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  “Welcome to Texas, baby.”

  She laughed.

  I couldn’t think of a better homecoming.

  * * *

  The sunlight smacked me in the face. I had forgotten to close the blinds last night. Granted, I had a good distraction. Avery nuzzled under my arm, wisps of her auburn hair curling over her shoulders.

  I wasn’t sure what time her meeting was with Dalton, but I couldn’t miss my appointment with my prospective new agent. Daniel had done a number on me, and there was no way I was bringing someone else into the fold without a complete vetting first.

  The new guy had high recommendations, but so did Daniel and look where that got me.

  It was the first morning in months I didn’t wake up to the sounds of crashing waves on the beach. Alice wouldn’t be outside parading in her leopard bikini, and Carl wouldn’t be setting up for a day of fishing on the shore. There was no doubt I would miss Perry Campground, but I had brought the perfect medicine home with me to ease back into ranch life.

  I maneuvered out of the bed, careful not to disturb Avery. Yesterday had been a long day of travel—the ferry ride, the drive to the airport, the flight, and then of course the extended shower tour. I smiled, watching her sleep. It was hard to believe she was here in Texas. But it felt right. She was supposed to be in my bed.

  I closed the door behind me and jogged down the stairs. I wasn’t sure I had ever felt this happy at the ranch before. Corny as it sounded, every step felt lighter.

  The kitchen was bright and smelled like coffee. God, I had missed being home.

  “Good morning, Mr. Sullivan. I have coffee and was planning on making fresh omelets for you and Miss Avery.” Lenny stood behind the kitchen island, a clean white apron starched against his chest.

  “Good morning. Coffee sounds good.” I straddled a bar stool, watching him work. The paper was lined up near an empty coffee mug. “I’ll wait for Avery to have breakfast.”

  I shook the paper open and flipped to the entertainment section. There we were. Front page of the Austin Pop page.

  Sullivan home with new love interest

  I scanned the article. I had only given a few quotes, and Avery had remained silent through the maze of reporters. It wasn’t the Texas greeting I wanted for her. I shook the page out so I could finish reading.

  Scott Sullivan, Hollywood heartthrob and star of America’s favorite movies, is starring in his own real-life drama. Spotted at the airport last night with a new leading lady on his arm, the well-known bachelor returned home for the first time since April. Speculation continues to grow whether he will star in Love & Bondage with Emmy Harper, his ex and the film’s most popular choice for the role.

  “Damn it.” I folded the paper in half.

  “Everything all right, sir?” Lenny filled the mug with dark coffee, so dark I wondered if he had added something to it.

  “Yes, just press. You know how it is.” I pulled the sports page from the center. There had to be something better to read than this shit.

  “Yeah, we’ve had a few reporters at the gate over the summer, but nothing we couldn’t handle.” Lenny paused. “I think there’s a crew out this morning. You might want to call up at the gate.”

  “What do you mean ‘a crew’?” The coffee was hot, but I liked whatever brew it was.

  “Looks like they camped out last night. I haven’t talked to Bud, but it’s the press for sure.”

  “Damn it.” I grabbed my phone. It had been awhile since paparazzi had followed me to the ranch. There was a reason the house was in the center of two hundred acres. “Hey, Bud, what’s the situation at the gate?”

  I had hired Bud to run the ranch security two years ago. He cleared his throat before giving me the rundown. “I’d say there are about seven camera crews—not too big—and they are staying on the other side of the road so not much I can do about it.”

  “Good. Good.” I chewed over the information. “No one tried to cross the fence?”

  “Nope. They’d get a pretty good shock if they tried.” He laughed a deep, hearty laugh. I had always liked Bud. He was more like a character you might see on the Dukes of Hazard than a top Jason Bourne agent, but he was from this part of Texas and I appreciated that about him. He knew the land, he knew the people in town, and he knew how to set up obstacles that had managed to keep prying eyes off the property. That’s all that mattered.

  “Keep me posted if anything changes.”

  “Will do, sir. And by the way, good to have you home.”

