by Cat Schield
The teenager’s earnest declaration made Scarlett’s heart bump. “I’m happy to do it. You only turn eighteen once.”
As her gaze followed Trent and his two companions across the pool deck, Scarlett thought about her own eighteenth birthday. She’d been doing some pretty hard partying in the year leading up to it. The crowd she ran with in Hollywood had been wealthy and wild, hitting clubs, doing whatever they felt like. She stood watching Madison’s friends and tried to remember when she’d last known such innocuous delight.
“Don’t worry, Scarlett,” the bouncer told her, misinterpreting her melancholy as concern. Dave had biceps the size of full-grown trees and a nose that looked as if it had been broken a few times. “We’ll keep an eye on the kids. Everyone knows that Madison is Logan’s niece.”
“Thanks, Dave.” She touched his arm to show her appreciation. “I can’t have anything go wrong today.”
Four more kids showed up before the birthday girl made an appearance. Scarlett directed them to their friends and wondered what could be keeping Madison. Logan had to know his niece was super excited about her birthday party. Why would he delay her? Knowing Logan, he was probably lecturing Madison on all the things she wasn’t supposed to do for the next twelve hours.
Scarlett unlocked her phone’s screen, preparing to call Logan, when it began to ring. It was her assistant calling.
Sandy’s voice was an octave higher than normal as she explained the reason for her call. “Chase Reynolds was here.” Although the words were professional enough, Sandy sounded more like an infatuated teenager than her usual unflappable self.
Scarlett couldn’t stop herself from smiling. The six-foot-three-inch action hero turned director could electrify the most jaded starlets in Hollywood. Sandy wouldn’t have a chance. Then her assistant’s words sank in.
“He was there? You mean he left? Where did he go?”
“Logan and Madison stopped by to find you and he left with them.”
Her stomach clenched. “Was anyone else with Chase?
“An older man. Balding. Bobby something.”
Chase must have really turned on the charm. This was not the efficient way Sandy normally functioned.
“Bobby McDermott.” Scarlett didn’t wait for Sandy to confirm. “Did Chase and Bobby say where they were heading?”
“To find you.”
Several unladylike curses raced through Scarlett’s mind. She should have known that dodging Bobby’s calls was a bad idea, but she thought he’d realize she was serious about her disinterest in the project and move on. Sure, she was perfect for the part, but there were a dozen other actresses that would fit the bill just as well.
Anxiety rushed to fill the space where contentment had been only minutes earlier. Bobby and Chase couldn’t have appeared at a worse time. In the past two weeks, she and Logan had begun to form a connection, but he still didn’t fully trust her. If he thought she’d been lying about returning to acting, it might damage the tentative rapport growing between them.
“Thanks for the heads-up,” she told Sandy before disconnecting the phone.
She imagined Bobby filling in Logan on the reason for his visit and the TV series they wanted her to do. Her muscles tensed as she contemplated how disappointed Logan would be in her. Of course he would assume the worst—that she’d lied when she’d told him she wasn’t interested in the part.
She’d worked herself into quite a panic by the time Madison stepped off the elevator, her gaze glued on Chase Reynolds’s handsome face. Despite her grim, chaotic emotions, Scarlett’s amusement flared. Chase’s good looks and charisma were a forceful thing. What made him completely irresistible, however, was that beneath the larger-than-life movie star lurked a genuinely nice guy.
Scarlett’s focus shifted from the movie hero to the real-life hero and her mood plummeted. Logan looked like an advancing army intent on total annihilation. When he caught sight of her standing at the entrance to the club, she decided she’d seen attacking pit bulls that looked friendlier.
Tearing her gaze from Logan’s stony expression, she greeted Bobby. “Hi. What are you doing here?” Twenty years of acting wasn’t enough to keep the tension from her voice, but only Logan seemed to notice.
“Well, if Mohammed won’t come to the mountain...” Bobby boomed, his eyes crinkling as he left the rest of the idiom hanging. “You look fabulous as always.” He leaned in to kiss her cheek.
From the corner of her eye, Scarlett caught Logan’s expression shift into a glower. She ignored the hollow in her stomach and pulled back to smile at Chase. “Hello, Chase. Nice to see you again.”
Chase nodded, sweeping her into a very tight, very friendly hug. “Been a while. And Bobby’s right, you look great.”
“Vegas agrees with me.” She meant the remark for Logan, but when her eyes met his, they were hard and flat. His disapproval wasn’t a surprise, but her anxious reaction to it was. Feeling this vulnerable with a man was a miserable sensation, but if she raised her defenses she might push Logan away. And that would be so much worse. “I see you’ve met Logan Wolfe and his niece, Madison.”
“Yes,” Bobby said. “She’s been telling us that it’s her eighteenth birthday today and you’ve planned a fun-filled day for her and her friends.”
“Yes, and they’re all waiting for her in the club.” Scarlett wasn’t sure if Madison heard her because the birthday girl’s attention remained fixed on Chase. His blinding white smile and the glint in his light brown eyes had mesmerized her. “You shouldn’t keep them waiting.”
“Oh, I’m sure they won’t mind.”
