entirely so.

I’m Noah Maxwell and Preston Walcott Jr.

It’s tricky as shit.

“Remind me again what you two clowns are doing here,” I say as I lever the wrench to tighten the new bolt I’ve inserted to replace the rusted one.

“Well, one of us can actually be useful,” Finn says. “The other”—he hitches his thumb toward Vaughn—”wouldn’t know a hammer if it was shoved up his ass.”

“Spoken like someone who probably has had a hammer shoved up his ass,” Vaughn counters.

“Hey, at least I’m getting some sort of action. Bet the only pearl necklace you’ve ever given is to your great-aunt Maude,” Finn says.

“Fuck you.” Vaughn’s face disappears as he stands.

I close my eyes and drop the wrench to my side for a moment. “Jesus. Ladies. Would you knock it off?”

“Just don’t know why you brought Country Club,” Finn mutters before he sets his hands on the knees of his jeans and pushes into a standing position and out of view.

I maneuver out from under the bathroom sink that I’ve been lying under for the better part of half an hour to see my two friends glaring at each other, as they’ve been doing for the past decade.

“I didn’t bring either of you,” I say as I drop the wrench back into the beat-up toolbox. “I can’t figure out which part of ‘I’ve got shit to do’ equated to an invitation.”

Even in my shitty mood, I don’t fail to miss the look Finn and Vaughn exchange, which means trouble. These two have hated each other forever. If they’re joining forces, it means absolute shit for me.

“Sorry,” Vaughn says slowly. “But when my best friend tells me he’s headed out to a remote property he didn’t know he owned to get it ready for a tenant he’s never met…I’m going to tag along.”

“Never thought I’d say this,” Finn says, reaching into his back pocket for the ever-present cigarettes. “But ditto to what Country Club said. You really didn’t know this place was out here?”

“If I did, you think I’d’ve let it turn into this?” I say, halfheartedly lifting a hand to indicate what must have once been a rather impressive master bathroom but is now seriously run-down.

“Why not just tell this chick no? That the place wasn’t available?”

I shrug. “Apparently she came here for some musician’s retreat thing when she was a kid. She wants to come back now that she has some money. Sentimental bullshit, sounded kind of desperate.”

Vaughn’s eyes narrow. “What’s her name?”

“Don’t remember,” I lie.

Every man knows the name of Jenny Dawson. Every woman too. Even if you don’t like her music, you can’t escape the fact that she’s a household name. She’s one of those nightmares that crosses all genres. Whether you like country music or hate country music, you can’t turn on your radio and not hear her.

And more recently, you can’t turn on the TV and not see her.

The spoiled little princess apparently got caught in a married man’s bed and thought that Glory, Louisiana, would make for a nice hideaway. She’s probably right. Glory had a population of 991 at last count.

Any other day, I likely would have ignored her email. I have zero interest in playing savior to a pampered princess, and certainly have no need for her money. But, although she couldn’t have known it, spoiled Jenny Dawson had impeccable timing.

Her email came on the exact day I was desperate for a distraction from my real life. And getting a mansion I didn’t even know I’d inherited ready for a tenant seemed as good a distraction as any.

Still, as I look around at the fading wallpaper and well-worn floorboards, I realize I might be a little out of my depth. I sent out a cleaning crew yesterday, and they called to tell me that they’d done what they could, but that their services don’t include fixing leaky plumbing and broken windows.

At least the place will be sparkling clean if it collapses.

Which it very well might.

“Somehow I can’t see Preston Walcott Sr. hosting a bunch of kids at a musical retreat,” Finn says snidely as he pulls a lighter out of his back pocket.

“Dude. Not in the house.”

He gives me an incredulous look as he waves his lighter around. “Yeah, because cigarette smoke is really the problem here. I nearly broke my neck on a half dozen missing stairs.”

“A pity about the nearly part,” Vaughn mutters.

“Pretty sure a professional singer’s not going to love her bedroom smelling like smoke,” I say as I make a mental note to fix the stairs.

Finn swears under his breath and goes to the window, wrestling it open before lighting up, keeping his arm out the window as he idly blows the smoke outward.

“Classy,” Vaughn mutters. “Still, the guy has a point. Does this girl know what she’s getting into?”

“I told her I didn’t know what kind of condition the house was in. She said she didn’t care.”

“Huh. Fucking weird, if you ask me.”

“I didn’t ask you.”

“Yeah, well, how about you start?” Vaughn says. “You know I’ve got your back no matter what, but I’ve gotta tell you, it looks like you’re on a downward spiral here.”

“Just because he’s got better things to do than play golf with you every morning doesn’t mean he’s in a downward spiral,” Finn says.

“Shut up, Reed. You don’t like this any more than I do,” Vaughn says.

I glance at Finn. “That true?”

Finn shrugs, his shoulders big and bulky beneath the tight black T-shirt. “I’m not complaining about you ending things with the ice princess, but you’ve been actin’ weird ever since.”

“At least tell us what’s up,” Vaughn says as I bend down to pick up the toolbox. “Yvonne called, said she couldn’t get ahold of you. You getting cold feet?”

“I don’t wanna fucking talk about it,” I mutter.

My word choice always becomes less precise when I’m around Finn.

The guy brings out the other side of me. The one that doesn’t belong with Vaughn at the golf course, the one that doesn’t marry women like Yvonne Damascus. The one who spent the first half of his life living in a two-room trailer and the second half of his life trying to balance weekends in that same trailer with weeknights in a sprawling mansion in snobby Village St. George.

Finn represents one side of my life; Vaughn represents the other. It’s a juggling act even on the best days to fit into both worlds.

These are not the best of days. Lately I haven’t been sure that I want to fit into either.

“What time did you say this chick was arriving?” Finn asks around his cigarette.

“Tomorrow morning,” I say, rapping my toe against a funny-looking floorboard and wincing when it buckles.

“Huh.” Finn exhales and looks out the window.

I know that tone. “What?”

“Seems she might have gotten here early,” he says, a second before the quiet afternoon erupts with the sound of my dog losing his mind, mingled with the shrill piercing yap of a much smaller dog.

“Seriously?”

Finn shrugs and nods. “There’s a girl outside.”

“Shit,” I mutter as I head toward the stairs, dodging the two broken ones.

Ranger’s about as good a dog as they come, wouldn’t hurt a fly. But he’s a big dog with a big bark, and one serious weakness: gleefully humping smaller dogs. He’s a rescue, and though he was fixed after they brought him in, he’d already gone through canine puberty, or whatever. He’s still got the fierce urge to hump, although it’s more habit than hormones.

I exit out the front door just in time to see my big brown Lab leap forward, his clumsy paws finding the shoulders of a blond girl who lets out a shriek, holding a cat above her head like that scene from The Lion King.

“Ranger, no! Down.”

I run forward, my hand finding the collar of my dog and yanking him backward as I search the ground to find the source of the small-dog barks still piercing the air.

Then I register that the sound is coming from above, and realize…

The cotton ball isn’t a cat.

That orange piece of fluff is a dog, and Ranger is apparently in love.

“What the heck is wrong with your dog?” the girl says as she slowly lowers the puffball from over her head, cradling the hideous little monster against her chest as it continues its high-pitched bloody-murder yips.

“At least my dog is actually a dog,” I say, staring in horror at the pointy face of a canine that could fit in one of my hands. “I’ve seen dust bunnies bigger than that thing.”

“Dolly’s a Pomeranian,” she says, setting a hand on top of the monster’s head. “She’s supposed to be this tiny.”

“Well, Ranger’s a Lab. He’s supposed to be this normal.”

“He attacked me,” she says, giving Ranger a wary look as his tongue hangs out the side of his mouth, his eyes locked lovingly on Dolly.

“He didn’t want you, he wanted the…dog,” I say, forcing myself to acknowledge that the creature in her hands might be part of the canine family.

“For what, dinner?”

I don’t respond, because now that the crisis is averted, I’ve managed to shift my attention from the dogs to the girl, and…

Holy shit.

I’m not sure I’ve ever been sucker-punched by equal waves of lust and disdain before.

Jenny Dawson is hot as hell.

I knew that going in, but up close she’s even more mouthwatering. Her white skirt is short and tight, her legs long and toned.

She’s wearing some billowing pink top, so I can’t get a good look at what’s happening there, but it doesn’t really matter. I’ve always been a legs man, and I can’t stop looking.

The legs are a 10.

The face is a 10.

And the long blond hair spilling over one shoulder definitely begs to be spread over a man’s pillow. My pillow.

And yet even as my cock says yes, my brain is saying hell no.

Gorgeous as she is, she screams diva from the pink toenails to the sky-high stiletto sandals and all the way up to the carefully made-up face.

I just turned my entire life upside down trying to get away from a woman exactly like this one, so this is definitely a look, don’t touch situation.

But I’m looking. I’m definitely looking.

“Hi there! You must be Mr. Walcott!” Her smile is pretty, even if it’s probably fake, and she pushes her big sunglasses on top of her head, revealing wide blue eyes.

I open my mouth to respond, until I realize she’s not talking to me. Her eyes are locked over my shoulder, and I turn to see Vaughn and Finn walking toward us with a slightly dazed look on their faces.

Finn has Ranger’s leash in his hand, and I snatch it as he gets close, clipping it on my big horny dog as I glare at my big horny friends.

It’s obvious why Jenny’s question is directed at Vaughn. In his fussy suit, he looks the part of Preston Walcott, and I open my mouth to shoot down her snotty assumption.

Only instead of telling her the truth, the most bullshit thing comes out: “Obviously this is Mr. Walcott.”

Her eyes flick over me, cool and disinterested. “And you are…?”

“Noah Maxwell,” I say, deliberately not going forward to shake her hand. “The caretaker.”

She wrinkles her nose and looks back at Vaughn in confusion.

Vaughn is staring at me in confusion.

“Problem?” I say before he can open his fat mouth and ruin my little game.

Jenny lifts her shoulders. “I guess I just assumed the Eddingtons would still live in the caretaker’s cottage. Foolish, I suppose. They were elderly ten years ago. Have they…are they passed?”

No idea. Who the hell are the Eddingtons?

A quick call to my father’s attorney had confirmed that there was in fact a property in my father’s name, but there’d been next to no information.

“They’re in a retirement home,” Vaughn says smoothly, apparently deciding to play along, although I don’t know why. “The family pays for it, of course.”

She smiles prettily at him, although the smile slips when her gaze slides back to me. “And Mr. Maxwell here is the replacement?”

“Truth be told, I’ve just hired him,” Vaughn says, giving me a cool, appraising look as though deciding whether I’m worthy of the right to be on my own property. How did I not know the guy was such a good actor? “But he seems competent enough.”

“Wonderful,” she says. “But the dog can’t stay.”

I blink. “I’m sorry?”

“The dog.” She gestures with her chin at Ranger, who’s settled down, but barely. “Dolly will be staying here with me, which means your dog needs to go.”

“He’ll be kept on a leash,” Finn says before I can reply. He steps forward, apparently deciding that he too wants in on the game.

“Okay, but—”

“I’m Finn Reed. The electrician. Came out to fix a couple of wiring problems,” he says, extending a hand to her.

Electrician? That’s new.

Jenny shifts the cotton ball to her left arm and shakes Finn’s hand, either unaware of the way he’s checking her out or so accustomed to it that she knows not to show a reaction.

“Are the wiring problems all fixed?”

“Yes,” Vaughn says nervously, shooting me a quick glance. “But Ms. Dawson, I need to make it clear what bad shape the house is in. Worse than I realized when we first emailed, and—”

“It’s all right,” she says quietly. “As long as the walls stay standing upright, it’ll be perfect.”

She gazes up at the house with a faraway smile on her face. The guys glance at me, and I roll my eyes and shrug.

“I know you think I’m crazy,” she says, not looking at us. “But I wrote my first song here, and it felt magical.”

She turns back and looks at Vaughn. “I’m sorry to hear about your father. I never met him in person, but the fact that he opened up this beautiful space to young musicians without charging them a dime…he must have loved music.”

Vaughn’s smile is strained, and when Jenny looks away he gives me a what the hell shrug.

I don’t respond.

The truth was, my dad didn’t love music. I mean, sure, he’d go to the odd concert or have music playing on the car radio when he wasn’t barking on the phone, but he didn’t love music.

No, but he had loved Caleb, and Caleb had loved music. No doubt my father had hoped that one of his charity cases, someone like Jenny Dawson, might carry on with Caleb’s legacy in a way that I couldn’t.

Jenny was walking around the side of the house, a happy smile on her face despite the fact that all I could see was weeds and chipped paint.

“What the hell are we doing?” Finn says out of the corner of his mouth.

“Yes, what are we doing?” Vaughn asks me in a low voice. “Why’d you tell her I was you?”

“I don’t know. She pissed me off.”

My friends only look at me, their skepticism clear. I don’t blame them. It’s not the right answer. Or at least not the full answer.

The truth is, I didn’t tell her my name because for a crushing moment I didn’t want to be Preston Walcott Jr., heir to this, that, and the other thing.

I wanted to go back.

Back to a simpler time when I knew myself only as Noah Maxwell. Back when I believed my mother’s quiet claims that my father was dead. Back before he’d shown up on my fourteenth birthday, informed me that the brother I didn’t know I had was dead and that his wife had left him, and asked if I wanted to come live with him, though it wasn’t optional.

I hadn’t wanted anything to do with him or the life he offered.

But then the bastard had dangled the one carrot in front of my mother that she hadn’t been able to say no to: education.

I’d been enrolled at the Academy the very next day, and by the time I graduated and headed to LSU, my only connection to that former life was Finn and a fragile, strained relationship with my mother.

“I called off the wedding,” I say quickly, quietly, as Jenny and her dumb dog start making their way back toward us, her steps careful as she tries to navigate the uneven ground with those ridiculous shoes.

“Come again?” Vaughn says.

Finn swears and rubs a hand over his hand. “Shit, man.”

“Why?” Vaughn asks. “Yvonne Damascus is perfect.”

“For someone like you, maybe,” Finn mutters, earning a middle finger from Vaughn.

“Can we not?” I say wearily. “I don’t want to talk about it. I just…I need some time. Away.”

“So book a trip to the Bahamas. Don’t stay here,” Vaughn says, looking around in horror as he smooths a hand over the shitty purple tie.

Finn reaches for his cigarettes. “Country Club’s right. You’ve got money, man. Use it.”

I do have money. More than I know what to do with.

Jenny Dawson is back in hearing range, and as I find myself checking out those long legs, I wonder if Finn and Vaughn are right. If I need to escape, spending time with this diva is not the way to do it.

But here’s the douchebag part of all this, where I tell you I feel some weird connection to this place I haven’t ever been to before today—a place I didn’t even know existed until a few days ago.

My dad left me a shit-ton of property, more fancy cars than I know what to do with, and enough money to employ an entire fleet to take care of both. This is the one thing to my name that feels like it can be mine. Already my mind is racing with the sheer number of projects around here to keep my hands busy. To keep my thoughts off…things.

“I’m staying,” I say out of the corner of my mouth. “And not a word to the pop princess here about my real name.”

“She’s a country singer,” Finn says.

I snort. “Barely.”

“Heard that,” Jenny says sweetly with a smile that doesn’t even pretend to be real.

She teeters over to her car in her sexy shoes, setting Dolly in the backseat before she rummages around for something in the front passenger seat, giving all three of us a rather prime view of her backside.

Ranger’s no longer the only one whose tongue is lolling out of his mouth.

“Here we go,” she says, emerging a moment later with some paper and a pen.

“What’s this?” Finn asks as she flutters a piece of paper in his direction.

“An NDA.”

“A what?” Finn asks.

“Nondisclosure agreement,” Vaughn supplies.

There’s no mockery in Vaughn’s tone for once, but I sense Finn stiffen anyway. The man doesn’t have a lot of soft spots, but feeling dumb is one of them. Especially when compared to Vaughn.

“Mr. Walcott here’s already signed one,” she says, gesturing at Vaughn, who’s signed no such thing.

I, of course, have already signed it, but I sign this one as well, as Noah Maxwell.

“Sign it,” I snap at Finn. “It just says that you can’t tell anyone you saw her here.”

“Well, that sucks,” he mutters as he scribbles his name across the bottom of the paper.

“Perfect,” she says with a little wink for Finn. “You never saw me. Got it?”

Finn shrugs. “Sure.”

She gives me an expectant look, and I glare at her. “I’m stuck here with you, princess. Who’m I gonna tell, the mosquitos?”

“Well, you’ll have to leave the property at some point,” she says pragmatically. “Surely you get a day off. How do I know you won’t tell people at the local Piggly Wiggly or whatever?”

I glance at Vaughn. “Boss? Do I get time off?”

“Sure. Whatever. Two days off,” Vaughn says impatiently, obviously tiring of the game.

Time to wrap this up.

“I’ll need to go get some food,” I say. “You’re a day early, and we weren’t prepared.”

“I’m sorry about that,” she says, sounding genuinely contrite. “I emailed and then tried to call, asking if it was okay, but the call went straight to voicemail.”

“No service out here.”

I say that with no small amount of glee, expecting her to freak out, but she sighs in relief. “Perfect. That’s perfect. And I stopped at the store on the way. Plenty for both of us. I‘m assuming you‘re living in that little cottage? The one where the Eddingtons lived.”

That little cottage.

As in the caretaker’s cottage that I didn’t know existed, much less where it’s actually located.

The reality of my situation is setting in, and I come very close to calling a halt to my little charade, but then I remember the stubbornness on Yvonne’s face when I tried to tell her the wedding was off.

Over my dead body, Preston, she said.

Yeah, no. I’ll be taking my chances here with the Nashville princess, thanks.

Jenny tugs the NDA out of my hand with two pink fingernails before going to the car and putting the papers back in the passenger seat. She retrieves her yapping dog and a guitar case.

“It was lovely to meet you, Mr. Walcott,” she tells Vaughn with a smile. “You look nothing like your father, but you’re every bit as lovely.”

Finn snorts around his cigarette but covers with a cough when she turns her smile on him.

“Lovely to meet you as well, Mr. Reed. I’m sure Mr. Maxwell will be in touch if there are any further problems with the wiring.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he says, barely hiding a smile. The only thing Finn knows about wiring is how to hot-wire a car.

“Wonderful.” Jenny beams at us, although her smile slips when she looks at me. “I’m going to go take a look inside. Could I trouble you to bring my stuff in?”

“No trouble at all,” I say sarcastically. “I’ve been waiting for the honor.”

She either misses my sarcasm or ignores it, sauntering up the wide steps toward the open front door, and we all turn to watch, my mouth practically watering at the sight of the back of her thighs.

“No trouble at all, huh?” Finn says from beside me.

He’s right. I’m totally fucked.

Jenny

Okay.

Can we all please take a moment of silence to appreciate the sheer beauty that is southern men?

Or at least these three southern men.

Apparently I’ve been in L.A. too long, because the rough, hardened yumminess of the men below has me a little more aware than I like that the rumors about me and Shawn are the closest I’ve gotten to having any actual action in a long time.

It’s been six days since the story broke. The hype’s decreased, um, not at all, courtesy of the fact that four more married guys I’ve never even met have stepped forward and claimed intimate knowledge of my nether regions.

Let’s just say “Homewrecker” is seeing a resurgence on the charts, and for all the wrong reasons.

Hence…me and Dolly in the middle of nowhere. Just the way I want it.

I move the sheer curtain of the bedroom window to the side slightly so I can get a better look at the three guys. They’re all good-looking in their own way. Mr. Walcott’s about what I expected. My quick Google search only brought up pictures of his late father, but judging from the fact that the young Mr. Walcott is wearing a full suit even though it’s close to eighty-five degrees outside tells me he’s a chip off the old block in style, if not exactly in looks. Walcott Senior was fair with blue eyes, but his son has black hair and brown eyes and killer dimples.

The other one—the electrician—is equally yummy in a bad-boy kind of way. He’s all rippling muscles beneath a tight black shirt, close-cut brown hair, and hazel eyes. His quick smile promises a good time, just like his guarded gaze promises to leave you the next morning.

But it’s the third guy, the caretaker, handyman, whatever, that I can’t seem to stop looking at.

Of the three, he’s the least flashy. He doesn’t have Preston Walcott’s buttoned-up polish or the unapologetic sex appeal of Finn Reed.

His dark blond hair is a mess, his face is just a touch too narrow to be strictly handsome, and he needs a shave. His white T-shirt looks like the basic variety you’d buy at Walmart, but he fills it out nicely. Jeans too.

You know that feeling you get sometimes? Well, okay, rarely. That feeling when you meet a stranger’s eyes and something inexplicable and intense sizzles between you?

That.

That’s what happened between me and Noah Maxwell, at least on my end.

And then…

And then he had to go and open his mouth. It would figure that the first guy I’m attracted to in a good long time turns out to be a total jerk. It would also figure that I’m stuck sort of living with him for the next few months.

The three guys finish talking, and I’m tempted to take a quick pic to send to Amber so she can verify the masculine goodness until I remember,

(a) that’s creepy,

(b) I’m supposed to be off the grid, and

(c) even if I wanted to send a message, there’s no service here.

I brace myself for the sense of panic to set in, but am surprised to find that I only feel…relief?

Relief that exactly four people in the world know where I am right now: Mom, Dad, my little sister, and Amber.

I didn’t even tell my agent, which you can imagine went over really well.

It’s just me and Dolly for the next few weeks.

Oh, and Noah Maxwell.

And his dog.

I feel a little bad for being bitchy about the dog. Yeah, the big guy’s a little intense, and I’m not entirely sure he wasn’t going to eat Dolly or hump her to death, but it wasn’t the Lab I was responding to when I got snippy. It was the way the dog’s owner summed me up in about half a second and decided he didn’t like what he saw.

Fine.

If Noah Maxwell wants the spoiled diva, that’s exactly what he’ll get.

I move away from the window as I take in the bedroom. It’s exactly like I remember, although Mr. Walcott wasn’t lying about the house being in bad shape. The wallpaper’s more off than on, and though everything’s clean, there’s a definite air of disuse about the place.

A quick check of the connected bathroom confirms that there’s running water, but the tub is missing a shower curtain, and the faucet handle on the sink is one good turn away from being detached.

I hear the tap-tap-tap of Dolly’s claws against the floor, the sound she makes when she’s gearing up to jump onto the nearest comfy surface. In this case it’s the bed, and since I know from experience there’s no way her short legs are going to make it up on the first try, I pick her up and place her on the mattress.

The mattress is clean, but now I’m starting to wonder how old it is—and how many bodies have slept there. These are the things you don’t think about as a kid, when you’re half thrilled and half terrified to be away from home.

I make a mental note of things to get on a shopping trip to Baton Rouge, although I’m not exactly looking forward to donning my disguise again.

The auburn wig was fun for about two minutes before it got itchy and hot. Still, the wig was worth every moment of discomfort when I got to the checkout stand of the grocery store and saw that my name was all over the latest issue of every tabloid.

Again.

Shawn Bates’s wife apparently wasn’t satisfied with her thirty seconds of fame and has been talking about her “broken home” to any reporter who will listen.

I don’t doubt for one second that her marriage is a mess.

I just know I had nothing to do with it.

Heavy footsteps are coming up the stairs, and I go to the doorway to let Noah know which room I’m in.

Any guilt I felt about playing the diva card and asking him to carry my stuff fades when I see the ease with which he’s hefting my two huge suitcases up the stairs, his muscles big and bunched, and…oh God. I’m drooling.

Noah pauses at the stop of the stairs. “What are you doing in there?” he snaps.

Let’s review: jerk.

“This is my room,” I say with a deliberately fake smile.

He nods in the opposite direction. “Master bedroom’s down this way.”

“I don’t want the master bedroom,” I say with what I think is admirable patience. “I want this one.”

“Why?”

“Does it matter?” I snap.

Dolly leaps down from the bed, poking her tiny head around the corner to see who I’m talking to before she begins yapping at him.

Good dog.

“Does it have a mute button?” he asks, glaring at Dolly.

I ignore him, stepping aside so he can maneuver my bags into the room. The room feels instantly smaller with him in it.

“Careful,” I say, my voice sugar-sweet as he drops my bags to the floor. “That’s Louis Vuitton.”

His dark brown eyes find me. “No, it’s not.”

I lift my eyebrows in surprise. He’s right. It’s totally not Louis Vuitton. I don’t even know what brand it is—it’s just something I picked up at a generic luggage store—but I’m a little surprised the guy knows what Louis Vuitton is…or isn’t.

I give him a once-over, wondering if there’s more to the guy than muscles and a bad attitude.

“Your dog’s a menace,” he says, giving a disgusted look to the still barking Dolly.

“My dog isn’t out and about mauling strangers,” I say, just as Dolly decides that the guy doesn’t mean us harm and throws herself at his shin in a desperate bid to be picked up.

He glances down in disgust before looking up at me again as though to say, No mauling strangers, huh?

I ignore him as I wave a hand at the bathroom. “The faucet handle’s broken. Can you fix it?”

Noah scratches his cheek, and I get the impression he definitely wants to tell me to go to hell. “I thought you’d be staying in the master bedroom. I got the plumbing working in there.”

“That’s wonderful! I’ll be sure to see about getting you a gold star. But I’m staying in this room, and this faucet handle is broken.”

He looks as if he’s biting the inside of his cheek in an effort to speak politely. “You understand, right, that I work for Walcott, not you?”

“And I’m sure you understand that I’m paying him good money to rent a working house,” I retort.

His jaw works as he crosses his arms and glares at me. I glare back, and he finally sighs and lets his arms drop again. “Will you please pick up your dog so I don’t step on it?”

“Her. Dolly’s a girl, not an it,” I say as I bend down and scoop up my dog, who is now trying to crawl her way up his shin.

“Keep her out of my way,” he says as he goes to the door.

“Wait, what about my sink?” I ask, following him.

“What do you think I’m going to fix it with, my teeth? I need tools, princess,” he says, not looking back as he heads down the hall.

“Why don’t you like me?” I ask, unable to stop the question.

He turns. Walks backward as he responds. “I’m not getting paid to like you. How about we just stay out of each other’s way?”

“That’s not an answer,” I call as he turns right into another room and disappears.

I don’t get one, but then I hear the low drone of a man’s hum, and the tune’s painfully familiar.

Noah Maxwell is quietly humming “Homewrecker.”

And I guess that’s answer enough.

Noah

I found the caretaker’s cottage.

It’s in about the same shape as the main house, which is to say it’s a strong breeze away from crumbling.

Still, the situation’s not completely hopeless. The old caretakers either had some really messed-up priorities or some really awesome ones, depending how you look at it, because decrepit as the place is, there’s a brand-new state-of-the-art refrigerator and, most shocking of all, a satellite TV dish.

No TV—they likely took it when they moved—but I can remedy that easily enough. Ranger’s made himself at home on the bed, not knowing how lucky he is that he’s a dog and is thus blissfully free from the burden of wondering what the hell those nasty stains on the mattress are.

I find a notepad and ballpoint pen in one of the drawers and begin making a list. TV. Mattress. Groceries. Towels. Common sense…

I drop the pen and run my hands over my face. What the hell am I doing here? Am I actually thinking of living in this hovel when I have a fully furnished penthouse waiting for me in Baton Rouge?

Yvonne’s enraged face flashes in front of my eyes, and I quickly rule out the penthouse as an option, since she has a key.

Still, as the guys pointed out, there are better places to hide out than this dump.

Places that don’t come with a snotty country singer and a cotton-ball dog.

Although maybe it won’t be as bad as I’m thinking. Jenny Dawson’s obviously here to do her music thing, however that works, and there’s more than enough tasks around the house to keep me busy.

Never thought those spring breaks spent participating in Habitat for Humanity would come in handy, but now I’m damn glad I let Finn talk me into it. Not that I’m a master carpenter or anything, but I know enough basics to be useful. More important, I like it. The thought of having a project is appealing.

My dad might have been perfectly satisfied being a figurehead in his own company in his later years, but I need more. I want more than to be Prescott Walcott Jr. I sure as fuck want to be known for more than my golf handicap.

It’s different for Vaughn. Yeah, he inherited his father’s company too, but he actually runs it; he doesn’t just dress in a suit and play the part.

Finn, despite his determination not to care about anything, has his bar in Baton Rouge, which means more to him than he’ll ever admit.

And I’ve got…nothing.

I scribble a few more things on my list, as well as a note to call the cable company when I get into cell range, so that I can set up satellite service as well as a landline. Just because we’re going to be remote out here doesn’t mean we need to be idiotic about it.

“Come on, boy,” I say to Ranger as I pull Finn’s keys out of my pocket. I made Finn switch cars with me, although it didn’t take much arm-twisting. He gleefully took my Audi, since his beat-up truck’s more fitting for a “caretaker.”

And it’s damn handy now that I know I‘ll be lugging home a mattress and a television.

I’m just pulling down the tailgate for Ranger to hop in the back when I hear her.

“Wait. Mr. Maxwell. Noah!”

I groan as Jenny comes out of the house, stupid dog tucked under her arm. She’s traded the sexy sandals for flip-flops, but they do nothing to make her legs less appealing.

“Can I get a ride?” she asks.

Instead of answering, I purposely look at her car. A rental, from the looks of it, but perfectly usable.

“That won’t fit what I need to buy,” she explains.

“Which is?”

“A mattress,” she says. “I brought my own bedding, but the mattress upstairs is…” She wiggles her hand to indicate that it’s iffy. If it’s anything like the mattress in the caretaker’s cottage, I’ ’m guessing iffy doesn’t even begin to cover it.

“I have other stops to make,” I say. “I’ll be gone all afternoon.”

“That’s okay,” she says, apparently mistaking my response as an invitation, because she goes around to the passenger side door and pulls it open.

She hoists herself into the cab with more ease than I expect, as though she’s spent some time around pickups.

I rack my brain trying to remember where she’s from, but I can’t say I know much about country music stars. I did a quick Google search right after her email came through, but I didn’t really get past the dozen or so articles talking about her recent exploits with married men.

I sigh, knowing that at this point getting her out of the truck is going to be more of an effort than just putting up with her.

And since I’m planning on heading to the mattress store myself, it not like she’s adding an extra stop.

I climb into the truck, moving the seat slightly, since Finn’s a couple inches shorter than me. I glance over at Jenny, hoping she doesn’t ask why I’m adjusting the seat in what she thinks is my truck, but she’s too busy fiddling with something orange and hideous on her head.

I pause in the process of jamming the key into the ignition, staring at her in horror. “What the hell is that?”

“A wig,” she says, pulling down the visor to look in the mirror. Only there isn’t one, since it broke long ago, so she turns to me. “How does it look?”

“Awful,” I grumble, meaning it. I’ve got nothing against redheads. Hell, gingers can be plenty hot. But this wig doesn’t suit her at all, and it’s on crooked.

She leans down to look at herself in the side mirror, tugging it slightly. Her cotton ball of a dog has been sniffing around the floor of the cab, munching what seems to be a stale french fry before hopping up and settling all five pounds of its body onto my lap before panting happily up at me.

“Do you think it would look better if I added highlights?” Jenny muses. “And I feel like the lipstick is clashing. Is the lipstick clashing? Noah? Are you listening? Do you think coral would be better? Or is that too much warm tones going on?”

I look from her to the dog, who I belatedly realize is now wearing a pink bow.

No. Just hell no.

What have I gotten myself into?

More important, how do I get myself out?

Ranger is looking through the back window and barks, although I don’t know if it’s out of jealousy or adoration of the other dog.

I pick up the ball of fluff and deposit it on the seat beside me. Dolly is undeterred, crawling back onto my thigh.

As Jenny fusses with the ugly wig, the dog and I repeat the process twice before I give up. “Could you please hold on to your dog?”

She glances over. “Oh, Dolly. I thought you were a better judge of character.” Jenny sighs and leans over, picking up her dog, fingers brushing my thigh as she does so. She doesn’t seem to notice the contact, but I definitely do, my cock hardening slightly beneath my jeans.

I turn the key, feeling an odd sense of guilt. True, I’m no longer engaged, but up until a week ago, I was.

Shouldn’t there be some sort of mourning period before my dick is itching to get inside another girl? And make no mistake, I definitely would not mind seeing what sort of panties Jenny Dawson is wearing under that little skirt. Or maybe she’s not wearing any. Maybe if I slid my palm along her thigh…

Shit.

Fuck.

I put the truck in reverse.

“What’s with the incognito routine?” I ask, desperate for her to say something annoying to kill my raging boner.

“Well, this may come as a surprise,” she says, running her fingertips over the bangs of the wig, “but I don’t exactly love people spitting on me in public and whispering ‘Jezebel’ under their breath when I walk by.”

I feel another flash of guilt, this time over my humming “Homewrecker” purposely loud enough for her to hear earlier.

The girl may have made some mistakes, but they’re not for me or anyone else to judge. Affairs happen. Married men step out.

I should know. I’m the by-product of one such liaison.

I don’t really know how to respond to that, so I change the subject once again. “We should be within cell range in a few minutes,” I say gruffly. “In case you want to make a call.”

“I didn’t bring my cell,” she says, looking out the window as she pets her little dog. “I’m on an information diet.”

An information diet? “What the fuck is that?”

“You swear a lot,” she says in response.

I shrug.

“The swearing is nicer, though, with the accent,” she muses. “When people in California swear, it’s just swearing. But when you do it, it’s almost…pretty.”

Pretty. Christ.

“You’ve got a bit of a drawl yourself,” I say, not really sure why I’m making conversation.

“A bit,” she says. “Although Nashville’s accent is different than here.”

A Tennessee girl, then. Perhaps that explains her comfort with trucks. Somehow I can’t see her picking that up in L.A.

“How’d you end up in California?” I ask.

She sighs and rubs Dolly’s head. “Great question. I got a little…creatively blocked. My team suggested that a change of scenery might be good. I don’t think they were wrong, but it was the wrong scenery.”

“And Louisiana’s the right one?” I ask skeptically.

“Guess we’ll find out.”

“We won’t be doing anything.”

She rolls her eyes. “Calm down—it was a figure of speech. Believe it or not, I’ve got absolutely zero interest in seducing you out of your whole rugged-bachelor routine.”

“Why, only interested in the married guys?”

Ah, fuck. I didn’t mean to say it, but…there it is. Out there.

She says nothing, although she’s stopped petting her dog. Her hand curls into a fist near her hip as she stares straight ahead.

I clear my throat. “Hey—”

Jenny shakes her head. “Let’s not talk, ‘kay?”

She leans forward and punches on the radio. It’s tuned to country, this being Finn’s truck, and she turns it up loud enough to be almost uncomfortable. But it’s more comfortable than silence, and it’s definitely more comfortable than me having to apologize, so I let it be.

We go the whole miserable drive to Baton Rouge with the radio blaring, not a word exchanged between us.

Only when we make our first stop at Best Buy to pick up my TV do I hazard a quick glance at her, wondering if she’s plotting my slow, painful death.

But it’s not anger she wipes away with a quick swipe of her hand, it’s tears.

And even though I’ve known this girl for all of three hours, none of them pleasant, my mother would have killed me for making a woman cry and then not apologizing for it.

I open my mouth to do exactly that, but she surprises me by stopping me with a cutting glare. “Save it.”

“Look, princess, I—”

She’s already reaching for the door handle. She slides out of the cab, taking her dog with her, and slams the door before I can issue the apology.

I watch as she strides toward the front door without a backward glance, ugly orange wig swishing slightly across her back as she drops her dog into her purse like it’s some sort of accessory.

Slowly she lifts her hand over her shoulder, middle finger extended, just for me.

Jenny

Noah wasn’t lying when he said he had quite a few stops to make.

Every single stop, he tells me I can stay in the car, and every single time I’ve followed him in, Dolly in tow.

By our last stop, at the hardware store, I’m beginning to debate the wisdom of tagging along on this little outing. For starters, Noah barely speaks to me. At all. And when he does speak, it’s generally something crude or rude.

Also, the hardware store? Not my thing. I remember this back from when my dad would take my sister and me there when we were kids, trying to make it seem like it was an amusement park, then quickly switching his tactic to bribe us with ice cream when we realized it so wasn’t.

But Noah hasn’t bribed me with ice cream or any sort of food, so now I’m bored and kind of hungry, and I swear he’s taking his sweet time just to torture me. I’ve resisted whining so far, but I can’t take it anymore.

“Are you almost done?” I ask casually as I reach out and pretend interest in a package of rainbow-colored zip ties.

“Yup.” He doesn’t look up from the electrical tape he’s been perusing for the past five minutes.

“What are you looking for?” I ask.

He doesn’t reply, and I sigh, picking up another package of zip ties that look exactly the same but are twice the price. I scrutinize them more closely to try to figure out the difference.

Hey, a girl’s got to do something to keep her brain spry.

“What do you use these for?” I ask Noah, holding up the zip ties. “I mean, other than handcuffs.”

His head snaps up. “Handcuffs?”

“Yeah. Don’t you ever watch TV? People are always getting tied up with these things.”

Noah’s dark gaze grows speculative. “That intrigue you, princess? Being tied up?”

He’s messing with me.

I know he’s messing with me, and I want to play it cool, but I blush anyway, just a little.

The guy can’t be more than a couple years older than me, but he just seems so much more experienced. He seems more confident than most of the guys I’m acquainted with. Confident, but not cocky.

The self-assurance is…attractive.

“How old are you?” I ask, hurriedly putting the zip ties back before my brain goes in directions I don’t want it to.

Nope, too late. I’m already thinking of Noah slowly raising my hands above my head and tying my wrists to the headboard as he touches me everywhere. Hands and mouth all over me, while I can do nothing but lie there writhing, begging…

Oh, wow, is it hot in here?

“Twenty-seven,” he says, finally deciding on the electrical tape he wants and dropping it onto the flatbed-style cart with our two air-conditioning units and a bunch of two-by-fours. “You?”

“Twenty-two,” I reply. I bite my tongue to keep from blurting out that I’ll be twenty-three in a couple of months, like a third grader who indignantly informs everyone that she’s eight and a half.

Noah studies me, and I shift my feet awkwardly. “What?”

“I can’t decide if you seem older or younger than that,” he replies.

“And I can’t decide if that’s a compliment or an insult,” I retort, although my attention’s no longer entirely focused on Noah.

