Ill bet somebody as famous as you could never live anywhere as boring as Louisiana or Texas again. Or be serious about anybody who wasnt a movie star like Jones.
I didnt say that!
His hard eyes darkened as they clashed with hers.
An awkward minute passed as she tried to imagine herself living with Zach, here, in Houston, anywhere. Impossible-she was an actress, who lived in Manhattan.
To change the subject-what do you want to do today? he asked casually.
I need to study those scenes I have to shoot next week.
Thats fine. I did make tentative plans for us to meet Tuck and Gram at the new Cajun café on the bayou. Over lunch I thought we could encourage Tuck to enroll in one of the tech programs at the junior college.
Tucks not interested in school.
Really? When I informed him I might press charges if he didnt take some responsible action about his future, he told me hed like to take some courses that could lead to a career as a utility lineman.
I cant believe this! Youre threatening Tuck, too, now.
Its way past time he stepped up to the plate. I took him over to the junior college Wednesday and introduced him to Travis Cooper, whos the young, enthusiastic head of that particular program. He was a late bloomer, like your Tuck, which may be why the two of them hit it off immediately.
Okay-I can do lunch, she replied. I like your results, even if I dont approve of your tactics. Then Ill need to study my scenes this afternoonsince I procrastinated last night.
Okay. While you do that, Ill inspect one of my building projects.
He took a long breath, his black eyes assessing her with such frank male boldness her tummy went hollow. But, Ill want to spend the evening with you. Alone. Here.
Of course, she whispered, her skin heating even as she fought to look indifferent.
Without warning, he stepped closer and grinned down at her. Im glad you agreed so easily. I want you to be eager.
He bent his handsome black head toward hers, and she was so sure he would kiss her, she actually pursed her lips and stood on her tiptoes as if in feverish anticipation.
But he only laughed, as if he was pleased he had her wanting him. Save it for tonight, sweetheart.
A very colorful curse word popped into her mind, but she bit her lips and made do with a frown.
Lunch with Tuck and Gram was amazing. First, the succulent fried shrimp, which were crunchy and light, were so addictive Summer had to sit on fisted hands to keep from stealing the one Zach left on his plate just to tempt her. As she was staring at that shrimp, Tuck finished his gumbo and astonished her by informing Zach that, yes, hed decided he was fine with giving Cooper and his dumb program a chance. She was further amazed when she listened to him converse easily and intelligently with Zach, as Tuck rarely did with her. She could tell that Zach really had been devoting a great deal of time to Tuck, and that Tuck was lapping up the attention.
Despite all that was enjoyable about lunch, she didnt like the attention from surrounding diners, who stared and snapped pictures with their phones.
Did you have an ulterior motive for lunching with all of us so publicly? Summer asked after they dropped off Tuck and Gram and were driving home.
Zachs mouth was tight as he stared grimly at the road. Being railroaded on felony charges and then being tried in the court of public opinion wasnt any picnic, either.
That still doesnt make it right for you to use Tuck and Gram to get even with me.
Maybe I just want people to see that I have a normal relationship with all of you, Zach said.
But you dont. Youre blackmailing me.
Right. His dark eyes glittering, he turned toward her. The sudden intimacy between them stunned her. Well, I want people to know that youre not afraid of me. That you never were. That you liked me, loved me even. That I was not someone whod take a young, unwilling girl off to the woods to molest her. Is that so wrong?
Right. His dark eyes glittering, he turned toward her. The sudden intimacy between them stunned her. Well, I want people to know that youre not afraid of me. That you never were. That you liked me, loved me even. That I was not someone whod take a young, unwilling girl off to the woods to molest her. Is that so wrong?
His face blurred as she forced herself to focus on the trees streaming past his window instead of him. The realization of how profoundly shed hurt him hit her anew.
Yes, hed hurt her, too, and yes, hed gone on to achieve phenomenal success. But hed never gotten over the deep injury her betrayal had inflicted-any more than shed gotten over losing him and the baby.
Because of her, Zach had been accused of kidnapping and worse. All hed ever tried to do was help her.
When a talent scout had been wowed by her high-school performance in Grease, her stepfather had forbidden her to go back to her theater-arts class. Hed sworn he wouldnt pay for her to study theater arts in college, either.
So shed run away to Zach, whod forced her to go back and try to reason with Thurman. Only after her stepfather struck her and threatened her with more physical violence if she didnt bend to his will had Zach driven her to Nicks fishing cabin on the bayou in Texas. There theyd hidden out and made love. There theyd been found in each others arms by Thurman and his men.
