LITMIR.BIZ

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be on hand to lend a sympathetic ear, or shoulder, or anything else that was required.

      “No,” she said. “It’s not that.”

      Too bad. “Am I likely to guess?”

      She fought a half smile and shook her head.

      He picked up the knife, bringing it down to chop off the stem of an onion. “Then shall we get on with it?”

      “You’re not making this easy.”

      He chopped again. “Well, it’s not from the lack of trying.”

      Her lips compressed, then her shoulders drooped. “Okay, now there’s been too much buildup.”

      He rinsed his hands in the small square sink in the middle of the island. “You,” he enunciated, “are impossible.”

      “Fine.” She braced her hands on the countertop. “Here goes. The Hudsons would like to use your château as a movie set.” She clamped her jaw and waited for his reaction.

      Alec stilled.

      Was she joking?

      Was she crazy?

      He’d spent years avoiding the press—years of fighting tooth and nail for a scrap of privacy. To invite a movie crew, cameras, actors, an entire Hollywood cartel into his home for weeks on end?

      He gathered the thinly sliced onions onto the knife edge, then dumped them all at once in the hot olive oil. They hissed and sizzled, steam rising to the ceiling.

      “No,” he said, with absolute finality. There was not a chance in hell.

      Okay, Charlotte had expected resistance. Alec wasn’t going to say yes immediately. Who would? It was an inconvenience and a disruption in his life. She understood that.

      “It’s my grandparents’ love story,” she put in, trying to stress the significance of the film. “They met during the war. In occupied France.”

      Alec didn’t say a word.

      “All of Hudson Pictures’ resources will be behind it.” The quality would be unparalleled.

      He lifted a spatula and stirred the sizzling onions.

      “My grandmother was a cabaret performer, and they were secretly married under the noses of the Germans.”

      Alec looked up. “And this makes a difference how?”

      “Cece Cassidy is attached to the project. It’s sure to be a contender for best writer—”

      “Like the screenwriter’s the problem.”

      “Is it about money?” she probed. “They’d absolutely compensate you for the inconvenience. And they’d leave everything exactly as they found it. You wouldn’t—”

      “It’s about my home not being a movie set.”

      “They wouldn’t need your entire home.” Charlotte searched her brain for more ammunition. “You’d be able to stay in residence. Jack sent me a script breakdown. They’d need the kitchen, the great room, one of the libraries and a couple of bedrooms. Oh, and the grounds of course. They’d need the grounds. Maybe your back deck for one scene.”

      “And that’s all?” Alec drawled, his sarcastic tone playing havoc with her confidence.

      “I’m fairly sure that’s all.” She kept her voice even.

      “They wouldn’t need access to my private study? Or my bathroom?” he continued, voice going up. “Or maybe they’d like to take a peek inside—”

      “You could designate some areas off-limits,” she rushed in. “And you could even stay at one of your other houses during filming.”

      His eyes darkened, and he brandished the spatula like a weapon. “And give a pack of Hollywood hooligans free rein over my home?”

      “It’s not like they’re some biker gang.” Sure, some stars had a reputation for bad behavior, but the Hudson Pictures producers were very professional. And Raine was a friend. Charlotte wouldn’t fill her house with a bunch of wild partiers.

      “I never said they were.”

      “Then what is it?”

      “Do you have any idea how hard I have to fight for privacy?”

      “Well, maybe if you didn’t—” She stopped herself.

      “Yes?” he prompted, cocking his dark head to one side.

      “Nothing.” She shook her head. This was turning into enough of a disaster without her insulting him.

      “I must insist,” he said, seeming to grow even taller.

      “We could cover any privacy concerns in the contract.” She attempted to distract him. “You’d really have nothing to worry—”

      “I’ll decide what I worry about. Now what were you about to say?”

      She gazed into his probing eyes. “I forgot.”

      He waited.

      Her brain scrambled, but she couldn’t for the life of her come up with a good lie.

      Oh, hell. She might as well go for it. The battle was all but over, anyway. “Maybe if you didn’t make yourself such an attractive target for the paparazzi.”

      He paused. “You’re suggesting it’s my fault?”

      “You don’t have to escort supermodels to every A-list party in Europe.”

      His brown eyes darkened to ebony. “You think a plain Jane on my arm would stop the gossip? You think a woman who didn’t fit their mold would do anything but guarantee me the front page?”

      Charlotte quickly realized he had a point. Being seen with anybody out of type would cause even more speculation. But he’d missed her point entirely. “You could skip the parties.”

      “I don’t attend that many parties.”

      Charlotte scoffed out a laugh of disbelief.

      He frowned at her. “How many did you attend last month? Last week? Lost count?”

      In fact, she had. “That’s different,” she pointed out primly. “I was on business.”

      He gave the onions another stir and reduced the heat. “What is it you think I do at parties?”

      He washed his hands while she thought about that. Then he retrieved a mesh bag of ripe tomatoes.

      She tried to figure out if it was a trick question. “Dance with supermodels?” She stated the obvious.

      “I make business contacts.”

      “With supermodels?”

      He sliced through a tomato. “Would you rather I went stag? Danced with other men’s dates?”

      Charlotte wriggled forward on the high seat. “You’re trying to tell me you suffer the attentions of supermodels in order to make business contacts?”

      “I’m trying to tell you I like my privacy, and you shouldn’t make assumptions about other people’s lifestyles.”

      “Alec, you hand out hotel room keys on the dance floor.” She knew from firsthand experience. He’d tried it with her.

      His knife stilled.

      She sat back, not even attempting to mask her satisfaction. “You are so busted.”

      “Really?” He resumed slicing. “Well, you are so not making a movie in my château.”

      Chapter Two

      Round one had gone to Alec, and Charlotte had

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