Hot Property

by Carly Phillips

  “John Roper, pleased to meet you.” He extended his hand in greeting.

  She grabbed it for a surprisingly strong shake. “Hannah Gregory,” she said.

  He snapped his fingers in the air. “‘Lies Lost,’” he said, suddenly remembering her Top 40 hit. “I’m a fan.”

  Her smile grew wider. “Thanks. Since I have three brothers and I was born and raised in New York, I’m a die-hard Renegades fan. Nice to meet you, too,” she said. Leaning back, she let herself grow more comfortable in the water.

  He waited for a negative comment on his season, but it never came.

  “So what are you doing here at the lodge?” he asked.

  “The band wanted to get away, so here I am.” She waved one arm in the air. “They went skiing. Brr,” she said, her distaste for the outdoor sport obvious. “How about you? What brings you to Greenlawn?”

  He contemplated how to phrase his kidnapping diplomatically. “R and R,” he finally said, opting for discretion.

  “That seems to be what this place is known for.”

  “So I hear.”

  She began to hum, a pleasant sound that didn’t disturb him, and he shut his eyes once more.

  After a few minutes, her voice once again broke the silence. “Listen, the boys and I are having a small get-together in our suite tonight. Why don’t you join us?” she asked. “They’d love to meet you. Especially Mike, my drummer. He’s also a fan.”

  Roper opened his eyes to see she wasn’t even looking at him. In fact, her eyes were shut and she was enjoying the bubbling water. Clearly she wasn’t flirting with him, just extending an invitation. One he appreciated, since he was ready for some human companionship here in Greenlawn.

  He was surprised to realize that he was relieved the beautiful Hannah wasn’t showing any interest. Though there might have been a time when her perky breasts and pretty face, all probably molded by a plastic surgeon, might have appealed to him, it was the lightly freckled Floridian who held his interest now. Despite the fact that she’d tricked him into coming up here.

  Damn Amy, even out of sight she wasn’t out of mind. She had obviously spoiled him for anyone else, which only served to convince him he had to act on his desire.

  And what better way to break the ice after a week of not speaking than at a small party? “Sure. I’d love to come,” he told Hannah. It wasn’t as if he had someplace else to be tonight. He was on his own in this little slice of seclusion.

  “Great.” She still didn’t open her eyes. “I’m catering food up to my room. That’s why we love this place. We can really keep to ourselves.”

  He nodded. That suited his purposes just fine. He glanced up at the ceiling, then asked Hannah the question circling in his head. “Mind if I bring a friend tonight?”

  She shook her head. “Not at all. The more the merrier.” She rattled off her suite number, then began to chat with him about the season in a way that told him she was one of the minority—an understanding fan who knew even a million-dollar player could have a bad stretch.

  By the time he climbed out of the water, he realized that despite Hannah’s celebrity, she was as down-to-earth as they came. She even reminded him of Amy.

  He wrapped a towel around his waist and ran his fingers through his hair. “I’ll see you around eight?” he asked.

  Hannah, who’d also come out of the tub and had begun to dry herself off, nodded. “Come earlier if you can’t find anything to keep yourself occupied,” she said.

  “I might just do that.”

  “Do what?” a familiar female voice asked.

  He jerked around to see Amy staring at them. He wondered what she’d overheard, and worse, what she thought was going on between them.

  “Hey, there,” he said to Amy, trying not to look or feel guilty when he had no reason.

  “Hi.” Amy lifted one hand in an awkward wave. The other pulled tighter on the towel that covered her one-piece bathing suit. “I didn’t mean to interrupt. I just thought a sauna would be a great way to finish off this awful cold. And it’s through there. The sauna, I mean.” Her gaze darted from Roper to Hannah, then back again. She took a step back, and then another one, clearly intending to escape.

  “Don’t go.” Her obvious discomfort tugged at something inside him and he wanted to reassure her. “Hannah was just inviting us to a party tonight. Hannah Gregory, meet Amy Stone. Amy, Hannah is—”

  “I know who Hannah is,” Amy said, extending her hand. “Nice to meet you. I love your music,” she said with genuine warmth.