She did owe Zach. More than a few weekends. And not just because of Tuck. If Zach wanted to be seen with her and gossiped about-so be it.
You dont have to drive me home before you go to your site, she said softly. Ill go with you.
I thought you needed to work on your love scenes with Hugh.
His voice hardened when he said the other mans name, and she felt vaguely guilty. Which was ridiculous, since she wasnt in a relationship with either man.
I do, but Ill study on the plane, or later, when I get to L.A.
Well, if youre coming with me, Ive got to take you home anyway. Those sandals wont work at the construction site and neither will that tight, sexy skirt.
Oh.
Youll need to wear a long-sleeved shirt, jeans and boots. Ill supply you with a plastic hard hat and a safety vest with reflective tape.
Sounds like a dangerous place.
Even though it was Saturday, cranes, bulldozers and jackhammers were operating full force as battalions of workers carried out all sorts of tasks, none of which made sense to Summer as she adjusted the inner straps of her hard hat. Zach seemed as happy as a kid showing off as he led her around the site, pointing at blueprints, sketches and plans with a pocket roll-up ruler, introducing her to all of his foremen and contractors. Local men, all of them, who eyed her with open speculation.
Zach was developing hundreds of acres along the bayou, creating a dock for his riverboat casino, as well as restaurants, a hotel, a small amusement park, shops, a theater, a golf course and no telling what else.
Ive never built anything, she said, so Im impressed. Look, you dont have to entertain me. Ill explore on my own.
You be careful and dont go too far.
At first she stayed close to him because the ground was rough and muddy. Then she began walking toward the dock on two-by-fours that men had laid across deep holes as makeshift bridges.
She was standing on such a bridge when Nick drove up in his battered pickup, looking for Zach. The elderly shrimper wore faded jeans, a T-shirt and scuffed boots. Even though he dipped his cowboy hat ever so slightly when he saw Summer, his cold, unsmiling face told her he hadnt forgiven her. Until Zachs uncle had shown up, Nick had been Zachs sole advocate.
Didnt expect to see the likes of you here, cher, he said when he walked up to her. Dangerous place for a woman.
Nick was thinner than the last time shed seen him, his tanned skin crisscrossed with lines, his wispy hair steel-gray. But the penetrating blue eyes that pierced her hadnt changed much.
And youre a dangerous woman for any man, even Zach. I warned the boy to stay away from you, but he wont listen, Nick said, eyeing Zach, who stood a hundred yards to their right, deep in conversation with a contractor. He never did have a lick of sense where you were concerned. I dont like you settin your hooks in him again. By coming out here with him youll have the whole town talkin and thinkin youre a couple again.
Tell him. He invited me for the weekend.
Nick spat in disbelief. Well, you tell him I stopped by and that Ill catch up with him later. Or, if hed prefer, he can drop byafter he gets rid of you.
She nodded.
He turned and left.
Her mood dark and remorseful, she headed toward the dock. Because of the deep holes in the ground, she was forced to cross on the makeshift bridge again. Shed nearly reached the dock when Zach called out to her.
Maybe she turned too fast-one of the boards slipped, and she tumbled several feet into the muddy hole filled with rocks and debris. When she tried to stand, her left ankle buckled under her weight.
She looked up in alarm and saw Zach running toward her, his dark eyes grave. Leaping over the boards, he was soon towering over her. Are you okay?
Yes-except for my left ankle.
I should never have brought you here.
Nonsense. I fell. It all was my fault.
Hang on to me, then, he commanded, jumping down into the hole.
Half carrying her, he led her out of the pit and back to his car. As he drove away from the site, he called Gram, who recommended her doctor, a man who generously offered to meet them at the emergency room. Dr. Sands actually beat them to the E.R., and Summer, whod once fallen off a stage in Manhattan and had waited hours in a New York E.R., was both appreciative and amazed to be treated so quickly and expertly in such a small hospital. Most of all, she was grateful to Zach for staying with her.
When a team of nurses stepped inside the treatment room and asked him to leave, Zach demanded to know what they planned to do.
Dr. Sands wants her to disrobe for an examination, so we can make sure we dont miss any of her injuries.
But its only my ankle that hurts, Summer protested.
Hopefully youre right. But this is our protocol. We have to be sure.
Summer reached for Zachs hand. Would you
So, he stayed beside her, gallantly turning his back when they handed her a hospital gown and she began to undress. But once, when she moaned, he turned. She saw his quick flush and heard his gasp before he averted his gaze from her body.