The Secret Seduction. Cathy Thacker Gillen

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СКАЧАТЬ a reassuring smile before turning to send his third oldest brother a censuring look. “And not to worry, Lily. You’re safe with me.”

      UNFORTUNATELY, FLETCHER noticed right away, Lily was not going to be safe with the TV actor who rolled into town the following morning in a custom-outfitted silver trailer.

      “Who’s the beauty?” Carson McRue asked as he and Fletcher met to discuss a horse.

      Fletcher followed Carson’s glance. It led straight to Lily, who was loitering on the other side of the wooden barricades erected to keep the cast and crew of Hollywood P.I. away from the spectators gathering to watch the action in the town square.

      Damned if Lily didn’t look particularly gorgeous this morning, with her tousled blond hair and her sunglasses propped on top of her head. That pale pink sundress she was wearing not only hugged her slender curves to sexy advantage, it made her look like a peach blossom, ripe for the picking. Fletcher did his best to contain his mounting frustration. Protecting the headstrong and way-too-naive-for-her-own-good Lily from heartbreak was going to be no easy task. Especially with her constantly trying to win the bet she’d made with the girls. Fletcher’s only comfort was that the bet he had made was—unlike hers—strictly under wraps to those who had made it with him.

      He turned back to Carson, irked by the man’s crassness in everything they discussed. His true personality seemed directly at odds with the great guy he played on TV. “She’s off-limits,” Fletcher stated casually.

      Carson lifted a well-plucked brow. “Married?”

      “Just off-limits,” Fletcher repeated, doing his best to appeal to the actor’s sensitive side. Assuming he had one. “Her grandmother, who was her only family, died last year. And she lost the cat she’d had since she was five years old, too. She had a very rough time.”

      Carson eyed Lily rapaciously, his glance lingering on her hourglass of curves. He licked his lips. “She looks ready to kick up her heels to me.”

      Punching out the competition would get him nowhere, Fletcher reminded himself firmly. At least right now. Later, if Carson continued in his current vein, all bets were off. “If you’re looking for…companionship,” Fletcher said meaningfully, “I can direct you to some likely places in Raleigh, Durham or Chapel Hill.” There were dozens of bars in all three college towns. Lots of willing young women who would give anything to spend an evening in the handsome celebrity’s company.

      “No thanks. I like small-town girls.” Carson continued studying Lily as if she were an item he’d like to purchase. “There’s a sweetness and a purity about ’em. Besides, you never know…you could be giving one of them the thrill of a lifetime.”

      “And then what?” Fletcher asked.

      Carson looked at Fletcher as if he were an infant, and not a particularly bright one at that. “We both move on.” Carson spoke slowly and directly.

      Only Fletcher knew Lily wouldn’t be able to move on. Were she to be seduced and abandoned by someone like Carson McRue, it would crush her vulnerable heart.

      “About the horse,” Fletcher said impatiently, eager to have this business finished so he could go waylay Lily again and keep her from winning the wager.

      Carson frowned his displeasure. “It’s the wrong color.”

      It was Fletcher’s turn to scowl. “You asked for a roan stallion—”

      “I wanted a lighter brown,” Carson interrupted, running a hand through his dark brown hair. “Something with a lot more copper in its coat. This one is too close to the color of my hair.”

      Fletcher would have thought the actor was kidding if not for the earnestness on Carson’s face.

      “I’ll see what I can do,” Fletcher allowed, with as much professionalism as he could muster, “but stunt horses are in short supply in this area of the country. And since you didn’t want to pay to have one shipped in from the West Coast—”

      “Just find what we need,” Carson cut him off. “I’m expert enough to ride even an untrained horse. And while you’re at it—” he pointed to a shady area, half a block away “—do something about those two dogs over there.”

      Fletcher turned and looked at the beagle mix and black Lab, sitting side by side in the shade, watching all the activity along with everyone else. “They don’t seem to be bothering anyone.”

      “I’m allergic,” Carson announced tightly.

      Good to know, Fletcher thought.

      “I don’t want them barking and ruining a shot. We’re going to be filming here later.” Carson glared at Fletcher.

      “Right.” He nodded as if this were part of his job description.

      “So call whomever you have to call and get rid of them,” Carson continued.

      “I’ll try their owners,” Fletcher said dryly.

      Carson dismissed Fletcher and without a backward glance at any of the fans waving autograph books and calling his name, stepped inside his silver trailer.

      Unbeknownst to him, Lily had somehow sweet-talked her way past the security guards standing watch over the barricades and was already heading toward them. She looked disappointed to have missed her chance to wangle an introduction out of Fletcher while Fletcher was talking to Carson. “Hoping to say hello?” he razzed her as she approached, wishing she didn’t look quite so much like a Southern beauty queen this morning.

      “Something like that.” Lily looked past him, toward the door of Carson’s trailer.

      Fletcher moved to bar her path to the door and stood, legs braced apart, arms crossed in front of him. “Carson McRue specifically requested he not be disturbed,” Fletcher informed Lily with a stern look.

      Lily sighed, disappointed. “Maybe later,” she hoped out loud.

      Not if Fletcher had anything to do with it. Figuring, however, that Lily would not believe him even if he told her what Carson had just said about her, Fletcher let the opportunity to set her straight about the actor’s true character pass. He gestured toward the two dogs chasing each other on the green. “Want to help me round those two up?” he asked her casually.

      Lily’s full lower lip slid out into a delectable pout. “I’m not a dog person. You know that.”

      Fletcher could imagine she didn’t want to get her pale pink sundress dirty, and he couldn’t really blame her. It looked expensive. Too expensive to be wasted on a guy like Carson McRue. “How do you know?” he challenged her playfully. “You’ve never owned a dog.”

      “So what are you hinting here, Fletcher? That dogs are superior to cats?” She looked down her nose at him. Clearly, she didn’t think so.

      “For a young single woman in need of protection—” from men like Carson McRue, Fletcher added silently “—yes. They are.”

      Lily lifted a delicate brow. “Maybe from know-it-alls like you,” she acknowledged silkily.

      Fletcher looked deep into her eyes, wishing he could haul her into his arms and kiss her senseless СКАЧАТЬ