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  “Is that the only problem?”

  “There is no problem. You’ve known me what—less than two days?”

  He shot her one of his crooked smiles that curled her toes. “Calm down, Toni. I’m not proposing. I’m merely keeping an open mind. That’s all.”

  “An open mind?” She looked toward the heavens. “He’s keeping an open mind.” Relieved when he turned into the inn’s driveway, Toni tossed open the door as Hunter rolled the Jeep to a stop in front of the lodge, her gaze zeroing in on James. She slid across the seat to step out and realized Hunter still held her hand. Toni looked down at their joined hands, and then at Hunter. “Don’t do this now.”

  “Do what? I was only going to tell you that it looks as if Trapper and James have the equipment ready to go.” He pointed over at a trailer hooked up to a big SUV.

  “Thanks.” Okay, so she got to wear the dunce cap for the day. She’d been afraid he’d pull one of those he-man overtures like kissing her in front of God—or in this case, James—and everyone. Then she remembered the entire crew had witnessed her kissing Hunter during their desertion, while floating away in those damned orange boats.

  She took a deep breath and stepped out of the Jeep, heading straight for her cabin. First things first—she had to change—she didn’t look very professional wearing her bathing suit under a huge pair of Hunter’s sweatpants—then she’d have a little chat with James, the deserter.

  Of all people, Toni thought she could trust James. He knew how freaked out she was to be there. He was her best friend—her only friend really—and understood how she felt about being left behind. The fact that he’d left her with Hunter didn’t matter. He’d left.

  She unlocked her cabin and tossed her bag on the couch on the way to the bedroom. Thinking about the stunt James had pulled had her spitting mad, not to mention embarrassed. Did he think she needed his machinations to get a date? If she had wanted to sleep with Hunter, she could have jumped him in her cabin as easily as his. That way, she wouldn’t have to be trapped with him, she wouldn’t have had to sleep with him, and she wouldn’t have woken up with him either. Of course, she had to admit spending the night at Hunter’s was no hardship. She surely ate better at Hunter’s than she would have at the inn. It was nice to have the privacy, and it wasn’t as if anyone cared who she chose to sleep with.

  Toni stripped before rummaging through her drawers, wondering what one wore on a photo shoot not involving water in the middle of the wilderness at the summit of a mountain almost nine thousand feet above sea level. She dragged on a thong—always a safe choice considering she had no idea what she’d be wearing over it, pulled on her black poison skull, button-up sleeveless top with a cute little ruffle around the hem, and searched for something that would work. She held up a red, stretchy, short skirt with rivets along the bottom. Cute, sexy, and still comfortable. Good. Now for the shoes. She took out her favorite ankle boots with bat buckles, and after pulling on a pair of black thigh-high stockings and her skirt she stepped into them and smiled. Toni looked like herself again. Better to handle whatever came her way.

  As if on cue, there was a knock on the door. She answered it and found James wearing a sheepish grin.

  “You’re on my shit list.”

  He pulled her into a hug before holding her at arms-length and looking her up and down. “Don’t tell me you didn’t get lucky with our mountain hottie.”

  “That’s completely beside the point. You promised you wouldn’t leave without me, and you did anyway. Some friend you are. You know how I feel about being out here. You practically threw me into a full-blown panic attack.”

  “Oh, come now. Hunter was there to comfort you. I’m sorry you were upset, but I can’t say I was disappointed to see you and Hunter practicing your full-frontal snogging.”

  “I’m here to do a job, and I don’t need Hunter complicating it.”

  James followed her to her bedroom and sat on the bed while she brushed out her hair. “A little complication never hurt anyone, especially when a man looks as good as Hunter. I think you’d want to see him complicate the hell out of your time here. He’s just what the doctor ordered. A woman like you needs to learn to live a little.”

  “This from the man who only yesterday lectured me about the difference this trip could make to my career. Now I’m supposed to learn to live a little?” Toni parted her hair in the back and smoothed one side, tilting her head before tying off a pigtail. “I live just fine on my own.”

