“Are you prepared for the onslaught of the press that will be focused on you instead?” Fiona asked. “Because trust me, they’ll be brutal.”
“I didn’t grow up in Beverly Hills, Fiona,” Lucas returned. “I grew up on the streets of South Central. There’s nothing the press can do to me I can’t survive.”
Kenya was impressed. She hadn’t known much about Lucas’s past, probably because Chynna didn’t. But now she’d be forced into his company even more. And that spelled trouble. What if he realizes I’m not really Chynna?
“Then I’ll set it up,” Fiona said and rushed out of the room.
“Wait a second.” Kenya held up her hand. “Don’t I get say in this little charade?”
“No,” Lucas stated emphatically. “It’s been decided. You and I will stay close and the press hounds will be forced to move on from this notion that you’re having an affair with a married man.”
“Like hell!” Kenya stormed out of the room.
“I’ll go talk to her.” Deacon attempted to rise, but Lucas put a hand on his shoulder.
“Don’t bother. I’ve got this,” Lucas said and went in search of Chynna. Now this was the Chynna he remembered, behaving like a spoiled child when she didn’t get her way. But he wasn’t going to let her get in her own way and ruin her brand, a brand he and Eli had spent a lot of time developing.
He found Chynna pacing the hallway outside, and when he walked toward her, his initial intention had been to talk to her, to reason with her. But then she was standing there, full of piss and vinegar, and he’d gotten horny as hell. When he reached her, he grasped her by the shoulders, lowered his head and pressed his lips down on hers. He moved his mouth over hers, devouring its softness.
His actions must have shocked her because her hazel eyes widened with alarm and her hands went up to push him away, but he was stronger and wrapped his arms around her midriff, pulling her more firmly against him until they were thigh-to-thigh, chest-to-chest. He could feel her uneven breathing against his cheek. That’s when he went in for the kill. His tongue teased at the seams of her lips until she surrendered and parted them to his invading tongue. She matched his passion and hunger, kiss for kiss, molding her body against him.
When he released her, Kenya stumbled back. The kiss Lucas had just given her sent a lightning bolt right up her spine, and she was slightly dizzy. Her heart hammered at what had just happened between them.
Lucas’s silence told Kenya that he’d felt it too. Something inextricable that couldn’t be explained. “I ... I’m sorry,” Lucas began, and then must have thought better of it because he changed tactics and said, “Actually, no, I’m not. The press is going to be all over us and we need to make this relationship believable.”
Kenya breathed in deeply, forcing air into her lungs to calm her steady heartbeat. So that mind-blowing kiss was him acting? She would be afraid to see how he would kiss if he wasn’t.
When she’d sufficiently recovered, she said, “I never said I was going to participate in this farce.”
“Chynna.” He sounded exasperated. “You must see that giving the press something new will get them off this news cycle of you and Blake. Don’t you want that? Or do you like being an infamous homewrecker.”
Kenya’s fair cheeks burned with fury. “Of course not. I want to clear my name.”
“Well then, get on board,” Lucas said, and seconds later he’d spun on his heel leaving a stunned Kenya in his absence.
Once away from the beguiling diva, Lucas could think clearly. What has gotten into me, offering myself as bait to lure the press off Chynna’s supposed affair? He’d always been in the background of R&K Records, letting Eli work the press angle and here he was purposely putting himself out there. The press would be relentless; wanting to know intimate details about his and Chynna’s supposed relationship. And why did I do it? Because in a mere twenty-four hours, Chynna James had suddenly become more to him that just an artist; she’d become a full-fledged, sexy woman with a backbone, and she was damn hard to ignore. But now what?
After everyone, including Deacon and Fiona, had mercifully left Kenya alone, save her bodyguards posted outside, she finally made her way into Chynna’s ten room mansion. Every move she made, everywhere she’d gone today, someone was there. How does Chynna take the incessant people flittering around her all day?
