Page 60 of Hot to Trot

Pride had always been his downfall.

He climbed back into the idling cruiser, thinking about not having what he wanted. He wanted Scarlet. The way he'd once wanted Angi. He'd met his ex-wife four years ago at a bar in Tomball when he'd gone out to celebrate his partner's birthday. She'd been half-drunk and smoking hot. All the guys had made a play for her, but she had eyes for Adam. They'd dated for two blissful months. Then she'd gotten pregnant.

Maybe not getting what he wanted was a good thing. Angi, the miscarriage, his father's meddling in his affair - all had led him to the breaking point.

So what would Scarlet lead to?

If he could have her. Which he couldn't.

But how in the hell would he resist her? When she was so deliciously forbidden to him?

Maybe the answer lay with Sophie Waters. Maybe his date with the very appropriate mayor's daughter would straighten him out. Maybe hanging around the type of woman who could be his future would purge him of these crazy urges. Maybe he needed exposure to other women in order to cure him of wanting one who would be a disaster. Nothing disastrous about Sophie. She was exactly the kind of girl he needed to date.

And exactly the kind of girl he didn't want.

He watched one of the best examples of the exact kind he craved walk down the steps of Phoenix and climb into her convertible. She hadn't even bothered to check the area around her. A deranged madman could have jumped out and made off with her as easily as a knife slid through hot butter.

He needed to have a talk with Scarlet. In a strictly official capacity. He'd tell her to exercise caution, pay attention to what was happening around her. And, yeah, there would be a little warning for himself.

SCARLET CLOSEDTHE DOOR to her room at Serendipity Inn and fell across her bed with a deep sigh. Teaching the clients at Phoenix sucked. It wasn't as if they didn't have potential.

On the contrary, their lives on the street had given them plenty of varied, if not a little scary, experiences to pull from their acting closets. It was the emotional toll that had her topsy-turvy. Throw the sexy police chief in the mix, and she was like a swimmer tossed in the middle of a stormy sea. Very tired. Very waterlogged. And very uncertain about her fate.

The door to her room flung open, scaring her.

''Aunt Scarlet!" Henry cried. "Check out my progress report!" He landed beside her on the bed and waggled a yellow piece of paper in front of her eyes.

She squinted in the dimness of the room, trying to distinguish the writing. "Get the light, will you?"

Henry switched on the bedside lamp and sat beside her like a puppy awaiting a treat.

"Five A's and two B's. Most excellent!" Scarlet gave him a high five.

"So what are you going to give me for them?" Henry asked, picking at a scab on his forearm.

"Stop," Scarlet said, knocking his fingers away from the sore. "Why do I have to give you something?"

Henry looked shocked. "Because you're supposed to. Those aregoodgrades."

Scarlet rolled her eyes. "This isn't a report card. It's a progress report. Shouldn't you be satisfied with getting a good grade?"

''Well, yeah, but I thought it was at least worth something. Like an ice cream." Henry dropped his head then snuck a peek under his lashes at her. His cuteness was a pistol to her temple.

"Okay, okay. Maybe a hot-fudge sundae from the Dairy Barn."

"Yay!" Henry bounced up and down on her bed.

"Stop, before I get seasick." Scarlet laughed, tugging her nephew into a headlock and giving him a noogie. "We'll go tomorrow after I film my audition."

"What are you auditioning for?"

"Nothing you need to worry about." Wasn't as if she could teach him about bisexual hookers. Yeah, that would be a little hard to explain to the sister who had pulled strings to get her an appointment with a production company in Shreveport. She would head over tomorrow to film her audition and be back before lunch. "Hey, kick your shoes off."

Henry's sneakers were caked with dirt and had already marred the perfection of the white chenille spread.

"'Kay," Henry said, toeing them off. An unholy smell filled the room.

"Good heavens, Henry. Put them back on," she cried, holding her nose.

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