  “Thanks, Bud.” I shoved the phone in my pocket and resumed my seat on the stool.

  Avery shuffled into the kitchen, her hair piled high on her head, my T-shirt draping off her shoulder.

  “Hey, darlin’.” I smiled, hoping she hadn’t heard any of my briefing with Bud.

  “Hey.”

  “Good morning. Can I get you some coffee?” Lenny seemed eager to make her comfortable, a gesture I appreciated considering all we had dealt with in the past twenty-four hours.

  “Yes, coffee. Thank you.” She nodded then wrapped her arms around my shoulders.

  I wished Lenny wasn’t here, and that the kitchen was quiet and vacant so we could be alone and talk about last night. Or pick things up where they started on the counter. But I couldn’t dismiss him in front of Avery. That would only make things more awkward.

  I squeezed her palm instead and pulled out the stool next to me. “How’d you sleep?”

  I noticed the crimson on her cheeks and the blue flare in her eyes. “Good.” She chewed on her bottom lip. “I like your bed,” she whispered.

  “I like you in it.” I leaned over and brushed my lips against her ear.

  “How does a bacon and cheese omelet sound?” Lenny hovered near us on the other side of the sprawling island.

  “Sure, man. Two omelets.” I spun around on the stool, pinning the outside of Avery’s leg next to mine. It was hard to be this close and not touch her how I wanted.

  She reached for the paper. “Any news?”

  My instinct was to grab it from her and toss it in the recycling bin, but what would that do? If we were going to survive the hounds, we would need to do it together. That meant sharing more with her than I ever had before.

  “Actually, we made the Pop page.” I unfolded the section and laid the paper flat so she could read the headline. I searched her face for a reaction.

  “Love & Bondage? So that’s really a thing? You might be in Love & Bondage?”

  What the hell? That was her takeaway?

  “No, I’m not planning on it.”

  “But did you finish reading it?” She looked serious. “How far did you get in the book on the flight?”

  I scratched my head. “I’ve got a few chapters left, not much.”

  “And you seriously don’t want to be in it? It’s huge. Huger than huge.” She smiled at Lenny as he placed a hot cup of coffee in front of her.

  “I don’t know. I’m kind of taking a break.” I mumbled the last part. I wasn’t comfortable discussing my hiatus from acting in front of one of the staff. Nondisclosure agreement or not, I didn’t like taking a chance.

  “Hmm.” Avery twisted her lips. “But it’s hot. It’s Love & Bondage.”

  “Yeah, it is.” I had tried to focus on the plot when I read it to figure out the cult fascination with the story. But it was hard to ignore the pure sexuality of the book. I knew why women were insane over it. A millionaire playboy with a kinky sex fetish that drove women to toe-curling screams. Yeah, I got it.

  “Here you go.” Lenny delivered two piping hot omelets with sides of fruit and two glasses of orange juice. “Let me know if you need anything else.” He hung his apron on a hook and walked toward his apartment.

  “Thanks, Lenny,” Avery called after him. She took a bite of the omelet, cheese oozing off her fork, bits of bacon crumbling on the plate. “I can’t believe you have someone who cooks for you. You know this is unreal.”

  “I guess maybe i
t is.” I popped a grape in my mouth and thought about the breakfasts I had made in the Sand Dollar. For the first few weeks, beer was my breakfast staple, but eventually I moved into more of the basic food groups.

  It had been nice to have to take care of myself, cook my own meals, even do my own laundry. But I wasn’t about to downsize the ranch staff. I was reminded during the summer of who I really was. The simple things in life helped clear my head, but I was back in reality. This was part of Hollywood ranch life. And I enjoyed it.

  “So back to the movie. What’s holding you back?” Avery asked.

  “The break, remember? I’m trying to ease out of the spotlight, not jump back in it.”

  “Right. You’re going to disappear again? Find another island?” she teased.