Kenya was exhausted as she walked up the marble staircase she would call home for the next week. Chynna’s master bedroom, if that’s what you would call it, was unlike anything Kenya had in her small one-bedroom apartment in New York. Her place wasn’t grand—it was regal. The four-poster canopy bed with draped silks in Chynna’s room was nothing short of breathtaking.
She couldn’t resist throwing herself on the bed and allowing her fingers to roam over the luxurious fabrics and sumptuous pillows. This was how the other one and a half percent lived. I could get used to this. But then, her mind went to that kiss with Lucas. Where did all the heat come from?
She’d thought Chynna told her Lucas had never shown interest in her, but tonight, he’d shown that he was not as immune to Chynna as she’d once thought or perhaps she was the difference? Is Lucas seeing something in me that he has never seen in Chynna? She had responded to him with complete and utter abandon, as if she weren’t imitating her sister. She couldn’t let it happen again or she was headed for disaster.
Kenya sighed and closed her eyes. When she reopened them, she saw Chynna’s closet. Kenya rushed over and swung open the double doors. She was greeted with a large walk-in closet fit for a queen. She walked inside, admiring the rows and rows of clothes, shoes, and purses. The middle cabinet held scarves, belts and other accessories. And all of this was hers! Kenya could hardly believe it.
She grabbed a Dolce & Gabbana outfit off the hanger to try and then Marc Jacobs, and Michael Kors, and before she knew it, she’d stuffed loads of clothes under her arms. She stripped to her skivvies so she could try them all on. Her reflection in the mirror with each new outfit told her that she looked darn good in expensive clothes. And combined with the shoes, well, combined they probably cost more than her flat in New York.
Kenya turned sideways to stare again at herself. Of course, this would all come to an end soon, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy it. Perhaps it wasn’t so bad living in Chynna’s shoes after all.
Chapter 7
The tour of the Hart estate took nearly half an hour because Rylee had to show Chynna the fitness, game and movie rooms, business offices, racquet ball court, indoor pool with Jacuzzi, sauna and massage room. It was very impressive, even to Chynna, because it made her ten-bedroom mansion in Beverly Hills look like a child’s place. She’d bought the house four years ago, but rarely had the time to enjoy it. When she wasn’t on tour for nine months out of the year, she was in the studio recording or in the gym or practicing a dance routine. But the Hart estate was really a home because they actually used the rooms instead of having them for show.
“My parents should be in the living room,” Rylee said as she led Chynna there. And she was correct. Isaac and Madelyn Hart were sitting on a plush sofa. He was holding a tumbler of scotch, and his beautiful wife was holding a glass with red wine.
Isaac Hart was an honest-looking man. He had a slightly receding salt-and-pepper hairline, a round face with a broad nose like Noah’s and big dimpled cheeks. Even though he was seated, Chynna could see where Noah got his stature and broad, but basketball-player-build, because he was his father’s spitting image. Isaac was wearing a blazer, plaid shirt, pressed jeans and pristine-looking cowboy boots, but his impressive physique had clearly withstood the test of time.
Noah was also present and was standing next to the mantel dressed similarly in a plaid shirt and jeans, except his seemed more snug-fitting and hugged his ample behind. Noah was just as sexy and handsome as when Chynna had awoken from her crash to see his dark-brown eyes s
taring down at hers with concern, except this time, when he laid eyes on Chynna and Rylee, his expression turned surly. What could she have possibly done just by walking in the room to change his disposition?
He quickly averted his gaze from Chynna and flashed it toward his sister. “Did you give Kenya here the two-cent tour?”
“Of course.” Rylee smiled genuinely. “She is a guest in our home.”
“Kenya, welcome.” Madelyn Hart rose from the sofa to greet her.
Chynna started to speak up, but once Madelyn Hart reached her, she tugged one of her arms into the crook of Chynna’s and led her to a nearby loveseat. “Noah told us that you had a quite a fright today when your Jeep hit our fence. Are you alright, my dear?” She seemed genuinely concerned for Chynna’s safety. “Should we contact a doctor to check you out?”