The woman a few feet behind Noah is pretending to look at extension cords, but she keeps glancing over at me. I’ve seen her a couple of times as we’ve wandered through the store, not really noticing her, but belatedly I realize she’s been noticing me.

My heart starts to pound, and I lift my hand to my wig, tugging it down in hopes it’s doing its job to disguise me.

Noah seems to sense my discomfort, because he glances back toward the woman, the gesture casual, as though he too is looking at the extension cords.

She doesn’t notice him because she’s still too busy studying me, and I see her eyes narrow slightly before she slowly reaches into her purse to pull out her cellphone.

Crap.

Here’s a little fact about famous people: cellphones and their damn cameras are our nightmare.

Once upon a time, celebrities could live a somewhat normal life if they wanted to, but now it’s not just the paparazzi we have to watch out for. It’s everyone. Everyone who’s just dying to catch a celeb eating a donut or with a pimple or in an intimate moment, or hiding out in Louisiana with an orange wig and a grumpy caretaker in a hardware store.

The woman lifts her phone, and I turn away so she can’t get a good shot, but I’m screwed. If I make a quick exit, she’ll know it’s me, and it’ll only be a matter of time before she tells all her Facebook friends, and the cat’s out of the bag that I’m hanging out in the South.

But if I stay, she’ll get a picture and have a chance to study it, and then she’ll also know it’s me. That too will make it onto Facebook.

Double crap.

I swallow my frustration, my fingers gripping my handbag tightly where Dolly’s poking her little head out, happy and oblivious to the fact that we’re about to be exposed in Home Depot by a nosy woman with mean eyes.

Do I turn and run?

Or grin and bear it?

Before I can make up my mind, Noah’s moved in front of me, his broad shoulders blocking my view of the woman. And hers of me.

“Brace yourself, princess,” he says softly.

I open my mouth to ask For what, but before I can get the words out, Noah bends his head and stamps his lips against mine.

It catches me by surprise. Obviously.

The kiss is all business at first. I can tell by the impersonal press of his lips against mine, the way his hands stay at his sides, his posture tense, as though he’s barely enduring the contact.

But as we stand there, two strangers who don’t even like each other, impatiently waiting for a nosy woman to take her camera phone and be on her way, something shifts.

My breathing quickens a little as I register the feel of his firm lips on mine, and his quickens in response before his lips begin to move.

Slowly. Slowly his lips drag over mine, from one side of my mouth to the other, as the kiss goes from being an immobile, get-it-over-with affair to being gently exploratory.

His lips are just slightly rough, as though he rarely thinks to put on Chapstick, possibly doesn’t own any, and the friction against the minty glossiness of my lips is electric.

Noah’s hands find my hips, nudging me forward slightly as his tongue slips between my lips, confident and unapologetic. I let out a quiet moan as my hand lifts to his chest, fingers clenching at the soft fabric of his T-shirt, wanting him closer.

The guy knows what he’s doing.

I lose track of how long he kisses me, and let’s be clear, he’s kissing me; I can do little more than stand upright, his tongue hot and wet and hungry against mine, his fingers equally greedy against my hips.

It’s not until Dolly lets out a little yip that I remember I have a dog in my bag. Heck, I barely even remember I have a dog.

But her sharp bark’s enough to make him draw back, his eyes lingering on my mouth just for a second, avoiding my eyes.

Noah turns his head slowly, and I realize he’s looking for the woman.

He steps back, and I sneak a peek around his shoulder. The woman and her camera are nowhere to be seen. I feel a little thrill of victory that if she did get a picture, it would have been of a redhead and her boyfriend locking lips in the electrical aisle of Home Depot. Without a clear shot of my face, Jenny Dawson was never here.

“Thank you,” I whisper.

He shrugs, seeming a hell of a lot less affected by the kiss than I am, but then again, he’s still avoiding my eyes.

“Figured I owe you,” he says. “For the jerk comment I made in the car earlier about married guys.”

I nod slowly. It was an asshole thing to say, but I can’t deny that the guy just did me a major favor to make up for it.

“Can I ask you something?” I ask, trotting after him as he begins pushing the cart toward the front of the store.

He doesn’t respond, but he also doesn’t tell me to shut up, so I ask the question anyway. “How was it? The kiss, I mean?”

Noah doesn’t look back. “What, you want like a star rating?”

“No, I just…you kiss different from the boys I know.”

“Well, maybe that’s your problem,” he says, still not looking at me. “You’ve been kissing boys.”

I want desperately to shoot back something witty, but he’s right. He just set a new gold standard for kissing in my book, and my pride insists on knowing if it was the same for him.

“Okay, fine,” I say. “Give me a star rating.”

“Jesus,” he mutters as we get in line at the cash register. “No.”

I poke his side. There’s not a bit of give, just firm muscle. “Come on. I can take it.”

He remains silent for a few moments, as though considering my question, as he pulls his wallet out of his back pocket.

Then, “I’ve had better.”

My stomach plummets to my feet.

Of course he’s had better. He kissed the hell out of me, and I more or less just stood there, letting it happen, holding on for dear life.

But even as disappointment settles around me that he wasn’t quite as rocked by the kiss as I was, it occurs to me that he still hasn’t looked at me. Not once.

I smile a little, because even if he’s had better…I’m pretty sure he’s had worse too.

And I’m way more excited about that than I have any right to be.

Noah

I survive the first week of being Jenny Dawson’s bitch.

Oh, I’m sorry, I mean caretaker of her run-down palace.

Although, to be fair…it hasn’t been all bad.

Ranger and I have settled into the little cottage with relative ease now that we’ve figured out that running the coffeepot at the same time as the microwave blows the fuse and that the hot and cold are reversed in the shower, and now that we’ve relocated the squirrel family living in the eaves to a nice tree on the opposite side of the property.

For her part, Jenny seems to be settling in pretty well. I don’t see her all that much, a distance I suspect we’re both taking pains to foster.

To be honest, I had serious doubts that the girl would last two days. No TV, no Internet, no cellphone. I know she’s used the landline a couple times to check in with her parents and some chick named Amber, assuring them that she’s fine and happy.

But the weird thing is, she really does seem fine and happy. As far as I can tell, most all of her time goes toward her music. The guitar plays nonstop from the moment she gets up, around eight, until at least five. It’s weird—I never thought of musicians as having a regular job, but the girl puts in more time with that guitar than I’ve put into anything in my life.

Until now.

To say that the old house is keeping me busy is an understatement. So far I’ve cleaned the gutters, replaced the sink in the downstairs bathroom, torn up the fraying, mildewing carpet on the main staircase, and replaced the broken window in what I suspect was once the dining room.

The good news is that I haven’t thought about Yvonne once. Not that I needed confirmation that ending our engagement was the right thing for both of us, but the fact that I don’t miss her makes me feel as relieved as it does guilty.

The bad news is that while Yvonne’s barely crossed my mind, a certain blond country singer won’t leave my mind.

That fucking kiss was a mistake.

I’m still trying to wrap my head around it. One second I was in complete control, doing the girl a favor and saving her from some glory-seeking bitch out for her one moment of fame at someone else’s expense, and the next I’m losing my mind over the taste of her mouth, the soft give of her hips, the way she kissed me back a little bit shy and a whole lot desperate.

For a girl who has a reputation for getting plenty of horizontal action, she tasted a hell of a lot like innocence. And sweetness.

And want.

Shit.

No matter how much I pretend it didn’t happen, no matter how hard I try to avoid her, it’s there.

The taste of her lips, the sound of those frantic little breaths…

I wipe sweat from my forehead. Summer hasn’t even really kicked off yet, but it’s hotter than usual for June.

And Jenny Dawson only makes it a hell of a lot hotter.

I’m working outside today, and as I survey the rotten wood that is the back porch, I wonder if I should rip up the whole thing or just replace the rotten boards before someone breaks their neck.

I hear Ranger’s frantic happy bark through an upstairs open window followed by the cotton ball’s pissy one, then Jenny’s indulgent, “Ranger, honey, we talked about this. No hump!”

I smile a little. Good luck with that, honey.

Ranger sleeps with me in the cottage, but the second I let him out in the morning, he shoots off to see Jenny and Dolly. I know, because I’ve started to use his horny barks as my gauge for when it’s time for my second cup of coffee.

I keep waiting for Jenny to lose her diva mind, but other than the time she came to tell me that Ranger’d deposited a dead duck in the kitchen and could I please remove it, she’s been pretty cool.

I guess.

I turn my attention back to the work at hand, deciding that if I’m going to fix the porch, I might as well do it all the way.

The supplies I’d gotten at Home Depot weren’t nearly enough to make a dent in this old place, so I’d had a shit-ton of wood and other renovation materials delivered courtesy of “Mr. Walcott.”

If you’re wondering if I’m feeling bad about that little lie…

Not really.

It’s freeing to be just a regular guy.

I hadn’t realized how much I’ve missed people not kissing my ass, and Jenny Dawson certainly isn’t kissing my ass.

The other day she called me “boy” when asking me to fix the freezer’s icemaker.

It’s also occurred to me, though, that this idiotic “information diet” of hers is working in my favor. A thorough Google search on her part and my charade would be over in a second, but her avoiding gossip about herself means she also avoids gossip about me.

My lie is safe. For now.

I’ve gathered everything I need to get started on the porch, and I’ve just started to tear up the first board when I hear the door above me open.

The back of the house has an old antebellum-style balcony, and the soft hum of female singing tells me Jenny’s about to make use of it.

I step off the porch, walking backward. Looking up, I can see her, and I’m ready to suggest that she go somewhere else for the day because my venture is going to be a noisy one.

The words never make it out.

Jenny Dawson is wearing a bikini.

She’s still humming as she drags some ugly-looking chaise thing onto the balcony before fluttering a fluffy white towel onto it and sliding sunglasses onto her face. She’s planning to sunbathe. No way in hell am I going to get any work done.

“The balcony might not be stable, you know,” I call, loud enough for her to hear.

Her head whips around, and she smiles when she sees me. She walks to the railing and leans over it, giving me a full view of her body.

Fuck.

Fuck me.

She’s perfect. She’s got the perfect lean curves of a twenty-two-year-old who takes care of herself. I’m sweating bullets now, and not from the heat.

Correction—not from the heat of the sun.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” she says, ignoring my warning about the balcony.

Last time she asked me that, she asked if she was a good kisser. I lied.

“Which do you like better?” she asks, even though I don’t respond.

Then she opens her mouth and sings, “I like sweet like candy, hot like whisky, but all I crave now is the flavor of revenge.”

Her voice is amazing.

I know this from the radio, as well as from the fact that her voice sometimes fills the whole house while I’m working.

But seeing her sing is something else entirely. I get now why she hasn’t gotten bored with just her and her music. She is her music.

She repeats the same line again, then looks at me expectantly. “Well?”

“Well what?”

I’m pretty sure she rolls her eyes behind the sunglasses. “The second time I went up on the last note. More upbeat, less scary. But I think I want the song to be scary, you know?”

She chews on the end of a pencil, jotting something in a notebook she seems to carry with her everywhere.

“Whatever,” I mutter.

She looks back at me. “You don’t like music?”

I like music. I just don’t know music. That was more Caleb’s thing. The brother I didn’t know I had. The one who died before I even knew of his existence was some sort of virtuoso. Violin, piano, voice.

I, the backup son, can’t carry a tune in a bucket.

But right now I don’t care about any of that. Not with Jenny Dawson’s perfect tits on display in a tiny pink bikini.

If she’s aware of my staring, she doesn’t show it. Just keeps scribbling in that little notebook while humming to herself. “I need my guitar,” she mutters, more to herself than to me. She disappears, and I admit I crane my neck to check out her ass as she enters the house.

Shit. This has to stop. She’s a spoiled kid, for God’s sake.

I all but attack the boards of the porch, hoping it’ll defuse some of the sexual tension rippling through my body. But the strum of her guitar reminds me that she’s there, playing guitar practically naked, and it’s all I can do not to climb up to the balcony and strip her bare while devouring that perfect body.

Even with the boards in as shitty condition as they are, it’s hard, backbreaking work, and my shirt is soaked through in no time at all. I peel off my T-shirt, using it to wipe my forehead when I see her.

Jenny steps out the back door with two glasses of iced tea in hand.

She’s put on shorts, at least, but from the waist up there’s only the little triangles of her bikini top, the sexy curve of her belly.

“Could you please put on some clothes,” I snap, even as I grab for the cold drink she offers.

“Says the guy with no shirt,” she says, lifting her glass in a mocking toast. “It’s ninety-something degrees and higher than that in humidity. We’re both half naked for the same reason.”

How about we get all-the-way naked for a different reason?

I finish the tea in three gulps. It’s sweeter than I like it, but it’s cold, which is all that matters at the moment. I resist the urge to dump the remaining ice on my crotch.

“Where are the dogs?” I ask, since it’s the least sexy topic I can think of at the moment.

“In my room,” she says. “It’s cooler in there with the air-conditioning unit.”

I stare. “You left the AC on. For your dog.”

“And yours,” she points out.

“You left them in there together? Your dog hates mine.”

“Only because he’s ten times her size and has a mad crush. But actually, I think Dolly’s coming around. Playing hard to get, you know?”

“She learned that from you?” I ask.

“Really? Unoriginal insults?” she asks, taking a sip of tea. “That’s what I get for bringing you something to drink?”

“You sure you didn’t just do it so you could prance around like that?” I say, raking my gaze down her body, deliberately condescending.

Jenny rolls her eyes. “Did you go to an all-boys school or something? You’re acting like you’ve never seen a girl in a bikini before.”

She’s right, and it pisses me off not only to be acting like a horny schoolboy but also to be called out on it.

“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” I ask, bending down to pick up my hammer.

Her shoulders slump just the slightest bit, and I feel like an ass. But then her shoulders go back and her chin lifts before she turns on her heel and marches back into the house without so much as a goodbye.

A minute later I’m back at work, and I hear the now familiar strum of her guitar from the balcony above me, but it’s an angrier melody this time, fast and a little discordant.

And then she starts to sing, her voice pitch-perfect. “There once was a guy named Noah, he was as appealing as a boa. Whatever happened, whoa-oh-oh, whatever happened, whoa-oh-oh, to rot his soul?”

I shake my head. There’s more strumming on the guitar, and her Noah-hate song continues.

“His face was average, his eyes were cold. His body flubby, whoa-oh-oh. His kiss was filthy, his flavor bad. He tried to woo me, and it was sad, whoa-oh-oh.”

The song is ridiculous. A little childish.

And yet as it continues on with a list of all my flaws, I can’t help but smile a little. Not only at her spunk…but at the very satisfying realization that I sure as hell am not the only one haunted by that kiss.

Jenny

Would you believe me if I said I’m not bored?

I’m really, really not, which is incredible, even to me.

Did it take me a little while to detox from my Instagram addiction? Yah. Does it feel weird to talk to my parents and Amber on a phone that’s connected to the wall with a cord? Absolutely.

But apparently even I didn’t realize how desperately I need a reprieve, because I’m feeling more whole, more Jenny out here in the middle of nowhere, with nobody but Dolly and Ranger to keep me regular company, than I did in L.A. Heck, I even feel more me here than I did in Nashville. I love that city to death, but after All of Me hit the lists, I couldn’t even get a Frappuccino without someone wanting to get a selfie with me.

But here in Glory, Louisiana, my mind’s never felt clearer, my music’s never been better.

I was right to come here.

Whether this place triggers some emotional response to that first song I wrote all those years ago or whether there’s something magical about it, it’s working for me.

This spontaneous, get-away-from-it-all isolation is working, except for one teeny-tiny detail.

The damn handyman.

I hope he liked my little song earlier today, because I meant every word.

Except for the part about his face being average.

Oh, and the part where I said his body was flubby.

His.

Body.

Is.

Perfect.

Did I put on my smallest bikini just to torture him? Maybe.

But the joke’s on me, because I had absolutely not been preparing for him to return the “favor,” and now in addition to the memory of his hot kiss, I’ve got visions of his ripped body haunting my every move.

The guy’s not pretty. In fact, just about the only pretty thing about him is those long, curly eyelashes. But his upper body is perfectly sculpted, with just enough meat on him to look real.

And unlike so many of the prissy guys in L.A., Noah’s got chest hair. A light sprinkling of golden brown chest hair I want to feel scraping against my chest as he plunges into me.

I flop on my bed and throw my arms over my head.

This is a disaster. A hormonally charged disaster.

I’ve turned the AC unit in my room off for a few minutes, wanting to get some fresh air in here with the windows open. Fresh is a stretch, though. There’s a definite heat wave happening—the hot, swampy kind of heat that usually doesn’t settle over the South until August.

But the open window means that I hear Ranger’s happy bark out front just before I hear the jangle of keys and a man’s low whistle mingling in with the quiet night noises of rural Louisiana.

I frown. Noah’s left the house a few times, but always during the day and, best I can tell, always to run errands. He’s even picked up groceries a few times for me, although I suspect that’s more because he doesn’t want to deal with me and my wig again.

But he’s never left at night, and suddenly I’m desperate to know where he’s going.

Specifically, if he’s going to see a woman.

He’s never mentioned a girlfriend, but then, he doesn’t mention much. And let’s be honest—a guy doesn’t kiss like that without some experience.

Jealousy, hot and bitter, curls in my stomach.

I bolt off the bed and stick my head out the window. “Hey.”

He’s just jerked open the truck door, but he glances up warily at my greeting. “What?”

So pleasant, this one.

“Where are you going?”

“None of your business. I don’t work for you, remember?”

“Can I come?” I ask, testing him.

“Nope.”

Definitely a woman, then. The jealousy goes from a small ember to a full-on flame.

I purse my lips. “Can I watch your TV?”

He loops an arm through the open truck window as he studies me. I can’t be sure in the darkening sky, but his hair looks slightly damp, like he just showered, and though he’s wearing his usual jeans, he’s got on a checked button-down instead of the usual T-shirt.

“I thought you were on an information diet,” he says, not bothering to keep the mockery out of his voice.

“What’s that have to do with watching TV?”

“How do I know you won’t be glued to E! or some shit, and then I’ll come home and find you blubbering after you see something about yourself you don’t like?”

I feel a little surge of panic. “Am I on E!?”

I’ve been doing a remarkable job not dwelling on what people might or might not be saying about me. Whenever the thought creeps into my head I convince myself that the story’s likely blown over by now.

But now I’m realizing it could be the opposite—that the story could have escalated. My parents and Amber are all in favor of me stepping out of the spotlight, so they wouldn’t tell me if something was going on.

“What are they saying about me?” I can’t help but ask.

“Princess, do I look like the kind of guy who watches Entertainment Tonight?”

“No,” I admit. “But you do know what it is, so that’s something. Girlfriend turn you on to it?”

“Don’t have a girlfriend.”

The jealousy in my gut calms down. Slightly.

“Then where are you going?”

He grins, his teeth flashing white in the twilight. “You fishin’ for somethin’?”

Yes, I want to know if you’re going to go hook up with some other girl when there’s a slightly desperate one right here.

“I’m just wondering if I shouldn’t contact the local news sources,” I say, draping both arms over the windowsill and leaning forward slightly, matching his casual pose and tone. “If you’re on the prowl, the least I can do is warn the female population that they may want to steer clear of your ‘kiss.’ ” I put the last word in air quotes.

“Is that right?” he drawls.

I shrug. “Too much tongue.”

Noah idly scratches under his chin with the back of his fingers. “As I remember it, you seemed to like my tongue just fine.”

I shake my head. “So sad. A mind so young, dementia settling in so soon.”

The sun’s nearly all the way gone now, and I can barely see him, but I feel his gaze as he reaches down with one hand and scratches Ranger’s head. “You can use the TV if you keep Ranger company. Also, wrote my cell number down. It’s on the counter if you need anything,” he says, moving to climb into the cab of the truck.

“What would I possibly need?” I call, strangely loath to see him leave.

This time his grin is more wicked than mocking. “I don’t know, princess. How about my tongue spending time somewhere a hell of a lot more interesting than your mouth?”

My lips part, but he disappears, climbing into the truck and slamming the door with a finality that tells me the conversation is over.

For now, Noah Maxwell. For now.

He lifts a mocking hand in farewell as he drives away, leaving behind two barking dogs and one very aroused female.

Noah

“You can’t ignore her forever,” Finn says as he idly rubs chalk onto the tip of his cue stick.

I take a sip of beer. “Ignore who?”

He gives me a steady look with his hazel eyes. “Don’t be a dick. You want to ditch the bitch, I’ve got your back. Hell, I’ve been telling you to get rid of Yvonne for years. But this isn’t the way to do it.”

I take another sip of beer. “Got nothin’ to do with you.”

“The hell it doesn’t,” he says, lining up his cue. His hands are steady as the stick makes contact with the ball, but as usual nothing goes in the pockets. Finn Reed absolutely looks the type who should have the game of pool down, but he’s notoriously bad. I keep thinking he has some grand plan: establishing himself as the most helpless player in the history of the game, hoping to lure someone into putting down a shit-ton of money on a game, only to reveal himself as a secret master.

The big reveal has yet to happen. He just continues to lose, although he never says no to a game.

He stands up and meets my eyes. “She’s been calling me.”

“Who?”

“Yvonne, you idiot.”

I frown. “Yvonne hates you.”

“Trust me, the feeling’s mutual,” he mutters, retrieving his beer from a nearby table. “But she can’t get ahold of you, and she’s been striking out with Country Club—”

“She’s been calling Vaughn?” I interrupt. Vaughn hasn’t mentioned it, but then he can be…overprotective. No doubt he has visions that he’s “handling it.”

“Yup,” Finn confirms. “Shit, man, Yvonne’s calling everyone she can think of to get ahold of you. I’m all for running interference, but it’d be a hell of a lot easier if you told us what was going on.”

Instead of answering, I line up my own cue, but my shot’s barely better than Finn’s. Normally I don’t suck half as bad as him, but I’m off tonight, in more ways than one.

“Hey,” Finn says, giving me a not-so-soft knock on the kneecap with his cue. “Talk to me.”

I take a sip of my beer. Then another.

Then I go for it.

“She cheated.”

Finn swears under his breath, dipping his head. “I can’t stand that bitch.”

“Yeah, so you’ve said,” I mutter, rubbing at the back of my neck.

Finn and Yvonne never got along, which wasn’t exactly surprising given that they’re from different worlds. I wouldn’t be surprised if Yvonne’s first pacifier had diamonds on it. Finn would have been lucky if his pacifier wasn’t a hand-me-down from the family dog.

Still, it was more than just a simple culture clash. Vaughn was also from Yvonne’s world, and he hated her almost as much as Finn did. He never said it aloud, pretending to like her for my sake, but his disdain had been written all over his face every time he’d looked at her.

There’s a life lesson here: when your two best friends hate your girl, pay attention.

But my father adored her. As far as he was concerned, Yvonne Damascus was the one thing that I’d done right in my life. Stupidly, I’d let that be enough.

“Who’s the guy she slept with?” Finn asks.

I drain my beer. “Does it matter?”

“It does if I’m going to beat him to a pulp.”

I appreciate the loyalty, but since I know Finn’s word is good, and since I also know that the last thing Finn needs on his record is assault, I keep it vague. “Some dude that works for her dad.”

“You catch ’em in the act?”

“Nope.” I scan for the waitress and signal for another round. “She confessed.”

“Dumbass,” he mutters. “Let me guess—her confession had more to do with taking a swipe at you than it did with integrity.”

I stare blindly at the pool table for several moments before I shake my head. “Remember that time you found out that Robyn was cheating on you with your brother?”

His expression goes stormy. “Don’t go there.”

I give him a pointed look. “Exactly.”

Finn’s jaw clenches, and it’s clear that he wants to argue, but I’m right, and he knows it. The truth is, I don’t want to talk about what happened with Yvonne, because I’m not even sure that I know.

Her confessing to sleeping with Aaron what’s-his-face burned, sure, but if I’m going to be all the way honest, there was a bit of relief along with the betrayal.

Relief that I’d been given an out.

An out that I took, much to her disbelief.

I’ve never seen anyone as angry—or as shocked—as Yvonne Damascus when I quietly told her the wedding was off.

It felt good. Right. And if that makes me an ass—hell, it does make me an ass—it makes me a happy ass.

“Fine,” Finn mutters, grudgingly agreeing to drop the subject. “All too happy not to discuss Yvonne, but don’t think you don’t have about a billion questions to answer about your tenant.”

Jenny.

Just like that, my thoughts go from bitter relief to…

Want.

I want that girl.

And yes, I’m well aware that she’s playing with me just as assuredly as I’m playing with her, but that doesn’t change the fact that all I really want to be doing right now is finding out if her legs are as smooth and toned as they look and if she’s as wet as I want her to be.

My guess is yes to both, and I quickly transition to thinking about my mean, ugly Aunt Shelley in an effort to keep my twitching cock from turning into an all-out boner in the middle of a crowded bar.

Finn snorts as he accepts the two beers from our waitress with a wink. “Knew it.”

“You knew nothing of the kind,” I say, taking the beer.

“Shit, dude, Jenny Dawson is living in your house.”

“Keep your voice down,” I snarl.

His eyebrows lift. “Seriously?”

I shrug, trying to hide the fierce and unexpected surge of protectiveness. “She made you sign that NDA. You could get sued.”

He studies me. “Which reminds me, you signed yours twice. Under two different names. She really hasn’t figured it out yet?”

I shrug. “She’s on some bullshit she calls an information diet. Trying to hide, to cut herself off from the media while she works on her next album.”

“If the girl can’t handle the shit people are saying, maybe she shouldn’t have fucked a married dude.”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to argue that there were two parties involved. That Shawn whatever-his-name-is was there too, and nobody seems to be giving him more than an indulgent eye roll before smearing shame all over Jenny.

I keep quiet, but my face gives me away, and Finn lets out a knowing chuckle. “Ah, man. She’s got you.”

“Fuck you,” I mutter.

“That’s why you don’t care about this Yvonne bullshit. You’ve got your dick all tangled up with a hot pop star.”

I jerk my chin at the pool table. “We going to play, or what?”

“Nah, this is far more interesting,” Finn says, shifting his body so that he’s leaning against the high-top table as he studies me. “She as hot in bed as she looks?”

“She’s one of the richest girls in the country. You think she’s going to sully herself with the guy she thinks is the handyman?”

“Far as I can see, she sullies herself with just about anyone.”

My fist clenches, and for the first time since eleventh grade, when I wanted to beat Finn to a pulp for making out with the girl I had a crush on, I want to give him a bloody nose.

Finn’s smarter now than he was when he was sixteen, and immediately recognizes this, lifting his hands in surrender. “Hey, man. Easy. Didn’t know it was like that.”

“It’s not like anything, asswipe. I barely see her. We’re just…coexisting.”

“ ’Kay.” Finn shrugs. “So you haven’t gotten in her pants yet.”

“Nope.” Not yet.

“Kissed her?”

I remain silent.

Finn chuckles. “I fucking knew it.”

“Shut up, man.”

Jenny

When I asked Noah if I could make use of his TV, I was mostly trying to stall his departure, find out where he was going.

But after he leaves, I realize that I’m not in the mood to read, and my mind needs a little break from the constant melodies. It’s like that sometimes. This past week the music’s been nonstop, and I haven’t been able to write it down fast enough.

But I’ve hit a wall.

It’s almost like the backlog of the past year, when I wasn’t able to write even a single lyric¸ came rushing out all at once. I’ve got a couple of songs that feel solid. It’s just that they feel like old songs…songs that I thought up months ago and which are just now making it onto the page.

In other words, I’ve done the easy stuff, and now the harder stuff is lurking. The harder songs are always the last to come. The most painful.

And tonight I’m not in the mood.

Noah’s little cottage is nicer than I expect. I mean, it’s not luxury, not by a long shot, but it’s cozy. His bed is made, or at least there’s a dark navy comforter pulled up over it and pillowcases that look clean.

The rest of his furniture is sparse. A tiny kitchen table and ugly chairs I’m guessing are left over from the Eddingtons. A couple of old bookshelves, mostly empty. But the couch looks new, and I find out quickly it is very comfy.

I’m not much of a TV person. I’ve always been too busy to keep up with the latest shows, but I do love movies, and I’m not ashamed to admit that I love the Harry Potter series, which means I let out an actual squeal of delight when I see there’s a marathon happening.

By the time I tune in, the first two are over, which is a bummer since they’re my favorites, but The Prisoner of Azkaban definitely beats sitting alone in my bedroom.

The dogs have joined me.

Ranger tried to insist on sitting on Dolly, but that worked out not at all, so I’ve positioned myself in the middle, setting up a cozy little nest with a flannel blanket for Ranger on my right, and using one of Noah’s pristine-looking pillows for Dolly on my left.

He earned it after his parting words about his tongue doing naughty things.

But I’m not thinking about that. Nope.

The Goblet of Fire’s just getting started when Ranger takes a break from begging for my popcorn (unabashedly stolen from Finn’s stash) and starts to bark. A second later, the front door opens, and Noah’s standing there all big and brooding. He’s home earlier than I expected, and I have a quick debate with myself on how to play it.

Oh, I was just leaving—sorry to invade your space!

Or…

You’re insane if you think I’m turning off the TV in the middle of an HP marathon.

Or…

Take me.

Before I have a chance to decide, he sees me curled up on his couch, and freezes in the doorway.

Ranger leaps down with a happy bark, going to greet his master with enthusiasm, as though it’s been days. Dolly stays put, but she’s apparently used to Noah by now, because she doesn’t yip. She just sits up and wags her little tail with so much excitement she’s practically levitating.

Noah hunches down to greet Ranger with a quiet “Hey, boy,” but his gaze is locked on me the entire time, as though trying to figure out how he feels about my presence. Then his gaze slides to Dolly, who gives a happy little sigh at being acknowledged.

“Is that my pillow?” he asks gruffly.

I run a hand over Dolly’s fluffy little body. “She likes to be pampered.”

He doesn’t respond, standing and going to the fridge to retrieve the Brita filter pitcher before pouring himself a glass of water and finishing it in three gulps.

“How was your night?” I ask.

Again with the no-response thing as he sets the glass by the sink and goes into the bathroom.

When he comes out, the commercial break is over and Harry and friends are just seeing the first of the Death Eaters in the sky.

I reluctantly reach for the remote, but Noah surprises me by plopping down on the couch next to me, big hand reaching out and taking a handful of the popcorn from the bowl in my lap.

It has the potential to be sexy for a hot second, with his hand so near my—

Ranger hops up between us.

Moment over.

Still, I can’t hide a happy little smile that Noah’s not kicking me out, and I take a handful of popcorn, offering a piece to both Ranger and Dolly.

Ranger eats his. Dolly doesn’t, deciding instead that it’s past time that Noah pay proper attention to her. She nudges the popcorn bowl with her nose, and I lift it out of the way so she can crawl across my lap. Ranger gives a happy bark as she pushes past him, but apparently he decides he wants her rejected piece of popcorn more than he wants Dolly (typical man), because he hops down only to hop back up again in Dolly’s previous spot. Doggy musical chairs.

Dolly continues her trek across the couch, and I sneak a look out of the corner of my eye, letting out a giggle as she settles in Noah’s lap, staring up at him with a determined pet me, pet me, pet me look as her fluffy tail swishes back and forth in a little blur.

“Thought you didn’t like me,” he says quietly to my dog…before he reaches out a big hand and rubs a knuckle under her little chin.

Dolly pants in ecstasy at his touch.

Can you blame her?

I’m suddenly very aware that Noah is close and smells ridiculously good. He doesn’t seem like the type to wear cologne, but he’s wearing something spicy and woodsy and manly.

He reaches out for another handful of popcorn, and I smile when I see him sneak a piece to Dolly.

Only Ranger also sees, letting out a betrayed bark before trying to climb across me to get at Noah, Dolly, and the popcorn. I push him back, mollifying him with a few more kernels of his own.

“He’s not supposed to be on the furniture,” Noah says.

I give Ranger another piece of popcorn. “Have you told him that?”

“Sure. But who’s he going to listen to, me or the pretty girl who feeds him popcorn?”

I glance over in surprise, noting that Dolly has curled up into a ball on his lap, looking adorably tiny on his large thighs, further dwarfed by the way his hand strokes her, his palm spanning most of her back.

And just like that, I’m jealous of my dog.

“You think I’m pretty?” I ask.

“Shut up,” he says, not looking at me.

I smile. “How was your night?”

“Not your business.”

Okay. So that’s a no on the peace treaty, then. I try to stifle my disappointment. I don’t know what I want from this guy, but it’s impressive the way he can take me from horny to irritable and back again in about five seconds.

“All right. Good talk, Noah,” I say, leaning forward and setting the popcorn on the coffee table.

He reaches out and grabs my wrist. “It’s not my job to talk to you, princess. You want someone to keep you company, call one of your groupies. You need someone to fix your sink, I’m your guy. You need someone to fix you, look elsewhere.”

I don’t reply as I jerk my arm free and pull my gray hoodie off the arm of the couch. I shrug it on over my tank top, not because I’m cold, but because I suddenly feel all kind of exposed, clearly an unwanted guest in his home.

I mean, I get it.

I barely know the guy, we don’t like each other much, and I’ve invaded his personal space.

Still, it stings a little.

And what does he mean, find someone else to “fix me”?

I don’t need fixing.

Or rather, if I do need fixing, I’m taking care of it by myself. I know what I need, and it’s not to be berated and snapped at by some guy who’s spending the prime of his life fixing the rotting steps of a deserted mansion.

And actually, speaking of that…

“You sure I’m the one who needs fixing?” I ask, reaching down and snatching up my dog, who looks like she doesn’t know quite how to feel about the change in situation.

He snorts. “Sorry. Not engaging.”

“Of course not,” I say. “Much easier to point out other people’s flaws.”

“Oh, so you are aware you have some?” he says sarcastically, looking up at me with a bored expression. “Half the time I’m surprised you’re not polishing your halo.”

I blink. “Yeah. Okay. I’m plenty aware of my flaws, thanks. But at least I can admit that I’m on the run from something.”

That was a guess, but the way his eyes shutter tells me I’m dead on. Noah Maxwell’s a perfectly competent caretaker and it’s not my business who Prescott Walcott chooses to hire to fix up the place, but that’s definitely not the full story on what this guy is doing here.

Noah’s mouth is hard and angry and I know I’ve got exactly zero chance of getting more information, but at least I’ve managed to even the score. If the man wants to growl at me and keep to himself, that’s fine, but he doesn’t get to belittle my very existence in the process.

He doesn’t answer to me, as he reminds me often, but it goes both ways. I’ve got better things to do than try to make nice with a guy who thinks he’s got me all figured out without having a single civil conversation with me.

I saunter out of his little man cave, head held high, and march back to the main house.

“Hey,” he calls after me.

I don’t turn around. I’m a pretty easygoing girl, but I have my limits when it comes to how long I’m content to stay put and let someone take swings at me.

“Hey,” he says again, his voice closer. “Princess.”

I still don’t turn around, though I do bend down to let a squirming Dolly out of my arms. She gives a happy yip and bounds back toward Noah, and I try not to feel betrayed.

“Would you wait,” he growls, right behind me.

Nope.

Firm fingers wrap around my elbow as he pulls me to a halt. “Jesus, Jenny.”

Jenny.

It’s the first time he’s said my name—usually he opts for “princess,” stopping just short of “you there”—and the sound of my name on his lips is delicious, even if it does come out all gruff and irritable.

I flick my eyes up to his, and he drops my arm immediately. “You shouldn’t be walking back alone,” he snaps.

I give him an incredulous look. “Seriously? Who’s going to get me, the fireflies? We’re in the middle of nowhere.”

“I’m walking you back,” he mutters.

“Don’t be ridiculous. The house is right there,” I say, pointing in the direction of the main house, which is less than a five-minute walk from where we‘re standing.

Although he does kind of have a point. I hadn’t realized how far away the caretaker’s house was when I’d ventured out. This property must be huge, which is…a little creepy, honestly.

Especially with all the night noises of Louisiana around me.

“Fine,” he says, bending down, picking up Dolly, and shoving her at me. “You want to walk alone, go crazy. But at least carry your damn dog before she becomes gator food.”

I snatch Dolly to my chest. “Alligators? You didn’t think to mention this earlier?”

“I should have,” he says quietly. “I forget you’re not from around here.”

To his credit, he sounds genuinely regretful.

“What are you doing?” I ask, because he’s not looking at me and instead is surveying the ground at our feet.

He bends down, picks up a large stick, and holds it out to me. “Carry this. One comes at you, swat hard at its nose and run.”

I stare at the stick. Then at him. “A stick? Are you kidding me with this? What about a gun?”

“Illegal. More relevant, a bullet’s not much good against a creature whose brain is the size of a nut. All you’re gonna get is a pissed-off gator.”

“Right, because I’m sure he’ll just love the bonk on the nose,” I say as I tentatively accept the stick. “That won’t piss him off at all.”

He shrugs. “You’ll be fine. But Ms. Parton would be easy prey, so keep her close.”

I cradle my little dog closer even as she squirms, as though preferring to be held by Noah. Too bad, baby. Noah doesn’t want you. He doesn’t want either of us.

“You good?” he asks.

I force myself to nod as my fingers adjust on the stick.

I am an independent woman. I can walk five minutes alone.

“Noah,” I call after him as he starts to walk away.

He turns, hands shoved in his pockets as he watches and waits.

So he’s not going to make it easy for me. Fine.

“Will you walk me back?”

He doesn’t move.

“Please,” I add.

He still doesn’t move, and I’m just starting to contemplate poking him in the nose with the stick when he slowly walks back toward me.

Noah doesn’t say a word as he reaches out to pull the stick from my hand. Our fingers brush, just barely, and my breath hitches, because apparently I turn into a complete floozy just by sharing the same oxygen with him. Awesome.

We’ve begun walking back toward the house when I belatedly remember his dog. “Wait! What about Ranger? Won’t the gators get him?”

“Nah, though he thinks they will, which is why he stays in the house at night.”

I sigh in relief. “That big dumb dog is growing on me.”

“That makes one of us then, huh?”

“Well, despite him having the bigger teeth, I’m pretty sure you have the bigger bite.”

“Wouldn’t you like to know, princess?”

From anyone else, the words might have come across as a light jest, but said in his low, silky tone, they feel almost like a threat.

Or a promise.