  I chuckled. “No, that kind of break is over. I have too many responsibilities to keep that charade up, but I don’t know if getting involved with another film is such a good idea. I thought I could focus on my foundation, maybe hang at the ranch. Spend some time helping a pretty girl write some music.” I winked.

  “I don’t know anything about your foundation.” Her forehead crinkled. “It’s one of those things you never mentioned.”

  I felt a sharp stab in my chest. There were so many things I had kept from her as Dylan Grady, the fictitious writer. The secrets were over. I wouldn’t keep things from her again.

  “Well, the foundation is a pretty big deal to me. I wish I could take all the credit, but it was my sister’s idea. She runs it, but I’m still the ultimate decision-maker, and I have to make appearances from time to time.”

  “But what is it? What does it do?”

  I smiled. The foundation was one of my proudest accomplishments. But few people even knew it existed. If only it got the same amount of attention as what I ate for lunch.

  “It helps kids from underprivileged families get involved in sports. We pair them up with mentors and coaches. Help them buy gear that they need, practice, work on homework. All that stuff. It’s unbelievable. Really, the best thing I’ve ever done.” I paused, remembering the last time I played football with a group of sixth graders. “When I get a chance to spend time with the kids, it makes all this work seem worthwhile.”

  She turned toward me with a smile. “It sounds amazing. I can’t believe you have that on top of everything else. You have a lot going on, Mr. Movie Star. And all this time I thought your biggest problem was screwing up the kayak rentals.”

  “Hey, that only happened once. And I think it was only my second day. You’re never going to let me forget that, are you?”

  “No, never.”

  My phone rang. “Hey, Bud, something wrong?”

  “Just thought you would want to know the crew numbers have almost tripled. We went from seven to twenty.”

  “What the hell? Why?”

  “I don’t know, but I’ll see what I can find out.”

  It was the first time since I fired Daniel that I missed the guy. He might have been a snake, but he could scour news reports and had more sources than I could fathom. Too bad I still hadn’t interviewed the new guy. I needed an agent.

  “Is there something wrong?” Avery looked worried.

  “Nah, just press gathered up at the gate. Don’t worry. I promise they can’t get in here. You have nothing to worry about.”

  “Are they going to follow me to Blue Steel?” A sudden look of panic swept across her face.

  “No, no. They want some kind of statement or interview. Hell, I don’t know, but I’ll go with you and make sure they leave you alone.”

  I noticed she shifted on the stool and started biting her lip again. “Wait, you don’t want me to go with you?” I asked.

  “It’s not that I don’t want you to go, but maybe I should do this on my own. That was the plan, right? I was headed here to sign my contract and meet with Reagan and Dalton. If you go, it might turn into…”

  I didn’t need her to finish that sentence. I knew exactly what she meant. If I was there, a media circus would descend on Blue Steel Records. Dalton was a friend, but that kind of attention on his label might not be wanted.

  “All right, well if I’m not going, I need to send someone with you. You can’t go out in that by yourself.”

  “Like a driver?”

  “More like a bodyguard.”

  “Bodyguard?” I thought she lost a little color in her cheeks. The idea was supposed to make her feel better, not worse.

  “Do I really need that?” She pushed her omelet around on her plate.

  “It’s your first time in Austin, right? Might as well have someone get you to your meeting on time and keep the press out of reach. You don’t want to have to worry about parking downtown. It will be no big deal.”

  “Ok.” She picked up her coffee cup. “If you think it’s the best thing.”

  I nodded. She accepted it, but I was having a hard time believing she was up for this. This was my life, not hers. Putting her in the fishbowl was tearing at me. There had to be another way. I just didn’t know what it was.

  “I do. What time is your meeting?”

  “Two o’clock.”

  “My interview isn’t until three, so sounds like we’ve got some time. All right, how about I give you a tour of the ranch?” I jumped off the stool. I knew if I let her sit here all morning, she would worry about the meeting, worry about the press, and worry about the bodyguard. Best to keep this pretty girl distracted.