“That’s really not necessary,” Chynna said as she sat down next to Madelyn. “I’m okay, really. Rylee checked me out.”
“Yeah, she was playing the tough chick from the start,” Noah replied laughingly. “Said the cows made her do it.”
“Noah!” his mother admonished. “That’s not very nice of you to make fun. Kenya here could have been hurt.”
“I did the gentlemanly thing, didn’t I?” he asked, glancing in Chynna’s direction. “I checked her out for a concussion and brought her back here.”
“Reluctantly, I might add,” Chynna said underneath her breath. Rylee was standing near her and heard her comment. “Yes, you did,” she added. “And I’m very grateful for your hospitality, Mrs. Hart.” There was something about Madelyn that made Chynna feel warm and fuzzy. She reminded her of what it could be like if her mother was still around.
Madelyn Hart was the opposite of her mother, though. Madelyn Hart had a big personality. She commanded authority, not by her loud voice but by her regal presence. Her stylishly cut salt-and-pepper bob hung in curls around her face, and she wore a crisp, white wraparound top, cinched at the side, and a pair of fitted black capris. Chynna could tell the cowboy boots she wore were expensive and made of the finest leather or perhaps alligator?
And it was clear everyone in Madelyn’s family, from her children to her husband, adored her. When she’d walked into the living room, the Harts had been holding hands and whispering to each other. Chynna had never seen a genuinely happily married couple before. Her parents had divorced when she and Kenya were so young that she barely remembered when her parents had been together.
“You’re most welcome.” Madelyn patted her thigh and then she turned back to her eldest son. “Any idea where your wayward brother, Caleb, is? It’s dinnertime, and you know how I feel about eating together as a family.”
“Dunno.” Noah shrugged. “Probably at one of his rodeo events.”
“I told that boy to stay away from those rodeos,” Isaac huffed. “He could get hurt if one of those bulls get a hold of ’em.”
“You know Caleb, Dad,” Noah replied. “He loves living life on the edge.”
“Will get him killed one day,” his father responded.
“I sure hope not,” Madelyn said. “My youngest,” she said, turning to Chynna, “has always been somewhat of a daredevil.”
“You mean reckless,” Noah countered.
“Well, everyone can’t be you—the perfect son,” Rylee commented. “Some of us make mistakes.” She’d sure made her share of mistakes, most recently by dating Jeremy, her parent’s choice of a spouse for her. She and Jeremy couldn’t have less in common. The only thing she was sure of was being the best veterinarian possible and making a name for herself, which hadn’t been so easy. She’d disobeyed her father by choosing to go to college. He’d expected her to be the dutiful daughter, to be a ranch wife and make some babies. He’d been sorely disappointed when she’d opted for another life instead. But Rylee wouldn’t change her decision for anything in the world.
“That’s right. Go ahead and make excuses for him, Rylee,” Noah replied, “like you’ve always done. Let’s forget that he should be here at the ranch helping the family.”
“Now, now,” Madelyn jumped in. “Let’s not get riled up before dinner. We have a guest with us tonight.”
Chynna didn’t mind the squabbling between the siblings; it showed they were a family who truly cared about each other. She envied their closeness.
Madelyn rose from the sofa. “Well, if Caleb isn’t going to join us, how about some diner?”
“Sounds good to me.” Her husband stood up, and soon they all followed suit and joined the elder Harts, who were heading for the dining room.
Noah sat uneasily next to their houseguest at the dinner table. Rylee had circumvented him by sitting across from Kenya, leaving him no choice but to sit next to her while his parents sat at either head of the table. Sitting this close, Noah could smell her. He didn’t know what fragrance she had on, but smoky and spicy scent suited her. It was nothing like the sweet, rosy scents Maya used to wear.
Perhaps that’s what bothered him the most about this stranger. She oozed sexuality from every pore, even though she was dressed simply in a pair of Rylee’s old jeans and a silk shirt with a few buttons casually opened at the neck, just enough for Noah to see the slight swell of her breasts. Maya, God rest her soul, was classically beautiful, and although Noah found her breathtaking, he’d never had such a primal response to her physicality before. Kenya’s hair had been kissed by the sun. Her skin held a golden hue that shined. She probably was of mixed heritage somewhere down the line.