“Did you have fun on your night out?” I ask, hoping to defuse some of the sexual tension.

I expect him to snap at me again like he did the last time I asked, but to my surprise, he responds.

“I did.”

Okay, I’m wrong about the sexual tension. Because his confirmation does nothing to reassure me that his fun didn’t involve a female companion, and I feel oddly on edge.

I do manage to keep from pressing for details, though, so that’s something.

“Any temptation to Google yourself?” he surprises me by asking.

“Nope. I know what’s true about me,” I say, dipping my chin to kiss Dolly. “That’s all that matters.”

Noah glances up at the night sky before glancing at me. “I call bullshit.”

I skid to a halt even though we’re nearly to the house. “Meaning?”

He stops with me and faces me, tossing that damn stick from hand to hand. “Meaning that if you were easily able to let public opinion roll off you, you wouldn’t be here hiding out. You’d be flaunting your fling with the pretty boy.”

“Deep thoughts from someone whose best friend is their dog,” I snap as I resume walking the last few feet toward the house.

“I’m right, though,” he calls. “Ignoring what people are talking about is one thing. Avoiding it is something altogether different.”

I’m on the front porch now, and Dolly is squirming, so I open the door and set her inside before turning back to the jerk lurking in the shadows.

“And what about you, Noah?” I say, coming slowly back down the steps and walking toward him. “Which are you doing? Avoiding or ignoring?”

He doesn’t respond, but then, I didn’t really expect him to.

“It’s bad form to pick at other people’s problems when you’re not ready to confront your own,” I say softly.

“Right now my biggest problem is the pampered diva living in my backyard.”

“Yeah?” I ask softly, crossing my arms and moving closer. “And what are you going to do about that?”

My voice is low and sultry, and I barely recognize it, but when he takes a step closer, I realize just how utterly out of my league I am, because when his lips drop to my mouth I go pretty quickly from aspiring seductress to utterly seduced.

“You’re playing with fire, little girl,” he says quietly. “I’m not one of your toys, and I’m not interested in what you’re offering.”

“I’m not offering anything,” I retort, even though his words sting. “I like my men more…refined.”

His grin calls my bluff. “You sure about that?”

I swallow. Lie. “Very.”

Noah steps closer. “So you haven’t been thinking about what I said earlier, about my tongue spending time in some more interesting places?”

I swallow but don’t say anything.

His eyes rake over me. “Playing dumb won’t change the fact that you’ll be thinking about me all night, princess. Your fingers will be a poor stand-in for my tongue, I can promise you that.”

“I’m trying to figure out which word better applies here, delusional or disgusting. I’m thinking it’s a tie.”

Noah bends down slightly, enough so that I can feel his warm breath on my mouth. “Enjoy your night, princess.”

He steps back then, turning and walking away without a backward glance.

I watch as he disappears into the murky, humid night before I turn and go back into the house, muttering quietly about cocky southern boys.

I drink two cold glasses of water, but it does nothing to ease the ache between my legs, and I’m uncomfortably aware of the rasp of my nipples against my bra.

“Damn him,” I mutter as I set the glass down with a sharp clink on the counter. Noah Maxwell’s wrong about most things, but he got one right: I’m definitely going to be thinking about him.

All night.

Noah

I only make it halfway back to the caretaker cottage, my feet propelled forward only by a constant chorus of don’t touch her, don’t touch her, don’t touch her on repeat in my horny-as-fuck brain.

I’d like to think that my mind is stronger than my body.

I’d be wrong.

Because while my brain has every intention of going to bed alone, at some point my cock overrides common sense, and before I know what I’m doing, I’ve turned around.

Walking back toward the mansion.

Walking back toward Jenny Dawson and her tiny shorts and strappy tank top and long legs and that helpless want in her eyes that tells me she’s every bit as turned on by me as I am by her.

I‘m not sure she knows what she wants.

But I do. And I want it too.

The house is dark as I approach, slipping in the back door she doesn’t bother to lock. I pause for a moment in the pitch-black kitchen, trying to talk myself out of what I’m about to do.

I fail.

Instead I find myself standing in front of her door. It’s not closed all the way and I push it open, moving slowly in hopes of not freaking her out.

Jenny doesn’t freak out.

Whether it’s because of the noisy whir of her air-conditioning unit or because she’s lost in her own world, she doesn’t know I’m there.

I’m guessing it’s the latter.

Because Jenny is lying on her back, the sheets bunched down around her hips, her hand inside her little sleep shorts.

My cock goes from half-mast to full hard-on in half a second, because I’ve never seen anything half as hot as this blond princess touching herself while thinking of me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see her dopey little dog giving me a curious look from a pink dog bed in the corner, and I say a silent prayer of thanks that the dog doesn’t sleep on Jenny’s bed, because in about five seconds there’s only going to be room for two of us.

She doesn’t register my presence until I’m standing beside her bed, and then she gasps in surprise as her eyes fly open.

She freezes, her entire body stiffening, the small circular motion of her hand halting. I’m glad. I want to be there when she goes over the edge.

It’s too dark to tell, but I’m guessing she’s blushing, probably embarrassed as hell at being caught, and I don’t give a shit.

I lower myself to the bed, and she doesn’t move as I stretch out beside her. I don’t touch her. Not at first. I prop my head on my hand, my eyes trailing over her curves until my gaze comes to rest on that naughty hand.

I drag my gaze back up to hers. “Are you wet right now, Jenny Dawson?”

She gasps a little at my words, jerking her hand all the way out of her shorts, even as her hips arch in protest.

“What are you doing here?” she whispers.

I ignore the idiotic question as I smooth my palm over her hip. “My question first, princess.”

She bites her lip, and it’s all I can do not to roll on top of her, rip off those tiny shorts, and bury myself inside her.

I lower my head, my lips trailing over her neck before I bite her softly. “Be a good girl now, Jenny. Tell me the truth. Are…” I slide my hand down the side of her hip. “…you…” My hand slides forward and down until I’m palming the smooth, silky skin of her inner thigh. “…wet?” My thumb slides up and I let it hover near her but not actually touching her, and she makes a keening noise of want.

I make a rough sound in the back of my throat. “Well then. I guess I’ll have to find out for myself.”

My hand moves back up, fingers grazing the curve of her stomach before sliding under the silky fabric of her panties to the even silkier skin beneath.

“As I expected,” I whisper against her neck. “Soaking wet.”

She doesn’t reply, her eyes fluttering closed and her breathing quickening as I slowly stroke her, my fingers gliding easily against her wet flesh.

“Whose fingers do you like better, Jenny?”

She doesn’t respond, and I move my hand back slightly, denying her contact. “Jenny. Whose fingers?”

The greedy little wench arches her hips, but I resist, not giving her what she needs until she gives me the words I need.

Her body tells me she wants me, but I need to hear her say it.

“Come on,” I breathe against her throat, trailing soft kisses there. “You can do it.”

I suck on her neck, hard, and she cries out.

“Yours,” she gasps. “I like your fingers better.”

“That’s a good girl,” I say, my fingers resuming their exploration of her hot center.

I haven’t enjoyed fingering a girl this much since junior high, and I take my time figuring out what she likes. Two fingers circling her clit makes her pant, but those same two fingers deep inside her make her moan.

I alternate between the two, keeping her just on the edge but not letting her go over.

My mouth waters with the need to taste her, but when I start to pull my hand away to go down on her, she grabs my wrist, nails digging into my skin. “Noah. Please. I need—”

My name on her lips nearly destroys me, somehow far more intimate than her slickness all over my fingers, and I have a definite oh fuck moment as reality sets in.

I’m messing with a girl I have no business messing with, a girl whose every whimper sounds innocent as fuck, who, despite her current reputation, doesn’t seem the least bit skilled in seduction.

But an ugly thought has planted itself.

Other guys have done this.

And while I have absolutely zero issues with Jenny Dawson hooking up with whoever the hell she wants, the stab of possessive jealousy is bitter and foreign in my mouth.

The fact that other guys have touched her like this and heard those breathy little moans sends a surge of jealous rage through me, something far more intense than the sting of Yvonne cheating on me.

The realization of just how much pull this girl has on me makes me a little bit mean. Meaner, I should say, since I’ve not been exactly kind in my effort to keep her at arm’s length.

“What do you need?” I demand, my wrist easily resisting her efforts to push my hand back to her. “You need my fingers on you? In you?”

“Yes!” She arches, too far gone to play coy anymore.

Still I press her, wanting to punish her for making me desire her the way I do. “You like when I fuck you with my fingers?” I ask crudely before sliding two fingers back inside her, hard.

Jenny gasps as I slick my fingers in and out of her without mercy.

“What about this?” I ask, sliding a third finger into her slowly.

She gasps again in shock. I sit back slightly so I can watch her face, watching for that ecstatic place between pleasure and pain, knowing from the wild, desperate look on her face that I’ve found it.

Her eyes lock on mine, pleading, and I know then that I need to make her come. I need to make her come harder than she’s ever come before.

I hold her gaze as my thumb finds her clit. I press into her, making only one small tight circle around the nub before she goes over the edge with a scream that tears right through me.

I swear softly as her body milks my fingers, her back arching so high I think she’s going to buck me off.

I’ve never made a girl come this hard using just my fingers. Hell, I’ve never been so close to coming without even touching my cock.

I try to tell myself that she’s just a hot piece of ass out for a good time, but the possessive feeling in my gut hasn’t eased up.

If anything, I feel more possessive, even more pissed that after she leaves here, she’ll find some other guy to finger her to ecstasy.

I am in so much trouble.

I wait until she stops shuddering before I withdraw, but the second her eyes open and her wet pussy quits convulsing around my fingers, I slide my hand away from her, unabashedly wiping my hands on my jeans.

“How was it?” I ask, my voice a little harsh. I mean it to be.

She looks startled when I sit up, moving away from her.

“Yesterday you wanted to know where your kissing skills rank,” I say softly. “I want to know how my fingering skills stack up. Better or worse than that pretty boy pop singer?”

Jenny’s lips part—in shock? hurt? anger? I don’t know, and I don’t care, I just know that I need to keep this girl the hell away from me before I lose my damn mind.

She props herself up on her elbows, her breasts straining against the fabric of her tank top, and making me realize that I haven’t even seen her tits yet.

Incredibly, my cock hardens even further, and I push off the bed before I reach for her.

“Don’t worry about it, babe,” I say, adjusting my erection as I stand. “Your tight little snatch told me exactly how much you liked that.”

“Get out,” she whispers. “Get out.”

Yup. That seems about right.

I deserve nothing less than a slap right now, and I’m well aware of it. Still, instead of apologizing, I turn and walk out.

As I do, I realize that I just experienced the most intense sexual experience of my life and didn’t even come.

Hell, I didn’t even take my fucking boots off.

I take the stairs two at a time, hating myself, hating her for making me feel out of control.

I barely make it in the door of my temporary home before I’ve got my hand wrapped around my cock, jacking off to the memory of her hot panting and soft cries. I imagine that it’s her hand touching me. Her mouth.

I come with a ferocious roar that nearly splits me in two.

And as I try to catch my breath, my hand still on my softening dick, my face buried in my elbow, I try and figure out how the hell I’m supposed to face her tomorrow.

Jenny

Are you feeling bad for me?

Don’t.

Here’s a not-so-well-kept secret about singer-songwriters.

The bad stuff in life, other people’s oh shits—they’re our bread and butter.

I’m not saying that we hurt less, or that we don’t wake up wanting to castrate Noah Maxwell, but the smart ones among us take all that hurt and anger and bitterness and do something with it.

The more intense the emotion¸ the easier and better the songwriting.

Let’s just say the morning after my bedroom incident with Noah, I do some of my best work.

Most of the time when I’m working on a song, I’m not thinking about anything other than the way the notes fit together, or the way the last chorus changes keys, or how much rhyming is too much rhyming.

I don’t think about how the song’s going to be received, or which one is going to be the lead single.

I just focus on the music itself. The rest is my label’s problem.

But every now and then I know a hit song when it pops into my head.

And this one—this one fueled by last night’s anger—is going to be a chart-topper.

Why? Well the melody’s catchy as heck, upbeat and a little edgy at the same time. But the theme’s also universal.

Mark my words, “Predator” is going to be right up there with Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats” and SHeDaisy’s “Earl Had to Die” on the karaoke favorites list of scorned women everywhere.

My working title was “Bastard,” and while it certainly applies, no way that’s making it on the radio.

But the title “Predator” is a whole other level of perfect for Noah Maxwell. I’ve never met someone quite so skilled at subtly stalking a weaker creature and watching for flaws, just waiting to exploit them.

And this is not a hunter who seeks a quick, clean kill. Oh no. This is a man who takes sick pleasure in letting his prey bleed out.

Only he made a misstep with me.

He left me wounded, but far from dead.

And now that I’ve got that song out of my system, I have revenge plans. Big plans.

I stay locked in my room all morning working on the song, so I don’t see him until nearly three. He’s in the kitchen installing a garbage disposal in the sink he put in yesterday when I go in there to get my car keys and a quick snack for the road.

Noah freezes when he sees me, and for a second I think maybe he wants to say something. Like, oh, I don’t know, sorry.

He doesn’t.

He continues fiddling with the sink as I pull half of yesterday’s turkey sandwich out of the fridge and take a bite.

I don’t look at him, but I know he’s watching me out of the corner of his eye.

Like I said. Predator.

I slowly eat my sandwich, followed by a handful of chips and then a handful of baby carrots to cancel out the chips, and then a glass of water to wash it down, all the while pretending I’m alone.

It’s not that I’m giving him the silent treatment so much as I’m afraid that if I look at him he’ll sense my devious plan, and the surprise factor is key if I’m going to make this work.

After I’ve eaten, I grab the keys for my rental car and leave without a backward glance.

I’m gone for a few hours. I hit up the grocery store and then Target to get a new pair of flip-flops to replace the ones Ranger destroyed, as well as a couple of the plain journals I prefer for brainstorming lyrics.

Confession: in both stores, I couldn’t resist a quick peek at the tabloid sections when I was checking out, my eyes instinctively scanning for my name or face.

I’m delighted to inform you that I’m no longer the cover story. There was only one mention of me, a tiny right-hand mention on a lesser-known magazine with the headline “Good Girl Turned Seductress Still MIA.”

My plan is working.

I make a mental note to call Amber and then check in with my parents, since it’s been a few days. Strangely, though, I’m not really feeling the itch to get back to my normal life, like I thought I would. Even more strangely, this quiet off-the-grid lifestyle feels like my normal life.

The realization is slightly unnerving, but I push it aside to be dealt with later.

I have bigger things to worry about at the moment. Like revenge.

My revenge plan requires only one stop, and I’m in and out in five minutes. I sing along with the radio, even one of my own songs, on the drive back from Baton Rouge.

I fist-pump when I pull into the driveway and see that his truck’s gone. I heard him on the phone earlier today with someone, making plans to meet up for an early dinner.

At the time I was wondering if it was a date, but now I don’t really care, except that I sort of wish I could warn the girl what she’s getting into: an A+ orgasm from an A+ asshole.

Noah’s absence is crucial to my plan, though.

I go upstairs to check on Dolly, giving her an extra-long potty break (while carrying my gator stick, naturally). I feel a little bad about leaving her alone most of the day, but I’m pretty sure she understands.

She did, after all, bear witness to the, um, incident last night.

It’s Ranger who’s the weak link in my plan, and he’s the reason I’ve got a long, boring night ahead of me.

I spread a towel on the bed for Dolly and give her the new bone I picked up today. Then I kiss her head before changing my clothes. Everything I put on is black, from the lacy bra and panties to the cropped yoga pants and tank top. Also part of the plan. I need to be all ninja-like for this to work.

I throw a bone for Ranger into my bag, as well as my Kindle and the supplies, before I make the trek over to Noah’s cottage.

As expected, Ranger greets me with happy barks, and I reward him with the bone before settling in with my Kindle.

The time passes quicker than I expect, or maybe it’s just another early night for Noah, because Ranger sounds the alarm when I’ve been there only an hour or so.

I hurriedly grab my stuff, making sure there’s no sign of my presence before I dash into Noah’s tiny closet, leaving it open just a crack so I can breathe and see what I’m doing.

Oh, what’s that? I didn’t mention that my revenge plan is totally creepy and a lot immature? It is.

Don’t care.

I stand still, my body humming in anticipation, as Noah comes in the door.

“Hey, boy,” I hear him say quietly to Ranger. “Where’d you get that bone, huh? You steal it from the stupid cotton ball?”

I roll my eyes. Sure, my dog’s the stupid one. I saw Ranger barking at his own shadow the other day.

I hear the clatter of keys tossed on the table, followed by what sounds like the sloshing of liquid into a glass. Whisky? I saw some Jim Beam on the counter when I first came in.

Then there’s nothing, and I frown.

This is the part of my plan that gets a little tricky.

If he decides to settle in for a long night of watching TV, I’m totally screwed. I need him to get close to the bed. Close enough for…

I’m in luck.

So much luck.

Noah wanders into my line of sight, moving to the bed and setting a glass on the nightstand. I’m right about the whisky. He opens the nightstand drawer and pulls out a book before kicking off his shoes and settling back on the bed. He tosses aside a bookmark, then folds one arm behind his head.

It could not be more perfect if I’d planned it.

The universe is clearly giving me its blessing for what I’m about to do, because even Ranger’s not giving me trouble, far more interested in the bone I paid $7.99 for than me hiding in the closet.

Or maybe he too knows that his master deserves what’s coming.

I take a deep breath, silently, so as not to tip him off.

Go time.

I burst out of the closet and launch myself at Noah.

I hear him mutter “What the fuck?” a split second before I’m on top of him, my knees straddling his hips.

He’s stronger, but the element of surprise makes me faster, as does the fact that I’ve been planning this moment in my head all day.

He bucks beneath me, nearly throwing me off, only to freeze when he realizes that his right hand…is zip-tied to the headboard.

I take advantage of his stunned outrage to quickly maneuver his left hand to match his right.

And just like that, Noah Maxwell is zip-tied to his bed, glaring up at me, first in shock and then in anger.

He jerks his arms, hard, and though the headboard rattles, the ties stay firm.

I can’t help it—I gloat. I’m feeling very victorious and maybe a tad dominatrix.

“What the fuck, princess?”

I reach out a hand and pat his cheek. “You know, I just got to thinking. Remember how we chitchatted that day in Home Depot about whether I had kinky fantasies about being tied up? Well, we never talked about you.”

He glares, and I grin. “What’s the verdict? You like?”

His nostrils flare, and I bite my lip, flirty-like. “Hmm, I wonder if this might change your mind.”

I reach down to the hem of my tank top and—slowly, teasingly—pull it up and over my head, tossing it aside so there’s just me straddling him in a tiny black lace bra and tight-fitting pants.

I feel him harden between my thighs, and smile in victory.

“What are you doing, princess?” he asks, his voice a little rougher than usual.

I rest a hand on his chest, my fingers toying with the top button of his shirt. “Turnabout’s fair play and all that.”

His eyes narrow as I flick open a button. Then another.

“Jenny…”

I ignore him, undoing every last button before spreading his shirt to the side. “Have I mentioned I like your chest hair?” I say, raking my nails lightly across his pecs.

He sucks in a breath, his hips shifting slightly beneath mine.

I bend forward slowly, giving him a good look at my cleavage before my lips find a spot just below his jawline, and I suck in a bit of skin before biting, hard.

His arms pull at the ties, and I sit back up with a smug smile. “Something you want, princess?”

My hands go to his belt buckle, watching his eyes go shadowy as I slowly undo it.

“Wait,” he says quietly.

I do, just for a moment, and although I’ve been envisioning this moment all day, intent on keeping this impersonal and a little bit cold, I slip.

My chest fills with hurt and I stare down at him. “You slut-shamed me, Noah. You made me want you, and then you degraded me for wanting you.”

“I know,” he says quietly.

I look away, and his arms jerk again, as though trying to reach for me. “Hey. Jenny. Look at me.”

I do, and he holds my gaze patiently. “I’m sorry. I’m damn sorry.”

The simple words rip through me. They’re less than I deserve, but also more than I expected.

“You were beautiful last night,” he says gruffly. “And hot as fuck when I fingered you, but I suspect you know that. And you have nothing to be ashamed of.”

I feel a pool of moisture between my legs, and I have to remind myself that I’m in control, that this is my game.

I occupy myself with his belt buckle before I start on the zipper of his jeans, pulling it down slowly to reveal the plain navy boxers beneath.

I trail a finger over his erection. “I don’t know that sorry’s enough, Noah.”

“Tell me this wasn’t what you were doing all day,” he says, “buying…” Noah glances up at his wrists. “Pink zip ties.”

I give him a happy smile. “See, I knew you’d like the pink.”

He glares at me. “Stop this now, princess. You’re in way over your head.”

“Seems to me you’re the one in way over your head, big guy.”

I wrap my hand around his cock and his hips buck.

“You like this?” I ask, stroking him through the fabric of his boxers.

His breathing is harsh and he says nothing.

I give a little pout. “No? What about this?”

I carefully ease both jeans and boxers down over his hips so that he springs free. I’ll admit to not having a ton of sexual experience—not good sexual experience, anyway—but even I know that Noah Maxwell’s body is extraordinary.

He’s all man, and the way he’s looking at me is all heat.

Well, heat and a bit of anger.

I touch my palm to his skin and he swears.

“You like this,” I say again. Not a question this time.

“Jenny—”

I remove my hand and sit back slightly, trying for coyness even though the first traces of panic are setting in. My plan was to torture him the way he tortured me. Making him say it the way he made me say it.

But what if he doesn’t want it like I wanted it?

What if this doesn’t work?

“I can leave,” I say with a shrug.

His eyes lock on my breasts as they bounce, and hope reignites.

My finger traces along his pubic bone. “Or I can stay. Up to you.”

His eyes are practically black now as they glare into me, and I know he’s fighting the good fight, torn between pride, common sense, and the lust that’s got him tied up in knots.

“Untie me,” he says gruffly. “Now.”

My stomach sinks. It’s not going to work. He doesn’t want me enough.

I swallow my disappointment as I start to scoot off the bed. “No, I don’t think I will,” I say tartly. “You treated me like garbage last night, and there’s something you should know by now about us country girls—we can be slow to forgive.”

Noah’s hands pull at the restraints as I slowly bend to retrieve my tank top, giving him one last look at what he’s turning down.

I slip my arms into the shirt and am preparing to pull it over my head when he stops me with a rough “Don’t.”

I lift my eyebrows in challenge, and he lifts his right back. A counterchallenge. “Touch me, princess.”

My stomach falls again, this time with anticipation.

“Yeah?” I ask.

“Put your hands on me.”

It’s as much of an admission as I’m going to get from him, and it’s enough. I set one knee on the bed, then another, kneeling beside him instead of straddling him as I reach for him.

Honestly? I haven’t done this a lot. I mean, I’ve touched guys a couple of times, but it’s usually been just a few quick shy touches as part of rushed foreplay.

This is different.

I turn toward the lamp, thinking to turn it off, but he shakes his head. “I want to watch you.”

Well. Crap.

Better make it good, then.

I stroke him slowly, learning the feel of him, velvety soft skin over steel, my thumb brushing over the top of moisture on the tip, spreading it around and smiling slightly when he moans.

Over and over I stroke him, learning that he likes it best when my touch is firm. The quickening in his breathing tells me he likes it when I lean over him, giving him a view of my cleavage.

My grand plan was an epic hand job. An even exchange for last night.

But having him completely at my mercy, hearing him unravel under my touch, makes me bold.

I bend forward even farther until my lips hover just over him. Almost touching, but not quite.

“Jenny.” His hips buck, but I pull back.

“Yes?” I ask, turning my head to meet his eyes.

He shakes his head. “You don’t have to—”

“I can stop if you like.” I dip my head lower so my lips brush over his tip.

His eyes are closed now, his chest rising and falling, and I know I’ve won.

I take him in my mouth and he rears off the bed with a stream of profanity.

Here’s another thing I’ve never considered myself particularly skilled at. An awkward thing, the blow job.

But it doesn’t feel awkward with Noah. I feel sexy as hell bent over him, my lips wrapped around him. I even arch my lower back a little, knowing from his groan that he’s enjoying the visual as much as I’m enjoying his taste.

“Fuck,” he says, his hips moving faster to meet my mouth, his feet digging into the mattress as he strains to get closer. “Jenny, you need to stop. Now.”

I don’t stop.

Instead I wrap one hand around the base of him, pumping as my tongue swirls under the underside before I tighten the suction.

I’ve never felt quite so powerful and wanton as I do the moment Noah Maxwell comes in my mouth with an animalistic roar.

I stay with him through every shudder, relishing every oath before slowly easing back. I dab lightly at the corner of my mouth with my middle finger as I watch him with hungry, curious eyes.

His breath rises and falls, his closed eyes showing off those ridiculously curly eyelashes to perfection.

When he finally opens them to meet my gaze, they’re unreadable.

I give him a nervous smile as I glance up at the zip ties. “I, uh, didn’t quite think through this part,” I say. “Are those things easy to remove?”

He lets out a little laugh and shakes his head. “Unbelievable.”

“Either you can tell me what to do or I can leave you like this.”

“Drawer to the right of the sink. There’s some kitchen shears that should do the trick.”

A few moments later I cut the zip ties free, wincing as I see him rub lightly at the red lines around his wrist. “Do they hurt?”

He meets my eyes. “Worth it.”

I turn away in embarrassment. I wasn’t kidding when I said I hadn’t thought through what would come after, and I have no idea how to make a graceful yet saucy exit.

I retrieve my tank top once more as he pulls up his boxers and pants. I hurriedly pull on the shirt before giving him a wide grin. “So. We’re even, then.”

His hand flexes as though he wants to reach for me, but he doesn’t. “Princess…”

I shake my head and back up. “No words necessary, Noah. I’d say we both got what we wanted. Maybe now this…thing between us will ease and we can go back to ignoring each other.”

He says nothing as I bend down to pick up my bag, and as an afterthought I pull out the bag of pink zip ties and toss them at him, since I’d bought two bags. Because you never know. “Here. A souvenir.”

“At least let me walk you home.”

“I’m good. Really.”

“Princess—”

“I want to be alone. Please.”

I bend to pet Ranger as I leave, his tail thumping happily against the wood floor, never pausing in chewing his bone (one of my more brilliant ideas, if I do say so myself).

I let myself out, stopping to pick up the big-ass gator stick as I make the trek back toward the main house.

About two minutes in, I hear a twig snap behind me, and I tense, my grip adjusting on the stick, but then I hear a low, quiet whistling, something low and mellow and masculine.

I smile, realizing it’s Noah letting me know that it’s him, and that he’s found a way to walk me home and still give me my space.

I don’t turn back to acknowledge his presence until I get back to the house, where I pause on the back porch and turn toward him.

He’s there in the shadows, hands in his pockets.

I lift my hand in a wave. Thanks.

He doesn’t wave back. Doesn’t say a word.

Instead he turns, walking back toward his cottage. Only as I go back into the house do I realize what song he’s whistling.

“Predator.”

The song I was working on all day, the song I wrote for him…he’s singing it right back to me.

And I can’t help the grin.

Noah

The morning after the best blow job of my life, I get a hell of a rude awakening.

Ranger’s frantic barks are followed by the unapologetic slam of my front door. I open one eye, hoping that it’s Jenny, here to make all my dirty dreams a reality.

I groan.

Definitely not Jenny.

“What the hell, dude?” I mutter. “What time is it?”

“Time for you to stop being a fucking pansy,” Vaughn says, looking around at the cottage in disgust. “Is this where you’ve been living?”

I roll to my side, reaching around on the floor until I come up with my jeans. “Make some coffee, would you?”

I go into the bathroom to pee and splash some water on my face, and when I come back out, Vaughn’s found his way around the tiny kitchen well enough to start a pot of coffee while he stares down at the mangled chew toy Ranger’s dropped at his feet.

“He wants you to throw it,” I say.

“Throw it where? I’ve seen shoeboxes bigger than this place.”

“You sound like a snob,” I say as I open the front door to let Ranger out for his morning dump.

“I’m not going to apologize for liking nice things, and right now I’m not seeing anything nice. Although I guess the TV’s not bad.”

I get down two mugs, then cross my arms and glare at him while I wait for the coffeepot to finish doing its thing. “You want to tell me what’s brought you out here at seven A.M.? Isn’t it a workday?”

“Oh, so you’re familiar with the concept?” Vaughn says. “Wasn’t sure, what with the two-week vacation and all.”

“Hey, I’ve practically broken my back out here,” I snap. “Installing new appliances and replacing drywall’s not exactly sipping mai tais by a pool.”

“Which would be fine if this was your actual job. But have you forgotten you’re the owner of a major corporation?”

“The owner, yes. Not CEO. I don’t run the business.”

“And whose fault is that?”

“Jesus, not this again,” I mutter as I turn and jerk the coffeepot off the machine even though it’s not all the way done brewing.

I pour us both a cup, going to the window to watch Ranger happily bound after a flock of birds.

It drives Vaughn fucking nuts that I spent three years being groomed to take over the company only to tell my father I had zero interest in being CEO. Objectively I know it’s none of his business, but because he’s my friend, it gnaws at me that I can’t make him understand.

Nothing pisses me off more than that disappointed look on his face every time I tell him I’m taking another consulting gig, investing in a new start-up, or doing anything other than being a good little robot in a suit who shuffles into the company headquarters in downtown Baton Rouge.

You’d think I’d be well used to the look by now. Lord knows I saw it often enough on my father’s face before he died.

And on Yvonne’s.

Still, my dad and Yvonne wanted me to take over for selfish reasons—my father so that he could have the perfect protégé he’d always wanted, his damned legacy, and Yvonne because she wanted the prestige of being married to the CEO of Walcott International. Apparently it wasn’t enough to have access to the money.

General contractor doesn’t make for good cocktail party introductions, Preston.

Yeah, you know what else doesn’t make for good cocktail party introductions, Yvonne? “This is my fiancée, who’s been cheating on me the better part of a year.”

As though reading my thoughts, Vaughn reaches for the cup of coffee and drops the bomb of why he’s here.

“I got a wedding invitation yesterday,” he says quietly.

“And?”

“It’s Yvonne’s.”

I turn around. “Seriously? She’s marrying that prick?”

I’m trying to decide if I care. Leaning toward no.

Vaughn gives me a disgusted look. “You’re an idiot. It’s your wedding invitation, fool.”

“The fuck.” I jerk in surprise, hot coffee spilling over my hand, which earns another stream of curses as I turn on the faucet and run cold water on my hand, hoping to hell that either Vaughn’s lost his damn mind or I’m still asleep and this is the world’s worst nightmare.

“She’s been trying to get ahold of you,” he says quietly.

“Finn told me.”

“You shouldn’t have ignored her, man. She got desperate.”

I turn off the sink and grab a paper towel. “Right. This is my fault. She cheats on me, I tell her the wedding’s off, she decides no it’s not, and sends out invitations anyway?”

He takes a sip of coffee and studies me calmly. “I’m gonna ask you something, and you’re gonna get pissed.”

“Wonderful,” I mutter. “That sounds really great.”

“Had she not cheated on you…would you have married her?”

I don’t look at him as I pour myself more coffee. “I don’t know,” I say finally.

“So you were having doubts even before?”

I shrug. “If you’re asking if her affair felt like an out, yeah. If you’re asking if I was a little relieved…yeah to that too. If she hadn’t had the affair, would I have figured out that our marriage would be an unhappy one in time to call it off? I don’t know.”

To my relief, he doesn’t give me shit. Just nods slowly with that thoughtful look on his face that he gets whenever he’s gearing up to interfere with my life.

“What are you going to do?” he asks. “A part of me hoped that she just sent the invitation to me, knowing it’d be a way to get your attention. But everyone has one, Preston.”

I feel a surge of rage so intense I literally don’t know what to do with it, and it’s all I can do to slowly set my coffee back down and brace my hands on the counter while taking deep breaths.

I want to rage that this isn’t fair. That it’s not my fault that Yvonne’s being a stubborn bitch who’s trying to manipulate me down the aisle.

But of course it is my fault, at least partially so.

I don’t regret calling off the wedding, not for one second. But I do regret that I didn’t see the warning signs that she wasn’t going to take the rejection lying down.

In my defense, I genuinely thought that disappearing would help get it through her thick skull that I wasn’t coming back around, but clearly I’ve made a major judgment error, because she’s just called my bluff in a big way.

And hell if I know how to get out of it.

“I’ll deal with Yvonne,” I mutter, picking up my mug once my temper’s subsided slightly.

“How?”

“I don’t fucking know, man,” I snap. “You got any ideas how to call off a wedding?”

“I’m working on it,” Vaughn says.

I’ve known the guy long enough to be aware that this is his go-to evasion when he doesn’t have a clue, but I can’t really blame him. I don’t have a clue either. I mean, obviously I can just not show up on the wedding day, but I’m not such a dick that I’m cool with letting a few hundred people show up at a church for a wedding I don’t intend to be at.

“Okay, next problem,” Vaughn says.

“Jesus, there’s more?”

“You asked me to keep an eye on your email, the one that’s public record on the company website.”

“Yeah? So? Nobody ever writes to that one except requests for charity donations, and you can just forward those to the public relations office.”

“Yeah, mastered that, thanks,” he says dryly. “I’m more concerned about the world-renowned superstar who sent an email to that address a couple of weeks ago thinking she was reaching your father.”

Jenny.

Fuck. I forgot that that’s how she got in touch with me.

“She sent another email. This morning.”

“How? She doesn’t have Internet access here,” I say, feeling a little trickle of panic. Not that it’s up to me when Jenny ends her “information diet,” but it’s belatedly occurred to me that just as the Internet can give her information she doesn’t want about herself, it also has a shitload of information about me. “What did she want?” I ask, strangely more tense about mention of Jenny than I am about any mention of Yvonne.

He gives me a curious look, no doubt noticing my reaction. “She wants to buy the place.”

“What place?”

He rolls his eyes and lifts an arm, gesturing in a circle. “This place. God knows why, but she wants to know if you’d consider an offer.”

“No. Hell no.”

Vaughn blinks. “What the hell, man? Just give it to her. Get rid of the dump.”

I’m already shaking my head. “It’s not for sale.”

He looks incredulous as he slowly sets his mug down. “What is going on with you? You can’t mean to stay here.”

I scratch my eyebrow and don’t respond.

“Talk to me, Preston,” Vaughn says quietly.

I don’t respond, because there’s really nothing to talk about. I only know that I need more time to figure shit out. What I want, who I am, what’s next. And I need to do it here.

This may sound weird since I’m not a musician, but I get why Jenny Dawson was so obsessed with this place that she remembered it and returned a decade after a summer vacation here.

It doesn’t make sense. It’s old. Run-down. It’s not even remotely convenient to modern life.

But there’s something about it that calms me. It’s one of those places where you hear your thoughts louder and more clearly than anywhere else.

And Jenny wants to buy it.

Reluctant as I am to sell, I feel an odd sense of camaraderie with the little seductress. We have nothing in common save for a fucking intense physical attraction, but we have this. This house.

“I just need a little more time to figure things out,” I say, meeting my friend’s eyes.

He nods slowly. “Fine. But you don’t have much. Your wedding date’s at the end of August.”

Two months.

Fucking Yvonne.

“Finn texted me,” Vaughn says, helping himself to more coffee.

“ ’Bout Yvonne?”

“That. And your new tenant.”

I tense. “What about her? He hasn’t said anything about her being here, has he?”

“Even he’s not that much of a dick,” Vaughn says. “But he does think you’re screwing her.”

I say nothing.

“Are you?”

“No.”

Technically true. Differentiating between oral sex and actual sex feels a bit high school, but I have zero intention of talking about what’s going on between me and Jenny Dawson.

As if I even know.

“Well, keep your dick in your pants around that one,” he says, taking a sip of coffee.

My gaze sharpens. “Why?”

“Look, I’ve got zero problem with a sexually liberated woman, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that that one’s a man-eater. The last thing you need is to get your cock tangled up with this girl when you’re still trying to untangle it from the last one.”

“I’m untangled from Yvonne,” I say wearily, wondering how early is too early for a beer. “We hadn’t had sex for weeks even before we broke up.”

He winces. “No wonder she cheated.”

I glare at him. “I didn’t cheat.”

“Because you’re decent when you’re not being an idiot,” Vaughn retorts. “Just…be smarter, okay? Make sure Jenny Dawson isn’t your rebound or balm for your wounded ego.”

“She’s not,” I all but snarl.

There it is again. That fierce, unfounded urge to protect her. To shield her from her own reputation.

“At the very least, end this idiotic charade,” Vaughn says tiredly. “Tell her who you really are.”

“She doesn’t need to know. And I didn’t lie to her about who I was. Just who you were. I really am Noah Maxwell.”

“You’re also Preston Walcott,” he snaps. “Don’t make her pay the price because your parents were stubborn idiots who gave you like twelve names, or because you like to pick and choose which name to use depending on your mood.”

“I’ve always wanted to be Noah,” I say. “Just Noah. You know that.”

“Yeah, but you’re not,” Vaughn counters. “And I, for one, don’t regret that your father dragged you into his life, because it means he brought you into mine.”

I feel a little stab of guilt. Edward Vaughn is one of the best men—the best friends—on the planet, and I’m all but spitting on our connection.

“A little more time, Vaughn,” I say quietly. “I hate having to say this out loud, but I’m…I’m reeling, man. I feel like I’ve been in an aimless free-fall for years, and this place…it’s helping. I don’t know why, I don’t know how, but it’s helping.”

He searches my face carefully. “You sure it’s the place?” he asks slowly. “Or is it the girl?”

I don’t respond, but I know from Vaughn’s sigh that he already suspects the answer.

It’s a little bit of both.

Jenny

Dolly wakes me up at the crack of dawn.

Apparently the bone I gave her last night was a bit too much, and the poor thing yacks up all sorts of nastiness all over the floor before I can get her outside.

By the time I clean up Pomeranian puke and get back into bed, my brain is already awake, and my thoughts are…

Odd.

This is going to sound nuts, but something about my unabashed seduction of Noah Maxwell last night fixed something inside me, and I decide it’s time.

For a lot of things.

I’m on the road before six and am in a Baton Rouge Starbucks by seven, armed with my laptop and a venti caramel macchiato.