“But you’re the guest of honor.” Scarlett’s speaking glance was wasted on Madison, but Chase noticed. “Logan, why don’t you escort Madison to cabana four and make sure you’re happy with all the arrangements.”
She put a slight emphasis on the final word, hoping he’d understand her message. To appease Logan she’d agreed to let four of his security people—two men and two women—hang out with the party. To keep them unobtrusive, Logan had caved to them guarding in bathing suits. The kids would be kept under observation and never know it.
“But...” Madison looked as if she’d rather die than have her uncle show up at her party, but before she could protest, Chase spoke up.
“I’ll come, too,” the actor said. “I’ve heard that Caprice is a terrific club.”
“It’s fabulous,” Madison agreed, catching him by the arm and turning him toward the pool.
While the teenager practically floated into the club between Logan and Chase, Bobby said, “Beautiful girl. She told me she’s an actress.”
Scarlett recognized the look in Bobby’s eye. “It’s not what her parents want for her.”
“She seems pretty headstrong.”
“You don’t know the half of it.”
Bobby laughed at her tone. “You know, she might work as our main character’s daughter.”
Seeing that the producer wasn’t kidding, Scarlett grabbed his arm. “Oh, please don’t put that idea in her head. I’m supposed to be spending the summer convincing her to go to college. If she heads off to Hollywood instead and her uncle thinks I had anything to do with it, he’ll kill me.”
Her vehemence made Bobby’s eyebrows go up. “Well, if it’s that important to you, of course I won’t say a word.”
“Thank you.”
Her gaze shot across the pool deck to where the four teenage girls had clustered around Chase. As handsome and perfect as he was, her attention was drawn to where Logan stood, conversing with one of his employees. He possessed a charismatic pull as potent as the movie star’s, but was too serious-minded to let it shine. Scarlett experienced a delicious thrill as he caught her watching him. He looked powerful and dangerous as his eyes promised her they were going to have a long and intense conversation.
“Looks like you have your hands full at the moment,” Bobby said. “And I’m feeling lucky. Perhaps we should catch up over drinks later.”
She shifted her attention to the producer and smiled in relief. “That would be great. I’ll have my assistant get you and Chase set up in a suite.” As she called Sandy, Scarlett spotted Logan and Chase heading her way. Whatever they were talking about wasn’t improving Logan’s mood.
He practically vibrated with annoyance as he stopped beside her. “Chase here tells me that you two are doing a TV series together.”
“Ah...” Scarlett felt off balance, as if she’d been struck by a rogue wave. This was not the time or place for this conversation. “That’s not exactly true.”
“No?” Logan demanded, his hard voice low. “So what is exactly true?”
“I told Bobby no.” She shot the producer an apologetic look.
“If that’s true, then why are they here?”
“To talk her into changing her mind,” Chase explained. “The part could have been written specifically for her and she knows it.”
“Then maybe she should move back to Hollywood and take it.” His congenial tone didn’t match the tightness around his mouth.
Stung by Logan’s negative assumption about her, Scarlett hastened to correct him. “I’m not going anywhere. My life is here. I love what I’m doing.” Why wouldn’t he give her the benefit of the doubt?
“But you’re an actress,” Bobby insisted. “And a damn good one.”
“Will you all stop ganging up on me?” Scarlett took Bobby and Chase by the arms and turned them toward the door. “You two run along and win some money. I’ll see you in a couple hours.”
With those two taken care of for the moment, Scarlett turned to her next problem, but before she could defend herself against the recriminations in Logan’s eyes, a pair of slim arms slipped around her neck in a gleeful chokehold.
“You are the best. I can’t believe Chase Reynolds came to meet my friends. He’s so amazing.”
“That’s Chase for you. Always ready to make new friends.” Released from the exuberant hug, Scarlett turned to smile at Madison.
“I can’t believe you two used to date.”
Scarlett’s gaze shot to Logan. He had his phone out and was texting someone. She could only pray he hadn’t heard. “Yes, well. It was a long time ago. Now, I hope the rest of the day isn’t a letdown. I don’t have anything to top that.”
“No worries. Everything is fabulous. I’m so glad Uncle Logan let me hang with you this summer.” She winked at Logan.
Scarlett patted Madison’s arm. “You can show your gratitude by going to college this fall.”
Madison rolled her eyes, but her smile was bright as she blew Logan a flirty kiss and returned to her guests.
“I’ll be back around five to escort you to Richesse,” Scarlett called after her. Then she turned her attention back to Logan. “You can stop looking all annoyed with me. No matter how perfect the part is, I’m not taking it.”
* * *
Logan hated to feel her slip away from him bit by bit, but he didn’t want to invest his heart only to have it crushed when she went back to her life in L.A. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? If those two came all this way to meet with you in person, they must really want to work with you. Perhaps you’re making a mistake by turning them down.”
“You seem pretty eager to get rid of me,” Scarlett pointed out. “What’s the matter, Logan? Are you afraid you’ll get used to having me around?”
Her remark hit way too close to home, but Logan had spent enough time with her these past few days to recognize the uncertainty she was trying to hide. Glimpsing her vulnerability took the edge off his irritation.