  More warmth than she was shooting his way at the moment.

  Hannah beamed at the compliment, suddenly looking even younger than she really was. Given the frosty look Amy turned his way, and considering she had walked in on the tail end of their conversation, it was obvious she thought the events at her cousin’s wedding were repeating themselves. She believed she’d witnessed John Roper picking up a woman while he had another one waiting in the wings, hell, while she was upstairs sick.

  Apparently Amy didn’t know him as well as she thought she did. It was time he enlightened her as to the man he really was.

  He looked forward to the challenge and to ending the night exactly where he belonged. In Amy’s bed.

  BACK IN HER ROOM, AS AMY showered to get ready for Hannah’s party, she knew there was no way she could compete with a music pop star who was gorgeous, impeccably groomed and much more worldly than Amy could ever be. Again, it wasn’t that she lacked self-esteem, she just understood what it took to keep up in Roper and Hannah’s world. They exuded star quality without effort, and as young as Hannah was, Amy had no doubt she’d had plastic surgery of some sort to keep that perfect body and face. So Amy wasn’t even going to put herself in that league. As her mother had taught her, she should always just be herself.

  Still, Amy was human and she couldn’t help but wonder what Roper had thought when he’d turned from Hannah in her itsy-bitsy teenie-weenie bikini to face Amy in her Speedo one-piece racing suit.

  It shouldn’t matter.

  But it did.

  Just like she shouldn’t be personally interested in Roper.

  But she was.

  And that truth had been driven home to her when she’d heard the sound of Roper’s deep, familiar laugh coming from the whirlpool and she’d walked in on him making time with a gorgeous woman who, true to form, hung on his every word.

  Amy knew she ought to have expected it, but since she hadn’t talked to him in a week and their last real encounter had been an argument, she hadn’t been able to laugh it off. Instead, unwanted and unbidden jealousy had swamped her and remained with her, even now.

  Four days with a respiratory virus had nearly killed her, and Amy had dragged herself out of bed for the first time in days to take a sauna and visit the outside world. She hadn’t expected to run into Roper, and she sure as heck thought she’d look better the first time she did. But her nose was still red, her eyes sunken and tired-looking and her choice of bathing suit wasn’t exactly sexy.

  She stepped out of the shower and towel-dried her hair, then used a diffuser to air-dry the curls. The one benefit to being in New York was the lack of constant humidity, but there was no getting away from the fact that she wasn’t a model-thin, glossy-haired starlet. She picked clothes that suited her, but at times like these it was hard to remember that she liked herself just fine.

  Drawing a deep breath, she headed over to the room number where Hannah was staying. She’d told Roper she’d meet him there, knowing she’d need time to pull herself together before seeing him again.

  Voices, laughter and soft music sounded from inside. Amy knocked once and the door eased open, so she let herself inside. She took in the small group of people, immediately noticing they were dressed as casually as she was in her jeans and a loose-fitting cotton long-sleeved T-shirt. One hurdle over, she managed to relax.

  Then she zeroed in on Roper sitting beside Hannah, along with a bunch of other guys who joked an
d talked while she strummed on her guitar. Although he was laughing and enjoying himself with the guys, Roper didn’t look particularly hung up on the pretty musician. In fact, he seemed more mellow and relaxed than she’d ever seen him.

  A sudden sense of peace settled over Amy as she realized she’d done the right thing by bringing him here. At that moment, he seemed to sense her presence. He turned her way, his gaze locking on hers. A welcoming smile eased the corners of his mouth upward in a grin that told her he was genuinely happy to see her.

  She walked over and joined the group.

  “Hi, there,” Roper said, light sparkling in his eyes.

  “Hi,” Amy said, not wanting to interrupt the ongoing conversation.

  “Join us,” Hannah said.

  “We’re just listening to Hannah and her favorite relaxing music,” one of the guys said.

  The other woman rolled her eyes. “They are not. They’re being guys, making crude jokes and basically ignoring me,” Hannah said.

