So what if she felt a jolt of anticipation—an excitement missing from her life lately. It had nothing to do with Colt. Well, maybe a little. She was only human.
Sable picked up his picture. Dark hair and killer blue eyes. A face that the camera, and millions of women, loved. Too good looking. And too aware of it. She could personally attest to his charm and sex appeal. The combination overwhelmed a person, making her forget herself and her job.
Last time, she had the luxury of walking away. It wouldn’t be as easy this time. Colton Landis’s girlfriend? What was she getting herself into?
CHAPTER TWO
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA. Rodeo Drive. Movie stars. Swimming pools.
Hillbillies.
Sable smiled. Never underestimate the influence of television and reruns. They were her friends during her early childhood. Was it any wonder her brain referenced the Clampetts rather than something more recent?
Sable relaxed against the soft, leather seats, lulled by the smooth-riding limousine and watched mansion after mansion pass by the tinted window. Quite an upgrade from her life in the military. Luxurious cars. Fancy homes. Bone china and sterling silver place settings.
As with her former life, all of this was temporary. Tonight she would sleep underneath bedding that cost more than she used to make in a month. However, as with the government-issue sheets she used in a tent in Afghanistan, they didn’t belong to her.
Sable couldn’t complain about the upgrade. She wouldn’t wake up with sand in her eyes and her mouth. Still, it would be a nice change to be an owner instead of a renter.
Roots. The older she became, the more she longed for them.
Moving from Army base to Army base hadn’t been easy. She and her mother followed her father. North Carolina. Japan. Germany. One year she attended three different schools.
That was unusual. However, the life of an Army brat was unpredictable. She learned early not to become attached. Friends, when she made them, didn’t last.
Television had been her entertainment, her companion, and more often than not, her babysitter. The life had been difficult for Sable. It had been brutal for her mother.
Iris Freed married Mathias Ford expecting non-stop excitement. Living in a foreign country sounded exotic to a girl from Treetop, Tennessee. She pictured parties and shopping and—well, she didn’t know. But it had to be better than the crushingly boring life she had lived during her first nineteen years.
Reality crashed in on her fast. There were no parties. Shopping meant the PX. Mat claimed the base was in Italy, but for all she knew, they were still in Tennessee. Military housing looked awfully like the shack in which she grew up. The men and women sounded the same. Acted the same.
Iris spent her days cleaning, cooking, and waiting for her husband. To her horror, she was stuck in the same routine, the same life from which she had run. She wasn’t a glamorous jet-setter. She was the one thing she swore she would never become. She was her mother.
Iris didn’t have the tools to leave. No work experience. No education. She found herself ruled by fear of the unknown. She couldn’t go back to Tennessee. After bragging up her new life, she would never live down ending up where she started.
The most logical move was to find another man to take care of her. One not in uniform. Iris was pretty. Soft blue eyes and a young, curvy body. How hard could it be? She caught Mat when every girl in eastern Tennessee wanted him. If she put her mind it, she could attract someone better. Richer.
Two things worked against Iris. Mat received orders, sending them to Guam. And she discovered she was pregnant. It was a bad combination for a woman planning to start a new life. Iris was stuck. Ten more years. A child to lug from base to base. A few affairs that her husband chose to ignore.
The day she turned thirty, Iris looked in the mirror. She wasn’t young. Nor was she old. The pretty on her face had worn off long ago. The prematurely deep lines around her mouth told the tale. Years of discontent. She was tired. Too tired to keep fighting a losing battle. Nothing would ever change. She was stuck.
Iris stopped thinking about leaving. Instead, settled in, resigned to live the rest of her life with a man she tolerated and a daughter she never wanted. Television had been Sable’s early companion. It became her mother’s last refuge.
Sable sometimes wondered how different her choices might have been if her mother had taken the slightest interest in her. Instead, she grew up guided by a stern, yet undeniably loving, military man.
