LITMIR.BIZ

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Nell? You’re renting Nell’s cottage? For vacation? In Russell?” Ty shook his head and chuckled. “Well, that’ll be quiet, for sure. Where you from?”

      “Southern California.”

      Cole let out another snort. She sent him a dark look.

      “What?” she snapped.

      He just shrugged and avoided Ty’s warning glare. Ty turned back to Bree.

      “Would you like another glass of wine?”

      She stared at her empty glass.

      “Gee, Ty, I wouldn’t want to offend your brother’s sensibilities by ordering more wine. Maybe I should try what he’s having.”

      Cole let out a sharp, humorless laugh. “You’d hurt yourself, honey.”

      Oh, no, he didn’t. “Let’s make one thing clear. I am not your honey.” She impulsively reached for Cole’s glass. His hand shot out so quickly she didn’t see it move until he grabbed her wrist. His fingers were as hard as his eyes, and she gasped at the feel of his calloused skin on hers.

      Ty’s voice dropped to a growl. “Cole, I’ll throw you out the door myself if you don’t let her go. What the hell is wrong with you today?”

      Cole pierced her with his eyes, and he didn’t let go. His voice was low and threatening.

      “Don’t start something you can’t finish...honey.”

      They glared at each other, then he released her hand and pushed it away, causing some of the golden liquor to slosh over the rim of the glass onto her fingers. She kept her eyes locked on his as she lifted his glass to her lips and emptied it. His eyebrows rose just enough that she knew he was surprised, even if his expression remained carved in stone. Both men probably expected her to have a coughing fit or some other girlish reaction, but they were going to be disappointed. She welcomed the burn as the strong drink warmed its way to her stomach. After setting the glass on the counter, she slowly licked the spilled whiskey from the tips of her fingers. Cole’s nostrils flared just a bit at that move.

      “Not bad.” She shrugged, and Ty laughed.

      “Day-um, woman. You may look city, but you sure act and drink country!”

      She grinned and looked down at what she considered to be casual traveling clothes. She was wearing a pale green broomstick skirt with ballet flats and a simple ivory knit top. Her dark red hair was long and straight, enhanced with several hundred dollars’ worth of extensions. In Russell, North Carolina, she probably looked like a cover girl.

      She was just starting to respond when the door from the kitchen opened again. A teenage girl walked through it, carrying a plate holding a delicious-looking burger. Bree guessed she was around fifteen; pretty in a wholesome, cheerleader sort of way. She had long blond hair and lightly tanned skin, with big brown eyes. Those eyes snapped to a halt when she saw Bree.

      A lot of things happened very quickly in the next few seconds. The girl nearly dropped the plate, but Ty caught it just as the burger was ready to slide to the floor.

      “Emily! Watch what you’re...”

      Emily was reaching for something in her back pocket as her eyes grew even wider.

      “Oh. My. God. You’re Bree Mathews! Right here in The Hide-Away! Oh, my God! No one’s going to believe this!”

      Bree saw the iPhone in Emily’s hand. The girl was raising it to take a photo. An image of Bree blasted out to the internet would ruin her plans to hide here in Russell. She jumped to her feet and reached for the phone with a distressed cry. Cole stood and grabbed Bree’s wrist, yanking her back and closer to him. Ty snatched the phone from Emily’s hand. They all stared at each other in confusion, panic and anger.

      Ty was the first to speak. “Emily! What is wrong with you? Is it a full moon today or what? Everyone’s going full-bore crazy around here! And Cole, for the last time, get your effing hands off that woman!”

      Bree was close to his side now, and the heat emanating from his body took her breath away. His grip was rough, just short of painful. He glared down at her then back at his brother.

      “She grabbed for my niece and I damned sure want to know why.”

      Ty nodded in understanding. “I get that. But everyone’s safe now, so let her go.”

      Cole looked down at Bree, and her face flamed with humiliation. This day was turning into one hot, glorious mess. He slowly loosened his hold on her, and she took a step away, rubbing her wrist.

      “Emily.” Ty looked at the girl who was clearly his daughter. “What on earth is wrong with you, girl?”

      Emily’s eyes were still bright with excitement, and her voice was breathless and quick.

      “Daddy! This is Bree Mathews! She’s famous! She’s from Hollywood! And she’s standing here in our restaurant!” The men clearly had no idea what she was talking about, and the words started tumbling out of her mouth. “Oh, my God! Don’t you know? She was Miss California and a runner-up to Miss America. Then she married Damian Maxwell, the actor from that big hit TV show about high school from a few years ago, Drama in the Halls. Remember? He played the hunky coach? And then...” The words were coming fast and furious as Emily recited the timeline of Bree’s life. “Then his show was canceled and he and Bree went on the reality show Hot Hollywood Housewives. She was supposed to be the ‘good girl’ of the group, and the other ladies were so mean to her. By the third season, Damian was doing drugs on camera. When she caught him with Jessica Darling, one of the other wives on the show, Bree had an epic meltdown.”

      “Emily,” her father said, trying to intervene. But his daughter was on a roll.

      “She flipped an entire table on its side in a restaurant. It was awesome! Anyway, even though she divorced Damian, they tried to keep her on the show for another season, but she refused. Now she plans events and stuff for famous people, and she wrote a cookbook, and I heard she might get her own show on Bravo. Some people hate her because they say she ruined Damian’s career. He hasn’t had a hit since she left him, but of course that’s not her fault. Daddy, she’s famous. And she’s standing right in front of us!”

      Emily finally stopped for air. Bree dropped her head, wishing the floor would open up and swallow her whole. Three decades on this earth, and her entire life had just been recapped in breathless detail by a teenager in less than a minute. And the highlight was that she flipped a table over in a crowded restaurant. That was what people thought of when they saw her. What did that say about her choices? About her values? About her?

      “Are you filming something here? Is that why you’re here?” Emily was bouncing up and down now. “You are, right? You’re filming? Why else would you be in a place like Russell? Oh, wow...”

      This was her chance to protect herself, and Bree took it. She plastered on her best pageant smile.

      “Yes. Yes, we’re filming here. But it’s a huge secret. That’s why I didn’t want you to take the picture. No one can know about it, or it will all be ruined. I’m just here checking things out, but if the press finds out, we’ll have to find a new location to go to. I didn’t think anyone would recognize me out here...”

      Cole snorted. Again. “So you didn’t think we had television? Or the internet? Or teenagers?”

      Damn his arrogance.

      “Look, it was all very last minute, and I didn’t know the show was popular in rural...in the country...places like this...” She closed her eyes, trying to think of a way not to sound offensive. But she never thought anyone would recognize her here in the boondocks.

      Emily was still focused on the idea of a film crew arriving. “You’re doing a ‘Bree in the country’ kind of thing? That would be so funny! Maybe we’ll have a dance here at The Hide-Away and you could film it! Daddy, you’d let me waitress, right? I could be on TV!”

      Ty

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