LITMIR.BIZ

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wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Noah refused to ever let his heart become entangled again. He honestly didn’t think he could afford another crushing loss.

      So there was no way he could talk to Olivia about this role for Callie. He was actually using the modeling as a way to keep her from slipping into a darker world that Callie had no clue about. If he could keep her satisfied with the money, the attention from modeling, perhaps she’d reach those stars in her eyes. Maybe she’d let go of this movie-star fetish.

      He had to intervene and do something. And no, he didn’t care that he was being devious. He couldn’t stand by and watch another innocent woman fall victim to the ugly side of the industry.

      Because he already had a nugget of worry where his beautiful, naive receptionist was concerned. He knew what he paid her, but he also knew she was always scraping by. Those few commercials she’d done surely hadn’t sucked her into the dark world he wanted to keep her from…had they?

      Cynicism had never been part of his life until he’d lived with an addict, and he hated that negative vibe that always seemed to spread through him.

      The back door to the office opened and shut. He heard heels click down the tiled hallway, then slow at his office. Noah smiled at the vision that stopped just outside his door.

      “Everything okay?” Callie asked, clutching her purse to her shoulder and her lunch bag with the other hand.

      “Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?”

      She gave him a sideways look and a half grin. “Because you’re never in the office before me.”

      That vibrant blue dress hugged her body in a professional yet sexy way, and Noah had to force himself to keep on track and not think about what it would be like to peel that garment down her body…or to think of how she managed to fit anything beneath it. She either had on a thong or nothing. If she was going commando…God, he couldn’t go there.

      “I had some things to do before my first client showed,” he told her, trying to stay professional. “There’s a little boy who was recently scarred due to a house fire and might be referred to me. I actually just hung up with a colleague about some options for this boy.”

      “I remember that referral.” Callie smiled wider. “That’s what makes you an awesome doctor. I was so excited when you agreed to take on his case.”

      Noah didn’t want her to look at him like some type of savior. And he sure as hell didn’t want to get emotionally involved with a child. Children were vulnerable creatures by nature and he worried that his heart simply couldn’t take that level of commitment again.

      “The boy’s aunt is a good client and she asked if I’d look at him. That doesn’t mean I can make him perfect. I just have to wait a few weeks because his wounds are still fairly fresh.”

      “You’re at least giving him a chance and hope,” Callie told him, still smiling and still looking at him as if he was more than just a doctor. “That in itself is so much, Noah. Don’t downplay your talents.”

      “I’m not, but I’m going into this realistically. There may be nothing I can do, but I’ll do everything in my power to help.”

      Most doctors had a God complex; Noah liked to think he was not one of them. He knew his abilities, his limitations. But he never backed away from a challenge, and he certainly wasn’t about to turn away a ten-year-old boy, no matter if the aunt was a client or not. Noah would try to help a burned child regardless of who called.

      “You’re quiet,” he told her. “That means you’re thinking. Should I be nervous?”

      A wide, vibrant smile spread across her face. “Well, I have news since we talked the other day about the audition.”

      Oh, no. That smile could only mean one thing… .

      “I got a call!” she shouted. She stepped farther into his office and dumped her items in the chair across from his desk. “Isn’t that awesome? My agent called me when I was on my way home yesterday and said she was able to get me an audition for this Monday.”

      A dreaded sense of déjà vu spread through him.

      “I’m happy for you,” he lied. “Make sure you call Marie to see if she can fill in for you.”

      “I will.” She smiled, then looked down, brought her hands up to her face…and burst into tears.

       What the hell?

      “Callie?”

      He moved around his desk to get closer to her. What had just happened? One second she was beaming with joy and the next she was sobbing into her hands.

      “Callie?” he repeated softly. “You okay?”

      She swiped her damp cheeks and shook her head. “I’m so sorry, Noah. It’s just…”

      Those moist eyes turned to him, and even with the smudge of mascara, she was still amazingly stunning.

      “You wouldn’t understand,” she told him.

      Wouldn’t understand? Understand what?

      “I’ve wanted a break and this is it,” she told him through a hiccup. “Once I called Olivia—”

      “Wait.” He held up a hand. “You called Olivia?”

      Callie sniffed and nodded. “Yesterday morning. I was calling to remind her of her Botox appointment next week. I just had to take a chance and ask her about an audition. The worst she could’ve said was no.”

      Un-freakin’-believable. This was not happening.

      “She was impressed with my initiative and said she’d see what she could do.” Callie smiled through the tear tracks. “And my agent called last night, so it’s a done deal.”

      He truly didn’t think she knew what she was asking for. In Callie’s starstruck mind, she probably had this image of Hollywood as all about red carpets and cocktail parties.

      But right now she looked so happy how could he not act supportive? She had no family nearby and she’d only talked about her neighbor a handful of times, so he didn’t even think she had too many friends. He’d be a total jerk if he didn’t at least show some support. Damn the gentleman-like qualities his mother instilled in him.

      “I can’t believe you used a patient contact,” he said. “Don’t you think that was overstepping a bit?”

      Callie shrugged, but her smile remained. “No. I’ve become friendly with Ms. Dane. I don’t think I abused my power, and I can honestly say I’d do it again, Noah.”

      He studied her and knew she was fighting for a dream she believed she deserved. He could forgive her anything when she smiled at him that way.

      “That’s great, Callie.” He even gave her his own smile to show her he was happy, then pointed toward her face. “You may want to touch up your makeup before the patients arrive.”

      Callie gasped, reaching up to pat beneath her eyes. “Oh, no,” she cried when she glanced at her black fingertips. “I’m sure I look like a mess.”

      “There’s nothing you could do that could diminish your beauty.”

      Without thinking, he reached out to wipe away the tear tracks on her porcelain cheek. As the pad of his thumb slid across her skin, her breath hitched, her eyes held his. How had they gotten this close? Had he stepped toward her or had she come to him?

      Her damp eyes dipped down to his lips, then back up.

      What he wouldn’t give to pull her against him and taste those full lips. Just once. Would that hurt anything?

      Oh, yeah. Their working relationship.

      “I better go clean up,” she told him, backing away and gathering her things from the armchair beside him. As she turned to walk away, she glanced

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