  “Who’s this pretty lady?” A big, dark-haired, tattooed guy asked. His easy laugh was at odds with his rougher appearance, and Amy could tell he was a teddy bear in wolf’s clothing.

  “I’m so bad at names.” Hannah blushed. “But I remember your first name. It’s Amy. Amy…?”

  “Stone,” Roper said, rising and stepping over to join Amy, placing a protective, possessive arm around her shoulders. “Amy Stone, meet Mike Morris, the drummer.”

  “Hey, don’t forget about us,” another of the group said.

  Amy glanced over. Two identical faces, both blond-haired men, stared back at her.

  “Joe and John Glover, Amy Stone.” Hannah gestured between all involved. “You can see how rough it is. I’m surrounded by guys all the time. I’m glad to have another girl here.” She placed her guitar beside her and jumped up. “Me and the guys, we tour together all the time, but sometimes it gets a bit much, if you know what I mean.”

  Amy laughed, glancing at the men she found herself suddenly surrounded by. “I can imagine.”

  “Don’t listen to her,” Mike said. “She loves us.” His gaze caught Hannah’s for a brief second before he quickly glanced back at the other guys.

  “Like a brother, baby.” She made a face at her drummer, but the stare and the connection lasted long enough to tell Amy there was something between them. Something they both fought to deny.

  Hannah turned to Amy. “Come on, let’s get to know each other,” Hannah said, pulling her away from Roper and to the far side of the room.

  She handed Amy a can of Coke and grabbed one for herself, another thing that surprised Amy. No drugs or alcohol. Everyone here seemed high on just hanging out and enjoying life.

  “So how do you know Roper?” Hannah asked Amy.

  “I work for his PR firm.”

  “Publicist?” Hannah asked, drinking her Coke directly from the can.

  Amy nodded. “But on this assignment, I’m more like his handler.”

  Hannah nodded. “I’m ducking my handler-manager at the moment,” she said, sounding way too wise for her years.

  Amy was intrigued. “Mind if I ask why?”

  Hannah strode to the window and looked out. Amy joined her, struck by the beauty of the falling snow. White and full flakes dropped against the backdrop of the inky night sky. So different from Florida and yet so magnificent it took her breath away.

  Hannah sighed. “My manager likes to keep me in the headlines even when I don’t have a CD currently out. You know the expression, no publicity is bad publicity? Well she lives by that mantra and frankly it exhausts me.”

  “How so?” Amy wanted a point of comparison for Roper’s life. The two sounded similar.

  “I can’t go out for dinner without the press finding out about it. If I call a guy friend just because I need a shoulder to cry on, the next thing I know I’m reading about how we’re an item. I know this sounds selfish considering how fortunate I’ve been, but I need some downtime and it’s been hard to get it lately.” She glanced around the room at the guys in the band. “They understand and feel the same way. So we came up here without telling her where we are.”

  Amy placed her soda can down, unopened. “Boy, we all have a lot in common.” She didn’t know why she thought she could trust Hannah, but she did. Something about the sincerity she sensed in the other woman’s demeanor and personality spoke to Amy. “I basically dragged Roper up here kicking and screaming for the same reasons. Nobody knows where he is and I really need to keep it that way.”

  Hannah turned toward Amy, her eyes full of understanding. “He’s had it rough lately, hasn’t he?”

  “He has. Much more than he deserves. I want him to have time to regroup without personal issues pulling at him. Every day he gets here is a bonus as far as I’m concerned.”

  “He won’t be outed by any of us, that I can promise you.” Hannah crossed her heart.

  Amy glanced across the room and her gaze met Roper’s. He held the stare for a long moment before he winked and turned his attention back to whatever Mike was saying.

  They hadn’t had a real conversation since the car ride up here one week ago. Her cold had sidelined her, but watching him now, maybe it was for the best. He’d had a chance to come to grips with what she’d done and why. He’d needed to be here and he understood that now.

  Amy refocused on Hannah, realizing Roper’s emotional health depended on everyone’s discretion, but apparently Hannah felt the same way. “I believe you’ll keep his location secret.”