“Noah, did you hear me?” his mother asked.
Noah blinked to clear the fog that was Kenya from his brain. “What was that, Mama?”
“I asked how the thirty-fifth anniversary celebrations were coming along.”
“Very good, ma’am,” Noah replied. “We’re booked for this weekend. We have the mayor and several councilmen coming to the last night of the event.”
“Did you say thirty-fifth anniversary celebration?” Chynna asked. Her voice rose slightly, and she glanced at Rylee but tried hard not to show her alarm at potential discovery.
“Yes, but it’s mostly locals and guests.” Madelyn answered. “Isaac and I have owned this ranch for over thirty-five years. We made a go of it as a ranch for the first twenty years, but once I started having the kids, it was just too difficult to keep it going solely as a working ranch.”
“That’s when they turned it into a dude ranch,” Noah picked up, “and opened it up to the public to stay on the ranch and have a true Western experience.”
“Congratulations,” Chynna said. “It’s amazing the success you’ve had in just a decade.” She’d thought they’d been doing this for far longer than that, because the ranch was so well-manicured.
“It wasn’t always this easy,” Isaac said. “We started out with five cabins and only a few guests to help supplement our income, but eventually we expanded thanks to Noah’s expertise here.”
Chynna glanced sideways at Noah. “Is that so?”
“I’m not just some dumb cowboy,” Noah replied, “though most people might think that.”
“I don’t.” Chynna was horrified he’d think otherwise.
“I have a master’s degree in Business Administration. And once I received my diploma, I came back to the ranch to help Mom and Dad expand. Now we have fifty cabins on the estate.”
Chynna offered a smile. “That’s impressive.”
“So what is it you do?” Noah inquired. He was curious about Kenya and why she’d come to Canyon Ranch to escape the real world like the other socialites.
She paused as if unsure of what to say, and Noah wondered if she was trying to come up with a good lie, but eventually she said, “I’m an actress.”
“An actress?” His interest was piqued. “What have you done? Would I know something?”
“Noah, give the woman a chance to speak,” Rylee said, jumping in
as if the questions he was asking were unreasonable.
Chynna reached for her water glass, and he saw her hand tremble as she nervously sat it back down on the table. “A small show on TV.”
“I don’t have much time on my hands with taking care of the ranch to watch much television,” Noah replied.
“Did you always know you wanted to be an actress?” Madelyn asked, changing to a more general question.
Chynna nodded. “I have. In school, I was always singing or acting in some play, and eventually, I landed some roles on Broadway.”
“Sounds like an exciting life,” Noah replied, taking a sip of wine. “So why were you at Canyon Ranch—trying to get away from it?”
Chynna turned and gave him a hostile glare. “Not getting away really, just a vacation.”
Noah nodded, but he didn’t really believe her. She seemed to be hiding something, but he couldn’t put his finger on what that was. He was curious to find out what secret a woman like her could possibly have. She seemed to have it all, yet she seemed unhappy with her life. Noah wondered if he’d find out why.
The next morning, Chynna rose early to watch the sunrise. Thanks to Kenya, she was getting used to the early morning, watching the day start and getting in a run. At first, she’d been resistant to getting up, but eventually, Kenya had convinced her, and now, Chynna was starting to enjoy getting a good start to the day.
She looked through Rylee’s enormous wardrobe and found a simple white tank top and running shorts she could wear. Pulling on her tennis shoes, she went to explore the Golden Oaks Ranch.
At six a.m., the house was quiet save for the wind chimes blowing in the breeze. Chynna made her way outside just as sunlight began streaming through the clouds.
“C’mon, boy,” she heard a masculine voice mutter.
Chynna followed the sound of the voice out to the bullpen by the barn and saw Noah shirtless and wrangling with the stallion he’d been riding when he’d first rescued her.
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