New Year, New Man. Natalie Anderson

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СКАЧАТЬ and I’m not anyone’s model.”

      Josh winked. “That’s more like it. I like you all full of spunk.”

      “Okay, I’m ready,” Claire called from the back of the store.

      Sara narrowed her eyes as Josh walked toward the dressing rooms but couldn’t quite stop herself from smiling.

      He did that to her.

      Their easy banter felt strangely right, and her whole body tingled at the message in his eyes when he looked at her. His attitude might be joking but his energy was intensely serious.

      As she followed the sound of Claire’s voice, the saleslady grabbed her arm and pulled her behind a bathing suit display. “Just a minute,” she whispered, her head bobbing over the shelves to make sure they couldn’t be heard. “I need to ask you something.”

      Here it comes, Sara thought, tension curling tight in her chest once again.

      “Is that Josh Travers?” the woman asked, her eyes bright with expectation. “Are you with the Josh Travers?”

      Sara blinked and looked over her shoulder. He had to have put the woman up to this. “The Josh Travers?”

      The saleslady nodded. “He’s the retired PBR champ, right?”

      Sara racked her brain. “Professional Bull Riders,” she said, almost to herself. “Yep, that’s him.”

      “I knew it.” The woman patted her chest. “He’s even hotter in person than on TV.”

      Sara felt her jaw drop. “Are you for real?”

      “Ever since they put the tour on cable, my husband’s been addicted. He grew up down in Calhan, so even though we’re in the big city he’s a cowboy at heart. He likes me to watch, too—makes him feel like I get him.”

      She leaned closer and squeezed Sara’s arm. “Let me tell you, it’s no chore sitting on the couch watching those gorgeous boys do their thing. Josh Travers was the best of the best. It does my heart good to see him getting around, looking so happy and in love.”

      Sara’s mouth dropped farther. “In love? Oh, no. We work together. We’re here with his daughter.”

      “Whatever you say,” the saleswoman said with a knowing smile. “You look like a nice girl.”

      “Sara, where are you?” Claire’s voice came from the back of the store.

      “Let’s see how that young lady did with her choices.” The saleswoman pulled a stunned Sara toward the dressing room. All that worry and someone recognized her as Josh’s girlfriend?

      Unbelievable.

      The rest of the afternoon was just as surreal. Sara noticed several people staring and a few pointing at her as they meandered up the tree-lined streets. Each time it happened, Josh gave her hand a gentle squeeze, told a bad joke or generally teased her to distraction.

      Claire did her best to put a generous dent into Josh’s credit balance, growing happier with each store they entered. Sara felt the same way but for a different reason. Away from the looming tension about the fate of the ranch, she and Josh relaxed into an easy camaraderie that made hope bubble in Sara. She hadn’t felt the sensation in years: the possibility of a normal life.

      She floated along on that feeling until they stopped for dinner at a quaint bistro at the edge of the shopping district.

      The young man at the host desk informed them that without a reservation, the wait for a table would be over an hour. Claire gave a sigh of disappointment, as the cozy restaurant had been her first choice.

      As Sara turned to scan the street for nearby options, a gray-haired woman approached her from the sidewalk. “Are you Serena Wellens? The one who used to be a movie star?”

      Sara sucked in a breath, unused to hearing her failure phrased quite that way. She forced a smile. “I guess you could say I used to be Serena Wellens. And yes, I was an actress. I go by Sara now.”

      She waited for the criticism to come—as it always did. It was human nature, Sara thought. People loved to sit in judgment of others’ lives. The explosion of the internet and media outlets made it easy to feel like you had insight into someone else’s business, no matter how untrue so much of what was published could be.

      Josh’s warm hand pressed against the small of her back, reminding her to take a calming breath. “Is everything okay here?” he asked.

      Claire came to stand beside her, grabbing hold of Sara’s hand. “Let’s find another place,” she said, and gave Sara a small tug.

      Sara glanced at Claire and leaned against Josh ever so slightly. He and Claire have my back, she thought. They literally have my back. One thing about being in L.A. that she’d hated was the feeling of being alone against the world, as though she had no one but herself to depend on. She’d never been her own best defense. April had been there, but in the past few years had gone through so many of her own troubles, Sara hadn’t wanted to be a burden with her own insignificant worries.

      Still she stood transfixed by the stranger in front of her, like a deer in headlights. “We should go,” she whispered.

      “Wait.” The woman took a step forward and Josh moved even closer. “I have to thank you first. My daughter, she’s in college now, but when she was younger her father and I got divorced. It was messy and she was caught in the cross fire.”

      “I’m sorry,” Sara responded automatically.

      “Jessica, that’s my daughter, closed off emotionally. She’d barely even look at me. But she loved your show. So every week we’d watch together. It was the only time she’d let me sit next to her. We’d talk during commercials. I swear Just the Two of Us saved our relationship.” The woman dabbed at her eyes. “I’m sure that sounds stupid to you but it’s the truth.”

      Sara reached out and took the woman’s hand. “It doesn’t sound stupid. I’m flattered that you told me.”

      “So thank you. We’ve been following Amanda’s career since the show ended. Not hard since she’s everywhere these days.”

      “She’s had an amazing career,” Sara agreed woodenly.

      “When are you going to make your comeback? You were a much better actress than she was on the show. I’m sure that hasn’t changed.”

      “My life has gone in a different direction.”

      The woman let out a bark of laughter. “I read the tabloids but I don’t believe half of it. It’ll happen when you’re ready. You have a natural gift. Always have.”

      Emotions clogged Sara’s throat. “Thank you again,” she whispered.

      The maître d’ from the restaurant peeked around Josh. “Ms. Wellens?” he asked. “The manager has found a table for you.”

      “I’ll let you get on with your evening,” the woman said, and with a last squeeze of Sara’s arm, scuttled down the sidewalk.

      Sara СКАЧАТЬ