  “I will. We’re in seclusion, too.” Hannah leaned closer. “You care about him, don’t you?”

  “Of course I do. He’s my client and this is my first big assignment. I can’t afford to have him dissatisfied with the end result.”

  Hannah rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t talking about liking him as a client. I saw the way you were looking at him. Not just now, which was pretty intense, but earlier at the pool. You didn’t like finding him hanging out with me.”

  “I…” Amy opened her mouth, then shut it again. She thought about denying the other woman’s words but what was the point. “Was it that obvious?” Amy asked.

  Hannah nodded. “I’m afraid so.”

  “It wasn’t personal.” Amy raised her hands to her hot cheeks, embarrassed at being found out. And here she thought she’d managed to seem professional.

  “I know that.” Hannah waved a hand, dismissing Amy’s concerns. “Want to know how I know? I mean, can I share a secret so you’ll understand?”

  “Absolutely,” Amy said.

  “I figured it out because I have the same problem with Mike.” She tipped her head toward the drummer, who still stood talking to Roper. “I’m head over heels,” she said with a sigh. “We spend so much time together on the road, we know each other really well. I know he finds me attractive. I see how he looks at me, but he won’t act on it.”

  “Why not?” Amy shot a covert look at the big man who looked as if he could handle himself with this or any woman.

  “He says he doesn’t want to screw with the chemistry of the band if something goes wrong. But that isn’t it.” Hannah shook her hair out of her face. “It’s the age thing. There’s ten years between us. That’s an issue for him, not me. Age and Big Mama.”

  “Who?” Amy tried not to laugh at the name.

  “My mother,” Hannah said, wrinkling her nose. “And the band’s manager I was telling you about earlier. I think Mike’s afraid of her,” Hannah whispered. “Not that he’d ever admit it.”

  Amy understood Hannah’s situation. She wouldn’t exactly say she was head over heels for Roper, at least, not yet, but the damn attraction was there and strong. But she didn’t want it to interfere with her doing her job. She didn’t want her private life to become public, either. Still, she couldn’t deny how much she desired him or the fact that the feelings weren’t going away.

  Maybe she just ought to sleep with him, get it out of her system and be done with it, she thought w
ryly.

  And then she wondered why not.

  Although the idea had come to her suddenly, the yearning between them had been building since they’d met at the wedding and the feeling had only grown stronger since they’d begun working together. She swallowed hard and glanced his way. She took in his strong presence, his sexy body, his handsome face, and suddenly she couldn’t think of anything else.

  “What do you think?” Hannah asked her, drawing Amy’s attention back to their conversation.

  “About what?” She’d obviously missed everything the other woman had just said.

  Hannah rolled her eyes, obviously realizing what Amy was preoccupied with. “I said I was thinking of just seducing Mike. Slipping into his bed and daring him to throw me out.” She laughed, but Amy could see Hannah was serious.

  “Not a bad idea,” Amy said, wondering if she could pull off such a stunt herself.

  “That’s what I’ve been telling myself. We’re here, we’re alone except for the twins—but they don’t care about anything except their music—and there’s no Big Mama to interrupt.” Hannah’s eyes flashed with anticipation.

  “I like it,” Amy said, her mind already wondering how she’d manage it herself.

  “As for Big Mama, I’ve thought about hiring another manager and cutting out the nepotism, but she really means well. She’s pushed and pushed and helped us get where we are. But honestly, she needs to back off sometimes. And if things work out between me and Mike, her interference would be a make-or-break point between us.” Hannah nodded decisively.

  Amy knew Hannah meant what she was saying, but as she knew from watching Roper deal with his family, it was one thing to talk a tough game, another to execute it against a well-meaning but interfering parent. “You need to be blunt and tell her to let you live your life.”

  Hannah sighed. “She thinks it’s her job to direct my life. Tell me, is it possible to prevent a steamroller from doing its job?”

  “I wish I knew,” Amy said, thinking of Cassandra Lee.