The first order of business is a no-brainer. I haven’t seen Preston Walcott since that first day at the house, haven’t had any contact with him at all except through Noah for maintenance things relating to the house. New wallpaper in the bedroom, it would seem, is apparently a bit outside the realm of what’s considered “standard maintenance.”

As I impatiently start up my inbox and wait for it to load the hundreds of neglected messages from the past couple of weeks, I debate the wisdom of what I’m about to do, only to realize that there’s really not much risk in it.

You’ve probably gathered this by now, but I’m not hurting for money. I mean, I’m not Oprah or anything, but I have enough money to buy a house. A couple of houses.

Especially one that’s in the middle of nowhere in Louisiana and that the owner clearly has no attachment to.

I want this house. Not to live in full-time, I don’t think. Although maybe someday.

But I want a place where I can go to be off the grid. A place that’s all mine. A place that maybe someday I can open up to be a quiet retreat for young musicians, just the way it was for me all those years ago.

I know the younger Preston Walcott’s not a patron of the arts the way his father was, but maybe that’ll work in my favor. The guy can’t possibly have strong ties to a property he didn’t know he owned. And based on the fact that he hasn’t been out to the house once since that first day, I can’t imagine that he’s somehow grown attached to the place.

Plus, I think as I draft an email, the worst he can say is no.

But please don’t say no.

I send the email and take a deep breath. That was the easy part of my day.

Here comes the brave part.

I check my email, knowing full well it will have messages from my label, my publicist, my agent, and, most important, from Amber, who promised to give me honest but summarized versions of what’s happening with the Shawn Bates scandal, to be read when I’m ready.

And I’m ready.

Thirty minutes later I slump back in my chair, exhausted and liberated at the same time. The bad news: Shawn’s wife is continuing to scream victim to anyone who will listen, with me as her number one villain.

The good news…

Not that many people are listening anymore.

She’s had her moment in the spotlight, and while the general consensus is that I’m still a home-wrecking whore, at least I’m no longer a front-page home-wrecking whore.

The best news of all is that nobody has a clue where I am. My poor publicist has been a broken record with the statement I provided: Jenny Dawson is taking some time away from the spotlight to work on her upcoming album. She thanks you in advance for respecting her privacy.

All bullshit, of course. Nobody gives a crap about my privacy. Nor does anyone likely believe that I’m working on my album so much as hiding away in my shame.

But that’s their problem.

I have bigger, more important problems.

Name: Noah Maxwell.

It’s occurred to me that I’ve been more intimate with him than I have with any other guy, and yet I hardly know him. I don’t know where he comes from, how it came about that he has this job, his favorite food, or what he watches on TV.

But I know him well enough to know that I want to know him better.

I know he can be a jerk, but he also knows how to apologize. I know he’s grumpy as shit, but he’ll never let a girl walk home alone at night. I know he’s good with his hands—really good with his hands—and as much as he might think Dolly’s ridiculous, he cares enough to make sure she doesn’t become a light snack for an alligator.

Last night was 20 percent seduction, 80 percent revenge.

But tonight I want to tweak that ratio and go full-on seduction.

And not with just his body.

I want to know what makes him tick. And I have exactly zero clue how to figure that out.

I pick up the phone to call Amber, but at the last minute I change tack. I need a different approach with this one. I need…

My mom picks up on the first ring. “Honey! You have your cellphone back!”

I smile. “Hi, Mama.”

“You sound happy. I love when you’re happy.”

That’s my mother for you. She’s one of those really exceptional parents—the kind whose mission in life is ensuring the happiness of her offspring, but who rarely crosses the line into meddling.

“Let’s just say I’m thinking it’s time to come out of the cocoon,” I say.

“Oh, good! Does that mean you’re coming home?”

I hesitate, not having the heart to tell her that I’m no longer sure Nashville is home. I mean, it’s more home than Los Angeles, certainly. But the thought of going back there doesn’t feel right. Not yet.

“No, I’m going to stay here a bit longer. The album’s coming along, but I want to get a few more tracks down before I submit it.”

“I think that sounds smart. Trust your gut.”

Told you she was the best.

“I could use a little advice, though,” I say. “On the personal front.”

“Oh?”

I smile, knowing that she’s probably quivering with anticipation right now.

“There’s sort of…this guy,” I say, fiddling with the lid of my coffee cup.

“Ohhhh,” she gushes.

“Which, I know is crazy,” I say, “given that the whole reason for hiding out is to get away from guys, but he’s the caretaker on the property. A young, cute caretaker, not the old crusty kind. And I kind of…like him.”

“What’s he like? What’s his name?”

“Noah. And he’s…prickly.”

“Ah, one of those,” she says knowingly.

“I guess. He just feels very foreign to me. I’m used to guys, well…”

“Chasing you?”

“Let’s just say this one’s not a groupie,” I grumble.

Mom chortles. “He’s playing hard to get.”

Eh, not exactly. But I hold my tongue. My mom’s cool and all, but no way in hell am I telling her about the night Noah Maxwell caught me masturbating and finished the job for me. I blush just thinking about it.

“Anyway…” I clear my throat. “I’m feeling a little out of my league here. I haven’t really felt this way before.”

I feel like a dork admitting it, but there it is. I’ve dated plenty. Hooked up with a few, albeit a tiny fraction of what the media assumes to be true.

But it’s never been quite like this. I’ve never experienced this all-consuming obsession with someone else.

“Well, what is it you’re after?” my mom asks slowly. “If it’s just a good time, in my day that meant putting on our prettiest dress and convincing him to take us out dancing. In fact, that was your dad’s and my first date. I asked him out dancing. I wore a pink polka-dot dress and he bought me white wine spritzers, and we danced the night away.”

I put a hand over my mouth to stifle the giggle. Could she be any cuter?

“But if you’re wanting to figure out if this could be something more,” she says, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial tone, “you’ll want a different approach.”

“Pins and needles, Mom. Pins and needles.”

“Well, the first time your dad told me that he knew I was the one—”

“Whoa. Sorry, have to halt you right there. I’m not looking to marry this guy.”

“You never know who you might marry, sweetie. Nobody ever does until they do, you know?”

I blink. “Does Kelly understand when you talk like that? You remember, right, that she’s the smart one?”

“Nonsense, both my girls are smart,” she says loyally. “But anyway, whether or not you marry this guy, there’s exactly one tried-and-true way to crack any man.”

Zip-tying him to the bed and giving him a blow job?

Eep.

“I’m listening,” I say, hoping this suggestion doesn’t involve dancing, because there’s no way in hell I’m getting Noah Maxwell onto any kind of dance floor in any universe.

“You’ve heard that the way to any man’s heart is through his stomach?” she asks.

I blink. “No. Is that a thing?”

She sighs, sounding maybe the tiniest bit frustrated. “Honey, is there a grocery store nearby?”

“No, Mom. No food at all in this time zone.”

She ignores my sarcasm. “Get a pen and paper. I want you to write this down….”

Noah

I’ve never in my life been embarrassed about a sexual encounter. I’m sure as hell not embarrassed now.

And yet I’m avoiding Jenny today.

What the hell does one say to a girl who hid in your closet, ambushed you, zip-tied you to the bed, and then sucked you off to within an inch of your life, before promptly trotting out your front door without so much as a backward glance?

Thank you.

How about another?

My turn.

But I have no business touching Jenny Dawson. Or any woman, for that matter. Not until I figure out how to extricate myself from the last one.

Because though I refused to admit as much to Vaughn and all his obnoxious prying this morning, I misjudged how to best handle the Yvonne situation. Ignoring her has only made her more determined.

A part of me knows that Vaughn’s right—that the time is nearing when I need to go toe-to-toe with my ex. But the bigger part of me is reluctant to play that game.

It’s her game, not mine.

The truth is, if I’m going to get all fucking romantic about it, I’m starting to feel something close to happiness for the first time in a long time, and I want to hold on to it just a little bit longer. To linger in this safe space where there’s no Yvonne and no expectations, and where I don’t feel constantly pulled between my trailer park side and my silver spoon side.

But anyway, back to Jenny.

Am I avoiding her? Yes.

Out of embarrassment? No.

I’m avoiding her because I can’t even think her name without remembering what it felt like to have her hands and mouth all over me. I can’t blink and not see her in that sexy black bra. I can’t breathe and not smell her scent, all sweet and innocent.

I’ve already crossed a line. Twice. (Not that I had all that much say in last night’s activities, and I find I’m just fine with that.)

The girl might have been sexy as hell, but I’d bet my left nut that it was her first time doing anything like it. I’m relieved even as I’m terrified.

Relieved that it was me she’d decided to get bold with.

Terrified that I liked it so much, and certain that a girl whose future involves plenty of designer handbags, private jets, and red carpets is not for me.

The girl’s as dangerous to me as I am to her.

Which is why I decide that today’s the day to start a project that will keep me out in the ramshackle toolshed I’ve converted to a workshop. It’s far enough away from the house that we won’t have to talk.

Even so, I keep an ear open for her music. I’m familiar enough with her routine by now to know that she usually works inside in the morning but prefers to bring her guitar out on the balcony in the afternoons.

In a bikini, more often than not.

Although, aside from that first day, I’m beginning to think the bikini really is more about staying cool than making me lose my mind, because most of the time she barely seems aware of me—or anyone—when she’s working. She alternates between strumming on her guitar over and over until she gets it just right and then pulling the pencil out of her messy ponytail and jotting something down, before she repeats the whole process over and over again, for hours.

It’s oddly compelling the way she just loses herself in the music, almost as though she’s incapable of ever becoming bored because the music in her head won’t let her.

I want some of that for myself, and today I find it.

It should be pretty clear by now that I know my way around a wood shop. I’ve fixed the porch, the walls, the floorboards, even built myself a pantry for the cottage.

And I love it.

I know that’s fucking lame. Who loves wood?

But I love everything about it. The feel, the smell, the potential.

So today I do something not out of necessity but because I want to. In hindsight I’m realizing I probably should have started with something more basic like a table, but what the hell…I like a challenge.

I’m building a porch swing.

I’m relying almost entirely on a template I found online, but I’m adding my own elements too. And the work is…it’s good. It’s really good.

So good, in fact, that I don’t register that Jenny’s entered my workshop. Usually I see her. Smell her. Feel her. But today I’m so wrapped up in my work that I don’t register she’s there until she’s right in front of me.

She looks beautiful.

I’m used to Jenny looking cute in her jean cutoff shorts and tight T-shirts, or hot as hell in her bikini or black bra.

But tonight her hair’s down around her shoulders, sort of full, like maybe she’s curled it. And she’s wearing a dress. Nothing fussy, just a light blue thing that looks more like an oversize shirt than anything else, but my guard goes up all the same.

Especially when I see she’s holding out a cocktail, a sweet little smile on her face. The whole thing feels rather…domesticated.

What game is she playing?

“Sorry it’s not water,” she says, her eyes drifting over me. “You look…”

I don’t have to glance down to know how I look. “Sweaty?”

She merely smiles, drink still outstretched, and I reluctantly take it from her, letting my fingers brush hers just to see what happens. But if she notices my touch she doesn’t say anything, because she’s picked up my iPhone, where I’ve been referencing the instructions on the swing.

Jenny glances from my phone to the worktable. “Is this what you’re making?”

“Probably not a good sign if you have to ask.”

“No, I see it,” she murmurs, running a hand over the wood. I tell myself it doesn’t matter what she thinks, but my eyes track hers hungrily anyway, wanting—needing—someone to validate that I’m not wasting my time.

“Are you going to hang it?” she asks, looking back up at me. “Here at the house?”

“Depends if it turns out.”

“It will,” she says confidently. “My grandparents had a swing just like this. Sat on it every night while sipping their evening cocktail.”

She glances down again, running a finger along one of the slats that will make up the bench seat. “So what’s the story here? You have one in your childhood?”

My laugh is harsh. “No.”

The trailer park didn’t have porch swings. Or porches. Come to think of it, this finished swing will probably be half as big as the “home” I grew up in.

And as far as my dad’s house went, he and his ex wouldn’t have been caught dead with something as quaint as a swing, or even a porch. Their house was a modern affair that would have been just as at home in California or Chicago as Baton Rouge. Not quite ostentatious, but big and generic as hell.

Her eyes are studying me, and her gaze is too shrewd, too knowing, as though she senses that some part of me wants the picture she painted about her grandparents and the swing and watching the sunset on a lazy summer night.

I’m not ashamed of wanting it, but I’ve got zero intention of spilling my guts to a girl who’s merely playing house for a few months until she goes back to Hollywood or wherever.

And yet she wants to buy this house.

I push the thought—and what it might mean—aside.

“What’s with this?” I lift the glass in question.

“Oh.” She blushes a little. “I just…it’s five o’clock somewhere, right?”

I don’t let her off that easily. “Why’d you make one for me?”

She takes a small sip. “Never drink alone?”

Another evasion. She’s nervous.

She’s also up to something.

“What are you playing at here, princess?”

“If you don’t want the drink, you can just say so,” she snaps, stepping forward to take it out of my hand. “I’m sure I can find another guy whose arm I won’t have to twist to have a drink with me.”

Over my dead body.

I lift the glass to my lips before she can snatch it back. It’s good. A little sweeter than I’d normally go for, but the whisky in there makes it tolerable.

“It’s a whisky sour,” she says, watching me. “My grandparents had one together every night before supper.”

“The porch swing grandparents?” I ask, before I can remind myself that I don’t care, and that exchanging small talk with Jenny Dawson over cocktails seems as strange as it does…nice.

“Yeah,” she says with a little smile. “Ironic, really, that I decide to make this drink on the same day you decide to make the porch swing. Our timing is off—I should have waited to bring you a drink on the day the swing was finished and hung so we could have enjoyed it.”

The mental image of sharing a drink with Jenny Dawson and all her warm laughter and gentle voice is more appealing than it should be, and also so fucking unrealistic that I strike.

“Your cocktail’s not half as good as your blow job,” I say, taking another sip of the drink.

Fuck. Fuuucck.

Jenny looks stunned, but only for a second, because the shock’s replaced almost immediately by hurt, and I just…Fuck.

Without a word, she turns on her heel and leaves the work shed.

I swear again, rubbing a hand over the back of my neck, trying to convince myself that it’s better this way, better if she hates me, because then she won’t get any ideas. And I won’t either.

But the pain in her eyes…

I can’t.

“Jenny,” I call. “Hold up.”

She doesn’t, of course, doesn’t even slow down as she strides back toward the house. But she’s in high platform sandals that slow her pace, so I have the advantage. I catch up to her easily. “Jenny.”

She ignores me, and I maneuver myself in front of her so that her options are to run into me or stop.

She stops.

But she doesn’t meet my eyes, and then I hear it…

A sniffle.

My stomach bottoms out, and before I can think better of it, I’m reaching out, hooking my forefinger under her chin and pulling her face up to mine, hoping I’m wrong.

I’m not.

Jenny Dawson is crying.

She jerks her head back and wipes angrily at the tears on her cheek. I guess anger is better than hurt, but the fact that she doesn’t want me to see her cry makes it all the more devastating.

I’m no stranger to a woman’s tears. It took me years to figure out that Yvonne’s frequent crying outbursts were deliberate and manipulative, meant to wrap me around her little finger and get her way.

Jenny’s tears are different. They’re real. I know they’re real. And they make me want to punch something. Mainly myself.

“Why do you do that?” she asks. “Why do you work so hard to convince me that you’re not a good guy?”

“Because I’m not,” I say automatically.

“Yeah,” she says with a little laugh. “I’m getting that, believe me.”

It’s what I want, but I feel a sting of regret anyway.

“Look, princess—” I break off, unsure what I want to say. “This thing with us, it’s got to stop.”

“You didn’t seem to be in much of a hurry to stop me last night.”

My cock twitches at the memory, but I shake my head. “We scratched our itch. As you said, we’re even. Anything more than that will end badly.”

“I brought you a drink, Noah. Not a wedding ring. Also, the lemon juice is from a bottle—it’s not even fresh-squeezed. You totally don’t deserve fresh-squeezed juice.”

I smile a little at that. “I was a jerk.”

She nods. “Yup.”

“I’m sorry.”

Jenny sighs and looks somewhere over my shoulder, her eyes slightly unfocused as though she’s lost in thought, before she finally looks back to me.

“You know, we’ve done this a couple times now. You’re a jerk—and I mean real, grade-A asshole stuff—and then you apologize. And I say okay. But then you do it again, and I think…”

She studies me, and I’m holding my breath, hoping she won’t say what she’s about to, even though I know she will. Even though I know I deserve it.

“I think I’m done,” she says quietly. Finally.

There it is again. The stomach drop. It’s what I wanted. What I’ve been pushing for. But it doesn’t feel right.

“Whatever this is”—she waves her hand between the two of us—”it’s unlike anything I’ve felt before. But as you said, we scratched the itch, right?”

“Right,” I say, even though I’m positive my body’s not even remotely done with hers. I’ve yet to discover her taste, or what she’ll feel like when I’m buried deep inside of her. “But—”

“It’s fine,” she interrupts, holding up her hand and leveling an unsmiling, zero-bullshit look at me. “Let’s just avoid each other as best we can until I leave.”

“Which is when?” I ask, before I can stop myself.

This time she does smile, but it’s a sad one that doesn’t reach her eyes. “I’m thinking the sooner the better. Aren’t you?”

No.

But I don’t say it. I don’t say anything as she sidesteps me and walks into the house.

I stand there unmoving for several minutes, wishing I’d carried my drink with me instead of leaving it in the shed. I think about going back for it, but what I really need is water, and maybe someone to explain how the hell this girl has gotten under my skin so fast and so thoroughly.

I go into the kitchen, letting the door slam behind me. I automatically search for Jenny, but she’s nowhere to be seen.

I grab a glass from the cupboard, jerking open the fridge door for the pitcher of filtered water.

It takes my brain a few seconds to register what my eyes are seeing…to put it all together.

A pitcher of the drinks she made, along with a jar labeled “lemon juice” in her girly handwriting. She lied. She did hand squeeze it.

But that’s not the most damning thing.

That would be the steak.

Steaks. Plural.

As in there are two steaks on a plate, already seasoned. There’s also a plate of vegetables carefully lined up on skewers, just waiting to be grilled.

I try to tell myself not to read into it. That maybe she’s having a friend over for dinner.

But I know better. That’s what the cocktail was for. And the dress.

Jenny Dawson was planning to cook dinner. For me.

No, for us.

And as I stand there, trying to tell myself that I dodged a bullet, all I can think is that it feels like I took the bullet right in the chest.

It also looks like maybe I made a very big mistake.

Jenny

Generally speaking, taking a bubble bath isn’t my first choice for how to spend a swampy summer evening.

But after my fight with Noah, I feel off and a little bit dirty, and for once not a single note of lyric comes forward, so I find myself filling up the tub and dumping in some of my favorite lime-blossom-scented bath gel.

Dolly trots into the bathroom to join me just as I step into the steamy water, her new penguin toy in her mouth. She curls up on the bath mat.

The company’s nice, even if the monotonous squeak of her toy isn’t.

“So, Noah’s an ass,” I tell Dolly.

Squeak.

“I know, right? We knew this. I just…I thought maybe there was a good guy under all that cranky arrogance.”

Squeak.

“No, no, you’re right,” I say, lifting a leg out of the water and watching as the soapy water slides off my calf. “Sometimes a jerk really is just a jerk. But on the plus side, maybe you can have the second steak.”

Squeak, squeak.

“Yes, you do have to share it with Ranger,” I say. “It’s too big for you to eat by yourself, and it’s not his fault he’s got a grumpy master.”

Squeak, squeak. Squeeeeeeeeak.

Dolly apparently tires of our conversation, because she hops to her paws and dashes from the bathroom, thrashing the penguin as she goes.

“Good talk,” I mutter.

I rest my head on the back of the tub as I contemplate my failed seduction. And that’s not even the right word. I just wanted to talk to the guy.

But right when I’d just begun to think that any guy who spends all day building a porch swing has to have a heart in there somewhere, he had to go and ruin it all with a crass, cruel comment.

Your cocktail’s almost as good as your blow job.

That’s twice now he’s managed to make me feel…dirty.

There won’t be another time. For anything.

I deserve far better than the likes of Noah Maxwell. If Preston Walcott does want to sell the house, his handyman will be the first to go. I’ll find someone old and ugly and kind to watch the place while I’m gone.

I stay in the bath for a good long while. The water grows cold, which is just as well given that the outside temperature is still in the eighties, humidity batting a thousand.

Only when my stomach growls low and angry with hunger do I get out. I put on the same dress as before, but only because it’s comfortable. Not because I care any longer about the fact that it makes my boobs look perky. In fact, I don’t bother to put on the cute pink bra I was wearing earlier.

It’s not like it’d be getting any admirers.

I open my bedroom door and head toward the stairs, Dolly trotting along beside me, penguin in tow.

I’m halfway down the stairs when my nose registers the smell of something cooking.

I sniff again, frowning when I realize it’s the potatoes I bought, planning to bake them for me and Noah later.

Is he seriously helping himself to the food I bought? It’s ballsy, even for him. Not that we haven’t shared groceries, but usually he cooks at his place.

I’m ready to rip him a new one as I go charging into the kitchen, but he’s not there.

A quick peek in the oven verifies that yes, he is baking my potatoes.

Two of them. Pig.

I step onto the back porch, following it around to the side of the house, instinctively moving toward the grill that Noah installed last week at Preston’s request but which hasn’t yet gotten any use.

He turns when I come around the corner.

He doesn’t smile. But he’s been waiting for me, braced for this exact moment. I know by the bottle of white wine in the ice bucket and the fact that there are two glasses.

He’s also found the steaks in the fridge. They’re here, waiting to be grilled.

I stare at him in confusion, registering that he’s showered. His hair’s still wet, and he’s changed from his sweaty work outfit to a blue knit polo and khaki shorts.

He says nothing, and I want to rail at him. To tell him that he doesn’t get to treat me like garbage and then help himself to my food just because they’re some really sexy-looking rib eyes.

I want to tell him that the wine and the change of clothes doesn’t make up for the things that he says, and I want to tell him exactly where he can shove the big-ass barbecue tool that he sets back down.

Ranger’s lounging at Noah’s feet, his tail thumping happily when he sees me. He gets up and searches around for Dolly, who’s opted to stay in the house and defile the penguin, and then lies back down with a sigh when he doesn’t see her.

I look back to Noah.

He meets my eyes, and I see it.

The regret is something I expect and can walk away from.

But the hope in his eyes gets to me.

Please, his eyes say. Stay.

And damn it, now I feel like crying again, only for a different reason. No matter how much this complicated guy thinks he doesn’t need anyone or anything, there’s a coarse vulnerability there that nearly undoes me.

“Just so you know, I was going to make you do the cooking anyway,” I say quietly as I step closer to him. “I don’t really know my way around steak, and I know nothing pisses off a man quicker than overcooked meat.”

His eyes flash in relief even as he smiles in victory, reaching for the wine bottle. “Pretty sure there’s a euphemism in there somewhere, and not a flattering one.”

Noah hands me a glass of the wine, but when I reach out to take it, he doesn’t release the glass until I look up at him.

“Two things,” he says. “One, I am sorry. I know I only get so many of the asshole/apology routines, but don’t doubt that the apologies are genuine. Two, I’m still not looking for a girlfriend. Or even a fling. I want to be up front about that.”

“What about a wife?”

Noah turns dead white, and I bust up laughing.

“Joking,” I say. “Look, I just…we’re here, we’re drawn to each other. I don’t think it would kill us to know a little more about the other person.”

His eyes narrow, slightly wary, but he nods slowly. “Fine. I’ll start. It would be helpful to know how you like your steak cooked.”

“Medium,” I say. “And it would be helpful for me to know where you’re from. What’s your story?”

“How would that be helpful?” He takes a sip of wine.

“Because it would help me understand why you have such a low opinion of women.”

He blows out a breath. “Wow. I deserved that.”

I shrug and head toward the railing, rattling it slightly to determine if it’ll support my weight. Noah moves up behind me, and I suck in a breath at his closeness. “I fixed it the other day.”

He takes the wine from my fingers, setting it aside as I turn around. Then, before I can brace myself for his touch, his hands are on my hips as he hoists me easily onto the railing.

I laugh a little, surprised to find my feet dangling in the air as I reach an arm out to the post on my right for support. “You’re good for a girl’s ego, lifting her easily like she’s all tiny and light as a feather.”

He blinks. “You are tiny.”

I smile, because there’s absolutely zero intent to flirt on his face, and it’s…well, flattering.

“Clearly you didn’t hear about my pregnancy a few weeks back,” I say.

He pauses in the process of handing me my wine, horror-stricken.

“Yeah, my thoughts exactly,” I say, snatching the wine. “I’m not, by the way. Pregnant, I mean. Never was.”

I lift a glass in a mocking toast.

“Who said that you were?”

“Oh, everyone,” I say, waving my wineglass around. “I’ve got a belly pooch on the best of days, and on the not-so-good days, admittedly, it could look like a baby.”

He stares at me. “A belly pooch.”

“Yeah. You know.” I tap my palm against my not so terribly flat stomach.

His eyes drift over me, lingering not on my stomach but on my breasts. My thighs. Suddenly I’m aware that I’m still wearing this dress and that I’ve skipped the bra.

“You live in a weird world if that world thinks your body’s anything short of perfect,” he says gruffly.

Just like that, I go hotter. With embarrassment at being so thoroughly studied, and also with want, and with being, well…wanted.

I want to beg him to touch me, but after last night…Nope. Ball’s in his court. If he wants me, he’ll have to tie me to the bed.

I mean, not really.

Or maybe really, I think, as I imagine what it would be like to be completely at his mercy, his hands everywhere, his mouth, hungry, exploring…

“It’s not perfect,” I blurt out.

“What?”

“My body.” I bite my lip. “I mean…it’s surprisingly gentlemanly of you to say so, but sometimes I feel like I’m twice the size of the girls in Hollywood.”

“Which is exactly why I don’t live in Hollywood. And you shouldn’t either,” he says, turning and lifting the lid of the grill. He holds the back of his fingers a few inches above the grill, testing if it’s preheated, before he grabs the plate with the veggie kebabs I painstakingly put together with pieces of onion, mushroom, and bell pepper and lays them on the grill.

I tilt my head and study him.

“Who are you, Noah Maxwell?”

His shoulders stiffen for a moment before he seems to force himself to relax. He turns around. “What do you mean?”

“How did you get this job?”

He picks up his wine, and my eyes narrow slightly at the way he swirls it and takes a sip, almost as though it’s a habit. Which makes no sense. To be honest, it’s jarring enough that a guy like Noah is even drinking white wine. That he knows the whole swirl-and-sniff rigmarole is…interesting.

“Walcott hired me,” he says, by way of a (lame) answer to my question.

I roll my eyes. “You know, it’s always been my sister that’s the smart one, but believe it or not, I figured out that much on my own.”

“You have a sister?”

I nod. “Kelly. She’s only nineteen, but she’ll graduate from Georgia Tech next year. She skipped a bunch of grades.”

“You don’t seem bothered by it.”

I shrug. “Why would I be? I’m proud of her. And her of me. I mean, I’m not going to say that we’re not totally different, and yeah, sometimes we struggle to find common ground when we talk. But I have no issue calling her the smart one.”

“Does that make you the pretty one?”

I wrinkle my nose at him. “Did you just call me pretty?”

He doesn’t look the least bit embarrassed. “You know you are, princess.”

“Jenny Dawson the country music star is pretty, I guess. By the time they add my hair extensions and eyelash extensions and fourteen layers of makeup, I look the part of country pop princess. I get that. But when it’s just me, the real Jenny Dawson, I don’t know. Cute at best.”

“And who is the real Jenny Dawson?”

I glance down at my wine. “Will you laugh at me if I say I’m just a small-town girl?”

“Only if you tell me you’re livin’ in a lonely world.”

I laugh. “Noah Maxwell, I do believe there’s a bit of humor under there beneath all that crust.”

“Crust?”

I wave a hand over him. “You know. The scowl. The dickhead comments. The glares.”

“Aren’t scowls and glares the same thing?”

“Don’t dodge the question. Seriously, what’s your story?”

It’s his turn to look down at his wine. “Just a city boy…born and raised in South Detroit.”

I laugh again, wishing I had something to throw at him. “You were not.”

He smiles slightly. “Nope. I’ve told you before, I’m from Baton Rouge. Just outside it, actually.”

I motion for him to continue. “More, please. Keep it coming.”

He rolls his eyes but surprises me by answering. “Village St. George.”

“Sounds fancy.”

“It is. And it’s not. Depends which side you’re from.”

“And which side are you from?” I ask gently.

He spreads his arms to the side and glances down. “Isn’t it obvious?”

Yes, but you swirl and sniff your wine.

“Siblings?”

He sucks in his cheeks as though the answer is complicated. “A brother. Died before I met him.”

I blink. “Oh. I’m sorry.”

I try to figure out how that would work, to have a sibling and never have met them. Older brother who died in infancy, perhaps? Before Noah was born?

Noah shrugs. “I’m sorry he’s dead, but it’s hard to miss someone you’ve never met.”

“Parents?”

“Also dead.”

His voice is cold and hard, but I suppose that’s not surprising.

Noah’s not that old, which means either that his parents were much older than average when they had him or there’s more to the story. Judging from the lines around his eyes, I’m guessing it’s the latter.

“I’m sorry,” I say quietly. “Recent?”

“My dad passed a few months back. Aneurysm. My mom…” He looks away, his eyes going sort of vacant and sad, but somehow angry at the same time.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it,” I say, not wanting to push him too hard and too fast and freak him out.

His eyes come back to mine. “She had a bad boyfriend. A string of them, actually. But the last one killed her before killing himself.”

It’s a good thing I’ve still got one hand on the post and that I’m sitting down, because that is so not what I was expecting him—or anyone—to say.

“Noah…” My voice is soft.

He shakes his head and swallows. “It was a couple years ago. I’m over it.”

“Nobody ever gets over something like that.”

He rubs at his eyes. “She had cancer. Stage four ovarian, so while I’m not glad she had a violent death, I am glad she had a quick one. But him…he deserved worse than a bullet to the brain.”

“Agreed,” I say vehemently.

He looks at me in surprise before turning away. “You hungry? I was going to put the steaks on.”

A frantic yapping noise comes from within the house, and he looks over his shoulder. “Cotton ball?”

“You said steak,” I say, starting to get off the railing to retrieve my dog. “She and I had an understanding about the second steak before I knew you were going to attempt to redeem yourself.”

“Stay,” he says, pointing at me. “I’ll get the dog.”

“I can practically hear the air quotes when you say ‘dog,’ ” I call after him.

A second later I hear the quick, happy tap of Dolly’s claws on the deck before she rounds the corner. Ranger gives a happy bark, immediately coming to greet her, and I can’t help but smile when I see that she wags her tail back, their noses nearly touching as he bends down to sniff her little head.

“They’ve come a long way,” Noah says, resuming his spot by the grill.

“Meaning she no longer wants to kill him, and he no longer wants to hump her silly?”

He’s about to put the steaks on the grill, but he turns back to me, barbecue tongs in hand. “Oh, I’m pretty sure he still wants to hump her silly.”

His eyes are dark, and I know immediately he’s not talking about Ranger. Or at least not just Ranger.

I swallow and say softly, “Well, I’m pretty sure she no longer wants to kill him.”

“Good to hear,” he says, giving me a little wink before he turns back and puts the steaks on.

I love the way they instantly sizzle. It reminds me of summer evenings growing up when my parents would sip pinot grigio on our deck while my dad cooked steaks and my sister and I ran around the backyard. Or maybe it was mostly me who ran around the yard, while Kelly read.

“What did you do before this?” I ask, watching the way the muscles of Noah’s sculpted back ripple and bunch as he rotates the vegetables. “Before you were a caretaker, I mean.”

“Odd jobs.”

I wait for him to say more, but he doesn’t, and as I sip my wine I realize I’m doing a heck of a lot more questioning than he is.

I wonder if he’s simply more polite or if he doesn’t care to know more beyond the fact that I have a sister.

Noah flips the steaks before giving me a glance over his shoulder. “What, no more questions? Don’t want to know my birthday or social security number or favorite brand of condoms?”

“Somehow you don’t strike me as the type of guy who’s all that picky about his condoms,” I say.

“Did you just imply I’m promiscuous, princess?” he asks, turning around.

“No,” I say, taking a sip of wine. “I lack your particular knack for that sort of shaming.”

To his credit, he winces, but then he turns around, flipping the vegetables once more. He removes one of the steaks and covers it with foil, leaving the other one on for a few more minutes.

I watch as he removes the second steak as well as the vegetables, adding them all to the plate before covering it once more with foil, then tosses the tongs down on the little shelf attached to the grill.

When he turns back, his expression is angry, but there’s a sort of agony to it, as though he’s more pissed at himself than me.

He walks toward me slowly and my breath catches a little at his nearness—even more so when he uses his hips to nudge my knees open so he can step between my spread thighs. The dress rides up, awfully close to displaying the lady parts, but he doesn’t even glance down. He’s too focused on my face.

He shoves a hand into my hair, his fingers fisting just a little roughly, the other hand resting on my hip.

For a second I think he might kiss me, but instead he rests his forehead on mine, his eyes dark as they look into mine. “I’ve treated you badly, said things I shouldn’t, and for that I’m sorry. Really,” he says, his voice rough. “But I don’t think I’m off base in thinking it’s not just me who’s messed with your head. It’s the fucking paparazzi and all that comes with your private life being public, and you need to shake that off. You need to not give a fuck what anyone says or thinks about you, me included. You get me?”

“I’m working on it,” I whisper.

“Work harder,” he says, his fingers tightening slightly as he eases back and lets his eyes roam over my face. “Because you’re good, Jenny Dawson.”

I wince, and his hand tightens on my hip. “No, I don’t mean it like that. I don’t mean that you’re supposed to be virginal and sugar-sweet and not make mistakes. I mean you’re good in that you’re kind and patient and only moderately annoying.”

“High praise,” I say with a little smile.

He leans again, his forehead resting on mine once more as his eyes go even darker. “You’re also sexy as hell and give great head.”

I let out a nervous laugh. “Last night was—”

“If you say it was a mistake, I’m giving your steak to the dogs.”

“I was going to say last night was an experiment.”

His hand slides down, his thumb trailing over my lip. “I’d say it was a successful one.”

“I thought for sure you were going to push me away today,” I whisper, the hand that’s not still holding my wine coming up to fiddle with the button of his polo shirt. “Give me all the reasons that this can’t happen.”

“It shouldn’t happen,” he says, his eyes watching the way his thumb drifts over my mouth. “I’m not the guy for you.”

“Why not?” I challenge.

“Because I’m the guy building the porch swing while you’re working on your next Grammy-winning album. I’m the guy drinking PBR while you sip champagne. I’m a redneck, you’re red carpet.”

“But—”

“You know as well as I do that you’re leaving sometime soon, and I’m sure as hell not coming with you.”

I want to tell him about my plan to buy the place, but I don’t. Because what would that even mean? It’s not as though I plan to live here full-time. Or even part-time. It’s not remotely practical, and it’s not as if he even wants me to stay.

“I am not for you, princess.”

My hand drifts lower on his chest, my nails raking lightly over his abs. “You didn’t seem to feel that way the other night when you snuck into my bed.”

“Sweetheart, if I married every girl I’ve ever finger-banged…”

I choke out a horrified laugh and put my hand over his mouth. “Maybe don’t finish that sentence.”

His eyes relax a little, maybe even reflect a smile, and he surprises me by kissing the palm of my hand before gently pulling my wrist away from his face. “What is it you’re looking for?”

“More of what I felt last night. And the night before that.”

Noah’s eyes narrow. “And that’s all? Just a quick fuck with the hired help before you go back to real life?”

My lips part. “Hey, that’s not—”

“I’m not complaining,” he interrupts. “Because if that’s what you’re looking for, and all you’re looking for, I’m happy to oblige.”

“You’re telling me not to get the wrong idea,” I say with a little smile.

Noah jerks his head in the direction of the grill. “You have to admit, the cozy dinner scene doesn’t exactly scream no-strings-attached.”

“I’ll take full responsibility for planning the dinner, but you’re the one who saw it through,” I remind him.

He plucks the wineglass out of my hand, setting it aside before his hands find my hips. He presses closer, his hips spreading my thighs wider as he slowly lowers his face to my neck, nuzzling the sensitive skin there. “My motives were impure. I was trying to get you into bed.”

I gasp as he licks my neck. “I hate to tell you this, but a big juicy rib eye isn’t exactly known for being an aphrodisiac.”

“Then why are you wet right now?” he asks, his teeth scraping along the column of my throat.

“I’m not.”

I feel him smile. “Liar.”

My hands lift to the back of his head, my legs spreading wider to pull him close. “Okay, maybe I am. But I’d still like to point out that you’re the one that cooked dinner.”

“Maybe I made you the food because I wanted you to get your strength up for what I plan to do to you.”

I bite my lip to keep from asking for details. To stop myself from begging him to talk dirty to me. It’s criminal how much I want this guy.

I don’t understand it.

But neither do I want to fight it.

“I had a snack,” I whisper.

He pulls back to look at me. “Is that Jenny Dawson’s way of telling me she’s ready for me to fuck her?”

My core throbs at the rough words. What is he doing to me? How?

I nod, and his eyes turn molten before he eases closer once more. This time when his hands wrap around my hips it’s to yank me forward, pulling me off the railing until my bare feet touch the porch.

“Not going to ravish me out here?” I ask, unsure if I’m relieved or disappointed.

“Ever have a mosquito bite on your ass, princess?”

An excellent point.

Noah takes my hand and pulls me toward the back door, giving a sharp single whistle for the dogs to follow.

They beat us inside, immediately heading for the stairs in a clatter of claws on hardwood.

Noah halts. “They’re going to your room?”

I shrug. “They’re smart enough to know where the AC is. We could kick them out.”

“We could,” he says, turning toward me, his expression speculative. “Or…”

Noah moves closer to me, crowding my space until I’m forced to walk backward. “What are you—”

My butt hits the back of the kitchen table, a huge, ancient thing that I’ve been mostly using to store spare dishes.