Never, no matter their disagreements, did Sable doubt that her father loved her. It made their current estrangement all the more difficult. She tried, every day for a year, to make him listen. To explain why she walked away from his world. Every day, her efforts were met with silence.
Sable continued to reach out. Not every day. Sometimes once a week. Or once a month. All she could do was hope that one day, he would answer.
Closing her eyes, Sable adjusted her earphones, letting the music on her playlist wash away her troubled thoughts.
At the same time her mother embraced television as her method of virtual escapism, Sable turned to music. It filled her soul like nothing else. When she ran. Or lifted weights. Or sought a few minutes of peace in a crazy, war-torn country. Sable found solace in the melodies and words.
Moving to Harper Falls came with a huge bonus. She met, then became friends with Rose O’Brian. When she stopped to think about it, it never failed to amaze Sable. Long before they met, Rose’s songs filled Sable’s iPod. They helped her through some bleak moments when she found consolation in nothing else.
Life had a way of handing her unexpected pleasures. Calling Rose friend was one of them.
The car slowed, taking a right, stopping at the tall, wrought-iron gate. Sable didn’t remove her earphones. The driver knew the routine. Through the intercom, he spoke to a faceless voice, dutifully presenting his face for the camera. Less than thirty seconds later, the gate opened.
The surface of the driveway was smooth, not a bump or pothole in sight. Lined with trees and flowers of every color, it reflected the lady of the house. Bright and welcoming.
Exactly how Sable would describe Callie Flynn.
It wasn’t Sable’s first visit. Last year, while protecting Jade Marlowe, she had the pleasure of meeting the superstar and her equally famous husband, Caleb Landis.
At this point, after working for H&W for over a year, Sable didn’t experience the nerves she felt the first few times she met someone rich and famous. She had quickly found out that the old saying was true—they put their pants on one leg at a time—just like everyone else. True, their pants were more expensive, but that didn’t make the person special. They were average people living above-average lives.
Callie Flynn was different. No matter the setting or the clothes, the legendary beauty could never be called average. Sable expected movie star. She found the most down to Earth person she had ever met. Callie had a light soul. A fact reflected in every thing, and person, who surrounded her. She didn’t have a pretentious bone in her body.
The first time they met, Callie ignored Sable’s outstretched hand, drawing her into a warm hug. Lemons and an elusive fragrance. Sable later found out it was a perfume made especially for Callie. It suited her perfectly.
They hadn’t spent a lot of time together, but Sable knew, without a doubt, that Callie was exactly the person she appeared to be.
This job was filled with all kinds of potential pitfalls, beginning and ending with Colton Landis. However, knowing she would get to spend time with his mother almost made up for the trouble she knew was ahead.
Before the car came to a full stop, the front door opened. Callie Flynn, her famous screen goddess face free of makeup and beaming, rushed out. Dressed in jeans and a t-shirt the exact color of her famous gray eyes, the dark-haired woman with bare feet was not how the world would picture Callie at home.
To her family and friends, this was the real Callie Flynn. The woman they knew and loved.
“Welcome back.”
Sable breathed deeply. Lemons and Callie. The other woman’s embrace was warm, lasting longer than the normal greeting between acquaintances. Returning the hug, Sable reveled in it, wondering if this was what it felt like to know a mother’s love.
A prickling of tears made Sable blink. Whoa. Put on the breaks. There was no way she would use Callie as a balm for her mother issues. It was foolish. Not to mention dangerous.
Callie welcomed her into her home. As an employee and, perhaps, as a friend. Expecting more would be looking for trouble.
“I had hoped the next time we saw you, it would be strictly social.” Callie linked her arm with Sable’s, guiding her into the house. “Oh, well. The reason you’ve come is unpleasant. That doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy having you with us.”
Before Sable could comment, a booming voice filled the room.
“There she is.”
Caleb Landis lifted Sable off the floor, his strong arms holding her close. He set her down, a grin lighting his handsome face. Tall and fit, no one would guess he was in his sixties. He looked and acted twenty years younger.
“Ever think about changing careers?”
“Caleb,” Callie warned with an indulgent laugh.
