Page 23 of California Dreaming

Black, gray, red, pale pink, and several shades of blue. She picked up two, one navy and one the blue of the ocean on a stormy day, and held them up against his chest. She tried to ignore the heat coming off his body, the pull she felt from standing so close to him, and use her judgment.

“This one,” she said, choosing the shirt the color of the ocean. She didn’t say that it brought out the color in his eyes.

He pulled the shirt over his head, and she stood back, giving the final outfit a critical once-over. She nodded. “You’ll do.”

Which was the world’s hugest understatement, considering she couldn’t imagine a better looking man. Even the other brother she’d met at the party, the one Margaret had called “the good-looking one,” couldn’t hold a candle to Arch right now. At least in Tessa’s eyes.

The shirt fit perfectly, showing off his amazing physique, along with bringing out the gorgeous blue of his eyes. But the overall look was relaxed. Archer Davenport might have a broken leg, but the image he exuded was that he was fine and recovering rapidly. It was exactly what she believed his agent and his PR team wanted the outfit to say.

“Thanks, Tessa,” he said. “You’ve got a good eye for color.”

Mmmm. The sound of her name on his lips. So… well, so sexy. Mentally, she gave herself a shake. She really needed to stop thinking like that! All he’d done was say her name. It wasn’t like he’d begged her to let him strip off her clothes to make love to her, or anything crazy along those lines.

At three p.m. sharp, the doorbell rang.

She turned to check that Arch was completely ready. He was in his big chair, a glass of water on the table by his side and his crutches out of sight. He’d insisted on that.

At her questioning look, he nodded. “Let’s get this over with,” he said with a grimace.

She opened the door to find Roxy Thanton standing there.

By first becoming a super model, then co-hosting Celebrity Tonight, Roxy had become a celebrity herself. Her image was often splashed across the gossip pages of magazines with various hot Hollywood heartthrobs, or she was being praised for her great fashion sense.

In person, the woman was a bona fide knockout. She had long, highlighted blond hair, a tan, and glowing skin made even brighter by her tight white dress. Her makeup was so perfect, Tessa felt like she was looking at a photograph.

“Hello,” Tessa managed, feeling slightly starstruck. Behind Roxy were three men and one woman with cameras and other equipment.

Roxy Thanton walked past Tessa as though she weren’t even there. “Arch? Where are you?” she called in her sexiest voice.

The crew were a lot nicer. One of the guys asked Tessa where he could park the van, and another asked about the power supply. The woman said, “Hi, I’m Shay. This won’t take more than an hour, which we’ll edit down to about five minutes.”

“I’m Tessa,” she said. “I’m Arch’s caregiver, but I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

The noise and activity of a TV crew was a stark contrast to the intimate atmosphere she’d enjoyed with Arch so far. She never could have predicted he’d be so knowledgeable about art, for example. The way he described being moved by a painting or photograph had had her captivated. She was slowly beginning to realize the sensitive way he saw the world. It was probably what made him such a good actor. He was able to empathize and use his intuition to get straight to the heart of something. Or someone.

What surprised her was how real he was, how he talked to her like her opinion mattered to him, which was the opposite of the way Lewis had treated her. Arch didn’t take himself too seriously, and quite frankly, that was almost as attractive as his gorgeous face and killer body. She would need to double her efforts to stay professional to have any chance of keeping her heart from being ripped to shreds.

Like right now, when she had to watch the gorgeous blond TV host flirt shamelessly with Arch as they put the final touches to the rearranged furniture for the interview. The crew had all but wrecked the minimalistic calm of Arch’s living room, setting up lighting, two cameras, and what she learned were boom mics.

Tessa kept out of their way as much as possible, taking the opportunity to get settled in her bedroom and put away the rest of her possessions. The act of hanging up her clothes made her realize this really was going to be home for the next two and a half months. The room was more luxurious than any hotel she’d ever stayed in.

When she couldn’t find a reason to stay upstairs any longer, she went down to find everything set up. Roxy was sitting across from Arch and chatting away as though they were old friends. Maybe they were. The crew were doing sound and light checks around them.

One of the crew had knocked a painting crooked when setting up the rigging. Luckily, it wasn’t damaged, but she felt aggrieved on Arch’s behalf. Couldn’t they see that these paintings were precious? An accumulation of hours and hours of work? She moved over to where the painting had fallen sideways and slid the frame upright on its hanging wire.

“Can we keep the household staff out of frame, please?” Roxy said, her friendliness gone in an instant.

Tessa felt as though she’d been stabbed by an icicle. She was about to apologize when Arch spoke up. In a firm tone, he said, “Roxy, I’d like you to meet Tessa Taylor. She’s a professional caregiver, and I’m very lucky to have her here to help me recuperate.”

She’d wanted to stay out of the interview completely, but she understood that Arch was sticking up for her, and a part of her melted.

Roxy suddenly flashed Tessa a sparkling white smile. “This must be an exciting placement for you, looking after a celebrity of Archer Davenport’s caliber.”

Inwardly, Tessa squirmed at the patronising tone. But again, Archer spoke before she had the chance to.

“All in a day’s work for Tessa,” he said. “Besides, there are no celebrities in this household. I’m just a regular California guy who got lucky at his job.”

Roxy let out a tinkling laugh. “I love how you still insist on this ‘I’m just a regular guy’ spiel. Everyone in the world knows your name. And your face. Not to mention those abs of yours.” She laughed again and then reached over and put her hand on his belly.

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