Dishes that go crashing to the floor when he roughly shoves me onto the table.

Our hands are everywhere. I tear at his shirt as he roughly kneads my ass, dropping his mouth to my neck, sucking my skin into his mouth and tugging.

I cry out in pleasure and the realization that I’ll most definitely have a hickey tomorrow. I practically purr at the thought of being marked by him.

Noah slams his palms on the table on either side of my hips, pulling back to glance down my body, lingering on the fullness of my bra-less breasts, then lower to where the dress is bunched up around my crotch.

I reach out, boldly stroking the bulge beneath his shorts, and his breathing gets even more harsh.

“Why do you smell so good?” he murmurs, pulling my hand away and leaning forward to drag his mouth along my exposed collarbone.

“My bath bubbles?”

“No. It’s you.”

His hands are sliding over my upper thighs, his thumbs ever closer to where I’m hot with want for him.

I gasp a little as his thumbs find the edge of my panties, slipping just barely under before sliding away again. “You remembering the other night? How much you liked my hand here?”

He drags his fingers over me, lightly enough to tease, but there enough to torment, and I whimper. “Noah.”

“Jenny.”

His voice is husky.

“Please,” I whisper.

“Like this?”

I hiss, my hands lifting to his shoulders, nails clawing into his firm flesh as he slides his finger over me, slow and sexy.

My hips tilt toward his hand and he roughly hikes my skirt up all the way, resting his forehead on my shoulder as he watches his hand against me.

I’m panting now, so close, and we’ve barely gotten started.

He hooks his fingers into the sides of my panties, pulling them over my bare legs before tossing them aside.

His eyes flick up to mine as he slowly rubs his hands along the backs of my calves, slowly, teasingly, until his hands find the backs of my knees, lifting until my heels rest on the table.

Noah’s eyes never leave mine as he slowly eases my dress up again, his palms on my inner thighs, slowly spreading me open.

A little bit of reality trickles in around the need, and I instinctively reach down to cover myself, but he catches my hand gently lowering it to the table by my hip, holding it down with his bigger hand as his eyes slide down my body to where I’m wet and open for him.

“Fuuuuuck,” he rasps.

With his free hand, he rubs a finger along my seam, and I arch.

“Jesus, princess. Why can’t I get enough of this? Of you?”

“You’ve only had it once,” I manage, my voice sounding nothing like what I’m used to.

He smiles at that. “Excellent point. A problem I intend to remedy.”

His fingers play over me as he dips his head and presses his mouth to the inside of my knee.

Panic seizes me as I realize where he’s headed. I tug my hand free, tangling my fingers in his hair as I try to sit up.

He settles me with a hand against my belly, but his gaze is questioning.

I shake my head, a little frantic. “Please don’t do…that.”

His eyes narrow slightly as his tongue touches his lower lip. “I want to taste you.”

My thighs tighten, but I shake my head even more frantically. “I don’t want that.”

“Bullshit,” he whispers, his thumb nudging my clit and rotating it in a slow circle.

I cry out, but I don’t release my grip on his hair. I’m not about to tell him that no one’s ever gone down on me before, and though I’m intrigued, to say the least…I’m just not ready.

I can’t explain it, and it’s not rational, but there it is.

I move my feet, hooking my legs around his waist and pulling him to me as I sit up, reaching for his shirt.

He studies me for a moment, as though trying to figure out what I’m about, but then he cooperates, reaching one hand around to grab a fistful of shirt at his back, pulling the garment over his head and tossing it aside.

I bite my lip as I run my hands over him, intrigued at the way his eyes close when my nails rake over his nipples.

I rain kisses over his chest, pausing only long enough to let him pull my dress off me, moaning as his hands cup my breasts, lifting their weight before capturing my nipples between thumb and finger, twisting them with just the right amount of pressure.

I can barely think. My brain is nothing but static.

It’s never been like this. Not even close. Granted, I’m not experienced, but I know enough to know that this sort of frantic breathlessness isn’t the norm.

My hands grapple awkwardly with the button of his shorts. He helps, opening them with one hand, and I shove both shorts and boxers over his hips before wrapping a greedy hand around him and pumping once.

I pull him closer as I scoot toward the edge of the table, spreading my legs and rubbing him against me.

“Jesus,” he breathes. “Slow down—”

I guide him lower, my intention unmistakable, even though I don’t know where this is coming from. It’s the same as it was last night, as though this hidden sexy part of me has been drawn out. By him.

Only him.

“I need a condom,” he growls.

“Pill,” I counter.

Noah groans but pulls back slightly. “Honey, you didn’t even ask if I’ve been tested.”

Shit. STD risk and all that. Told you I was bad at this.

“Oh,” I say, feeling embarrassed. “Are you—”

“Tested. Clean,” he says.

“Same,” I whisper.

His hand tangles in my hair, pulling my head back slightly as his mouth claims my throat and I realize abruptly that I’m no longer in control. I also realize that I’m just fine with that.

Noah nudges forward, the tip of him sliding in, and it’s so deliciously tight, so good that I cry out.

“You’re so small,” he whispers, teeth scraping my neck. “So tight.”

He nudges forward again, just a little, his breath harsh and ragged. I’m wet, but the movement isn’t easy and he pulls back, his gaze slightly panicked. “Are you—”

“Not a virgin,” I say in a rush, knowing what he’s fearing. “It’s just been a while. More than a year.”

And only twice in my life.

His eyes widen slightly, and I realize what I’ve just revealed. I didn’t sleep with Shawn Bates. Didn’t sleep with any of the guys who’ve come forward and claimed to be my bedmates.

“Don’t stop,” I say, tightening my legs around his waist in a plea. “Please don’t stop.”

The anger fades from his expression, and it’s replaced by something that looks like possession. He pushes me back, lowering his mouth to my breasts as his hand slides down my body to where we’re joined.

His tongue works over my nipple as his fingers play with my clit, all the while sliding forward, working inside me in slow, short movements until at last he’s able to ease all the way inside me.

We both groan as he buries himself completely, and he closes his eyes for a minute, staying perfectly still, as though fighting for control.

I lift a hand to his cheek—wanting, needing him to look at me.

But he resists my pull, instead looking down as he withdraws all the way from me before plunging back inside.

It’s hard, and it’s good, and I rear up, wrapping my arms around his neck, burying my face there as he grabs my ass, pulling me to the very edge of the table so he can slam into me again and again.

He was gentle before, but it’s not gentle now, and I’m surprised to find I relish every bit of roughness. The scratch of his stubble on my cheek, the pressure of his fingers on my flesh, the way I’m stretched to the max around him, my legs spread wide.

Then Noah adjusts the angle, shifting my lower body slightly so that every thrust rubs against me, sending little bursts of fireworks through my head.

I wiggle my hips, needing it faster, more, and Noah complies. We’re both sweaty now, his shoulders slick against my palms, our bodies sliding together in delicious friction with only the sound of our breathing and the wet, sweet sound of really good sex.

I’m so focusing on the good that I don’t see the really good coming until the orgasm is right there, ripping through me like a freight train.

I scratch at his back as I pulse around him, and Noah lets out a harsh shout before wrapping his arms around me, nearly crushing me to him as he slams into me one more time, erupting with a quiet string of curses.

I hear my name mingled in among the fucks, and I don’t even mind.

Heck, I can’t even think. Or breathe. Or do anything but hold on to him for dear life.

We stay that way for several moments, my face buried in his neck, his in mine, and the aftermath is surprisingly intimate for a coupling that was frantic and dirty and rough.

He pulls back slowly, still avoiding my eyes, and I wince slightly, both at the uncomfortable mess between my thighs and at the slight soreness.

“I’ll get you a cloth,” he mutters, tugging up the shorts that fell to his feet.

“Nah,” I wave my hand, trying to play it cool, like I deal with this sort of situation all the time. “I’m going to run upstairs and rinse off.”

He nods awkwardly. “I’ll reheat the food?”

The question is clear, as though he’s terrified that now that we’ve screwed, I’ll read too much into the fact that we’re sharing a meal.

“Sure, whatever,” I say with a casual shrug, as though it doesn’t make a difference to me one way or the other.

I hop down and pull my dress back over my head, searching around for my panties, scooping them up like it’s no big thing before I head toward the stairs.

Yup, definitely tender, I realize as I start up the steps. I smile, feeling an odd sort of feminine pride. A lifetime of practical celibacy, and here I am tying guys to beds and having sex on kitchen tables.

But in the back of my mind, something’s bothering me.

It’s not until I’m in the shower that it hits me, and my happy smile slips away with the slow dawn of confused dismay.

Noah Maxwell has been in my bed, and I’ve been in his, and we’ve just gone at it in the kitchen…

And not once, in all of those times, has he kissed me.

Not since that first day in Home Depot, and I’m not sure we can count that since it was all for show and he was unimpressed.

I have no idea what the lack of kissing means.

But I’m pretty sure it can’t be good.

Noah

Twenty-four hours after screwing one of the most famous girls in the country—and liking it a hell of a lot—I want to do it all over again.

And again. And again.

Which is exactly why I need to get out of here. Away from the house, away from her before we turn this fling into something…dangerous.

I send a quick text to the boys. Vaughn has to work late, but Finn’s up for grabbing a drink, so after feeding Ranger, I grab the keys and head toward the truck.

Truthfully, I feel a bit like a shit avoiding Jenny like this—again. But then, she hasn’t sought me out all day either, so I have to think we’re on the same page about that. Last night wasn’t quite a mistake—it felt too fucking good for that. But it sure as hell wasn’t smart either.

The light’s on in her bedroom window as I approach the main house, and I wince when I see the window open. Maybe I should find a place to start parking the truck other than the gravel driveway right outside her window.

I brace myself for the familiar sight of her blond head popping out the window the second she hears the crunch of my boots on the gravel, but there’s no sign of movement upstairs.

I don’t know if I’m relieved or disappointed.

A moment later, I realize why she’s not in her bedroom: she’s coming out the front door.

We both freeze when we spot the other, and though I can’t see her face in the dark, there’s no mistaking the bright orange wig or the flash of metal in her hand as the light from the inside of the house shines on the keys in her hand before she closes the front door.

“Looks like we both had the same idea tonight,” she says in a voice that’s pitched slightly lower than usual.

“Looks like,” I reply.

She jingles the keys once, studying me, and I have the sense that she’s feeling as off balance as I am.

But Jenny, being Jenny, recovers more quickly, and a smile appears on her face. God help me, I feel something expand in my chest a bit because the smile is genuine. For me.

“Where are you off to?” she asks, walking toward me. She’s wearing a jean skirt, white cowboy boots, and a sleeveless green top that, while not revealing in the least, looks silky as hell, and my palms itch to slide my hands over it. Under it. Even with the horrid orange wig, I want her.

“Gonna grab a beer,” I say, trying not to stare at her legs and failing. “You?”

Jenny stops in front of me, smelling citrusy and sweet. “Same. I mean, I don’t know where, I was going to drive into town. I know there’s not much, but I need to get out of the house.”

She’s right. There’s not much in “town.” Glory has a sad excuse for a grocery store, a gas station, a mediocre cafe that closes by seven, and a bar.

One bar.

If she’s looking for a drink and a change of scenery, she’s got one destination.

It’s also my destination.

Fuck. I do not want this. My entire reason for leaving is to get away from her, and now we’re headed to the same place.

Except…

That’s not entirely accurate. My goal tonight isn’t getting away from her so much as keeping my hands off of her.

Something that’ll be a hell of a lot easier in a public place. I mean, it won’t be easy. I can’t not want to touch her. But it’ll be easier than staying here with nothing but stars and quiet nights and about a thousand places to fuck all night.

She sighs a little at my silence. “Let me guess. There’s only one bar, it’s where you were headed, and now you’re trying to think of a way to get out of spending time with me.”

I narrow my eyes at the resignation in her voice, and I’m struck by the need to surprise her—to be something different than what she’s come to expect.

I jerk my head toward the truck. “Get in.”

She blinks. “Really?”

“You’re right, princess. There is only one bar, and yeah, I’m headed there. But you’ve got every bit as much right to be there as me.”

“So we’re going together?”

Shit. When she says it that way, it sounds…important.

“Just get in the fucking truck,” I mutter.

Surprisingly, she does as I say without arguing. For once.

Her fingers slip under the wig at the nape of her neck as I start the truck, and I glance over. “Do you really have to wear that thing?”

She gives me a look. “Depends. You want your face all over the news tomorrow when you get photographed with Jenny Dawson?”

The flinch is out there before I can stop it, and Jenny snorts. “Thought so.”

She’s dead right, but at the same time, it bugs me that she has to hide. “It’s gotta blow over at some point, right?” I ask. “This thing with the pretty boy?”

Jenny looks out the window. “Yeah. But the urge to be autonomous won’t.”

“That’s what you signed up for, though, right?” I ask, trying to figure her out.

“I’ve got the rest of my life to be recognized,” she says wearily. “Can I please just have tonight?”

Fair enough.

We ride the rest of the short distance in silence, and I wince a little as I pull into the divey parking lot of Gil’s Tavern, seeing it through the eyes of someone who’s spent the last three months of her life in Bel Air or wherever.

Gil’s is one of those places that I’m pretty sure never looked new, even when it was. The outside has peeling white paint, a crooked sign, and tiny, dirty windows, half of which have neon signs advertising cheap beer. The faint smell of deep-fried food permeates the area, even inside the truck, and I risk a glance at Jenny.

I’m surprised to find her grinning. “This is great,” she says, reaching for the door handle.

“Wait,” I say before she can hop out, belatedly remembering Finn.

She glances back.

“You know that guy Finn you met that first day?” I ask. “The electrician? I’m meeting him here.”

I’m sort of expecting her to sulk the way Yvonne always did when anyone crashed our time together—especially Finn—but Jenny just gives me a happy smile.

“Okay!”

That’s Jenny Dawson for you, I’m learning. Okay! and a smile pretty much sums her up. Damned if I’m not starting to like it. A lot.

I follow her toward the front door, reaching for the door handle before she can, and automatically regret it because it makes this whole thing feel too much like a date.

We get a couple of looks as we step inside, the guys staring at Jenny’s legs, the girls at me before sliding their eyes to Jenny, sizing her up—noting the way my hand’s on the small of her back possessively.

Fuck.

How did that happen? I jerk my arm back.

Luckily, everyone’s far enough into their beer and whisky to not give Jenny a second look, not seeing the famous country star beneath the orange wig.

I spot Finn at a corner table, flirting with a cute black-haired waitress, and I lead Jenny that way.

Finn breaks off in the middle of a pickup line when he spots us, and I read “Fuck” on his lips a second before he smiles his usual easy Finn smile.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Ms.—”

“Smith,” Jenny says, with a quick look at the waitress. “Jen Smith.”

I all but roll my eyes. Smith? Really? Girl needs to step up her incognito game.

But the waitress doesn’t give Jenny a second look—she’s too busy making sure Finn gets a good view of her little tits in the visible black push-up bra beneath her white Gil’s tank top.

“Ms. Smith,” Finn says, with a little wink for Jenny as he slides over and pats the bench seat next to him.

To my surprise—and pleasure—she slides into the seat across from him instead. I take the spot next to her, careful not to touch her, but all too aware of her all the same.

Finn’s giving me a shit-eating grin, which I ignore by turning to the waitress. “Jack and Coke.”

The waitress snaps her gum and nods. “What’s for you, red?”

“Same,” she says.

I glance at her in surprise. A girl who drinks Jack and Coke? Damn.

“You good?” the waitress asks Finn.

He lifts his mostly full beer in confirmation.

She moves away, and Finn leans back slightly, his eyes moving between the two of us. “So. This is interesting.”

Jenny leans toward him, her expression eager. “Right? We’re so in love. You’ll be best man at the wedding, right?!”

Her voice is joking, cheerleader-hyper, and Finn barks out a surprised laugh at her sass, but his expression is nervous and he looks at me.

I know why.

Up until a few weeks ago, Finn was going to be my best man. Vaughn too.

At my wedding to a different woman.

I give the slightest shake of my head to indicate he should keep his mouth shut.

For a second he looks disappointed—in me—but he doesn’t rat me out. Instead he leans toward Jenny, matching her posture. “You know I’m the better catch, right? Caretaker here might have wood, but as an electrician, I know a little something about heat.”

She laughs. “That’s terrible. You can’t tell me that actually works on any girls.”

“Bet you twenty bucks our waitress comes home with me,” Finn says.

“Only if you repeat that lame line about the heat. Twenty bucks absolutely says she’s not letting you in your pants if you say that.”

“Watch and learn, Ms. Smith. Watch and learn.”

Our waitress reappears with our drinks, Jenny and I biting back a snicker as Finn proceeds to tell the girl that he’s an electrician and thus knows something about heat.

It’s terrible, but I’ve seen Finn at work so many times that I’m not the least surprised when the waitress wiggles her fingers for Finn’s cellphone and enters her phone number before bending down and whispering that she gets off at two.

After the waitress heads off, Finn gives Jenny a smug look and holds out his hand.

“Unbelievable,” she mutters good-naturedly, pulling her wallet out of her purse and slapping a twenty in his palm. “That girl has no self-respect.”

“Oh, come on,” Finn says. “You can’t tell me Noah here’s any better. I watched this fool get through puberty. He’s had some clunkers for lines, trust me.”

“Yeah?” Jenny asks, turning toward me and taking a sip of her drink. “So far I’ve yet to hear more than a few grunts and grumbles.”

“Which seems to be working quite well for you,” I shoot back, my eyes flicking over her just briefly.

Her gaze narrows slightly, and I expect her to get pissy that I’ve just outed our sexual status in front of Finn, but instead she leads forward, running a nail down the front of my shirt. “I think we’re a little confused about who seduced whom, princess.”

“Details,” Finn says in a loud whisper. “I want all the details.”

Normally I’d shoot him the bird, but I can’t seem to make myself look away from Jenny. My mind is racing with the memories of our various hookups, yes, but there’s something else that holds me. A comfortableness between the two of us that’s a hell of a lot scarier than the sexual attraction.

“Aw, look, they’re having a moment,” Finn says.

This time I do give him the finger.

“I’ll be right back,” I mutter, turning away from Jenny and getting up to head toward the bathroom. I don’t really need to, but I do need a minute to get my head out of my ass before I do something idiotic like kiss a girl I have no business kissing.

As I walk away, I hear Jenny laugh at one of Finn’s lame jokes, but it’s a genuine laugh, and I realize that’s another point of danger for me. Jenny seems to like Finn. Finn definitely likes Jenny. It’s a far cry from every time I tried to put Yvonne and Finn in the same room and they’d both descend into disdainful silence.

For once there’s no line for the tiny, one-person bathroom, and I brace my hands on the sides of the sink, taking a deep breath and looking in the mirror.

“Get it the fuck together,” I mutter at my reflection.

It’s got to stop.

Too often in the past couple of days, I’ve been dangerously close to wishing it could be like this all the time. That I could be with a girl who likes my best friend, doesn’t flinch at dirty dive bars, drinks Jack and Coke, and wears cowboy boots on long, sexy-as-hell legs.

A girl I’m starting to like out of bed as much as I do in it.

When I come back out of the bathroom, Jenny and Finn are no longer at our table, and a quick scan of the room finds them in the far corner at a pool table.

I smile a little as I make my way to them, because they’re doing that clichéd thing that men and women do at the pool table where one stands behind the other, giving a “lesson” that involves lots of touching.

Only they’ve turned the cliché upside down. Jenny is standing behind Finn, arms around him, as she laughingly tries to show him how to hold the cue stick.

“You should just give up now,” I say as I approach.

Jenny glances at me as she tries to line up Finn’s cue with the ball. “Has he always been this bad?”

“Always.”

Finn confirms this by taking the shot, which misses by a mile. Jenny shakes her head and drops her arms. “Well, I tried.”

“You play pool?” I ask, nodding in thanks when she retrieves our drinks from a nearby table and hands me mine.

She shrugs. “I didn’t think I played very well, but compared to this guy…I’m not terrible.”

Finn is lining up to take another shot. “Hey, Reed,” I say. “You just had your turn.”

He doesn’t even look at me. “Does it really matter?”

Good point.

He shoots. Misses again.

“Bullshit game,” he says good-naturedly as he straightens and hands me the stick. “I’m gonna get another beer. You guys want?”

“I’m good,” I say.

Jenny nods in agreement, not looking away from my eyes.

Finn looks between the two of us before wandering away with a muttered “Gross.”

I glance at the table. “Wanna play?”

“Are you better than Finn?” she asks warily.

“I’m pretty sure Dolly would be better than Finn.”

She laughs and picks up a stick leaning against the corner of the table. “Winner buys drinks.”

Jenny’s not great at pool, but unfortunately she’s not bad enough to warrant me moving up behind her and showing her how it’s done, the way she did with Finn. A damn shame, because when she bends over to make her shot, her jean skirt rides up, displaying the backs of her thighs, stopping just short of that full, firm ass.

A quick glance around tells me I’m not the only guy who’s noticing, and I feel an irrational surge of jealousy, soothed only by the fact that she doesn’t seem to be aware of any of them.

Only of me.

“Thanks for letting me tag along tonight,” she says.

I glance up, because there’s a quiet seriousness in her voice that I don’t expect.

“It’s not like you need my permission, princess.”

“I know. But you could have just sent me here on my own. Maybe met up with Finn somewhere else, or dodged me altogether.”

I narrow my eyes, bracing some of my weight on the cue stick as I study her. “And why would I want to do that?”

Her lips twitch. “You were doing it all day.”

“I didn’t exactly see you seeking me out either, princess.”

Jenny sighs and looks away. “I know. I was…embarrassed.”

“Of what, the sex?”

“No, about the fact that it felt—”

She breaks off, and I realize I’m on the verge of holding my breath, like some lovesick kid who wants a girl to confess she likes him.

“Felt what?” I say, my voice a little raspy.

She swallows, still not meeting my eyes. “It felt good.”

Good’s not the word she wanted to say. I’d bet money on it. I want to press her. I want her to tell me that it felt important.

I want her to tell me that she wants it again. That she wants me again.

I step toward her, but she moves back, tugging at that horrible wig, before pasting a smile on her face.

“I like Finn,” she says, taking a sip of her drink.

Moment over.

It’s a good thing, but…

Hell.

“Yeah?” I say. Irritably, I turn back to the pool table, lining up my shot, and send three stripes into the pockets. At this rate I’ll definitely be buying drinks. Should have known when she stipulated winner bought drinks.

“There’s no pretense about him,” Jenny says. “He just is what he is. I like that. It’s rare, you know?”

I shrug. “I guess.”

Jenny is studying me. “You’re like that too. I mean, not as unabashed as Finn. You’re more careful. But you’re not like the guys in the music scene who seem to be desperately posing as one thing while their real self is something else.”

I tense.

She’s wrong. She’s dead wrong.

I’m the ultimate poser, pretending to be just Noah Maxwell, when really I’ve got a whole other side. A whole other life that involves bank accounts with a shit-ton of zeros, apartments with more luxury than I possibly need, and an ex I came very close to walking down the aisle with.

Tell her, an idiotic part of my brain urges. Take a chance on her.

I open my mouth to do exactly that, but Finn reappears at my side, fresh round of drinks in hand, even though both Jenny and I’d declined. My first drink isn’t gone, but the ice is all melted and the drink’s watery, so I take the new one, as does Jenny.

“So the crew cut at the bar’s got his eye on you, Ms. Smith,” Finn says, draping an arm around Jenny’s shoulder. “How do we feel about this?”

The hell?

I straighten and turn toward the bar. Sure enough, there’s a good-looking beefy dude giving Jenny the once-over, all but licking his lips.

How do we feel about this? Murderous. That’s how we feel about this.

I glance at Jenny, annoyed as shit to see that she’s checking the guy out. Seriously?

She takes a sip of her drink before turning her attention back to Finn. “Undecided,” she announced.

“What?” I ask incredulously, before I can think better of it.

Finn grins, and I know I’ve walked right into his shitty little trap. I have no doubt that the guy at the bar does like Jenny, but the only reason Finn’s bringing it up is to get me to admit…something.

“He’s good-looking, but not really my type,” Jenny is saying.

“Huh,” Finn says, still looking at me. “And what is your type?”

I feel Jenny’s eyes shift to mine, and I look away from my dickhead best friend to meet her blue eyes, even though I know I shouldn’t be going there.

“Um,” she says, licking her lips nervously. “I don’t actually know that I have a type.”

Finn tugs lightly at the ends of her wig in a playful, brotherly kind of way. “Don’t lie to me, Ms. Smith. I think you do have a type.”

“Maybe,” she says, still not looking away from me. “But it’s sort of a newly discovered thing.”

“Mmm-hmm,” my friend says. “Tell Finn more. Dark blond, right? Kind of frowny and mean? Let me guess: brown eyes? Doesn’t technically have a beard, but forgets to shave more than every three days or so? Big muscles, but not as big as mine?”

I roll my eyes, because my best friend just described me exactly, and Jenny’s too smart to play along.

Or maybe not. Because she’s still looking at me.

“Yes, exactly,” she says, surprising me. “Trouble is, I don’t think I’m his type.”

You are, I want to say. You absolutely fucking are. I just didn’t know it till I met you.

“Don’t worry, Ms. Smith,” Finn says with a grin in my direction. “From where I’m standing, I’d say your odds are looking very good.”

Jenny

It takes me a while to figure out why I’m so buzzy on the drive back to the house when I only had two drinks over the span of three and a half hours.

And then I realize. It’s not the whisky that’s got me buzzing. It’s the guy next to me. The way he smells, the way he smiles, the way his big hands move easily over the steering wheel…

Oh dear.

I’m in way more over my head than I thought if I’m lusting over the way he drives.

Tonight was…the best. I can’t remember the last time I felt more relaxed and happy. I try to tell myself it’s because Finn’s freaking hilarious, but I know better.

Finn’s great, but he’s not the reason I had such a good time. It was Noah and the way he stayed close, making me feel safe but never crowded. The way I felt him looking at me when he didn’t think I noticed, the way he didn’t even flinch at the casual intimacy of me picking all of the jalapeños off my portion of the nachos and put them on his plate.

It was the way he smiled even when I got the sense that he didn’t want to, and in the way he gently but politely shook his head no to a woman who clearly propositioned him at the bar.

Tonight wasn’t a date. I know that.

But I was able to pretend, and for a girl who hasn’t been on a decent date in a really long time, that’s enough.

Sort of.

Still, I want so badly to reach across the truck and hold his hand. Actually, more accurately, I want him to reach across and take my hand.

He doesn’t, and I try not to be too disappointed when we get back to the house, signaling that the night’s come to an end.

On one hand, I love that we simply enjoyed each other’s company for once. Not fighting, not circling each other like wary animals in heat. It was both comforting and alarming to realize how much I enjoy his company.

And yet he hasn’t touched me. Not once the entire night, and I expect that’s deliberate. I haven’t touched him either, because if I’ve learned anything from my time spent with this guy, it’s that once I start to touch him, I have a hell of a time stopping.

“You okay?” he asks as he turns off the ignition. I realize I haven’t moved, even though we’ve been parked for several moments.

“Yeah,” I say, forcing a smile.

“You seem a little lost in thought.”

“Well, I am a girl,” I say.

He laughs. “That you are.”

“I like your laugh,” I blurt out.

His laugh breaks off abruptly. Whoops.

“I mean, I’m not like naming our babies or anything,” I correct. “I’m just saying you have a nice laugh. I don’t hear it all that often.”

Noah says nothing as he watches me with those unreadable dark brown eyes. Then he looks away, the hard, defined planes of his face glinting like granite in the dim light coming from the outside porch light.

I resist the urge to sigh as I get out of the car.

He’s climbing out of his side as I come around the front of the truck.

“Thanks again for including me in your boys’ night,” I say, feeling a little awkward, as though it’s the last part of a date that’s not a date. “It was nice not to feel…lonely.”

Something flits across his face, and his hand twitches at his side, then goes still. Then slowly he moves his hand again, lifting it to me, palm up.

I blink down at it, and then hoping like hell I’m not reading this moment wrong, I lift my hand, place my palm against his.

His fingers close over mine, thumb rubbing briefly over the top of my knuckles before he tugs me forward. Only it’s not toward him, nor is it in the direction of the house.

Noah walks me to the back of the truck, releasing my hand to unlatch the tailgate before going back to the cab. Rummaging around, he comes up with a plaid blanket.

I watch wordlessly as he climbs into the truck bed and spreads out the blanket before jumping back to the ground.

Slowly he reaches out, slides his fingers beneath my wig, and eases it off before tossing it into the back of the truck. Then his fingers go around to the nape of my neck, where my hair’s pulled back in a small tight knot. He tugs the band slowly until my hair spills over my shoulders.

“Much better,” he whispers before shoving the band into his pocket and hooking his hands beneath my armpits. Noah lifts me easily onto the truck bed.

Instinctively I tug at the bottom of my skirt, which has ridden up. I am a lady, after all.

He gives me a gentle smirk. “I’ve seen it all, princess.”

Right. There’s that.

Still, I narrow my eyes. “Just because you’ve seen it once—”

“Twice.”

“Twice,” I amend. “Anyway, that doesn’t mean that you’re going to see it again.”

“You sure about that?” He hoists himself back onto the truck bed, using his chin to indicate that I should scoot back.

“This is your grand seduction plan to get round number three?” I ask skeptically as I make room for him. “The back of a truck?”

He moves up beside me before rolling onto his back, both hands behind his head. “When I was a kid, my mom dated this guy—well, she dated lots of guys, but there was this one guy, Ron. He was one of the better ones. He had a truck just like this one, and sometimes he’d take me and Mom out of the trailer park. I can’t remember where specifically, just away, and we’d go somewhere and he’d bring blankets and wine for them, a soda for me, and we’d watch the stars.”

I stare down at him in shock. Not only is it by far the most words I’ve heard him ever string together, but they’re also the most telling. The most revealing.

I can tell by the way he doesn’t look at me that he’s feeling vulnerable, and I slowly lie down beside him on my back, looking up at the night sky.

“There are so many,” I say in surprise. “Stars, I mean.”

Then I wince because it’s an obvious, childlike thing to say, but it’s the first thing that came to mind. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen stars. I mean really seen them. Not since camping trips with my family when I was a kid, and back then I wasn’t feeling at all like I’m feeling now, which is…

I don’t know.

I don’t know how I’m feeling, but it’s both wonderful and completely terrifying.

“What happened to this Ron?” I ask quietly.

I feel him shrug. “Moved on, I guess. He was only around for a summer.”

Only around for a summer.

Just like me.

My chest aches a little for the eager-for-attention boy Noah was then, as well as for the jaded man he is now. I want to tell him that I’ll stay, but I don’t. I like him too much to lie to him, and I like my job too much to make it the truth.

We’re silent for several minutes, but it’s a peaceful, contented sort of quiet. Noah shifts, moving his hands from behind his head so that his arms are at his side like mine.

I want to turn toward him. I want to kiss him. More, I want him to kiss me.

Instead, I do something even riskier.

My pinky finger extends outward slightly until it finds his. I feel Noah stiffen, and immediately I pull my hand back, but slowly, as though the touch was an accident and I’m not aware of it.

Which is crap, because I’m totally aware of it. That’s how it is with this guy—a split second of pinky-to-pinky contact and I’m practically vibrating with want.

Except tonight it’s not physical want (although that’s certainly there lurking in the background).

Tonight, though, I want intimacy more.

I squeeze my eyes shut. I want someone to care.

I don’t know where the thought is coming from. I have plenty of people who care about me. I’ve never been that girl who begs others to like me, love me, adore me.

But damn it, I want Noah Maxwell to care about me. I want a tiny bit of tenderness from this rough, gruff guy who most of the time can barely stand me.

Keep dreaming, princess, I tell myself in a mocking version of his harsh, drawling timbre.

But then I really must be dreaming, because his hand moves, hovering above mine with only a split second of hesitation before it closes over mine gently but authoritatively.

I bite my lip to fight the smile, but it comes all the same.

“Don’t make it weird, princess,” he says gruffly.

Well, of course I’m going to make it weird after that. I unabashedly twist my hand so that I can twine my fingers with his.

“Is this weird?” I say with fake innocence.

“Yes,” he mutters. But he doesn’t pull his hand away. And though I don’t turn my head to look at him…I’m pretty sure he’s smiling.

Just like me.

Noah

If someone was to ask me what the catalyst was for finally dealing with my bitch of an ex, I wouldn’t have said it was holding hands with Jenny Dawson, superstar, in the back of my friend’s truck, outside a house I didn’t even know I owned up until a month ago.

But that’s exactly how it’s played out.

It’s been two weeks since I spent all night holding hands and talking with Jenny until we fell asleep beneath the stars. Yup, you’re hearing that right. All that, and I didn’t even screw her. Not that night, at least.

Since then, though, I’ve been seeing plenty of Jenny, in bed and out.

And for reasons I have zero interest in dwelling on, I’m in my car on the way to Yvonne’s apartment.

Here’s the thing you need to know about Yvonne Damascus: she’s one of those women who has completely different standards for how she actually lives her life versus how she wants people to think she lives her life.

Case in point: the woman screws like a crazy, kinky monkey but refuses to “live in sin.”

Messed up, right?

I mean, granted, she hasn’t fucked me in a long time. The last time we had sex was a couple of months ago, after she made a sloppy, white-wine-fueled come-on that I couldn’t bring myself to resist considering I was gearing up to walk down the aisle with the woman.

I’d like to blame our shitty sex life for her cheating on me, and I’m sure that was a big part of it, but I can’t say I wasn’t equally to blame. At some point I just…quit caring. Somewhere in the middle of her berating me for not wanting French haute cuisine small plates as our wedding meal and us fighting about my reluctance to settle into an office job, I just…lost interest.

But I didn’t cheat.

When you’re the product of a man who was so desperate to keep his affair with a cocktail waitress secret that he didn’t acknowledge his illegitimate child until his legitimate one died, fidelity becomes kind of a thing. And yes, not wanting to touch your fiancée but not being able to touch another woman took its toll in the form of me jerking off more than I have since junior high.

I’d like to think it’s this sort of sex hiatus that made me go at Jenny Dawson like a starving man, although if I’m going to man up and be honest about it, I have a feeling I’d have gone after her like that no matter what my situation.

That girl is like crack to me. Sweet, addictive, and fucking dangerous.

And because I’ve finally come to grips with the fact that I have zero chance of keeping my hands off her for as long as she’s in Louisiana, I realize it’s time to deal with the skeleton in my closet known as Yvonne.

I opted to move to downtown Baton Rouge after graduation, but Yvonne insisted on staying in Village St. George near her parents, friends, and adoring fan club. She lives in a four-bedroom condo her father gave her as a college graduation present, complete with a Mercedes and butler.

Yes, I said butler.

I don’t have many regrets in life. I try to do the whole “mistakes are just life lessons” type of mental trick. You have to when your life’s been as jacked up as mine.

But I do regret proposing to Yvonne.

I regret that I left the ring on her finger as long as I did.

Most of all, I regret that I let her and my father convince me that I could live their life. A life with golf games and pointless conference calls and charity events for children whose names they’d never know or care to know. And butlers. Did I mention the butlers?

I regret not figuring my shit out earlier—both that I’d always be happier in work boots than loafers and that the work boots would never fly with Yvonne.

I have regrets, yes. But as I find a parking spot on the street near Yvonne’s condo, I also feel relief.

For the first time since I called it off, I feel something other than trepidation and guilt. I did the right thing. For both of us.

The doorman greets me with a friendly wave. “Mr. Walcott! Haven’t seen you in a while. Ms. Damascus said you’ve been traveling for work?”

I give a noncommittal smile. Fucking Yvonne. Traveling for work, my ass.

Still, I’m not surprised. The woman was ballsy enough to send out wedding invitations. She’d think nothing of lying to her doorman.

I didn’t call first to see if she’d be here. She already has home-court advantage; I don’t want to give her a chance to start scheming.

If she’s not, I still have a key, but I’m guessing she’ll be here. Yvonne graduated from LSU the same year I did—it’s where we met—but she’s never even tried to put her sociology degree to use, instead preferring the socialite lifestyle. Her idea of a busy day is having back-to-back hair and nail appointments, so unless I’ve caught her on spa day, I’m fully expecting her to open the door when I knock.

I’m right.

Her lips part in surprise. “Preston.”

She, like most people on this side of my life, has always called me Preston. I asked her once if she could call me Noah, at least when it was just the two of us, and the only answer I received was a snort.

“Yvonne.”

She looks…the same. She’s dressed in a knee-length white skirt and light yellow blouse, both of which are just formfitting enough to show off her steady diet of salads but not clingy enough to be outright sexy. Her light brown hair might be shorter; I’m not really sure, don’t really care. But her face is the same. Eyes are cool and blue, lips are glossy and pinched, nose thin and just a bit longer than is fashionable, but she’s never gone through with her threats to get a nose job, I suspect because its current shape is better for looking down at people who are beneath her.

Which, by her estimation, is everyone.

“Darling,” she gushes, immediately stepping forward to wrap her arms around me.

I stand perfectly still as she rubs on me, waiting for it to be over. She steps back and frowns, although I’m not sure if it’s because of my lack of response or because of my attire. Judging from the once-over she gives my jeans, boots, and Henley, I can tell she’s displeased.

One of her favorite words, by the way. I’m displeased, Preston.

She steps aside, gesturing for me to come in.

I do, but I don’t go farther than the foyer. What I have to say to her won’t require me to stick around.

“What are you doing?” I ask quietly, turning to face her, hands shoved in my pockets.

She looks at me steadily. “You’ve been gone for over a month, haven’t returned a single message or phone call, and that’s the first thing you say to me?”

“What did you expect?”

“Oh, I don’t know. How about an apology?”

I smile at that. It’s so…Yvonne.

“I understand congratulations are in order,” I say wryly. “You’re getting married.”

She smirks a little, and I know full well that this was her intention all along. She sent out those wedding invitations to get my attention. To trap me, secure in the knowledge that I’m my father’s son and won’t stoop to such scandal.

She’s wrong.

I’m my mother’s son, first and foremost.

I can’t erase my past growing up in a trailer park with hand-me-down clothes and good honest work, and I’m done pretending that I want to.

