LITMIR.BIZ

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      “I know.” Consuelo stepped back and then looked down at herself. “It’s not too much?”

      “Like I said—you’re beautiful. Sexy, too. I’m amazed you made it to the party on time,” Madeline murmured. “I’m assuming Kent knows he’s a lucky man.”

      “He does.” She glanced around at the people laughing and talking. “Who’s that guy? He looks familiar.”

      Madeline didn’t have to turn around. “Jonny Blaze.” She waited for the shriek, or at least the semishriek. Consuelo was always controlled.

      “Oh, right. I should have recognized him. I like his movies. He gets it right. The fighting.” Consuelo rolled her eyes. “You have no idea how many actions scenes are completely screwed up. It makes the movie or TV show impossible to enjoy. Kent says I should be more forgiving.”

      “Not gonna happen?” Madeline asked with a grin.

      “You know it.”

      “Come on. I’ll introduce you.”

      Madeline walked over to where Jonny was now talking to a couple of guys from Score, a local PR firm owned by former NFL stars. As soon as she approached, Jonny turned to her.

      “This is my friend Consuelo,” she told him. “She works at CDS.”

      “The bodyguard school,” he said, looking at the other woman. “Jonny Blaze. Nice to meet you.” They shook hands. “I met Angel and Ford a few minutes ago. They were talking about you.”

      Consuelo groaned. “Don’t believe them. It’s all lies. I like what you did in Amish Revenge. That last scene—on the train. It was authentic.”

      “Thanks. It was all me and I have the bruises to prove it.”

      Everyone else chuckled, but Consuelo just kept talking. “The fight scene before sucked, though. You didn’t have the moves down. You have a trainer, right? He blew it. It’s not your fault.”

      Madeline wanted to sink into the floor and come out on the other side of the planet. Had her friend really said that? Not that she should be surprised. Consuelo spoke her mind and usually followed up her opinions with threats.

      She waited for Jonny to change the subject or get upset or maybe even leave. Instead, he nodded. “You’re right. We couldn’t seem to figure out the flow. I don’t suppose you have training with a knife?”

      Consuelo grinned. “Are you kidding? I’m all about fighting with a knife.”

      “For real? Because I’m interested. Do you have a class or something?”

      “Not for knife fighting. I don’t think Mayor Masha would approve. But I could show you a few things. Call CDS and set up an appointment.”

      “I will.”

      Kent walked over to his wife. “Trying to make me jealous?” He nodded at Jonny. “Kent Hendrix.”

      The two men shook hands.

      “Your wife was talking to me about my knife fights,” Jonny explained.

      “Of course she was.” Kent kissed the top of Consuelo’s head. “I can’t take you anywhere.”

      “That’s what I keep saying,” she complained. “And you keep dragging me places. Why is that?”

      Kent laughed.

      Several people drifted away, while others joined them. Jonny moved closer to Madeline.

      “You know some interesting people,” he said.

      “Consuelo is in a class by herself. But you’re right. We have fascinating residents. It’s nice and keeps things fun.”

      “I hope she meant what she said about teaching me some moves.”

      “You could hire her as a consultant on your next movie.”

      Instead of laughing, as she’d expected, he nodded slowly. “That’s a good idea. I’ll talk to her about it next week. If she’s interested, I can—”

      He stopped talking and stared over her head. “No way.”

      She turned to see what had caught his attention. The Strykers had arrived. Three brothers and their wives.

      “What?” she asked before all the breath left her body.

      Jonny grabbed her hand and pulled her across the room. “I don’t believe it,” he said.

      She couldn’t, either. Not the dragging part but the way he was holding her hand. Just as if they were… She wasn’t sure what. Friends? Lovers?

      His long fingers laced with hers. His palm was warm and his touch…tingled. She didn’t know what to think, what to say. Begging him to never let go seemed out of place at this holiday gathering. And she had the oddest impression he had no idea what he was doing.

      “Clay,” Jonny said, coming to a stop in front of the youngest Stryker brother. “What are you doing here?”

      Clay stared for a second, then laughed. “I could ask the same thing. You in Fool’s Gold?”

      “I bought a place outside of town.”

      “I have a haycation business. Farm vacations.” He drew his wife close. “Honey, this is Jonny Blaze. We’ve worked together. Jonny, my wife, Charlie.”

      Sadly, Jonny had to release Madeline’s hand to shake Charlie’s. Madeline had known the other woman for years and had, until that moment, liked her a lot.

      Jonny grinned at her. “Clay’s a great guy. We had a lot of fun on the set.”

      Clay shrugged. “That was a while ago. We were both younger.”

      Madeline thought about Clay’s former profession. “When you say worked together,” she began.

      Jonny chuckled. “Clay was my butt double on Amish Revenge.”

      Various scenes flashed in her mind, including the one where Jonny had walked naked through the house. From the front there had been no “below the waist” shots, but from the back, there had been a single, long, slow pan from neck to feet.

      “That wasn’t you?” she asked, hoping the disappointment didn’t show in her voice.

      Charlie leaned against her husband. “I can attest that what you saw on the big screen was all Clay.” She looked at Jonny. “Didn’t have the goods, huh?”

      Jonny’s good humor didn’t fade. “I have the goods,” he said easily.

      Clay nodded. “He would have been fine on his own. What Jonny won’t say is that the first actor hired for the role had insisted on a butt double. When he dropped out and they hired Jonny, he could have canceled the contract, but he didn’t. It was a big break for me in the business.”

      Madeline’s head was swirling from too much information. First, that Jonny hadn’t been the producers’ first choice for the movie that had basically made his career. Second, that even then, he’d been such a nice guy, giving Clay a job. Third, that the man had held her hand.

      “Be careful,” Charlie told him. “If Eddie and Gladys get ahold of you, you’re toast.”

      With that, the other couple moved away. Jonny turned to Madeline. “I met Gladys, but who’s Eddie?”

      “They’re two older women who have a cable access show,” she explained. “One of their most popular segments is a contest where they show pictures of men’s butts. You have to guess who the men are and text in your answer.”

      His dark green eyes widened. “Seriously?”

      “You can’t make stuff like that up.”

      “I guess not.” He shrugged. “I was expecting bake sales and toy

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