He took her hand and began pulling her out of the club. “I’m already used to having you around,” he told her, his voice rough and unhappy.
“Then why...?”
“What do you want me to tell you?” he demanded. “That I don’t want you to go?”
“That would be nice.”
She looked resolute and yet hopeful at the same time. Was she really that clueless about how strongly she moved him? After the past few evenings they’d spent together, how was that possible? Making love with her had turned him inside out. He wanted her with a fierceness he’d never known before.
“I can’t tell you that.”
He didn’t want to care one way or another what she did with her life. What they were doing wasn’t serious or life-changing. They were simply indulging in some good old-fashioned lust. So what if he couldn’t stop thinking about her? Or that he missed her whenever she wasn’t around? When she returned to L.A., he’d have no further need to make up reasons to visit Fontaine Richesse. He could stop acting like a smitten fool and recommit his attention to the business.
“Why not?”
“Because you need to make up your own mind about what you’re going to do with your future.” Even as he said the words he wished them back. Hadn’t he already lost one woman because his pride had kept him from asking her to stay?
“Maybe I want a little input from you. I thought something was happening here. Am I wrong?”
When he didn’t immediately respond, she tossed her head and strode off, not once looking back to see if he would follow. Which, of course, he did. His long strides brought him even with her in seconds.
“I’m sorry I can’t give you what you need.” After seeing the hurt that lanced through her eyes, he opted to explain himself further. “If you decide to stay here because of something you think is happening between us, what are your expectations for down the road?”
“I don’t know.” She narrowed her eyes and regarded him warily. “What are you trying to say?”
“We’re very different. We argue all the time. Do you see this thing between us going anywhere?”
“Obviously you don’t.”
From the sharpness of her tone, he realized she wasn’t thinking in terms of a few weeks or even a few months. It shifted his perception. But no matter what either of them wanted, the fact remained that their personalities had a knack for rubbing each other raw. How long before passion faded and all that was left between them was a long list of grievances?
He liked her too much to end up with animosity between them.
“Tell me about the part those Hollywood guys came out to discuss with you.”
“I don’t know why they’re so determined to have me.” If any other woman had uttered those words, she might have been fishing for a compliment, but Scarlett wasn’t reticent about her talent or her beauty. “I can think of a dozen other actresses who would be just as good or better.”
“Maybe they all turned the part down.”
She bestowed a droll smile on him. “Amazingly enough, I’m the first person they’ve offered the part to.”
Logan hadn’t meant his remark the way she took it. “I didn’t mean to imply that you were a last choice. Based on what you’ve been saying about being committed to Fontaine Richesse, I thought you wanted me to believe you’d left your career behind in Hollywood.”
“I did leave it behind.” She sighed. “Mostly.”
It was her equivocating that renewed his frustration. “But it followed you here.”
“Bobby is a hard man to say no to.”
“I suppose it depends on how sincere you were.” Why couldn’t she just admit that the offer intrigued her?
“You can’t seriously believe that I would give up my life here?” She scrutinized his expression. “My family’s here. I have a career I love, and things...have gotten very exciting.”
He gripped her arm and stopped her. “What sort of things?” He hadn’t meant to sound so intense. But he needed to hear her admit how she felt about him.
Her lip
s parted, but no words emerged. Finally, she shrugged. “Tiberius’s unsolved murder. His files. My attack.”
All of which meant she was in danger. Maybe returning to Hollywood wasn’t such a bad idea. “All good reasons for you to leave Las Vegas and take the part.”
Scarlett shook her head, then regarded him. “Why is it so damn important to you that I take Bobby’s offer?”
Because he needed to prepare himself if she was going to leave.
“You have a knack for finding trouble. I just want to know when my life is going to get back to normal.”
* * *
Irritation with Logan burned in Scarlett’s chest during the hours after they parted until she returned to collect Madison and her friends and bring them back to Fontaine Richesse. She tried not to let his willingness to be rid of her dent her ego, but his “support” of her career had leveled a crushing blow to her heart. How had she so misread the situation between them? Granted, it wasn’t easy getting past his hard exterior to the caring, passionate man beneath. But in the past two weeks, she’d thought she was starting to make inroads.
He’d never be a tender romantic, but she’d eat that sort of guy up in two bites. Logan was difficult and fascinating. She could spend a lifetime with him and never get bored. The tail end of the impulsive thought snagged her full attention.
When had she starting thinking in terms of a lifetime with Logan? Her immediate reaction was to shy away from her heart’s answer. She reminded herself that her first description of the man was that he was difficult. Did she really want to spend the rest of her life with such an intractable male?
The answer was yes if the man was Logan Wolfe.
He was the only man she’d never been able to manipulate. This meant that she had to be her genuine self around him or he’d call her on it. That was both liberating and terrifying. Letting him glimpse her faults and vulnerabilities meant at any moment he could use her weaknesses against her. Would he?
A breathy laugh puffed out of her. And she’d accused him of having trust issues. She was not much better. She could count on one hand all the people she trusted in the world. The first was her mother. The next two, her sisters, Harper and Violet. The fourth, she was on her way to meet for a drink. Scarlett contemplated her thumb. Did she count Logan among her allies?