  When Toni tied black skull-and-crossbones ribbons on the pigtails, James shook his head.

  She looked at his reflection in the mirror. “But they match my blouse.”

  He got up and let out a long-suffering sigh. “Yes they do, but Toni, sometimes less is more. Unless more is an improvement, it’s best to leave well enough alone.”

  She untied the bow and tossed the ribbons onto the dresser. “The same can be said about men.”

  James turned and looked as if he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. “Are you telling me that more time with Hunter would just be more?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

  “You know, it’s bad enough you’re lying to me. I just hope you’re not lying to yourself.” Shaking his head, James headed toward the door. “Toni, there’s a whole lot you’ve yet to learn about relationships.”

  Before she could ask what exactly he was talking about, he walked out and shut the door behind him. She threw herself on her bed and hugged the pillow to her chest. If James didn’t buy it, she doubted Hunter would. Still, what choice did she have?

  ***

  Hunter leaned against Galena Lodge, reading his copy of Toni’s book with the cover rolled back so no one could see the title. With a pen in his hand he made notes in the margins and kept one eye on Toni while she worked. He couldn’t believe he’d been reduced to reading self-help dating books.

  He felt more than heard Trapper come up to him. His brother was as quiet as a mountain lion when approaching its prey. Hunter slipped the book into his backpack and straightened.

  “Wanna tell me why you’re not wearing the satisfied grin of a man who spent a sex-filled night with a beautiful woman who seems to have a penchant for handcuffs?”

  Hunter didn’t shift his gaze from Toni and Yvette’s conversation. He didn’t need to see the look on Trapper’s face. He could hear it in his voice. “Something’s going on with Toni, and I can’t figure out what. For someone who fades into the woodwork, she’s spent the last six hours surrounded by people.”

  “She’s doing her job.”

  “Yeah, and avoiding me.” Hunter took the cold bottle of water Trapper offered him. Too bad Trapper didn’t come just bearing water—no, it was liberally sprinkled with advice and lectures. Hunter really hated lectures, and for a guy who never had a relationship last more than seventy-two hours, Trapper gave more relationship advice than Dear Abby and Dr. Ruth put together.

  “What do you want her to do? Just stop the photo shoot and come over here where you’re pouting so she can ease your worried mind?”

  “I’m not worried, and I’m sure as hell not pouting.” Not exactly. He was confused—not something that happened often—and confusion didn’t sit well with him. He wasn’t the type to play games. He cared about Toni and told her so. As of last night, she said she’d cared about him too. So what the hell was going on now?

  Hunter finally caught Toni’s eye. She looked up from her conversation with Yvette and gave him a nod before turning away.

  “Son of a bitch. She did not just give me the nod.”

  Trapper grabbed his arm. “The nod?”

  Hunter shook off his brother and anything he might have said.

  Toni closed her eyes and tried not to snap at the Lycra-clad redhead who’d been the fourth person to ask about her and Hunter. Fifth, if y
ou counted James, who was still on Toni’s shit list. She was doing her best not to lose her patience. “Yvette, do you have something you need to ask me about the shoot?”

  “No. I just wanted to find out Hunter’s status.”

  “Don’t you think he would be a better judge of that than I would?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve watched the way he looks at you, and I can’t figure out if he’s undressing you with his eyes, or if he’s going all caveman.”

  Visions of Hunter kneeling naked beside her, doing the best caveman impression she’d ever seen, swam through Toni’s mind. Yeah, he could play one hell of a caveman all right. She blinked and tried to focus on Yvette.

  “Still, what Hunter thinks isn’t the issue. It’s whether or not you’re receptive to him that matters.”

  “Excuse me?” Could Yvette be for real?

  Yvette looked at Toni as if she had the IQ of a gnat. “If you’re not interested, Hunter’s ripe for the pickin’, and I do love pickin’ up men like him. Very hot caveman types.”