“Apparently I wasn’t clear last time,” I say, my voice impressively calm. “I’m not marrying you.”

She presses her lips together before gesturing toward her living room. “Let’s sit down and talk about this. I’ll make you a drink.”

I resist the urge to rub my temples. “I don’t want to talk. I don’t want a drink. I want you to let everyone know that there’s not going to be a wedding.”

“How am I supposed to do that? The invitations were fifty dollars apiece and have already gone out.”

“Fifty fucking bucks for a piece of paper? What are they, lined in gold?”

She stares at me, and I swear softly. They really were lined in gold.

“I don’t know, Yvonne. Figure it out.”

I reach for the doorknob, and for the first time her eyes widen in panic, as though just now realizing that she might not get her way.

“Preston, what is going on with you? I said I was sorry about the affair.”

“I’m not,” I say quietly. “If it wasn’t now, it’d be later that we ended things. We’re not good for each other.”

“That’s ridiculous. We’re the same. Or at least we will be once you get over this weird rebellious stage of yours.”

I can’t help laughing. Unbelievable.

She sweeps a hand toward me. “Sure it is. You’ve lost both parents in the past few years, and you’re on the verge of a big life change by getting married. You’re acting out.”

“Rebellious stage? Acting out?” I repeat. “I’m not sixteen, and you’re not my mother.”

She sneers. “Thank God for that.”

I go very still. “What did you just say?”

Yvonne goes slightly pale, as though realizing she’s gone too far. It’s no secret that she couldn’t stand my mother, but at least since Mom’s death she’s had the decency to hold her tongue.

“She was never anything but kind to you,” I say, my voice vibrating with anger.

She steps closer, reaching out a hand, and I reel back. “Preston…”

“Noah,” I snap.

She swallows. “Noah.” The word sounds like she’s choking on it, but she must be more panicked than I realize, because she once told me she’d have nothing to do with “that part of my life.” Another signal that I fucked up by ever thinking Yvonne was marriage material.

“Please calm down. I want to talk.”

I shake my head, and this time when I reach for the doorknob, I follow through, turning it and opening the door. “I don’t want to talk, Yvonne. Not now, not ever again. You want an apology? I’ll apologize for not ending this sooner, for not seeing that we were all wrong for each other a long time ago.”

Her eyes narrow, the contrition from a moment before vanishing as she studies me. “Something’s happened.”

I start to step out into the hallway, but she reaches out and touches my arm, stopping me. “You’re different.”

“From a month ago? Yeah. I was engaged, now I’m not.”

“No, it’s more than that,” she says. “You seem…happy.”

She practically spits out the last word as though it’s a curse, and for her perhaps it is. Because it means I’m happy without her.

“Cancel the wedding, Yvonne. Or don’t. Either way, I won’t be there at the end of the aisle.”

I walk out her front door.

“Preston,” she snaps. “Preston, please…Noah.”

I don’t turn around.

Like I said, I’m not proud that it took me so long to get my shit together and see the truth about Yvonne and me not working out, but sitting and talking about it isn’t going to change a damn thing.

Once I’m back in my truck—well, Finn’s truck, but it’s feeling like mine—I text Vaughn and Finn, ask if they’re up to grab a beer.

Twenty minutes later, I’m sitting at one of our favorite craft beer bars. I like it mainly because it’s as good a compromise I can find for my two best friends. Vaughn’s more of a fancy-wine-and-cocktail snob, while Finn rarely drinks anything but Bud.

I’m a quarter of the way through a hoppy IPA when Finn and Vaughn walk in. They’ve apparently arrived at the same time. Unfortunate, since it gives them a chance to start bickering before I can play peacekeeper.

Not that it matters. I’m not really in the mood today, and they apparently sense it, because by the time they make it to me, they’ve already argued and finished up with the default “Fuck you” and “Fuck you too.”

“What are we drinking?” Finn asks, picking up my glass and helping himself to a sip. I don’t bother to protest. He’s been helping himself to my beverages since my mom used to make us grape Kool-Aid on sticky summer afternoons.

The bar’s mostly deserted given that it’s early on a Tuesday, and the bartender quickly has a pilsner in front of Finn and another IPA for Vaughn.

“Please tell me we’re here to plan Yvonne’s funeral,” Finn says.

I spin my coaster. “Yvonne and I are done.”

“That’s what you said last time,” Vaughn says.

“Yeah, well, it’s really not his fault that the bitch didn’t listen, is it?” Finn snaps at Vaughn.

“No, but it is his fault he decided to hang out in the boonies instead of dealing with it,” Vaughn shoots back.

This earns a snort from Finn. “Right. The boonies being anything that doesn’t have a Brooks Brothers?”

“Like I’d be caught dead wearing something right off the rack,“Vaughn says crisply.

“Guys.” My voice is sharper than usual, and they break off.

“What happened?” Vaughn asked. “For real?”

I continue to spin the coaster. “I told her to cancel the wedding, or to prepare herself for the fact that I’d be a no-show. She responded by insulting me, Mom…the usual.”

“She is such a bitch,” Finn mutters into his beer.

Vaughn gives a nod in agreement. “Basically, yeah.”

“I’m the one that proposed, though,” I say quietly.

“Well, in your defense—”

“No,” I interrupt Vaughn. “There’s no excuse. For years I pretended to be someone I wasn’t. Pretended that a life with someone like her was what I wanted. That’s on me, not Yvonne.”

“What is it you do want?” Finn asks in a rare moment of seriousness.

I stare straight ahead, trying not to think of a sexy blonde who’s too young for me and also too famous for me….

“I want a simple life.”

I wince as soon as the words are out of my mouth, feeling slightly douchebag-ish.

“Explain,” Vaughn says, taking a sip of his beer.

Finn opens his mouth, and I know he’s got a comeback at the ready that’s eating him alive, but he holds it back and stays silent. I’m impressed.

“No thanks,” I mutter.

“No, seriously,” Vaughn says. “I know what I want. Finn knows what he wants—”

“Double D’s and Daisy Dukes,” Finn says unabashedly.

“What do you want?” I ask Vaughn, a little surprised by the sureness in his voice, realizing that I haven’t really talked to the guys about serious shit like this in too long, and anytime we have gone there, it’s been after too much whisky, so most of it has been forgotten (or pretended to be forgotten) by the next morning.

“I want to take over my family’s company. I want to be CEO, but not just in title, I want to fucking own it. Be the best damned CEO they’ve had, the one that takes the business to the next level. I want to get married. Someone whip-smart and low-maintenance.”

“Might I suggest a Labradoodle?” Finn says. “I hear they don’t shed.”

Vaughn ignores him. “I want two kids. Last-minute weekends in New Orleans and planned trips to Europe.”

Finn makes a dramatic snoring noise, and Vaughn finally breaks off, seeming a little embarrassed by his oversharing.

Feeling his pain, I shift my focus to Finn. “How the hell do you know what a Labradoodle is? Or Brooks Brothers, for that matter?”

He opens his mouth, then shuts it.

“Like I thought. Not half as much of a hick as you’d like us to think,” I say. Turning back to Vaughn, I tell him, “You’ll get there, man.”

“Really?” he says with a little laugh. “I haven’t been on so much as a decent date since college.”

“I could hook you up with one of my castoffs,” Finn says.

“Great,” Vaughn says with fake enthusiasm. “I’ll take you up on that when I get a hankering for herpes.”

I hold up a hand between their faces before Finn can respond with a retort. Or a fist.

“So that’s me,” Vaughn says, ignoring the finger Finn shoots him. “But this is about you. What do you mean, you want the simple life?”

I run a hand over the back of my neck. “Forget it.”

“Hell no,” Finn says, finishing his beer and signaling for another. “I hate to have anything in common with Country Club, but I’m curious too. All shitting aside, you’ve had a hard time of it, split between the two worlds. It blows, man.”

Vaughn nods once in agreement.

“Fine,” I mutter, taking a gulp of beer for courage. If Vaughn could spill his guts, I could too. “I want a place of my own, off the beaten path. No neighbors for miles. A place where I can get another dog for Ranger that he can hump all day long, giving my pillows a break. I want lazy nights grilling steaks with a decent glass of wine. I want—”

“A woman?” Finn says.

Shit.

“Yeah,” I say. “Which is bullshit, considering I was just this close to getting fucking married, but—”

“You want a different sort of woman,” Vaughn says.

I lift my shoulders. “Yeah. I want a woman who wants what I want. A woman who’s content to sit on the porch and watch dusk settle over the bayou—”

Finn cracks up and I punch him on the shoulder, hard, although I don’t mind the ribbing.

“I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that your perfect relationship does not involve occasional strolls down the red carpet at the Grammys wearing a tux?” Vaughn asks, pretending to be preoccupied with his beer.

I glare at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He and Finn exchange a look, and it’s Finn who speaks up. “It means that you’ve fallen for Miss Grand Ole Opry.”

“I haven’t fallen for anyone,” I mutter, finishing off my beer. “I barely even know her.”

“But you like her.”

I want to deny it, but the hell of the thing is, I do like Jenny. I mean, I don’t get her. I don’t get how someone can talk about her grandparents’ quiet nights on the porch one minute and be talking to her agent about presenting at the CMA Awards the next. But I like the way she smiles. And listens. And stands up for herself, but also doesn’t hold a grudge. I like the way she makes little moaning noises after she takes a bite of steak, and pretends she wants the vegetables but only eats them after dragging them through a puddle of butter on her plate left from the baked potato.

I like the way she laughs, and the way she sneaks Ranger table scraps just like she does Dolly, and the way it takes her an hour to wash dishes because she has to keep taking breaks to jot down the music that she’s humming.

I like the way she fucks. God, do I like that.

“Jenny’s a…nothing. Rebound.”

“So you are sleeping with her,” Finn says.

I don’t respond, torn between protecting Jenny’s privacy and not lying to my best friends.

“Did you decide what I’m supposed to tell her about buying the house?” Vaughn asks.

“Wait. What?” Finn asks.

Vaughn fills him in on Jenny wanting to make an offer on the house, and I feel them both watching me out of the corner of my eye, gauging my reaction.

They can look all they want. Hell, if they come to a conclusion, I’d love a clue myself.

I don’t know what to do.

I want the house. It feels like mine, and not just because my name’s on the deed. I’m the one who’s slowly transitioning it from shithole to home, even if I do have a long-ass way to go. Fixer-upper doesn’t even begin to describe that place.

But Jenny buying the house…

It would mean Jenny stays.

Except she wouldn’t be here for good. What does she want it for? So she can flit in and out when she feels like it? How would I fit into that?

I have no clue.

Don’t even know if I want to fit into it.

Liar.

“Well, better figure it out quick,” Finn says.

“Why?”

“Before she goes to the premiere in a few weeks. For Road and Roses.”

“What and what?” I ask.

“Honestly,” Finn says, “my stalker game is so much stronger than yours. Your girl has a part in some big-time movie. Rumor says it’s a bit part, but she’s a total scene stealer.”

I stare at him.

He shrugs. “What? I read.”

“Labradoodles. Reading. So many surprises today,” Vaughn mutters.

I look at him. “Did you know about this?”

Vaughn looks guilty. “I may have done a little research of my own. To make sure she was on the up-and-up.”

“We all know she was on the down-and-down, at least with Shawn Bates,” Finn says.

“Shut the fuck up, man,” I say before I can think better of it.

They’re both silent. “Oh, hell,” Finn mutters. “It’s not just that you like her. You really like her.”

Maybe. But I didn’t even know she was in a movie, much less that she’d be attending a premiere.

“I need to get going,” I mumble, pulling out my wallet.

“To get back to your girl?” Finn asks.

“Shut up,” Vaughn mutters, sensing that I’m not in the mood.

Finn’s smile drops. “You okay, man? For real?”

“Yeah, I just…” I pull out a couple of bills. “I dunno. I’ll talk to you guys later.”

“Let me know what to do about the offer,” Vaughn says as I throw down enough money to cover my beer and theirs. They’ll probably kill each other after I leave, but that’s their problem.

“Hold her off,” I say. “I need to think.”

“Preston.” Vaughn stops me. “I know this thing with Yvonne is bullshit, but it’ll blow over. You’re not seriously thinking of dropping off the face of the earth and actually living all the way out there, right?”

Even Finn looks worried.

“I don’t know,” I say, pulling out my keys. “It’s starting to feel a lot less like running from something and a lot more like…home.”

Finn pulls out his phone. “I need to write that down. See if Ma will stick it on a quilt for me.”

I flip him the bird. “See you guys later.”

As I climb into the truck, I pause before starting the engine, a little shaken by how eager I am to get back to the house.

No, not to the house.

To her.

Jenny

Real life is starting to creep in.

Not all the way in. I’m still not reading the tabloids, this morning I had guacamole and chips for breakfast, and I haven’t touched kale since I’ve been here. Take that, burrito baby.

But it feels like the shadows are lurking, as though my time—this precious time—is coming to an end.

Case in point: I spent most of the day on the phone.

It was supposed to be a nine o’clock check-in with my agent, but Barb had exactly 947 questions for me, and after she relayed my answers to those questions to various people, she came back with the news that my publicist, the account manager at the label, and some chick from the Today show wanted to talk to me.

I’d said yes to the first two but no to the Today show, and by one o’clock my hand was cramping from holding the old-school phone for so long, plus I was pretty sure I was developing a blister on my ear. Is that even a thing?

I keep an eye and ear out for Noah, but I haven’t seen him all day. I’m disappointed but not surprised. We spend most nights together, but we do our own thing during the day, mostly. Partially because we both have work to do, partially because I think we’re both terrified of what might happen if we get too used to each other’s company.

I lose myself in music for a while, perfecting the rhythm of “Predator,” which is becoming one of my favorite songs on the album.

But even though I’m pleased with the way things are going, I can’t escape the feeling that I’m missing something. It’s like one track eludes me, but I don’t know what it is, and it’s making me crazy.

Eventually I realize that I’m squinting to see my notebook and that the sun has set. No sign of Noah.

I head down to the kitchen, pulling a frozen dinner out of the fridge and popping it into the microwave Noah bought a few days ago. As I wait for it to heat up, I carefully listen for the truck, the crunch of his boots, or even Ranger’s big noisy bark.

Nothing.

I’m just tossing my plastic tray in the garbage after shoveling in a thoroughly unsatisfying meal when the phone rings.

I grit my teeth, really regretting giving my agent the landline number.

As expected, it’s Barb.

“One more thing,” she says by way of greeting, the second I pick up the phone.

“Sure!” I say cheerfully, even though it’s been “one more thing” all day.

“This Road and Roses thing…”

I withhold the groan. Barely.

That dang movie.

At the time it seemed harmless enough. They promised it would take up only a couple of days, at most, to film a quick karaoke scene in some offbeat movie about a retired female rodeo star trying to find herself back in the small town where she grew up.

The filming itself was as painless as promised. Even a little fun.

But word about the movie hit about the same time that my record became a hit, and all of a sudden my five minutes of screen time became the movie’s primary draw.

I know I sound like I’m complaining, and I really don’t mean to. It’s just…I can’t stand the thought of everyone staring. Whispering.

“What about it?” I ask.

“Sweetie, I know you’re working on your record, and I’ve been tolerant of that, but skipping out on the red carpet…not a good move. Ya get me?”

Has Barb always annoyed me this much? I can’t remember.

“I’m in the movie for five minutes, Barb. I sing a song.”

“Sure, but this could be your in, sweetie.”

I frown. “My in for what?”

“Hollywood. Everyone loves a pretty face, and sweetie, you’ve got a pretty face.”

If she calls me sweetie one more time…

“Well, I’ve also got a bit of baggage,” I say, trying to keep the snippiness out of my tone. “Won’t I taint the event with my ‘scarlet woman’ ways?”

I haven’t told Barb or Candice that I didn’t sleep with Shawn, mainly because I don’t think either one will believe me, and it bothers me that they’d be so willing to lie for me, even if it actually is the truth.

“You know what they say, sweetie. Better a scandal than a no-name.”

Not really the answer I’m looking for.

I bend down to rub Dolly’s head, as she’s perched herself as close as possible to my foot, apparently giving up hope that I’ll come and join her in the icy air-conditioning of the bedroom. I can’t believe I’m saying it, but not only have I readjusted to the sweaty southern heat of my childhood, I think I’m actually enjoying it.

“Jenny?”

“Yeah, I’m here,” I say, straightening. “What happens if I don’t go?”

“A mistake,” she says.

I tuck the phone between my ear and my shoulder and pile my hair into a ponytail. “I just don’t think—”

“Look, I’m going to be frank with you, sweetie. The whole running-away thing was working great for a while. It amplified the mystery about you, even as it helped cool some of the nastiness of the Bates accusations. But the tide is starting to turn.”

“Meaning?” I say, tensing a bit.

“Meaning that if you don’t get your adorable ass to that movie premiere in a couple of weeks, people are going to start to forget you. In this day and age, it’s not enough to be talented. You’ve got to be present. People need to see your name and your face constantly.”

“Even if it’s bad press?” I ask, hating that my voice is small.

She lets out a hard laugh, though it’s not a mean one. “Even if it’s bad. Hell, sweetie, you couldn’t stay the good girl forever. People were gonna get tired of it. You have an edge now. Mystery. Less girl, more woman. Less angel, more vixen.”

What if I’m not ready for any of that?

What if I don’t want it?

“Let me think about it, ‘kay?” I ask. I notice Dolly waiting patiently by the door for her nightly potty break, and I open the door a crack to let her scamper outside.

There’s a moment of silence, and I practically feel Barb’s disapproval. Or maybe not disapproval so much as mild freaking out that one of her big-name clients isn’t coming to heel.

I usually do. But that’s the thing. I just…I need a minute to think. To wrap my head around the idea of stepping in front of a hundred cameras knowing that the world no longer sees me as the innocent princess. Now I’m a tainted homewrecker.

I shouldn’t care.

But I still do. Even as I hate that I do.

“I’ll call you this week with an answer,” I tell Barb.

“Sweetie—”

“I promise. Just hold them off a few days longer, please.”

“Sure. Okay,” she relents. “And the music’s good, yeah? Radio-friendly?”

I swallow, hating that the sum of my passion can be whittled down to whether or not a DJ might deem it catchy. “Yup!”

“Good. Talk to you soon, sweetie.”

I say goodbye to Barb and take a long deep breath, trying to sort myself out. It’d be simpler if I just didn’t want to go to the movie premiere. I’d say no, stick to my guns, and that’d be the end of it.

But I sort of do. I mean, I don’t want to move back to Hollywood, but in short bursts it’s sort of fun. After all, I’m twenty-two—I like the free champagne and the dressing up. And most important, I like the way the kids who crowd their way up to the front row of events look at me with hope and dreams. The hope that they too can make a living off their art. That their work can be seen, their talent realized.

It’s why I want this house, to foster those dreams.

But what happens when I show up at that movie screening and have the wrong effect? What happens when I’m the type of girl that moms tell their little girls not to be like, the type of woman that other women scorn?

I refuse to feel even the least bit bad about my sexuality.

The double standard of a guy being a charming playboy while a woman gets labeled a slutty tramp is absolute bullshit.

I don’t care about the label.

I care that the label is unfounded. Untrue.

I pour a glass of water and move my neck from one side to the other, trying to loosen the knots. One thing’s for sure: I’m not going to figure out an answer tonight. I need a good night’s sleep, and…Noah.

I can’t explain it, but I need Noah.

I start to head upstairs to grab a bag, intent on taking a bottle of wine, some popcorn, and my raciest lingerie over to the caretaker cottage, when I remember that Dolly’s waiting for me outside the door.

I walk to the screen, my steps slowing when I don’t see her familiar little pointy face.

“Dolly?” I push the screen door open. “Dolly!”

My eyes scan for a sign of the tiny puffball, waiting for her to come bounding through the weeds, but there’s nothing.

“Dolly!”

Blindly I shove my feet into the flip-flops by the door as I burst out into the late dusk, still calling for my dog.

I try to contain my panic at first. She’ll come. Any minute now I’ll hear that high-pitched little bark, see her short legs coming toward me as she does the little run that looks sort of like a bunny hopping through the grass.

But no matter how many times I call her name, my voice getting a little louder and more frantic each time, there’s nothing. The crickets seem to grow louder, the fireflies brighter, but there’s no dog. Nothing rustling low in the weeds.

Not even an alligator.

My hand goes to my mouth as I realize the magnitude of what it means for a five-pound Pomeranian to be lost on a bayou. I haven’t seen a gator yet, but I rarely stray from the house. And I absolutely believe Noah when he says they’re out there.

“Dolly,” I whimper.

And then I’m running, ignoring the way the occasional twig jabs at my bare foot around the flimsy flip-flops, not bothering to stop for the damn crocodile stick, because Dolly doesn’t have one, and she’s the one the alligators could eat with a single snap.

I run and I run, maybe wishing I’d worked out just a little more since I’ve been in Louisiana, and then I’m at the caretaker cottage.

I don’t bother to register whether lights are on, I just slam my hand once on the door before barging in. “Noah!”

I hear Ranger’s bark, and then I see him.

Noah.

I put a hand on the door, gasping, as he turns to me in confusion, a frozen dinner in his hand that looks an awful lot like the one I just ate.

“Dolly,” I say, my voice breaking. “I can’t find her. I let her out to go to the bathroom, and I can’t…Noah, I can’t find her.”

Without a word, he tosses the plastic tray aside and moves past me toward the door, giving a quick whistle for Ranger.

“What are you—”

“We’ll find her.”

“But Noah…” I follow him onto the porch, and he’s all blurry through my tears.

“Hey,” he says, catching my chin in his hand. “We’ll find her. Take Ranger,” he orders, bending down and picking up a stick that he hands to me. “Walk to the south side of the property.” He points. “I’ll take the north side.”

“We should leave Ranger here,” I say, my hand touching the big dog’s silky head. “If there are alligators…”

“He’ll be fine,” Noah soothes. “You see one coming, make a shit-ton of noise. He’s too big to be worthwhile prey for a gator.”

“But Dolly’s not,” I say.

“We’ll find her,” he says firmly.

I nod, wanting to believe him—needing to believe him—as I adjust the stick in my palm and go running in the direction he indicated. Ranger somehow understands and follows me, and over Ranger’s mad barking I hear Noah calling my dog’s name, his voice growing fainter as he moves in the opposite direction.

I lose track of time. I lose track of where I walk, how far I walk, or even how I walk in these stupid flip-flops.

Over and over I call her name, my voice growing hoarse as my vision gets blurrier.

I’ll find her. I have to find her.

But as dusk settles into full night, there’s no sign of her, and the sound of the bayou at night is all around me now. I hear a rustling noise to my left, and for a moment hope soars. I spin around. “Dolly!”

My heart is in my throat.

Not Dolly.

Gator.

It’s smaller than I expect it to be, but no less terrifying. It’s frozen just like I’m frozen, and its wide-set eyes are creepy as hell. I can’t tell if it’s looking at me or at Ranger. I can’t tell if my poor little dog is in its belly, and for a heart-wrenching moment I wonder if the reason the gator’s not charging at Ranger is because it’s no longer hungry, satisfied by Dolly.

Am I supposed to run? Charge?

Too late I realize I should have asked Noah for more information. Out of the corner of my eye, I look at Ranger, and he’s frozen, the fur on his back standing up as he growls low and mean at the gator.

Instinctively I know that he’ll protect me, that he’d die for me.

I tighten my grip on the dumb stick. “Don’t worry,” I tell Ranger. “I’ll protect you too.”

In the end, I don’t have to.

The gator looks at the two of us for a moment longer, seeming almost bored, before slithering away into the darkness.

I drop my stick with an exhale, relieved not to be fighting off alligator teeth, but no more reassured that the beast didn’t just devour Dolly.

My eyes fill all over again. “Come on, boy,” I say with a sniffle. “Take me home.”

I let Ranger lead the way back, watching as his brown tail bounds a few feet in front of me, his head with its floppy ears turning back frequently to make sure I’m close. All the while I call Dolly’s name.

The house comes into view, and I cross my fingers—literally, I cross them—that I’ll find her waiting at the front door, little tail wagging, looking up at me like, Hello, Mom? Can we get into the freaking air-conditioning now? My fur is frizzing.

I take the last few steps at a run even though my legs are aching, my feet cut into a million pieces.

I make it up the steps before my knees buckle.

She’s not there. My baby girl is not there waiting for me.

I let out a keening wail at the realization that my dog is gone. A dog like Ranger surviving a night on the bayou? Sure. But Dolly…Dolly barely even survived Rodeo Drive.

I fall to my knees, palms hitting the wood as my head drops forward, heart breaking.

“Dolly,” I whisper.

I feel the wet nudge of Ranger’s nose against my cheek. Then he lowers himself to his belly beside me, snout resting on the back of my hand as he looks up at me, big brown eyes mournful and comforting at the same time.

I hiccup out a sob, then another.

I know there are people who say that it’s just a dog, but I’m guessing maybe those are the people who’ve never had a dog. Or maybe they have kids to absorb some of their love. But it’s just me and Dolly, and she has all my love. And now she’s gone.

I tuck my elbows into my sides, covering my face with my hands, trying to get it together, but I just can’t. I feel like I’m going to splinter.

Dolly.

I’m sorry, Dolly.

My brain does that clichéd thing where it flits through a montage of memories. Her thrashing her toys. Barking at leaves. Curling up on my pillow even when it means no room for my own head. Her playing hard to get with Ranger, and the way she’d follow Noah around like a faithful servant when he was working inside the house.

The visions are so vivid that I can actually hear her bark.

Over and over I hear her bark, and I start to cry harder, until I realize…

That is her bark.

Ranger’s already off the porch, his barks loud and manic as he darts off into the darkness.

I stand, starting to follow the big Lab, when I see him.

The porch light doesn’t give me much, but I see Noah, walking toward me in the dark, slow and steady.

In his arms is a tiny fluff ball, barking madly.

“Dolly!”

I lose a flip-flop running toward them, but barely notice. My dog squirms when I get close, and I carefully pull her from Noah’s arms, burying my face in her damp, slightly smelly fur.

“Where?” I choke out.

“The cotton ball managed to get all that ridiculous fur behind her front legs completely tangled in some sort of prickly bush on the far side of the property. Even if she heard us calling, I don’t think she could move.”

“Thank you,” I whisper. I step closer to him, all but crushing my dog between us as I press my face into his neck. “Thank you.”

Noah gathers me to him. “Always,” he whispers against my hair.

We stand like that for several minutes, Noah stroking my back soothingly, letting my heart cease its panicked gallop, before he gently steps away and turns me toward the house.

He nudges me forward, only to stop me once more, his grip tightening as he pulls me to a stop. “Princess. Your feet.”

I peek down, register that they’re covered in mud and blood. “I’ll take care of them inside.”

I start to move forward again, but he holds me back, grumbling something about me being an idiot, and then scoops me up in his big arms.

I squeak in surprise, adjusting my grip on my dog, but as he carries me toward the house and up the steps, I can’t help but giggle at the picture we must make, him carrying me, me carrying Dolly.

Only Ranger is left out, and his pissed-off bark lets us know he knows it.

Noah gently sets me down outside the door, opening it for me and the dogs before following me inside.

“Let me take her,” he says. “I want to check her paws. I think she’s okay, but she was pretty tangled. Had to cut some of that stupid fluff with my pocket knife, so don’t go getting pissed at me because she has a bad ‘do.”

I smile over Dolly’s head. “Did you just say ‘a bad ‘do’?”

He gently eases the dog from my arms. “Take care of your feet. I’ll take care of hers.”

I hesitate, not wanting to let Dolly out of my sight, but then I see the way she pants happily, managing to claw her way up his chest to give him a loving lick on the chin.

“Don’t think I didn’t see that smile just now,” I say, pointing a finger at him.

His face resumes its usual impassive mask. “Go. I’m going to wash her down here, where the sink’s bigger. Then I’ll bring her up.”

“For her blow-dry?” I ask.

He glares, and I blow him a kiss before gingerly making my way toward the stairs. Ranger runs back and forth, obviously torn between staying downstairs, where his master and his crush are, and going upstairs with boring old me.

I’m a little touched when he chooses me, bounding up the steps two at a time before turning at the top of the stairs and watching intently as I hobble my way up.

“Good boy,” I say, bending to kiss his head once I’m up. “You’re a good dog, such a good, handsome boy. Such a good, handsome, smart boy.”

“Quit trying to charm him,” Noah calls from the kitchen over the sound of the running water. “My dog.”

“Just like you have my dog?” I call back.

“Your dog, and I use the word loosely, bit me when I was trying to cut her free.”

“Probably because you gave her a bad fringe cut,” I yell.

“Those feet better be clean by the time I get up there, princess.”

I smile and head into my bathroom, where I run some lukewarm water. With a deep breath and clenched teeth, I force myself to put my ragged feet under the flow.

I hiss, but it doesn’t hurt as badly as I’m expecting. Once all the mud’s gone, I look closer, seeing mostly just a bunch of shallow scrapes.

Still, I keep my feet under the stream of water for a good long while as the events of the past half hour settle under me. I still feel as though my heart’s ready to jump out of my chest at any moment.

“When was your last tetanus shot?”

My head whips around, and my heart catches at the sight of a disgruntled Noah holding an even more disgruntled Dolly in a fluffy white towel, her fur all spiky and cute from the impromptu bath.

She starts to wriggle, and I hold out my arms, thinking she wants to see her mama, but instead it’s all about Ranger. The two of them chase each other around the playpen that is my bedroom.

“Tetanus shot?” Noah asks again.

“A couple years ago,” I say, turning off the water. “I’m good. Anyway, nothing’s that deep.”

I stand, but he’s beside me in two steps, scooping me up once more and taking me and my dripping feet into the bedroom before carefully depositing me on the bed.

Even with the sting of my feet and the lingering terror of nearly losing my dog, my mind flits back to the last time we were in this bed together, him commanding and intense, me writhing and wanting…

Tonight, though, he’s all business as he unceremoniously pushes me back onto my elbows, lifting one of my feet, then the other, inspecting them thoroughly but gently.

“You’re fine,” he says finally, carefully setting my leg back down.

“I know,” I say, maneuvering back into a sitting position. “That’s what I said.”

Noah glances over at the dogs, and I follow his gaze, smiling when I see that Ranger’s helped himself to one of Dolly’s bones—or maybe it’s one of his bones, left here, I don’t even know anymore. The two of them are nestled side by side, contently gnawing on their respective bones, Dolly small and wet and fuzzy, Ranger big and a little dirty and protective.

When I turn my head back to Noah, I find him watching me.

“You okay?” he asks gruffly.

I swallow. “Yeah. I am. And so is Dolly, thanks to you.”

He shrugs.

“No, don’t do that,” I say. “You didn’t have to help me. It was above and beyond the call of duty.”

His eyes narrow slightly, and he comes to sit beside me slowly, as though he’s not sure he should or that he wants to. “Above the call of duty for whom?”

I frown. “What do you mean?”

“Did you mean it was above the call of duty for a property caretaker? Or a guy you’re sleeping with sometimes? Or…”

I desperately want him to finish the sentence, but he doesn’t.

I’m not even sure how I’d want him to. Noah Maxwell is not my boyfriend. I can’t imagine him as anyone’s boyfriend, truth be told.

And yet he’s more than a freaking caretaker.

And more than a lover too.

He’s…

Crap. I don’t know.

“You never kiss me,” I blurt out.

He stills before slowly turning his head to meet my gaze. “What?”

We’re sitting close on the bed, our hips a few inches apart, but not so close that my shortness of breath is warranted.

Still, I’ve come this far.

“You never kiss me,” I say, my voice small.

He blinks. “I kissed you that day in Home Depot. Thoroughly.”

I smile. “I know. But that wasn’t really you kissing me. That was you trying to stop that wretched woman from taking a picture of me. And let’s not forget that you told me you’d had better.”

He turns away, leaning forward, feet on the floor, elbows on his knees, as he stares at his hands. “That may not have been entirely true.”

My heart soars, but only for a minute, because it doesn’t change the fact that the guy’s got zero problems tweaking my nipples and screwing me senseless but avoids kissing me.

I want to know why.

We sit in silence for a few minutes before he turns his head, looking at me over his shoulder with an amused expression. “You’re going to be stubborn about this, huh?”

I lift my eyebrows, and he laughs, then looks back at his hands. “Fine, it’s like this. I got out of a relationship. Recently. And not the good kind.”

This is…not what I expected.

“Wait. Am I a rebound?”

“No,” he says quickly. “Maybe. I don’t know what this is. Fuck, do you?”

Good point.

Noah rubs his hands over his face before sitting up and turning his body to face me. “That night when I wanted to go down on you, you wouldn’t let me. Why?”

“Because it was too intimate,” I say, the answer rolling right off my tongue.

He stares at me, not saying a word, and abruptly I realize what his steady gaze is trying to tell me. “Wait—are you telling me that’s why you won’t kiss me? Because it’s too intimate? What are you, Pretty Woman?”

His brow furrows. “What?”

“Julia Roberts?”

Still nothing.

Men. Honestly.

“Never mind,” I mutter. I start to reach a hand toward him, but pull it back. “Noah, I…Crap. I really don’t know what to say right now.”

“It’s like this,” he says, running a hand over the back of his neck. “And fuck if I don’t feel ridiculous saying this, but you know how I’ve been telling you all along that I’m not here to stay? That there can’t be anything between us?”

“No, not at all,” I deadpan. “You’ve been super subtle about it.”

His mouth lifts a little. “Well, let’s just say I’ve been needing to convince myself. It’s been a while since I’ve done this.”

“Sex?”

“Casual sex,” he clarifies. “I need to do it my way.”

“With no kissing.”

“Not with a girl who’s leaving in a couple of weeks, no.”

I freeze. “What makes you think I’m leaving?”

His face is solemn. “Movie premiere, right?”

Crap. “How did you know about that?”

“Google.”

“You’ve been Googling me?”

He lifts two fingers with a small bit of space between them. Li’l bit.

I huff out an annoyed breath. “Well, that’s not fair. What if I Googled you?”

“Nothing worth seeing,” he says slowly. “But you are leaving in a few weeks, right?”

I want to tell him no. That I’m staying right here, and that he should absolutely kiss me senseless and watch Harry Potter movies with me, and that we should be making steak dinners together instead of eating frozen dinners alone.

But I can’t.

Because deep down I know I’m going to that movie premiere. Not because I have to, not because Barb will chew me out if I don’t, but because I want to.

I want to live my life to the fullest, milk my career for every ounce while I still can.

But I also want him. I want both. The guy and the career.

I want it all.

Even if I have to move in baby steps.

“I’m leaving in a couple of weeks,” I say, inching closer to him, my palm finding his knee and then moving up his thigh, feeling the muscle tense beneath my touch. “But I’m here now.”

“Jenny.”

My hand slides up over his fly, and I feel him harden. I close my eyes in relief, relishing the knowledge that it’s not just me who feels this instant connection. That I’m not the only one who can go from confused to frustrated to aroused at the smallest touch.

Noah shifts toward me, one hand sliding around behind my head. He tilts my face to his, and for a breathless moment I’m sure he’s going to kiss me, and I’ve never wanted anything so badly.

I feel his breath on my lips.

But at the last minute he shifts, just slightly, his lips barely brushing my cheek before sliding down to my neck.

I tell myself I’m not disappointed. But even though his mouth on my throat feels amazing, even as I feel my body respond, my heart is disappointed.

Noah pushes me gently back onto the bed, his palm running along the front of my tank top before skimming back up again, cupping my breast through my bra as he bends down and runs his tongue along the skin above the scoop neckline.

My disappointment is no match for my desire, and I make a contented noise, my hands sliding into his hair as his mouth moves over my chest, his hands skimming over my torso, my arms, my hips, and finally under my shirt.

I arch up, giving him access to the back clasp of my bra, letting him pull me into a sitting position so that he can peel off the shirt and bra, tossing both to the floor.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see my shirt land on Ranger, who gives us a disgusted look before scooting closer to Dolly, who allows it.

Then I forget all about the dogs, because Noah’s lips are on my breast, my nipple in his mouth, and his tongue is flicking, swirling in delicious strokes as he eases me back once more, his deft hands easily removing my shorts and thong.

Some part of me registers that I should be embarrassed about being completely naked while he’s completely clothed, but it doesn’t feel embarrassing.

It feels exactly right.

“I like the way you taste right here,” he says quietly, running his tongue along the underside of my breast. “Sweet. A little salty.”

I let out a breathy laugh. “Salty? Really?”

In response he slides up once more, his mouth fastening on the tip of my breast as he reaches down and strokes himself over his jeans, his eyes locked on mine.

It’s oddly erotic, me naked, him playing with himself as he licks me.

But after a minute or two, it’s not enough. I need to see him. Feel him. I tug at his shirt. “Off. All of it.”

There’s no playing coy tonight, and Noah stands, kicking off his shoes before stripping down, completely unembarrassed by each new bit of skin revealed to my hungry gaze.

He has a great body. I know this already, of course, but tonight it seems extra perfect, with its thick, corded muscles, the rough hair of his chest and arms catching the light from my nightstand.

He lifts his eyebrows. “Like what you see, princess?”

“Still deciding.”

He puts one knee on the bed as he leans toward me, palm skimming up my leg, stopping at midthigh. “Anything I can do to help the decision-making process?”

Holding his gaze, I reach down, taking his hand in mine and easing it up my thigh until his palm is cupping me. “Touch me. Like you did that first night.”

He groans, coming to lie alongside me, one arm slipping under my neck so that my face is nestled against his shoulder as his other hand nudges my legs farther apart, leaving room for his questing fingers.

And questing they are, dipping down slightly to my moisture before slicking back up again to rub at my clit.

I moan, spreading my legs farther, as the hand that was behind my neck comes around to cup my face, holding my head immobile as his fingers dip and explore.

“That’s it,” he whispers as I start to move against his hand. “Use me. Use my fingers to make you feel good.”

I bite my lip, wondering if he means what I think he means. I decide to go for it anyway, sliding my hand down to where his strokes me. Resting my hand on the back of his, I show him what I want. When I want him to sink a finger into me, when I want him to tease lightly, when I want him to circle.

“Jesus, Jenny,” he says as I grind myself against the heel of his hand. “How’d you get so hot?”

My only response is to grip his hand harder, pushing it into me as I arch my hips up, moving harder, faster until I explode with a sharp cry against his hand, spilling onto his fingers.