  Four

  Avery

  Last night was a mix of everything I loved and a dash of things I was uncertain about. Scott seemed comfortable and relaxed at the ranch, not unlike how he was on the island. But something was different. Maybe it was the staff and the responsibilities he had to face. Or maybe because I knew his real name, his complete identity, I was seeing him in an entirely new light.

  Regardless of the confusion swirling in my head, I was excited about seeing the ranch. I followed Scott to the far end of the garage.

  “We have to drive?” I asked.

  “Sorta.” He pulled the cover off a four-wheeler. “This is how I like to see the ranch.” He walked to the opposite wall and retrieved a few helmets.

  I secured one over my head and clasped the buckle against my cheek. “How does this look?”

  “I’d say it’s the best lookin’ helmet in Texas. Ready?” He straddled the ATV and patted the back of the seat for me to join behind him. I hopped on and slid my hands around his waist.

  “Hold on tight.” He revved the engine, threw the four-wheeler into reverse, and peeled out of the garage.

  The sun was glaring as Scott turned the bike onto a dirt path. I always thought August in North Carolina was hot, but Texas was scorching. I was glad we were going fast. The wind whipping through my hair gave the illusion of a cool breeze.

  The house disappeared behind us and we drove along through an open field. I couldn’t see the road or a single building. It felt like we were completely alone.

  Scott called over his shoulder, “This used to be a grazing pasture, but the cattle have been moved to another part of the ranch to let this part grow back.”

  I nodded, but wasn’t sure he saw it. There was a huge grin on his face as he steered us deeper into the rolling fields. He turned toward a cluster of trees.

  “I want to show you my secret fishing hole,” he yelled. He spun a hard left and we turned under the shade of some low-growing oaks. I could see a pond through the grove. Scott cut the engine when we reached the water’s edge.

  I noticed a few chairs, and the stone circle of a campfire pit. It made me smile.

  “This is my escape when I’m here.” He led me toward the chairs.

  “Why do you need to escape at the ranch?” I asked. He had everything he needed at the house, not to mention so much space that you could get lost trying to find the bathroom. I thought the ranch itself was his escape.

  He picked up a few rocks and started skipping them across the still pond. The ripples carried fro
m one end to the other.

  “’Cause, sometimes it’s too much. And I like to be alone.”

  “Oh.” I frowned.

  “Not like that. I didn’t mean that. Not alone away from you. I meant away from the staff. Away from work. This is my place. I wanted to share it with you.”

  “I think it’s beautiful.” I stooped to grab a handful of pebbles and walked closer to the pond. “What kind of fish are in here?” I tried to skip the rocks but could only get two hops at a time.

  “Catfish mostly, but since I haven’t been here all summer they are probably enormous. Want to fish with me?”

  “Yes, let’s do some fishing. I’ve never fished in a pond before. We don’t exactly have any on the island.”

  Scott chuckled. “Maybe there is something I can teach you about the water after all.” He strolled to the four-wheeler and unhooked a cooler and two rods that were strapped to the back. “Ok, so the beauty of fishing here is the fish can’t escape.”

  I laughed. “That seems cruel. They don’t have a chance.”

  “Then they shouldn’t take my bait. Trust me, we need to fish this pond. It’s probably overrun by now.” He attached bait to the ends of our lines and cast his lure into the center of the pond. “Need help?”

  I shook my head. “Oh no, I can cast. Grew up on an island, remember?” If there was one thing I could do, it was catch a fish. When you spend your summers as a kid on the docks outside your parents’ store, you get good at perfecting your fishing techniques. I was excellent with a cast net, a crab net, and had won my fair share of pinfish tournaments.

  “Right, right.” He pulled the chairs closer to the edge of the pond and stretched into the seat.

  It was quiet, but not the same kind of quiet I was used to. There were no crashing waves or boats cruising by. I couldn’t hear the squawk of seagulls, or the sound of wind chimes bouncing around from a sea breeze. Ranch quiet had its own sounds, and I couldn’t identify them all.

  Scott reached into the cooler and pulled out a beer. “Want one?” He offered me a cold bottle.