“What?” Caleb slipped his arm around his wife’s shoulders. When Callie was around, he had to touch her. It was as natural as breathing and just as necessary. “Sable has a face the camera would love.”
“Really?”
The last thing she wanted was to be an actor. However, Sable was only human. The idea that a man of Caleb Landis’ stature and experience thought she could be a star gave her ego a nice boost.
“Don’t encourage him.” Callie’s gray eyes darkened with speculation. “Unless you’re interested. You have a very expressive face, Sable.”
“I do?”
That was news. Sable worked hard on her poker face. In her Army days, she bluffed her way through quite a few card games, winning more often than not. Expressive? Really. Her Army buddies would find that as surprising as she did.
“Absolutely. Are you interested?”
“God no.” Not wanting to sound ungrateful, Sable added, “I’m flattered. However, it isn’t for me.”
“I didn’t think so,” Callie smiled. “Think of it as an option. It’s nice to have them.”
Sable thought of her mother. Stuck for most of her life with no idea how to get out. Callie was right. Life was better with options.
“Come along. Everyone is out on the terrace.”
“Everyone?”
“This is one of those rare, wonderful times when all my boys are in town. When it occurs, I like to have them near as often as possible.”
Sable trailed behind the couple. Light poured into the room from more windows than she could count. Bright, cheery colors added to the feeling of perpetual spring. Flower arrangements. The scent of roses.
Unlike the places where Sable grew up, it wasn’t merely a place to sleep and eat. It was a home.
“Sable.”
Laughing, Sable watched as a beautiful redhead rushed across the lawn. Unlike the first time they met, Jade Marlowe radiated happiness. It looked good on her.
“How are you?”
“Great.” Once more, Sable found herself returning an enthusiastic hug. “I don’t have to ask. You’re glowing.” Sable lowered her voice. “A great sex life does wonders for the complexion.”
“You won’t make me blush,” Jade insisted though a telltale trace of color bloomed on her cheeks.
“And love,” Sable added.
Jade’s gaze shifted over Sable’s shoulder, the emerald color deepening. “Yes. Love makes all the difference.”
Garrett Landis, sensing his lady’s interest, winked. He and his brother Nate stood on the lawn with a tall, slender blonde. From the look on Nate’s face, Sable deduced she had to be Paige Thornton. Love was definitely in the air.
“Wyatt. Pour Sable something to drink.”
Callie patted her oldest son’s arm before taking a seat next to Caleb.
“Tea or lemonade.” Wyatt gestured toward the table. Two blue pitchers with matching glasses and plates of cookies and sandwiches covered the surface.
“Lemonade, please. I remember it from the last time I was here. I’ve craved it ever since.”
Colt exited the house, a glass of lemonade in one hand. Well-worn jeans emphasized his long legs and a t-shirt proclaiming his love for Pat Benatar. His dark hair mussed. Natural or artful? Sable decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. He too was barefoot. To her chagrin, Sable decided even his toes were sexy.
“Taste and beauty. You’re a woman after my own heart.”
“Oh, brother,” Sable groaned at Colton’s corny line. She thought she had mumbled them under her breath, but Wyatt’s laugh told her he heard her comment.
“Finally, a woman not instantly swayed by the famous Colton Landis. Forget his heart, you can have mine.”
“I don’t know about your sons, Callie. They seem awfully free and easy with their vital organs.”
“Watch it, boys. Sable can give as good as she gets. Sit. Tell us what you’ve been up to.”
“There isn’t much to tell.” Avoiding the seat next to Colt, Sable walked to the nearest empty chair—all the way across the patio.
“Come on,” Jade urged. “You don’t have to name names. Tell us about your last job. Where did you go?”
“The Ukraine. Come on,” Sable looked around. “Wouldn’t you rather talk about something else?”
“Was there a handsome man involved?” Callie asked.
“Yes.”
“Then spill.”