I’m not sure how long I flit there in that space in between orgasmic ecstasy and post-orgasmic bliss, but when I finally open my eyes again, he’s watching me. Quietly. Patiently.

I start to turn toward him, my hand sliding down his body, but he stops me, catching my hand with his, bringing it back up and trapping it between our chests.

“You didn’t sleep with that pop douchebag, did you? You couldn’t have. One night you told me you hadn’t slept with anyone in over a year.”

Wordlessly I shake my head.

“And none of the other guys that claim to have slept with you either.”

Another shake of my head.

“How many?” he asks softly.

I look away, but he uses his knuckle to nudge my chin back to him. “How many, princess?”

I lick my lips nervously. “Two.”

His eyes glitter with something fierce. “Who? When?”

“This is embarrassing,” I whisper.

He merely stares at me.

I sigh. “My high school boyfriend. Senior year. We broke up when he went to college and I pursued the music thing.”

“And the other?”

I wrinkle my nose. “I was nineteen. Maybe twenty. Went out with my friend to a club. First time, fake IDs, the whole clichéd bit, right down to too many tequila shots. Woke up in a guy’s bed, and…” I shrug. “That was number two.”

“Do you remember it?”

“There was a lot of tequila,” I admit, not feeling particularly proud of that night, but refusing to be completely ashamed of it either.

“So you’ve slept with one guy that you remember.”

I nod.

“And how was that?”

I laugh into his chest. “Oh my God, could you be nosier? I’m not asking you about how many women there’ve been.”

“Was he good?” Noah asks, his tone both curious and possessive.

“Not really,” I whisper. “It was at his parents’ house when they were at a dinner party. Neither of us really knew what we were doing. He was sweet, but it was…unremarkable.”

His fingers drift over my arm, his eyes trailing the motion. “No wonder you’re so fucking tight.”

“From curious to crude in two seconds straight,” I say. “Impressive.”

“That’s not what I meant,” he says softly, looking as tender as I’ve ever seen him. “I meant that you feel good. Right. Mine.”

He looks as stunned by the last word as I feel, and he glances away before I can read any more into it.

“I don’t care if you’ve slept with a hundred men,” he says gruffly. “You know that, right?”

I smile, trying to disguise how much his words mean to me. How much I needed to hear them. “If you say so. Is the inquisition over?” I ask.

“It is,” he says. “I have all the information I need to make my decision.”

“What is it that you’re deciding?”

“Whether or not to do this.” He pulls back, sliding down my body, slowly, kissing every part of me that he passes in his downward descent.

I’m no dummy. I know where he’s going, and my brain orders me to stop him, yet the words don’t come out.

But then he passes my throbbing center, lips skimming over my thighs, brushing the inside of my knees before moving back up again.

He looks up at me, his eyes so full of promise, so full of need, that my intention to tell him to stop dies on my lips.

“I won’t if you don’t want me to, Jenny,” he says. “I won’t move even an inch closer if you don’t say the words.”

My breathing quickens as I realize both the gift and the tremendous torture he’s handing me. It’s my choice. I can cross this line with Noah, a guy I’ve known only a few weeks, a guy I might never see again after I resume my normal life.

Or I can wait for…

For who?

For what?

Somewhere in my heart, I know that it doesn’t get better than what I’m feeling right now. Not just the physical pleasure, although that’s certainly there, in a major way. But the way he watches me when he thinks I’m not looking, the thoroughness with which he takes care of me and Dolly, the quiet goodness of him…

I want this. I want it all with him, no matter how short our time together.

“I want it,” I say, my teeth digging into my bottom lip so hard I think I might draw blood.

“You want what?” he says, his breath warm on my core.

“Noah.”

He pulls away. “It’s got to be your choice, princess. I’m not taking anything you don’t want to give.”

“I want to give,” I say, a little desperately. “I’ve wanted it since that day you told me to imagine your tongue on me.”

He freezes for a second before a smile slowly crosses his face. “So you have been thinking of that.”

I nod.

“Me too,” he whispers huskily.

I hold his gaze, pleading, but he won’t let me off the hook. “What do you want, Jenny?”

I close my eyes and leap. “Lick me.”

“Good girl,” he says with a quiet chuckle as he lowers himself to the mattress once more, supporting his weight on his elbows as his broad shoulders nudge my thighs apart and I let them fall open.

I don’t know what I’m expecting, but it’s not for him to slide his hands under my butt, lifting me up so I’m like a feast to be devoured.

“You want me to stop at any time, say the word, Jenny Dawson.”

And then he lowers his mouth to me, his tongue stroking up the center, licking me with a thoroughness that makes us both groan.

We both know I’m never going to want him to stop. Not ever.

Noah destroys me. His tongue and lips are everywhere, his big hands holding me immobile as he explores every inch of my sensitive flesh, his tongue moving in hot, wet strokes.

Time disappears. The room disappears. There’s nothing but his mouth, his tongue, his fingers, and yet I’m aware that there’s something more. Something I can’t quite…

Noah’s lips move up, and he sucks my clit. There it is.

“Yes,” I whisper, my hands finding his hair. “Yes, yes, yes.”

He groans against me, his tongue moving faster, sucking harder until I’m nothing but screaming, bucking orgasm beneath his mouth.

To his credit, he doesn’t gloat when it’s over. He merely rests his head against my stomach, letting me catch my breath before planting a gentle kiss right below my belly button. It’s so reverent, so lovely, that I realize I haven’t thought once about the damn belly pooch.

I feel beautiful.

Noah makes me feel beautiful.

He moves up my body, and I spread my legs, expecting him to enter me, but to my surprise he rolls onto his back and takes me with him so I’m on top with my knees on either side of his hips.

“Here’s your other lesson,” he says gruffly, palms sliding over the globes of my ass.

“Actually, I’ve done it this way before,” I admit. “My first boyfriend said it was the most comfortable position for virgins, so…” I shrug.

He lifts his eyebrows. “And how was it?”

I lift my hand and wiggle it. So-so.

“Well then,” he says, hands sliding to my waist and lifting me up. “We can do better than that.”

I gasp in shock as he pulls me down hard onto him, and I see from the glint in his eyes that’s exactly what he had in mind. I realize with glee that whatever Noah and I may be turning into, we’re still those two competitive enemies determined to outdo each other in matters of seduction.

Tonight he’s winning, and he knows it.

Time to turn the tables.

Channeling the sexy, wanton creature who zip-tied Noah to the bed, I narrow my eyes right back at him and slide my hands up to his shoulders, leaning slightly to find the right position.

And then I move.

I lift up slowly, teasingly, before thrusting down hard. My way. Not his.

He gasps, his eyes shuddering closed as his grip tightens. “Wait.”

Hell no.

My nails dig into his shoulders as I lift again and again, thrusting down on him, using him as my own sexual plaything.

Eventually I figure out that circling my hips slightly is best for both of us, and I grind on him, alternating between slow and languorous and fast and frantic.

“Jenny.” His hands are on my breasts now, as though he can’t decide whether to hold on for dear life or torment me. “Jenny.”

I lean forward farther, dangling my nipple above his mouth, and I cry out when he takes the bait, sucking me into his mouth as I move more quickly, my hips circling faster and faster, sensing that he’s close, knowing that he needs…

Noah’s yell is low and hoarse as he bucks up beneath me, spilling warmth inside me as he clenches helplessly at my back.

My face drops to his shoulder, and I feel a little wound up, the experiment in riding Noah Maxwell riling my lady parts all over again, but mostly deeply satisfied that he came to completion.

That I did that. Me.

For him. On him. To him.

His hand smooths over my back, and I don’t think I’m imagining that it’s shaking just a little bit. “The things you do to me…”

I lift my head and give him a slow smile. “Yeah?”

His eyes are surprisingly serious as he lifts a hand, resting a palm to my cheek. “Yeah.”

Noah’s eyes are on my lips, and I know he wants to kiss me. I can feel it. Please.

His head moves slightly downward and my breath catches, but at the last minute he freezes.

Then with a movement so fast, so confident that I think maybe I imagined the moment before, I’m on my back again, my arms pinned on either side of my head as he gives me a wicked smile.

“Now, princess, got any more of those zip ties?”

—

A long time later, my wrists are just sore enough to give me pleasant memories of the thoroughly depraved things he did to my body, Noah’s arm is wrapped low on my waist, and the dogs are doing their best to zap all the romance out of the moment, Ranger lying on his back on the other side of Noah, Dolly curled in a tiny ball between our two heads on the pillow.

The moment is perfect.

Almost perfect.

But as I lie there staring at the ceiling, I can’t help but lift my fingers to my lips, wondering why he won’t kiss me.

Wondering if he ever will.

Noah

If you’d told me a month ago I’d be taking Jenny Dawson on a date to a swanky Italian restaurant in Baton Rouge, I’d have laughed in your face.

I’d have told you that guys like me don’t date girls like her. I’d have told you that I don’t want to date a girl like her.

Hell, I’m not even sure it is a date.

But as she sits across from me, relentlessly asking the waiter a thousand questions about the wine list, I’m struck not only by the realization that it feels like a date, but by the realization that I want it to be one.

Fuck this girl and her addictive everything.

“Jenny,” I interrupt when she opens her mouth to ask what exactly “smoky” means as it pertains to red wine. “Get the Montepulciano.”

Her nose wrinkles. “The what?”

“Excellent choice, sir,” the server says in relief. “And for you?”

“I’ll have the same.”

She leans forward. “What did you just order me?”

“It’s good. If you don’t like it, you can send it back. But I needed to save that poor waiter from your inquisition.”

Her eyes narrow as she reaches toward the breadbasket. “How do you know so much about wine, anyway?”

“I don’t.” It’s a lie. I know plenty about wine, and she’s obviously caught on to that.

Alarm bells go off in my head.

“You know a lot more than a guy who grew up in a trailer park and spends his days doing carpentry and woodworking is likely to know. And yes, I know I’m stereotyping, but you just ordered for me like I was the little woman, so let’s go with it and say we’re even.”

I lift my water glass and don’t quite meet her eyes. “My father was…uppity.”

She doesn’t even pause in her chewing except to drag the bread through the saucer of seasoned olive oil in the middle of the table. “Go on.”

I hesitate, wondering how much I can tell her without giving myself away. Without revealing that I may have told a not-so-insignificant lie about my identity. Without revealing that I’m Preston Walcott and that I’m her landlord, and oh, by the way, I’ve been lying to you for over a month.

“He was married to someone else when he met my mother,” I say, reaching for a piece of bread, even though talking about my father tends to make me lose my appetite. “She did a part-time stint as a housekeeper. His housekeeper. Couldn’t have been more of a cliché if she was the nanny, although I found out later he slept with the nanny too.”

“Your nanny?”

I snort. “No. I was fourteen before I even knew my dad existed.”

“Oh,” she said quietly. “Your brother’s nanny.”

I nod. “Far as I can tell, Caleb was my dad and Andi’s—that’s my father’s ex—everything. He was some sort of musical prodigy. He got sick when he was in junior high. A rare cancer that just destroyed his body. And my father.”

“When did you come into the picture?” she asks quietly.

I wait until our server sets the wineglasses in front of us before answering. “I was the stand-in.”

She shakes her head, not understanding.

“Other than child support payments, my father only came into my life after Caleb died. The heir was gone, so…” I spread my hands to the side. “The spare.”

“Wow. Wow. That must have been jarring.”

You have no idea.

I pick up my wine. “I got by.”

Jenny rolls her eyes. “I get it. You’re a big tough man. But it had to be an adjustment.”

I take a drink of wine and relent just a little. Hard to deny those big blue eyes anything, especially when she’s wearing a little black dress and fuck-me heels. Even with the ugly orange wig, she’s hot as hell.

“It was jarring,” I admit. “Like I said, my mom and I had a tiny trailer. It was small for the two of us, even smaller when she had a boyfriend, which was mostly always. My dad’s house, by comparison, was huge. Andi was gone by that point—Caleb’s death tore their already shaky marriage apart at the seams.”

She sips her own wine, her eyes never leaving mine. “Wait, so you went from living at your mom’s trailer park to…a mansion?”

“Sort of,” I say with a forced smile. “My father was insistent I attend prep school, and it was the one thing he and my mom ever agreed on. So weekdays were spent with my dad, weekends with my mom. Standard child-of-divorce fare, except…”

“Except your dad was a stranger,” she finishes for me.

I shrug. “Yeah. That.”

“Was it terrible?” she asks.

I smile, this time for real, because I love that she doesn’t beat around the bush, just blurts everything out, honest and earnest. “Not so much. I had a friend back in the trailer park who was there for me no matter what.”

“Finn,” she says, understanding immediately.

I nod.

“What about at the prep school? Did you have friends there?”

I blow out a breath, debating whether it’s better to tell her sort of the truth or avoid the topic altogether. I go with the first option.

“I was lucky enough to find another friend there. The lifelong kind.”

I watch her face as understanding settles in. “Ohhhhh. That’s how you got connected with the Walcotts.”

Noah, you fucking ass. Tell her.

But I can’t. Not when she’s looking at me all trusting and pretty, not when I’m so close to being happy, truly happy, for the first time in so long.

I let myself be selfish.

One more night, I promise myself.

She’ll be gone in a week anyway. I’ve been trying for days not to think of it. Not when we wake up and have coffee in bed together, not when I listen to the soft hum of her voice while I work all day, not when we cook together, or laugh together, or sleep together.

But the thought’s lodged in my head now, and I have to know.

“Are you still going to that movie premiere?” I blurt out.

She pauses in the process of ripping a piece of bread in half before slowly placing it back on her plate. To her credit, Jenny looks me right in the eye when she tells me. “Yes.”

I manage to withhold my wince, but there’s nothing to stop the sharp falling feeling in my stomach. I’m not surprised. I don’t blame her. It’s just a very real reminder of what I’ve known all along:

We’re from two different worlds.

The world Jenny lives in is exactly the one I walked away from Yvonne to avoid. Pretense and black tie and posing for cameras.

No, it’s that tenfold.

Jenny’s music is good. It’s exceptional. She’s going to be nominated for Grammy and CMA Awards for a long time to come. Hell, who knows, she could become one of those Hollywood crossovers, and this premiere could be far from her last.

“Okay,” she says, rubbing her palms together nervously. “I want to ask you something. I mean, I was going to get you drunk first, but then I remembered you’re driving. Anyway, there’s no time like the present. But you have to promise not to freak out, and I swear I won’t hold it against you, and—”

“Princess. Spit it out.”

She takes a deep breath. “I want you to come to the movie premiere with me.”

I freeze with the wineglass at my lips. I put the glass down clumsily, the base of it catching on the bread plate; I barely manage to right it in time. “Sorry?”

“It wouldn’t cost you a penny,” she rushes to say. “I could pay for everything. Your plane ticket. Your transportation to the airport. Your transportation from the airport, your tux, your food, everything.”

I can only stare at her. “You can’t be fucking serious.”

Her eyes cloud at my sharp tone. “I know it’s sudden, and weird.”

“Weird doesn’t begin to explain it. I’ve known you for two fucking months.”

She blinks. “Yes, but—”

“No but,” I snap. “Jenny, where exactly did we cross wires? I’ve been telling you since the very beginning that we can’t be a thing.”

“Yes, but that was before—”

My shock is making me mean, but the brief moment of temptation I felt when she asked makes me meaner. I can’t afford to be led by my cock down a path I don’t want. Not again.

“Before what?” I say, leaning forward. “I haven’t even kissed you. Not really.”

Her shoulders jerk a little at that, and I see her swallow. “I know that. Trust me. I know that.”

You’re an ass. You’re a fucking ass.

“Then what did you think? That I’d want to get on a plane, fly across the country, and be your dress-up doll for the evening?”

“Noah, stop. You can just say no—you don’t have to make it ugly.”

She’s right. She’s absolutely right.

But come on, what the hell is she thinking? I’ve worked so damn hard to keep us on the same page, to make sure neither of us gets attached to something that’s not going to last, and—

She’s crying, and the truth is right there all over her gorgeous, heartbroken face.

I failed. She’s already attached. Jenny Dawson doesn’t just want me as a plaything for this movie premiere. She wants me as her boyfriend for all the premieres.

I take a gulp of wine as I try to figure out how I feel about that.

I can’t figure it out. My chest is tight, my throat is tight, I want to—

“Preston?”

I freeze.

Holy. Shit.

I turn around slowly, willing the voice to belong to someone else. Anyone else.

Anyone other than my ex-fiancée.

Who’s staring—no, glaring—at Jenny.

“What is this?” Yvonne asks. “Preston, who is this?”

“Preston?” Jenny asks, giving me a bewildered look. There’s no accusation there, which makes me realize she thinks Yvonne is the one who’s mistaken. I feel my heart crack in two at her blind trust.

Trust I don’t deserve.

“I’m Jen,” Jenny says with a little smile, clearly wanting to smooth things over with a riled-looking Yvonne. She starts to lift a hand to her wig before catching herself and extending it to Yvonne. “And you are…?”

“His fiancée,” Yvonne snaps, ignoring Jenny’s outstretched hand.

Jenny recoils as though someone’s struck her. Then her gaze slowly drops to Yvonne’s left hand, where my ex is still wearing the ring I gave her.

Jenny’s eyes drift slowly to me, and I know the second she meets my eyes that she’s figured out the truth. Or at least enough of the truth to leave me truly, utterly fucked.

Deservedly so.

“Preston?” Jenny whispers again, her tone different this time, as the truth settles around her.

“I see you’ve picked a real brainiac as your revenge plan, sweetie,” Yvonne says, placing a hand on my shoulder. I brush it off, but it’s too late. Jenny’s eyes are boring a hole into the spot where Yvonne’s hand rested.

“I’ll explain,” Yvonne coos in a saccharine voice worthy of Hollywood’s nastiest villains. “The guy you’ve been screwing is my fiancé, Noah Preston Maxwell Walcott Jr. He goes by Preston, except when he’s slumming it.”

Yvonne’s gaze rakes over Jenny, and the slur is clear.

“That’s enough,” I say, slamming my fist on the table, long past caring about causing a scene. I stand, grabbing for Yvonne’s elbow, but she flits away, eyes still on Jenny.

“I made a mistake,” Yvonne says. “I had a little indiscretion, and Preston here wanted his revenge. Guess you’re it.”

Yvonne keeps yapping, something about having the wedding invitation to prove it, but Jenny’s stopped listening, as have I.

We stare at each other, her in righteous anger, me in mute misery.

“Jenny—”

“Don’t.” She holds up a hand. “Just don’t. You’re the one I emailed all those weeks ago asking to rent the house?”

I nod.

“And that guy…the other Preston?”

“My friend. Edward Vaughn.”

She lets out a little laugh. “That’s your friend from prep school.”

I can only nod.

She glances at Yvonne, who has finally quieted down, although she looks highly peeved now that she’s no longer the star of the show.

“And you’re engaged,” Jenny says, looking back at me. “I’ve been sleeping with an engaged guy.”

“No,” I say, stepping toward her and reaching out a hand. “The rest of it’s true, and I’m a shit and a liar. But I’m not engaged. I ended it with Yvonne.”

“Then why do I have a wedding invitation in my purse?” Yvonne taunts.

“Because you’re a fucking psycho!” I shout before turning my attention back to Jenny, feeling a little desperate now. “Please, Jenny. Hate me for the rest of it, but believe that I was single when we…hooked up.”

But Jenny’s not listening to my shitty apology. She’s too busy looking around the room.

Because everyone else in the room is looking at her.

Too late, I realize why.

Jenny’s wig has slipped, revealing the unmistakable spill of her blond hair over her forehead and down over one slim shoulder.

“Oh my God, is that Jenny Dawson?” someone whispers.

Everywhere I look, idiot gawkers are pulling out their cellphones and taking pictures of a frozen Jenny.

Run, I want to scream at her.

Even more than that, I want to shield her with my body, scoop her into my arms and kiss her, not just to protect her like I did that day in the home center, but to show her that I…

My thought scatters before it can form as Jenny slowly lifts a trembling hand and pulls the wig all the way off.

Her chin is high. There’s no sign of tears.

“Oh my God, I can’t believe she did it again,” an old biddy sitting on my left says, loud enough for Jenny to hear. “That’s his fiancée.”

I see Jenny stiffen, and I frown in confusion, getting the distinct suspicion I’m missing something.

Then Jenny looks at me, her eyes utterly broken and desperate, and I realize the magnitude of what’s happening here.

Jenny came to Louisiana to escape. To hide from the paparazzi and the fickle public that turned on her the second she ceased to be their perfect angel and became a perceived home wrecker.

Perceived, because she didn’t sleep with that shithead Shawn Bates before.

But she did sleep with me—she all but announced it.

And judging from the whispers around us, it’s all the confirmation these assholes need.

Jenny fixes a brilliant, bright smile on her face before giving a low dramatic curtsy, as though thanking them all for the chance to perform, before turning that broken smile on me. “Goodbye, Preston.”

“Jenny—”

She picks up her purse and walks toward the front of the restaurant, not looking to either side, and definitely not looking back.

It takes every bit of self-control in my body not to run after her, not to throw myself at her feet.

But there’s something I have to do first.

I turn to Yvonne, and she takes a step back from the rage on my face. “You said you have our wedding invitation, darling?” I ask. “May I see it?”

Apparently she’s too busy reeling from the scene that just went down to think clearly, because she slowly pulls it out of her purse and hands it to me, her gaze trailing after Jenny.

“You slept with Jenny Dawson?”

I ignore her. Knowing Yvonne, she’s probably rethinking her strategy. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if she still tried to coax me down the aisle, then encouraged me to keep Jenny as my mistress just so she could benefit from the notoriety.

Too damn bad.

I take the invitation, which is heavy as shit. Real gold indeed.

“Hey,” I say, turning to a thirtysomething couple out for what was probably a nice date night before all the drama started.

They both turn their phones on me, wide-eyed.

“You’re getting this on video, right?” I ask, gesturing at their phones, trying to hide my disgust.

The man doesn’t move, but the woman manages to nod.

“Great.” I hold up the invitation in front of the lens for a few moments, making sure that there’ll be plenty of time to read the names. Then, without preamble, I proceed to tear the invitation into six pieces before letting them flutter to the ground.

I look directly into the lens. “I haven’t been engaged to that woman in more than two months. And she was cheating on me for more than a year before that.”

I hear Yvonne gasp in outrage, and I lift my eyes to meet those of the woman holding the phone. “Do me a solid and put that on YouTube, would you?”

It won’t do Jenny any good, but I have to do something. I have to try.

Jenny.

I walk out of the restaurant, not bothering to glance back at a still sputtering Yvonne. I burst onto the sidewalk, looking in every direction and not seeing her.

I’m sprinting by the time I get to the truck—except the truck’s not there.

I lift my hand to my face as I remember she offered to keep my bulky truck keys in her purse while we were at dinner.

Fuck.

I pull out my cellphone.

She’s long gone in my truck, well on her way home by now, but Finn or Vaughn can give me a ride. I can catch up with her back at the house, and…

My hand drops to my side before I make the call.

And what?

I can catch up with her at home, maybe, assuming she doesn’t grab the cotton ball and hit the road. Which I wouldn’t blame her for doing, even though the thought of it leaves me feeling oddly hollow.

But even if I do make it home before she’s gone, what the hell am I going to do?

Ask her to stay? She’s Jenny fucking Dawson. She’s a movie star, a Grammy winner, an international sensation, and she’s only twenty-two. Her star is blindingly bright, and she’s just barely getting started.

You could go with her, a little voice nags.

Except I can’t.

For the first time in my life, I’ve finally figured out how to build a life that will make me happy. It’s not quite Vaughn’s two-kids version, but it’s clear to me now.

I want a contractor business, maybe building furniture on the side.

I want quiet and beer and work boots, and I want to buy my own truck after I return Finn’s, and I’d be perfectly happy to never have to wear a tie again in my life.

Most of all, I want anonymity. I want the simple, quiet life I had before I was Preston Walcott, heir to all sorts of shit I never asked for.

A life with Jenny would be the very opposite of all that.

And what about Ranger? Stupid Dolly fits easily into a purse, but I can’t be taking a Labrador on a plane or moving him around every time Jenny gets a burr up her ass to live in Hollywood or Nashville or Baton Rouge or Timbuktu.

And even if she did keep coming back to me…

Do I even want that?

I dig the heels of my hands into my eye sockets. It feels both ironic and unfair that my very reason for bunking with Jenny Dawson in the first place was to get some perspective on my life. I’ve spent my entire adulthood living by someone else’s rules. Torn between Noah and Preston, torn between the memory of my mom and the legacy of my dad.

Not once did anyone ask what I wanted.

Not once did I ask myself.

Hell, I couldn’t even commit to a name until recently. I was Preston to the people who wanted me to be Preston, Noah to the people who wanted me to be Noah.

And now…

Now I know.

I’m Noah Maxwell, and I want a simple life with a dog and never to have to wear a fucking suit and tie, or to go into an office, or schmooze at a charity event with people who make my skin crawl.

Now I’ve finally figured it out, and I’m supposed to give it up for what?

To be Jenny Dawson’s guy?

Just like I was Finn’s guy when I was at his pub, my mom’s guy at the trailer park, Vaughn’s guy at the country club, Dad’s guy at the office, Yvonne’s guy everywhere else?

I don’t want to belong to anyone but myself. I don’t want to live anyone’s life but my own.

And I do not fit into Jenny Dawson’s life. I’ve known it from the very beginning.

But damned if it didn’t feel like she was just starting to fit into mine.

Jenny

“That’s good, Jenny. Let’s just do it one more time, that last chorus, ‘kay?” the producer says, leaning forward to speak into the microphone.

I give him a thumbs-up through the glass window, adjusting the headphones on my head slightly, since they start to squish my head after a while, and I’ve definitely been at this for a while.

Four straight days, in fact.

My label was thrilled to hear that I’d come back from the dead and was insistent on recording my new tracks as soon as possible.

A part of me knows the whole thing is rough, but I also know my music, and when it’s right, it’s right.

And this album is good. More than good. I can tell from the victory smiles on my team’s faces that they agree.

“Predator,” in particular, has been a favorite, already getting plenty of chatter about being my first single.

Somehow I made it through the recording of that one without so much as a wobble, but then again, that song is an angry one. It’s about Noah, yes, but I wrote it before I fell in love with the damn fool.

Before I saw beneath the rough growls and jerk comments to the guy beneath. The one who was just a little vulnerable beneath all that alpha A-hole nonsense.

Before I knew he was a liar and a user and a whole bunch of other things that the English language hasn’t even come up with words for yet.

But I’m gonna come up with them, and they’re going to be good.

The producer gives me the signal, and as requested, I sing the last chorus of the song I’ve tentatively titled “Louisiana Nights.”

No point in hiding the fact that I was hunkered down in Louisiana. That secret got out of the bag real quick. Right around the time Noah’s—no, sorry—Preston’s fiancée dropped her little bomb. In an instant, the life that was so close to getting back in order was turned upside down.

My face? Back in the tabloids.

My name? Back through the mud.

But, crazily enough, I care less than I ever did before. With Shawn, I was annoyed at being accused of something I didn’t do. Now I’m being accused of something I did do, and that distinction is oddly freeing. It doesn’t feel like gossiping or trash talk so much as it is stating the facts.

Preston Walcott did lie to me about his identity.

He was engaged to a bitchy Baton Rouge socialite.

I did sleep with him.

The fact that his engagement ended before we hooked up was just semantics. To the world, and to me.

I mean, sure, I believe him. Like everyone else, I watched the now infamous YouTube video where the whole debacle went down, right up to the very end where he tore up the wedding invitation.

But it sparked nothing in me.

Not a shred of emotion.

That’s been pretty much the norm in the week since I’ve left Louisiana. I’ve been—numb. Utterly, bone-chillingly numb.

My parents are freaking out about it, although they keep pretending everything’s fine. I’ve moved back in with them for the short term, although I escape to Amber’s every now and then to get some breathing room. My mother is one of those stereotypical types that thinks she can fix everything with food, and if I see one more biscuit, I’m going to hurl.

Of course, Amber’s smoothies aren’t much better. She claimed the one this morning was banana and chocolate. Failed to mention the Swiss chard she stuck in there. #Fail.

“This is sounding really good, Jen. I’m super pleased,” Tatum says with a wide smile.

I smile back, but it feels brittle.

“You want to call it a wrap for today? Maybe tomorrow we can tackle ‘Not That Kind of Girl’ with the lyric changes we talked about.”

I nod, starting to take off the headphones, but I stop at the last minute.

“Actually, Tatum…”

“ ’Sup?”

I suck in a deep breath for courage.

“There is one more song,” I force myself to say.

“Oh?” He frowns, glancing down at his list.

“It’s not on there. I’ve been working on it for the past couple of days. It’ll be the last add-on, I swear.”

“Not a problem, sweetheart. You know we’ll take as many songs as you can give us. Let’s do a run-through first. You grab the guitar, I’ll get the team in here—”

“Actually, no,” I say before he can move away. “This one releases as is. No changes.”

He frowns a little. I don’t play that card often. Once on each album, maybe. Musicians who write their own music these days are rare, and even those of us who do aren’t opposed to suggestions…most of the time.

But this one is different.

This one is mine, all mine.

Well, mine and Noah’s.

“All right, sweetheart, let’s hear it,” Tatum says, pulling up a chair on the other side of the glass as an assistant brings me my guitar.

I take a deep breath as I put the strap over my shoulder, pulling up a stool and settling in.

Now, don’t you freak out on me, thinking I’m singing a love song for a lying jerk like Noah Maxwell.

It’s a ballad, yes, but not above love.

This is a farewell. A song about goodbye.

“What are we calling this, babe?” Tatum asks, pencil ready.

I swallow. “It’s called ‘Shoulda Kissed Me.’ ”

He nods as he jots it down, then motions for me to continue. Whenever you’re ready.

I’m ready. Ready to say goodbye.

You know that numbness I talked about? The nothingness that has been following me around since I left Louisiana?

It’s gone now. It all fades away as I lose myself in the song.

By the time I finish the song, tears are streaming down my face, and I don’t bother to wipe them away.

Tatum looks a little stunned, as does everyone else in the booth.

He slowly reaches out a finger to switch the microphone back on, leaning down to speak into it. “Congratulations, babe. I think we just found our lead single. Any objections to rushing this one to the airwaves? People miss you, babe.”

Whatever. Don’t care.

The one person I actually want to miss me probably doesn’t even notice I’m gone.

Noah

I’m having déjà vu.

The bad kind.

My head’s under a sink, nasty water keeps leaking on my face from an ancient pipe, and my two best friends are squabbling like a married couple.

“Somehow this feels unfair,” Finn says, going to the window of the bedroom and glaring down at my new Ford. “I lend you my truck for two fucking months, and how do you repay me? You get a better truck.”

“I didn’t hear you complaining when you were borrowing a car whose air-conditioning actually worked for that entire time,” Vaughn says. I glance down at my feet to see Ranger’s tail going crazy, and I know Vaughn’s just shared a piece of his nasty organic protein bar.

“Be honest, Country Club, how old were you when the doctor pulled the silver spoon out of your ass? I think they waited too long.”

“You know that things like AC and toilet paper are no longer considered luxuries, right?” Vaughn asks.

“Wish I woulda known that when I used all those fancy papers from your briefcase to wipe my ass.”

“Oh my God,” I mutter, putting the crook of my arm over my face in irritation. “Guys. I can’t today. Shut the fuck up.”

Finn crouches down. “Dude, are you crying?”

I kick at him, connecting with his kneecap, but he takes it like a man and kicks me back.

“Oh, good, flashbacks to third grade,” Vaughn mutters.

“Why, you have a wedgie?” Finn asks. “I’m guessing that happened a lot in your youth. Hey, how’s your Labradoodle search going?”

I give the wrench one last twist, holding my breath, then releasing it when I realize the leak’s fixed.

“Didn’t you already fix this?” Vaughn asks as I scoot out from under the sink.

“Not this one.”

“And we’re fixing this one now because…?”

“Because,” I say, standing and brushing off my hands, “nobody’s going to buy this dump if the plumbing leaks.”

“News flash, bro—nobody’s going to buy this dump anyway,” Vaughn says.

Finn studies me. “Thought you were keeping it.”

“Yeah, well, that was before,” I say, bending down to load my tools back into the box. Ranger licks my face, and I give him a distracted pet.

“Before the incident?”

“How about we not call it that?” I snap.

“Sorry. The debacle,” Finn says.

Vaughn staggers back. “Debacle? Big word for a little brain. But yeah, what are we calling it?” he asks me.

“Nothing. Because we’re not talking about it,” I say.

It’s been nearly two weeks since Jenny disappeared from this house. From this state.

From my life.

It took me exactly twenty minutes of being here alone without her to realize I couldn’t do it. I still want the solitude and the fixer-upper, but not this one. There’s too much of her here.

Too much of us.

“You talk to her?” Vaughn asks.

I glance up. “What part of ‘we’re not talking about it’ went over your head?”

“What part of ‘quit being a moron’ isn’t getting through to yours?” Finn says, taking Vaughn’s side. For once.

I drop the wrench back into the box with a clatter and stand, looking between the two of them. “What exactly is it that you two want me to do? Chase her down? Send her flowers? I lied to her, and she left. End of story.”

“If that was the end of the story, then I wouldn’t be counting the number of words you’ve said all week on one hand.”

“Let me simplify it for you,” I say. “Here’s two words, conveyed with one finger.”

I flip him off, then start to move toward the door, but they both move with me, blocking my exit. Hell, even Ranger seems to be in on this, although he at least gives me an apologetic wag.

“What is this?” I grumble, looking between their too-innocent expressions. “An intervention?”

“Pretty much,” Finn says, pulling out his cellphone. “There’s something you need to hear.”

Vaughn nods in agreement, and I resist the urge—barely—to knock them both over the head with the toolbox. Still, they’re my best friends, and they’re right about me being shitty company the past week.

Jenny leaving was the best thing, at least in the long haul. The inevitable thing. I know that. But somehow it’s so much shittier than I ever imagined. I don’t eat. Don’t sleep.

I can’t listen to the radio because it reminds me of her, can’t read because it reminds me that the last time I tried to read a book she burst out of the closet and tied me to the bed.

I can’t even watch TV, because the girl’s everywhere. They just announced that she’d be singing at the Super Bowl halftime show next year, for God’s sake. Now the girl is even ruining football.

I wait impatiently for Finn to do whatever he’s doing on his phone, and I’m a little surprised when he starts playing the opening notes of a quiet song.

“You’ve heard this?” Finn asks me, giving a quick glance at Vaughn. Never a good sign.

“No, why?” I say.

Then I know.

“Turn it off,” I say, the second I hear her voice.

I try to move around them, but Finn’s hand finds the center of my chest, shoving me back, his face angry. “For fuck’s sake, man, just listen.”

I do, because apparently it’s the only way to get out of this damned room, out of this house, but I try to shut myself off. From the sound of her voice, the strum of her guitar, and the memory of the way she looked when she played, when she sang.

But as we’ve established, I’m physically incapable of blocking out Jenny Dawson. The song seems to seep into my very bones before she even gets to the chorus.

I frown, realizing it’s a song I haven’t heard before, even though I thought I’d heard all of her new album.

“Start it again,” I say, needing to hear it from the beginning.

He complies, and it hits me why this song is so different. It’s sad. Haunting. Her other songs wavered between romantic and flirtatious, angry and sassy. But never sad.

And this one…

This one feels like Jenny’s heart.

You tell me I can’t stay, that we’re better off this way…

I bend, setting the toolbox on the floor.

I’d’ve made a place for you, if just you’d asked me to…

I cross my arms, trying to block it out. The song. Her. But I can’t. The lyrics keep coming, and it’s like a barrage. As though that damn beautiful voice is reaching through Finn’s fucking phone and trying to kill me.

I didn’t need a ring. I’d’ve been happy with the swing…

“I don’t get that part,” Finn whispers. “Sounds kinky, though.”

Vaughn shoves his shoulder.

“Turn it off,” I say gruffly.

“You just told me to restart it.”

“Off!”

Neither friend complies, and my chest feels tight. I reach out to swipe the phone out of Finn’s hand, but he pulls it out of reach, though not before I catch the last bit of lyrics.

You shoulda kissed me, ’cause I had something to say. You shoulda kissed me…I would have told you, and now you’ll never know. You shoulda kissed me…

The song fades out, and I make another grab for the phone. “What the fuck? Where’s the rest of the song?”

“That was the end.”

“Bullshit!”

“It was the end!” Finn shouts back, turning the phone around so I can see. “Also, I thought you wanted me to turn it off.”

“Don’t be an ass,” Vaughn murmurs. “Preston—”

“Noah,” I roar.

He holds up a hand. “I’m sorry. Noah. I know you think you’re better off without her, but—”

“What was she going to say?” I interrupt. “What the fuck kind of song ends on a damn cliff-hanger?”

Vaughn sighs wearily. “I think you know full well what she would have said. Even dipshit Finn here can figure it out.”

Finn nods. “I can think real good.”

I ignore their antics, pressing the heels of my hands against my eyes. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Fuck you guys.”

“Calm down. You would have heard it eventually.”

He’s right. I would have heard it eventually, and it would have ripped my fucking heart out.

You know how I said Jenny’s voice sounded like her heart?

I’m wrong.

Her voice sounds like my heart.

And I want it back. I want her back.

“Aaaannnd…there it is,” Finn says softly, holding out a hand to Vaughn, who irritably slaps a twenty in his palm.

I point. “What’s that?”

“We made a bet on how long it would take you to figure out that you’re in love with the famous girl.”

“I’m not—”

I break off abruptly. The denial doesn’t roll off my tongue like I think it will.

“As we thought,” Vaughn says, pulling an envelope out of the inside pocket of his suit jacket.

He hands it to me, and I take it tentatively. “And this is…?”

“Plane ticket.”

My head snaps up.

“To Hollywood,” Finn says.

“LAX,” Vaughn clarifies, just to be a prick. “Hollywood doesn’t have an airport.”

For once Finn doesn’t rise to the bait. He’s watching me. “The premiere’s tomorrow, man. She invited you, right?”

Not one of my better moves, telling these two clowns about that. I blame the copious amounts of whisky consumed the night she left.