  Toni swallowed the urge to claw the shrew’s eyes out just before Yvette pasted on her most beatific smile—the one reserved for the cameras. “Oh, oh, oh. Look out. Caveman at three o’clock.” She sucked in her flat stomach making it look concave and pushed out her surgically enhanced breasts, displaying them to great advantage, before flipping her hair. Toni wondered if Yvette had any idea of how bad a cliché she’d become. Probably not.

  Closing her eyes, Toni rubbed her forehead to ease the tension headache taking hold, wondering what in the world she’d done to deserve this. She’d had about all the crap she was going to take.

  As if the sun slid behind a cloud, Toni and Yvette were suddenly standing in a shadow. Since the last she looked there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, chances were good the shadow was man-made, so to speak. She took a deep, calming breath only to catch a whiff of Hunter. The guy always smelled really good but was definitely not at all calming.

  “Yvette, would you give me a moment with Toni?”

  Yep, definitely man-made. Definitely Hunter.

  “Sure. I’ll just be in the lodge if you need anything. Anything at all, Hunter.”

  It was all Toni could do not to stick her booted foot out to trip the Lycra’d bimbo. If the shoot had been over, Toni would have. She’d have enjoyed the hell out of it too. After getting a glimpse of Hunter’s angry face, she was tempted to turn tail and follow Yvette. “Are you going to speak, or are you just gonna stand there snarling?”

  “I’m not snarling.”

  “Fine, whatever.” Toni tried on her best smile for size. She still had to work with him after all. “I have two photographers, models, and the rest of the staff waiting for me. So if there’s something you need to say, now would be a good time to do it.”

  “You want to discuss it here?”

  “No, I don’t want to discuss it at all, but since you’re fired up about something and stomped all the way over here, I don’t seem to have much of a choice in the matter.”

  Hunter looked at the proximity of the others and took her arm. “Come over here.” He tugged her to the trees.

  Great. She pulled her arm out of his grasp, not wanting to go any farther. “What is the problem?”

  “I was wondering the same thing—you’re the one who just gave me the nod.”

  “You want to know what my problem is? Fine. I’m up on the top of a freakin’ mountain at nine thousand feet in The-Middle-of-Nowhere, Idaho, and every female and a good portion of the males have a thing for the man they know I spent the night with. And if that’s not bad enough, every one of them expects me to give them a report on my relationship status, instead of doing my job. They should be thinking about the damn photo shoot and not my sex life or theirs. But no, they’re more interested in who gets you next.”

  “What?” If the shocked look on Hunter’s face was an act, he missed his calling.

  “You heard me. So forgive me if I’m just a tad put off by the situation.”

  “You’re jealous.”

  “You wish.” Ooh, that arrow looked like it hit home. Shit. She could really be a bitch sometimes; it just popped out when she least expected it. She took another Hunter-scented, not-so-calming breath, and lightened her tone. “I’m just—” Frustrated, horny, and okay, she’d admit she didn’t like the way everyone stared at him as if he was a slab of meat in the prime aged beef section of the Fairway Market. She definitely didn’t want to go there. “Look Hunter, this thing—you and me, last night—is a complication I don’t need.”

  He stepped closer, just a hairsbreadth away—so close, so tempting, so damn sexy. “There’s nothing complicated about it.”

  He had that bedroom voice going, all low and gravelly, and her body reacted like Pavlov’s dogs to a ringing bell. Shit.

  “All you have to do is kiss me and then get back to work.”

  “Kiss you? Are you dense? Hearing impaired? Delusional?”

  He smiled that crooked smile that made her want to fan herself. “No, but I know people. One kiss is all it’ll take to keep everyone from wondering what’s going on with us. You’ve been avoiding me like the plague. Just give me a kiss, make it a good one, and everyone will know we’re together. Their questions will be answered, and we can go about our day.”

  “But we’re not together. We’re not anything.”

  “What?” He took a step closer and bent down a little so they were face to face. “We were something several times last night, not to mention this morning. What happened between then and now?”