Sable spent the next hour recounting her last adventure. She hadn’t lied. The job was as routine as they came. She played babysitter to the three-year-old son of a high-powered businessman. His business took him to the Ukraine to conduct some sensitive negotiations, involving what, Sable didn’t know.
Rather than miss his son’s birthday, he brought his family along. It was up to Sable to make sure no one kidnapped the boy. It wasn’t as ridiculous as it sounded. Things like that happened all the time. However, the closest Sable came to anything dangerous was some suspicious-looking borscht. She skipped the oddly colored soup and returned to the United States.
“Sounds boring.”
“In the best possible way,” she assured Nate. “I never hope for trouble. Especially when there is a child involved.”
“As a mother, I agree. As a woman?” Callie’s eyes sparkled. “What about the handsome man?”
“Richard Cullen IV.” Sable waited for a beat. “Three years old and already a heartbreaker. It was love at first sight.”
The rest of the afternoon flowed in a similar vein. Casual and relaxed. It would have been easy for her to forget that she was there to do a job. Feeling Colton’s gaze reminded her.
Sable met his laser-blue eyes, causing a funny jump in her pulse. It wasn’t fair. Colt was the first man in a long time to interest her libido. He was the job. Hands off. It didn’t matter that Alex had given her the green light. She knew the rules. Bend them once and there could be a whole slippery slide effect.
Discipline. In both body and mind. How many times had her father said that? It was the code she lived by. She sure as hell wasn’t going to break it for a casual fling.
“This has been fun, but we need to get down to business.”
“Can’t it wait until tomorrow?” Jade asked.
“Sorry,” Sable shook her head. “I’m on your brother’s dime. It isn’t right for me to take advantage.”
“Take advantage all you like.” Colt’s smile slowly widened, his eyes never leaving hers. “I’m easy.”
“He’s your son,” Wyatt said to his father. “Tell him what’s what.”
Before Sable’s eyes, Caleb morphed from genial to serious.
“Colton. My office. Now.”
“Oh, boy.” Nate rubbed his hands together with glee. “Colt is in f
or it now.”
“You get too much pleasure out of this.” Paige looked around. Wyatt and Garrett’s expressions mirrored Nate’s. “Look at you. He’s your brother.”
“Our pampered little brother.” Wyatt took a sip of tea. “Now and then he needs to be put in his place.”
“Should I go with them?” Sable started to rise.
“Stay.” Callie patted the seat Caleb had recently vacated. When Sable joined her, she took her hand. “Caleb is going to set a few ground rules, nothing more. I’ll admit that too often, Colt gets his way.”
“He won’t with me.” Sable’s firm tone was for her benefit as much as for the Landis clan.
“Naturally. Colt would never force himself on you. Never,” Callie said emphatically.
“I never thought he would.”
Satisfied, Callie nodded. “He will make comments. It’s in his nature to tease and flirt. I’m afraid he gets that from me.”
“On you it’s adorable.” Wyatt winked at his mother. “Colt can come off as obnoxious.”
“You’re making too much of this.” Sable refused to let them treat her as if she couldn’t take care of herself, or handle any innuendo Colt might shoot her way. “Nothing Caleb says will stop Colt from being who he is. He flirts. Sometimes I’ll ignore him. Sometimes I’ll tell him to go to hell.”
“We know you can handle Colt,” Callie said with an easy smile.
“Then what is this about?”
“Caleb believes in treating people with respect. Men, women, and children. That is how we raised our boys. Sometimes, one,” Callie looked from son to son, “or more of them needs reminding. In private.”
COLT FOLLOWED HIS father. Caleb always used his office when having a talk with one of his sons When he was nine and broke his mother’s favorite vase, Colt shook in his shoes. Now, at the ripe old age of twenty-seven, he couldn’t help it. He felt a little quake. It didn’t matter what he’d done or hadn’t done. His father meant the world to him. If he in any way disappointed the best man he had ever known, Colt became slightly sick to his stomach.
“Shut the door and sit down.”
Dreaming Of Your Love (Hollywood Legends #3) Page 3