“Yeah, but that was before all the shit went down. Pretty sure the invitation doesn’t still stand.”

“Which makes it better,” Vaughn says. “You can surprise her.”

I stare at him blankly. “Surprise her with what?”

“Jesus.” Vaughn rubs his forehead. “Here’s your plan, and if she ever asks you, you thought of this all by yourself. You use that plane ticket that your good friend Vaughn bought you. You arrive at LAX, where a car will pick you up and take you to a hotel, also paid for by your good friend Vaughn. A tux will be waiting. Convenient, actually, that you got your measurements taken for the wedding before actually calling off the wedding. You’ll be driven to the premiere in another car, which Vaughn paid for—”

I hold up a hand, looking over at Finn. “What did you pay for?”

Finn points to Ranger. “I’m watching your dog.”

“Yeah, because that’s even,” Vaughn says.

“Have you smelled this dog’s farts?” Finn asks. “Trust me, we’re even.”

“So what happens at the premiere?” I ask, feeling both ready to puke and like I could take on the entire world just from the sheer possibility of having another chance.

“Okay, some of this has to be on you,” Vaughn says, exasperated. “I won’t be there to hold your hand. I connected with Jenny’s friend Amber—who sounds hot, by the way—who connected me with Jenny’s publicist, who is thrilled at the thought of you making a surprise appearance. She says that whichever way it goes, it’ll be front-page news.”

Definitely leaning more toward the barf side of things now.

“The publicist will take care of all the coordination. All you have to figure out is what to say when you see her.”

“You got that part figured out, right?” Finn says, clamping a hand on my shoulder.

I stare down at the plane ticket. Los Angeles.

Fuck. I must really love this girl.

“Actually,” I say slowly, “I think I do.”

Jenny

“Jennifer Ann Dawson, would you sit still?”

“Amber Kelsey Fuller, would you stop pulling my hair?” I retort.

“Sure, sure, because I’ll just let you go on the red carpet looking like a hobo,” Amber says, winding another piece of my hair around a curling iron.

I roll my eyes, hoping I don’t dislodge one of the fake eyelashes in the process.

I look back at my reflection.

The girl—no, woman—looking back at me in the mirror doesn’t look like a hobo. She looks both elegant and youthful, poised and playful, artfully made up but also all-American.

She also looks sad. But only if you look at the eyes.

“I can’t believe you’re not coming tonight,” I tell Amber glumly.

Ever since my first awards show, Amber’s been there. I fly her out and buy her In-N-Out that she bastardizes by getting the cheeseburger with lettuce instead of the bun, and then she proceeds to show me about nine million makeup options.

With approximately a trillion makeup artists in Southern California, it may seem like flying out my best friend is overkill, but Amber doesn’t just do my makeup and hair; she’s also my date.

Except tonight I’ll be flying solo, courtesy of some bug she picked up on the airplane.

“I know, I’m sorry I’m not feeling well,” she says. I narrow my eyes, because she doesn’t really look all that sorry, but maybe that’s because she’s approaching my hairstyle with the same attention a surgeon would give a brain transplant.

“You’ll be fine, though,” she says. “You just have to smile and wave for the red carpet part, and then the rest of the time is sitting and watching a movie.”

“That I’m in for five minutes.”

“As a scene stealer.”

“I’m pretty sure that whoever made up that rumor has never actually seen the movie.”

Amber drops the strand of my hair and then bends her knees so that her face is beside mine, meeting my eyes in the mirror. “Sweetie, I love you to death, and it’s because of this that I can be perfectly honest and tell you that this cynical, bitter routine doesn’t look good on you.”

I open my mouth to argue, but she shakes her head. “I get it. You had your heart broken and that sucks, but happiness is the best revenge. If you want this Noah guy to suffer, the best possible thing you can do is put a smile on your face and look happy.”

“But what if I’m not actually happy?”

“Fake it long enough and it’ll come.”

“Says who?” I ask skeptically as Dolly comes over, putting both paws on the leg of my robe and blinking up at me until I bend over to pick her up.

Amber doesn’t answer my question but steps back instead to trade the curling iron for her hair spray.

“Close your eyes,” she orders.

I cover Dolly’s face with the lapel of my robe and cover my own face with my hand as Amber shellacs my hair. Then she checks her watch. “Dress time!”

I try to muster some enthusiasm. I used to love this part: the prettifying, the anticipation.

“Shouldn’t I be over him by now?” I whisper. “I didn’t even know him that long.”

“It works that way sometimes, I think,” she tells me sympathetically. “The faster the fall, the longer it lasts.”

“Okay, stop with the weird motivational quotes,” I mutter. “Did you buy some self-help book or something?”

“I’m just wise, honey. Now be a good girl and go change into something pretty.”

Twenty minutes later, I’m dressed in a strapless dress in a color called “pool water blue” and Amber is applying yet another coat of hair spray before dabbing lip gloss onto the center of my bottom lip and then dropping the tube into my clutch.

“Do you feel beautiful? You look beautiful.”

“I do.” I smile, but mostly I say it because she put so much work into making me Hollywood-worthy. It’s not that I don’t feel beautiful; it’s just that I feel a little sad.

“You still want this, right, babe?” Amber asks, chewing her lip and studying me.

“Want what?” I ask, turning to look at the backside of my dress, making sure there are no panty lines.

“This whole thing,” she says, waving around at the opulent hotel suite. “The fame and the movie premieres and the concerts and the Super Bowl.”

I take a deep breath. I’ve been asking myself that same question a lot lately. Nonstop. On repeat. And I’ve come to the conclusion that…

I do want it.

Louisiana may have changed my perspectives on a couple of things, but I’m still me. I’m still the Jenny Dawson who wants to see her name alongside Dolly Parton’s and George Strait’s and Garth Brooks’s someday.

And if that means playing the fame game a bit longer, I’m going to make it work.

“I still want it,” I tell her gently.

“But…?” she prods, knowing me well.

I shrug. “I guess I just realized I want other stuff too. I hate that I have to choose.”

She steps forward and wraps her arms around me. “It will get better. Promise.”

I nod. “You’re sure you’re not feeling well enough to come?”

“I really just want to rest,” she says. “But I want to hear all the details.”

I take a deep breath and pull back. “Absolutely. I’ll get out the second I can and come back and we can eat junk food and gossip.”

“Ooh, I have these delicious dark chocolate açai berries!”

I mime a gagging motion.

The premiere’s actually within walking distance of the hotel, but apparently no Hollywood starlet would be caught dead walking up to the red carpet, so I have to go through this whole dumb process of getting into a limo and driving exactly ninety seconds, during which time Candice fires off frantic instructions about what I’m allowed to talk about if an interviewer stops to question me.

The gist: don’t talk about food, do talk about the movie, definitely don’t talk about infidelity.

Got it.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say I’ve mastered the art of the red carpet, but I’ve done it enough times to know the basics.

Check for lipstick on teeth before emerging from vehicle.

Keep your knees together when getting out of the car.

If you forget to shave your armpits, watch that your waving arm doesn’t lift too high.

Smile wide, but not too wide.

Try not to faint even though you haven’t had anything to eat all day.

I’ve got all that down, and yet the lights are still blinding as heck the second my high heel hits the ground.

I grit my teeth and take a big breath before standing and greeting the screaming crowd with a wide smile and enthusiastic wave (I did shave my armpits).

The funny thing about being an international strumpet is that people don’t really seem to like you any less. I missed that the first time around. Sure, you get the occasional judgy woman in the grocery store or the leering married man at the gas station, but mostly people seem pretty willing to forgive you almost anything—the things you did do, and the things you didn’t.

My publicist instructed me to make a couple of stops along the line to sign autographs, take selfies, that sort of thing, but really, she didn’t need to remind me. I like this part. I love it.

This is what it’s all about for me. Not the money or the awards or the fancy dress, but the people whose day you make just by making eye contact.

I move down the line, laughing at both the good jokes and the bad ones, pretending not to hear the questions about my personal life, all while repeating the name of my particular shade of lip gloss over and over again.

A glance behind me tells me things are starting to back up, and I’m just about to move on when my eye catches on a little girl trying desperately to get to the front row, waving Just for Now frantically as she struggles to squeeze through. The case is cracked, as though it’s been well loved, her Sharpie marker has leaked on her fingers, and there’s no way in hell I’m moving on without talking to her.

The people behind me can wait.

I reach out a hand toward her, and she freezes for a moment, until other people get the idea and move out of the way so she can get through.

“What’s your name, sweetheart?” I ask, gratefully accepting someone else’s offered pen rather than her leaky one and reaching for the cracked case.

She shoves her glasses higher up on her nose and grins the biggest grin I’ve ever seen with a mouthful of braces. “I’m Paula. You’re beautiful. I think you’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen, and I’m going to grow up to be just like you, a singer and a good dancer and a good actress, and really pretty.”

I laugh as I hand her back the cracked case. “I have no doubt, Paula.”

Paula’s no longer looking at me.

Instead her eyes are round—nearly as round as her mouth, which is a comical O shape—as she looks over my shoulder.

Everyone else seems to be looking too, and there’s a new urgency to the buzz.

I turn around, expecting to see that one of the actual stars has arrived, perhaps wearing some scandalous dress or with a date who wasn’t the anticipated significant other, or….

Noah.

Noah is here in Los Angeles.

Wearing a tux.

Noah is walking toward me.

I put all the pieces together:

Noah is in L.A., wearing a tux, and he’s walking toward me.

I blink.

He’s still there.

I pinch my arm, hard. Wake up, Jenny. Not the time for a breakdown.

He’s still there. His eyes are warm as they approach me, his smile just a little bit cocky.

I can’t breathe.

“Oh, Ms. Dawson,” I hear Paula squeal. “Your boyfriend’s even more handsome in person.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” I say, but nobody seems to be listening.

Nobody except Noah, who’s now a foot away from me.

“No?” he asks, lifting an eyebrow.

“No what?” I ask, too addled to think straight. I’m sort of aware that the lights are flashing all around me, much as they were before, except this time they’re all on me. On me and Noah.

“No, I’m not your boyfriend?” he says huskily, taking a step closer.

Holy cow, he really does look amazing in his tux. His hair looks different too. Good different. Still messy Noah, but deliberately messy, as though someone styled it.

Amber. I bet you anything my best friend got him all fancy for me.

I knew that bitch wasn’t really sick! God, I love her.

“You don’t want to be my boyfriend,” I blurt out.

His eyes narrow as he steps even closer. “And yet here I am.”

“Why?” I ask, having to raise my voice to be heard over the increasing noise of the crowd. “Why are you here?”

Noah reaches for my hand, and I let him take it, although when he squeezes my fingers, I don’t squeeze back.

“Here’s the thing, Jenny Dawson. I think I’m in love with you.”

There’s a collective gasp of shock in the crowd, but there’s no way in hell their shock overtakes mine.

I try to pull my hand back, my eyes watering. “Don’t,” I say. “Don’t do that.”

He doesn’t release me but steps closer, his eyes going darker, his voice getting more urgent. “There are things I need to say to you. Apologies, explanations, all of that. And I know you told me that I don’t get to just say and do terrible things and then say sorry and make it all okay, but I’m asking you—I’m begging you, princess—for just one more time. Give me one more time.”

I shake my head. “There’s too much crap between us, Noah. Preston. Whatever. You tried darn hard to push me away, to break me, to convince me you were a jerk. And congrats, because it worked.”

Noah dips his head, and I see him swallow. He nods once, and when he lifts his head again, I swear his eyes are a little shinier than they were before, and my heart feels like it will rip in two.

“I get it, princess. I do. There’s just one more thing I need to try. Last-ditch effort.”

“Fine,” I whisper as I try to tug him along down the line so we can get out of the spotlight and do this later.

“Nope, sorry, has to be right here,” he says.

Noah steps all the way toward me, his hand slipping behind my head, destroying all Amber’s hard work on my hair, his other arm wrapping around my back.

And then he kisses me.

Noah Maxwell kisses me long and hard and sweet in front of hundreds of people, every last one of whom has a camera.

I consider pulling back for exactly zero point two seconds before I give in, my arms winding around his neck as the crowd cheers.

I could kiss him all night. Forever.

But even through the ecstasy, a part of me remembers where we are, and we slowly pull back, breathing hard.

“That was…mildly inappropriate.”

His thumb touches my cheek. “You did say I shoulda kissed you.”

I smile. “You heard the song.”

“I did.” He smiles back. “And I seem to remember it saying there was something you would have told me if I had kissed you.”

I purse my lips in feigned puzzlement. “Hmm, no, not ringing a bell, sorry.”

I start to drag him forward, because we’ve really caused a backup now, although nobody seems to mind. He stays rooted to the spot, his eyes teasing, but also begging a bit too. “Princess…”

I bite my lip and take the plunge. “I think I love you too.”

He closes his eyes for a brief moment, as though in relief, before opening them, and this time I’m definitely sure I’m not imagining the moisture. “You think, huh?”

This time when I pull him forward, he lets me, linking his fingers with mine.

“What, you’re allowed to be unsure, but I’m not?” I tease, feeling a little bit vulnerable.

“Let’s just say it didn’t come out the way I practiced. I got nervous in front of the audience.”

“How did you practice?”

He pulls me around once more. “I love you. All the way. No ‘I think.’ ”

My eyes fill. “I love you too, all the way. But Noah, you know there’s always going to be an audience, don’t you? I know the life you want, and this…” I wave my hand in the direction of the crowd. “This isn’t it.”

“No,” he says slowly. “I don’t want all that. But I want this.” He touches a hand to my face. “And you’re worth putting up with all that.”

He kisses me again, and it’s starting to hit me that we might be front-page news tomorrow, what with all the kissing and stalling and more kissing.

Noah pulls back, wrapping an arm protectively around me as we get closer—finally—to the inside of the theater. But a reporter, one from a major network, steps in front of us just before we make it to safety.

I brace for the question, but the woman surprises me by addressing her question to Noah.

“Mr. Maxwell, Amanda Taylor here with CBC Evening. You two have caused quite a scene tonight, and I just have to ask, because you make such a surprising couple…when was it you knew that America’s redeemed sweetheart here was the one for you?”

I expect Noah to ignore her, but to my surprise he smiles and glances down at me. “You know, Ms. Taylor, it’s a little hard to say exactly…but I think it was the zip ties.”

I let out a startled, horrified laugh and let Noah pull me inside, where he tugs me close for another kiss. Slow, lingering. Sexy.

So…yeah.

That’s a definitely on us being front-page news tomorrow.

Epilogue

I’m in the newly remodeled kitchen mixing up a pitcher of my now famous—or at least tolerable—whisky sours when Noah gets home from the grocery store.

Dolly and Ranger both forget that they saw him not two hours ago, losing their minds in happy barks until he kneels and gives them the proper amount of attention.

I hand him a drink, but instead of taking a sip, he pulls me close for a kiss.

We’ve been together ten months, and for a guy who once went out of his way never to kiss me, he sure can’t get enough now.

“I brought you something,” he murmurs across my mouth.

“Guacamole?”

He swats my ass. “You had that for lunch.”

And breakfast, but who’s counting? Plus, Noah seems to have exactly zero problems with my burrito baby.

Noah hands me a magazine, and I frown in confusion until I see the headline: “Shawn Bates Breaks Down in Tearful Interview, Admits He Never Slept with Jenny Dawson.”

I stare at it for a long time, waiting to feel…something.

After a long moment I set it aside.

Noah is watching me closely. “You’re not going to read it?”

I shake my head. “I’m glad he’s come clean for his own sake, but I guess I kind of quit caring. I’m not really sure when.”

“I have a pretty good idea,” he says, pulling me close.

“You’re not going to cite the zip tie example again, are you?”

“It’s the correct answer to pretty much everything,” he says, pulling me in for yet another kiss.

I kiss him back, and it turns handsy fast, the way it always seems to with us, but Dolly and Ranger are having none of that, careening into our legs as Dolly chases around the owl toy I just bought her, and Ranger chases Dolly.

“All packed for tomorrow?” Noah asks as we sip our cocktails and put groceries away.

“Yup. Short trip, so easy packing.”

“Those are the best kind. Less jerking off for me. And probably for you too, you dirty minx.”

“What happens in hotel rooms stays in hotel rooms,” I say, batting my eyelashes.

“In that case, maybe I’ll have to come with you,” he growls. “See what those fingers get up to.”

“You can’t,” I say a little glumly. “No pet care lined up.”

He sighs and points a warning finger at the dogs. “You and you…very thin ice. How am I supposed to hump your mother?”

“Gosh, that’s romantic.” Still, it is romantic that he’d come with me. Because I know he would if I asked, and sometimes I do, although mostly I don’t. We’re happy either way.

He glances over at me. “We’re doing good though, right, princess? This is working for you? Because it sure as hell is working for me.”

I set my glass on the counter, walking to him and putting both hands on his face. “Absolutely it’s working for me. Every part of it.”

It’s true.

I still travel more than either of us would probably like, but I limit it to the absolute necessities, preferring to set up my home base in…wait for it.

Louisiana.

In the house.

Noah’s worked his ass off turning the house from barely standing into a gorgeously renovated masterpiece. A perfect showcase for his new business in modern woodworking.

The caretaker cottage has been completely renovated as a guest suite, something my family and Amber take frequent advantage of. As does Finn, although why, I don’t know, since he has his own place.

As for my dream of converting the place to a sanctuary for musically inclined kids someday, I still want it. Someday. Maybe a retirement project.

Or who knows, maybe little musically inclined children of my own, of the non-burrito variety.

“What are you smiling about, princess?”

“Just picturing little Noahs running around the house. Imagining how grouchy they’ll be,” I say, before I can think better of it. I hold my breath, hoping he won’t freak out.

Instead he studies me. “That so? Because I have frequent visions of little Jennys running around. Thinking how noisy they’ll be.”

My stomach flips. “You think about that?”

His smile is warm. Intimate. “Every damn day. I know we’ve got things to do first. I want to get a few more job orders. And then there’s figuring out how to survive next year on the road for your world tour with two dogs. But when that’s over…” He taps my stomach lightly. “Knockin’ you up.”

I lift my eyebrows. “Preston Noah Maxwell Walcott, I’ll have you know I’m an old-fashioned good girl. Is there a ring in that plan somewhere?”

Noah freezes. My smile slips, and I feel just a little bit panicky that he looks panicky. “Hey,” I say quickly. “I was joking around. We don’t have to rush.”

He nods, pressing an absent kiss to my forehead with a thoughtful expression on his face.

By the time we’re done with dinner—three steaks, one for each of us and one for the dogs to split— I’ve mostly forgotten about the conversation. Sort of.

Later, much later, we’re curled up on the porch swing, my head on his shoulder, our fingers linked beneath the quilt my mom made us for Christmas.

The dogs are inside; the night is quiet. Perfect.

But not quite as perfect as when I feel something cool and firm slip onto the fourth finger of my left hand under the blanket.

I jolt a little in surprise, and he turns his head, pressing his lips to my temple. “Been carrying this around for a while,” he whispers softly. “Couldn’t quite figure out the right time or place before. But this felt like it.”

I swallow the lump in my throat, my thumb running over the ring. I don’t have to look at it to know it’s perfect. “Yeah,” I whisper back. “This is it.”

“That a yes, princess?”

I nod. “That’s a yes.”

I feel his shoulder relax a little in relief, and my cheek finds his shoulder. We stay like that for nearly an hour, and then it hits me that there may be no more perfect moment in my life than a quiet night, the man I love, and a porch swing. It takes me a little while longer to realize what I’m feeling.

I’m feeling forever.

For RVD. For help with the book, but mostly for making me laugh all day, every day. Also, the wine.

Acknowledgments

For the entire team at Loveswept for not flinching even a tiny bit when I said I wanted to write this book, and that I wanted to write it now. I’m so appreciative for how tolerant you are of my diva moments, and for your faith in my writing.

Special thanks to Sue Grimshaw, Rachel Van Dyken, and my husband, for bravely reading the early version of this book and reassuring me that yes, a story about an irritable alpha and a reluctant country star can absolutely work.

An extra shout-out has to go to fabulous cover designer Lynn Andreozzi for creating what I think is the quintessential Lauren Layne cover.

Lisa, you’re the best assistant ever; thank you for taking care of All the Things so I could write this book.

And last, but never least, for you readers, who are so good to always welcome the stories of my heart with open arms.

BY LAUREN LAYNE

Sex, Love & Stiletto

After the Kiss

Love the One You’re With

Just One Night

The Trouble with Love

Redemption Series

Isn’t She Lovely

Broken

Crushed

Oxford Series

Irresistibly Yours

I Wish You Were Mine

Someone Like You (coming soon)

Standalones

Blurred Lines

Good Girl

PHOTO: ANTHONY LEDONNE

LAUREN LAYNE is the USA Today bestselling author of more than a dozen contemporary romance novels. Prior to becoming an author, Lauren worked in e-commerce and Web marketing. A year after moving from Seattle to New York City to pursue a writing career, she had a fabulous agent and multiple New York publishing deals. Lauren currently lives in Manhattan with her husband and plus-size Pomeranian. When she’s not writing, you’ll likely find her running (rarely), reading (sometimes), or at happy hour (often).

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The Editor’s Corner

Swing into spring this May with Loveswept! We’ve got something for everyone, so take your pick from these fabulous romance books.

Tracy March brings you another enchanting novel set in Colorado, with book two in her Thistle Bend series, Just Say Maybe. Brenda Rothert releases her first Loveswept book, Blown Away, a sensual, emotionally charged novel of love and loss in which a tender affair gives two daring storm chasers the strength to overcome shattered dreams and the courage to build a future together. Then we go from extreme weather to the world of extreme sports with Zoe Dawson’s pulse-pounding Mavrick Allstars series debut, the steamy Ramping Up. Bestselling author HelenKay Dimon makes her Loveswept debut with Mr. and Mr. Smith. Moving on from the suspenseful to the sensual is a novel of pleasure and persuasion revolving around a high-stakes business deal in which the rules of negotiation are defined by desire in Shawntelle Madison’s Bound to You. New York Times bestselling author Noelle Adams introduces a notorious tech mogul who makes a mild-mannered woman an offer she can’t refuse and gets in return a battle for control—and a million-dollar affair—in Fooling Around. The Hunt Club continues with Pamela Labud’s A Most Delicate Pursuit. New York Times bestselling author Erin McCarthy follows Nashville’s hottest country music duo as they fight for love in a city where dreams often cost a broken heart in Heart Breaker. And New York Times bestselling author Sawyer Bennett proves that vengeance is sweet—but seduction is to die for—in Sugar Daddy.

Wait—there’s more! Gina Gordon’s White Lace series continues in book two with lots of sizzle and heat in Reason to Believe. A. M. Madden continues the True Heroes series—hot hero alert!—with Glass Ceilings. Two tortured souls share an unbreakable bond even as they break taboos, as Laura Marie Altom does it again with a fabulous stepbrother romance in Stepping Over the Line. Back in the sporting world, Stacked Up continues the Worth the Fight series from USA Today bestselling author Sidney Halston. And Interference continues the Pilots Hockey series from Sophia Henry, where a young single mom falls for a damaged coach pulling double-duty as a cop.

It’s a great month for relationships, so follow us on Facebook and Twitter and let the romance begin!

Until next month ~Happy Romance!

Gina Wachtel

Associate Publisher

Read on for an excerpt from

Blurred Lines

by Lauren Layne

Available from Loveswept

Chapter 1

Parker

My sophomore year of high school, I had a short-lived friendship with this girl named Korie Hamilton.

She was nice enough.

A little too much purple eyeliner, a few too many likes sprinkled throughout her constant chatter, but we had every class together our first semester, so we kind of became friends by default.

Anyway, Korie was forever yammering on and on about how her best friend on the entire planet was Stephen Daniels, a boy she’d known for all of four weeks before promoting him to BFF status.

Apparently it was, like, ohmigod, like, the best thing ever to have a guy she could talk to without complicating things with romantic entanglements.

Please.

Real best friends can generally go more than a couple hours without mentioning each other’s name, but Korie found a way to fit Stephen’s name into every other sentence.

Just friends my ass.

I guess technically they were platonic for a while. Stephen had a girlfriend named Libby Tittles, or something unfortunate like that, and Korie had this on-again-off-again thing with her junior high boyfriend.

But anyone who’s ever seen a movie, or watched TV, or just had basic awareness of human interaction saw exactly where Korie and Stephen were heading: Humpville.

Even though Korie swore up and down that she didn’t like him like that, both of their significant others were long gone by Thanksgiving of sophomore year.

By Christmas vacation, Korie wasn’t uttering quite so many likes. Why? Because Stephen’s tongue was in her mouth before school, after school, and every freaking weekend.

But we all know how this ends, right? Just a few short months later, not only were Korie and Stephen no longer dating, they sure as hell weren’t best friends.

Their short-lived romance and ensuing breakup barely even registered a blip on the gossip chain, but I’d like to think it taught some of us high school girls a valuable lesson:

Guys and girls can’t be just friends. Or not best friends, anyway.

Shit gets too complicated.

But let’s fast-forward a few years, shall we?

I’m now twenty-four, and I have a public service announcement to make: I was wrong.

Guys and girls really can be best friends.

It is possible to have a platonic relationship with a guy where there are no romantic inklings, no sexual fantasies, and no naïve proclamations of I don’t like him like that in a torturous attempt to hide an agonizing unrequited love.

How do I know this? How do I know that a guy and a girl can be best friends without romantic entanglements?

Well, let’s see, I’ve been on the female end of one such platonic relationship for six years now.

Six. Years.

!

True story:

Ben Olsen and I met the summer before our first year at University of Oregon during freshman orientation. We were assigned to the same group in one of those terrible ice-breaking activities where you have to put a sticky note on your head and guess what kind of safari animal you are, or something, and we just…

Clicked?

I don’t know why we clicked in the Hey, you’re cool but I have no interest in boning you kind of way, but we did.

Maybe it was because I was in stupid insta-love with another guy in our group. Or maybe because my ovaries were hyperaware that Ben’s ridiculous good looks would lead to heartbreak. But whatever the reason, we did the implausible.

We became best friends.

And, yes, every single one of my female friends has given me the exact same warnings I gave Korie Hamilton way back when: It won’t work.

My friends are split down the middle on how it will actually go down, but they’re all convinced that it will go down.

Half think that Ben and I are soulmates who are just biding our time until marriage and babies.

The other half think that we’re going to have too much to drink one night, have awful sex, and never speak again.

Ben and I proved them wrong when freshman year ended and our friendship was still intact. Sophomore year? Repeat.

Junior year, we really upped our game. Not only were we closer than ever, but we became roommates. It happened sort of by accident when one of his housemates backed out at the last minute, and I belatedly realized I couldn’t bear one more year of dorm food, so I moved in. And it worked. So we did it again senior year.

Here we are, two years after graduation, still living together, although we’ve upgraded from crappy off-campus housing in Eugene to a slightly less crappy two-bedroom house in the Northwest neighborhood of Portland.

And yes. Still platonic as ever, with not so much as a hint of change in the air. I’m crazy in love with Lance Myers, my boyfriend of five years, and Ben…

Well, Ben’s on a rather awe-inspiring mission to seduce the entire female population in western Oregon.

“Do you guys have any milk?”

Ah, here we go…case in point. I glance up to see a tall, thin blonde standing in the doorway of my kitchen.

“Milk?” she asks again.

I take another bite of cereal, and it takes all of my self-control not to look pointedly at the bowl of cereal I’m eating. Of course we have freaking milk.

“In the fridge,” I say with a friendly smile. She smiles back and she’s got deep dimples in each cheek. Cute. I can see why Ben likes this one.

She walks past the table to the fridge, and I cringe when I see the fact that she has airhead monogrammed on the butt of her baby blue sweatpants. Really? Really?

Airhead has apparently forgotten that she wanted milk and instead pulls out one of the cans of Starbucks iced coffee that I keep stocked for Monday mornings when I need an extra pick-me-up, which is every Monday, because, well, Mondays are just the worst, aren’t they?

Airhead pops the tab and takes a sip without asking, which I guess is kind of annoying, but I’ve never really been one of those girls who likes to waste energy getting bitchy about stupid things, so I let it go.

“Hey, so I’m Parker,” I say.

“I’m Liz. Are you dating Ben’s roommate?”

Considering I know for a fact that Liz is the latest in a rather impressive streak of one-night stands, dating seems sort of a presumptuous word choice, because how does she know I’m not just a onetime sleepover guest like her?

This, too, I let pass without comment.

I mean, what else is the girl supposed to ask: Did you get drunk and sleep with a guy you barely know, like I just did?

Plus, I have a fun surprise for her.

“I am the roommate,” I say, keeping my smile friendly. I’m wearing my oldest pajamas and haven’t even pretended to have tried to take off last night’s mascara, which is now all over my face. I’m pretty sure I don’t look threatening.

But I’d be wrong.

Liz pauses halfway in, drinking my precious iced-coffee beverage, and her previously curious expression turns wary.

I mentally shrug. Ben tends to use my unisex name to full advantage by avoiding female pronouns when referring to his roommate while a booty call is in progress. He picked up this approach after several hookups that failed due to the fact that some girls still subscribe to the old girls-and-guys-can’t-be-just-friends axiom.

Amateurs.

Ben ambles into the kitchen, his sweatpants matching the style of his girl toy’s, although his are dark UO green, and instead of a tacky phrase on the back, they just have the Oregon Duck, our old college mascot. We graduated a couple years ago, so the frat-boy attire’s a little sad, but I can’t judge him too harshly since my entire workout wardrobe consists of old college shirts.

He yawns and smiles. “Morning. Have you girls met? Liz, Parker, Parker, Liz.”

Ben’s either unaware of the fact that Liz is giving him a dark look or he no longer cares now that he’s gotten laid.

Here’s the other reason I don’t exactly get my rocks off thinking about Ben in a romantic light: He’s kind of a player. As a friend, I can love him for it, but on the romantic front? Never. Ever. Not even with every possible STD test.

“Hey, what happened to the must-wear-shirts-in-the-kitchen rule?” I ask, shoveling another bite of increasingly soggy Wheat Chex into my mouth.

“No such rule exists,” he says, with a wink for Liz-slash-Airhead. Her expression softens lightly, and I resist the urge to slap a little sense into the poor girl. I want to tell her that his winks are a dime a dozen, but what’s the point? She has airhead printed on her sweatpants for God’s sake.

“There is too a rule about shirts in the kitchen,” I insist. “House rule number fourteen. Speaking of which, where are my house rules?”

“Hard to say,” he says, opening the fridge and glancing at its meager offerings before pouring a cup of coffee instead. “But I may have used them to mop up OJ the other day. Or maybe as a coaster for my beer.” He snapped his fingers. “Oh wait, no, I remember. I just plain threw them out the old-fashioned way.”

I point to the doorway. “Shirt. Now.”

He glances at Liz. “She can’t concentrate when my abs are on display. We have to give her anti-swoon pills.”

Liz giggles even as she shoots me a searching look, as though she’s trying to determine whether I really will swoon over Ben’s admittedly impressive upper body. The guy’s like a machine. He misses workouts only on the worst of his hangover days.

“Do you wanna grab some breakfast?” Liz asks Ben.

Aww, poor Airhead. She doesn’t know the name of the game.

Ben’s face is immediately regretful. “I wish I could, but I promised Parker I’d take her to IKEA to get a new bookshelf for her doll collection.”

I’ve just taken an enormous bite of cereal, which prevents me from speaking, so I settle for my best glare. He’s breaking another house rule: No using Parker to blow off your girl toys.

I believe I even recently added a footnote: “And especially not about IKEA.” I hate IKEA.

“Doesn’t she have a boyfriend that can go with her?” Liz asked.

Ooh, badly played, Airhead. Too obvious in your attempt to determine whether I’m competition.

“She does. But he’s quite frail,” Ben says in a loud whisper. “Very petite hands.”

Annnd another rule broken: Don’t bash Lance so that you can use Parker to blow off your girl toys.

Lance isn’t frail. I mean, maybe my boyfriend’s not as much of a gym rat as Ben, but he’s lean and fit and he sure as hell doesn’t have small hands.

Still, arguing at this point would probably mean extending Liz’s stay, and I’m more than ready to see Airhead on her way back to her dorm room.

I scoop up the last bite of cereal from my bowl as I stand. “We should probably get going,” I say, still chewing. “IKEA gets crazy on Saturdays, and I don’t want to risk them being out of stock on the extra-large shelves.”

“You have that many dolls?” Liz asks, looking torn between being creeped out and feeling completely sorry for me.

“Fifty-seven and counting,” I say, straight-faced. “And actually, Ben, if you’re going to be a while, I might just run upstairs and brush their hair? I noticed last night Polly was starting to develop a tangle.”

Ben drains his coffee, pushes back from the counter, and shakes his head at me. “You poor, sick weirdo.”

Then he turns to Liz, putting his hands on her skinny waist and pulling her forward with an apologetic smile. “You mind if I take a raincheck on breakfast?”

I barely hide the snort. In Ben’s world, raincheck is a synonym for I’m going to intentionally lose your phone number.

In under a minute, Ben is nudging Liz out onto the front porch, and, impressively, she doesn’t even look pissed. I follow them out, just to be annoying, watching as he whispers something in her ear. Her eyes go wide and sympathetic and she gives me an It’s gonna be okay, little buddy smile. She heads toward the sidewalk with a wave.

“What did you just tell her?” I ask, taking a sip of my coffee as we watch her leave.

“I told her you were an abandoned orphan and that the only thing your birth mother left you with was a doll named Polly. Hence the sad obsession.”

I shake my head. “You know I’m going to have to rewrite the house rules. And No dolls will so be going on there.”

Liz turns back and gives one last wave. Both Ben and I wave back, and I can’t help myself. “Enjoy your walk of shame!” I call after her, my voice sweet as sugar.

Liz’s head snaps back as though trying to determine if she heard me correctly, but Ben puts a hand over my face and shoves me back into the house before closing the front door.

He absently rubs a hand over his abs as he looks me up and down.

“You should change. You can’t wear your ratty booty shorts and that ugly T-shirt to IKEA.”

“First of all, you can absolutely wear your rattiest and ugliest T-shirts to IKEA. That’s pretty much the IKEA dress code. And second, we’re not going to IKEA. Really, are you getting so comfortable with your lies that they become fact in your mind?”

“We are going to IKEA,” he says, running both hands through his short brown hair before heading toward the stairs.

“For what?” I ask.

“I need a new dresser.”

“What’s wrong with your old dresser?”

“It broke.”

I wrinkle my nose. “How the hell do you break a dresser?”

He shoots me a look over his shoulder and wiggles his eyebrows.

It takes me only seconds before I put the pieces together. “Airhead?” I hitch a thumb over my shoulder at the departed female. “You banged her against the dresser?”

“Hey, she was unusually tall, which gave me the unusual opportunity and prime angle to—”

I slap my hands over my ears and start singing Billy Joel’s “Piano Man,” my default protective gesture whenever Ben gets a little too colorful with descriptions of his sexual antics.

Another house rule: Parker absolutely does not want to know what happens in Ben’s bedroom.

“Hey, do you and Lance have plans today?” he asks.

“Maybe you should have asked that before you mandated an IKEA trip. But no, he’s got an all-day study group.”

Lance is getting his MBA from the University of Portland.

“Cool. Let’s grab lunch after.” He heads into his bedroom without looking at me.

Lunch, huh?

I narrow my eyes and sprint up the stairs after him, pushing open his door before he can shut it in my face.

Sure enough, his dresser is definitely leaning unhealthily to one side, and I count two, no make that three, condom wrappers.

He pulls a green polo from the tiny closet in the corner and looks around his messy floor until he finds his jeans.

I wait expectantly.

“What?” he asks.

“Lunch?” I lift my brows. And wait for the explanation.

Ben scratches idly at his slightly stubbled chin. Sharing a bathroom with the guy, I know he shaves every morning, but the stubble seems to be perpetual.

“Well, you know that girl I dated a couple weeks ago? Kim?” he asks. “She wanted me to go to her sister’s engagement brunch, and I told her I was busy all day. But she’s just crazy enough to stop by and see if I’m actually out of the house, so I thought we should be elsewhere….”

I hold up a hand. “Fine. I’ll be your alibi. But I get to pick the restaurant, and you’re buying. Oh, and you have to put the toilet seat down every day for an entire week.”

He raises his hand as though wanting to say something in class. “I’d like to add a house rule: Parker isn’t allowed to tell Ben how to pee.”

“You don’t make the house rules. I do. And I didn’t tell you how to pee,” I say exasperatedly as he wrenches open a dresser drawer and pulls out a pair of boxers. “I’m trying to do your future wife a favor by teaching you how not to be a pig.”

He inches by me into the hallway. “Another house rule: Parker shalt not say profanities as future wife to a dedicated bachelor.”

“You’re not a dedicated bachelor. You’re just a typical horny twenty-four-year-old dude, and, again, you don’t make the house rules—hey!”

He shuts the door to our shared bathroom in my face, and too late I realize that I’d missed all the classic signs of a skilled Ben Olsen diversion. He’d just wanted to beat me into the bathroom.

“Don’t use all the hot water!” I shout, pounding my palm on the door.

The door opens just enough for me to see one blue eye blinking back at me. “Didn’t you say Polly had a tangle? You better go get on that.”

The door shuts again, and I pound a second time. “Remember, the green towel is mine. The white one is yours.”

I wait for confirmation, but there’s only silence.

“Ben, I know you can hear me! Don’t ‘accidentally’ use mine just because yours smells funny.”

More silence.

Damn it. He is so planning to use my towel.

So, yeah, my best friend is a guy. Doesn’t mean I have to like it all the time.

Love stories you’ll never forget

By authors you’ll always remember

eOriginal Romance from Random House

randomhousebooks.com

books.simonandschuster.com/From-This-Day-Forward/Lauren-Layne/Wedding-Belles/9781501135194

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Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Contents

Jenny

Noah

Jenny

Noah

Jenny

Noah

Jenny

Noah

Jenny

Noah

Jenny

Noah

Jenny

Noah

Jenny

Noah

Jenny

Noah

Jenny

Noah

Jenny

Noah

Jenny

Epilogue

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Other Titles

About the Author

The Editor’s Corner

Excerpt from Blurred Lines