  “This.” She threw her hands up to encompass the mess of a shoot. “This is what I was afraid of. Everyone’s more interested in watching us than getting their work done.”

  Hunter set his hands on his hips. “And you’re doing nothing but giving them more fodder for the gossip mill.”

  “Me? I’m not the one who stormed over and took me away from my work. I’m not the one who spent the entire shoot glaring at me from the lodge. No, that was all you. I’m putting my foot down. I can’t do this and do my job effectively. I’m sorry.”

  “So that’s it? You’re sorry?”

  She looked him in the eye and nodded. “That’s all I’m capable of.”

  “That’s bullshit, and you know it. You’re not incapable. You’re scared. You’re using this as an excuse to avoid me just like you’ve spent your life avoiding all the other things that scare you.”

  “Am not.”

  “Are too. That’s why you avoid Central Park, and that’s why you threw away your toothbrush this morning.”

  “How do you know about that?”

  “I saw it in the trash, and I certainly didn’t put it there.”

  “You know what, Hunter? You can tell yourself whatever you want. If that story makes you feel better—have at it.”

  “Toni, it’s normal to be scared. It’s to be expected even. But the toothbrush thing surprised me. I’ve watched you fight your demons since you got here. Until this morning, I never took you for a coward.”

  She turned and stalked across the grass toward the lodge. “Yeah, well cowards live to tell the tale. Right now, I’d be happy to survive this trip.”

  Chapter 9

  Trapper stepped out of the shadows. “That didn’t go well.”

  Hunter stuffed his hands in his pockets to keep from punching something or someone, namely his big brother. “Thanks for the recap. I’d never have figured that out on my own.” He kicked a nearby fallen limb and turned back to Trapper. “What the hell were you doing? Spying on me?”

  Trapper took off his hat and inspected the hatband. “Believe me. Your love life isn’t all that interesting. Especially now. I just came to make sure you were wearing flame retardant boxers—I haven’t seen a crash and burn like that in a while.” He spun his
hat around on his finger and flinched. “She threw away the toothbrush you gave her? Man, that’s harsh.”

  “It wasn’t an engagement ring for God’s sake. It was just a damn toothbrush. Don’t you have some model to chat up, or God forbid, some work to do? I’m not paying you to hide in the woods and spy on me.”

  “You, little Brother, are not paying me at all. So don’t even go there.”

  Hunter stared down Trapper for a few beats until he realized how stupid it was to be pissed off at his brother. He broke eye contact, took off his baseball cap, and beat it against his thigh. He still wanted to punch something—a tree would hurt too damn much, and Trapper didn’t look like he was going to do his buddy a favor and give him an excuse to let off some steam. No. He looked like he was going into lecture mode, which was all fine and good, when Trapper was wearing his judge’s robe and had a captive audience as he lorded over everyone in his courtroom. But they weren’t in court, and Hunter wasn’t in the mood for another lecture.

  “What are you gonna do to change her mind?”

  Hunter hadn’t expected that. “How does anyone change a woman’s mind—especially a woman as difficult as Toni?”

  Trapper set his hat back on his head and adjusted the brim to its usual cocky angle. “I guess all you really have to do is give her a reason to question her decision. Since Momma didn’t raise no fools, it shouldn’t be all that hard to figure out, even for a simple mind like yours.” A slow smile spread across Trapper’s face. “I don’t know about you, but I’ve got a job to do. I have two other siblings and a bunch of models to keep a close eye on.” He turned on the heel of his scuffed cowboy boot and ambled back to the lodge.

  Hunter pulled his phone off his belt and called Emilio again. He hadn’t been able to reach him the day before and felt the kid slipping away. “Emilio, it’s Hunter again. Give me a call, and tell me how things are going. I always have my phone on me. Call me anytime. I’d like to see you come out here again. Let’s make a plan next time we talk.” He repeated his number twice then hit the end button. “Damn.”