Page 14 of Hiding Hollywood

“I wonder if she’d like to go out with me.” Nash had an inch or so on Cameron, a strong body used to work in the field, and had accumulated enough wealth to attract several women in the county after his divorce.

“No.” The relaxed feeling drained out of Cameron’s body. One of his best friends since high school might be a great guy, but no way was he right for Addie. Not that he’d even come close to guessing who was right for Addie, but not Nash. Picturing Addie with anyone put a sour taste in his mouth. He already fought the urge to meet Trevor in Colorado to talk to Brian himself.

“Hmm. I thought not.” He turned and walked to his ATV, setting his toolbox in the back. “How long is she staying?”

“Two weeks.” Why did that matter?

He crossed his arms. “A lot can happen in two weeks, my friend.”

“Pretty sure there’s nothing you can say that would make me think Addie is even close to the type of woman I want to date. She has complicated written all over her.” Dating and relationships hadn’t been on the radar whenever he thought about Addie. Figuring out how to keep from touching her and feeling attraction was the more immediate concern. Purely physical. End of story.

“But no one else can date her?” Nash paused a moment, his eyes, shaded by his baseball hat, locked with Cameron’s, expecting an answer. “I wonder why that is?”

Because thinking of another man’s hands on her, be it his best friend or not, drove him mad. Especially her asshat boyfriend. “She has a boyfriend.”

“That’s a valid reason not to pursue her. Why you didn’t start the conversation with that?”

“Because he’s a dirtbag, and I had to bail her out of jail because of his stupidity.”

Nash tilted his head up a fraction. “Good luck trying not to rescue the damsel in distress. That’s like your kryptonite.”

“Won’t even be an issue.” Cameron tugged on the leash, and Lacy fell in step beside him as he headed back to his house. His attraction to Addie wasn’t a minor thing. Hell, only a wink had him thinking about her most of last night.

How many men had she winked at that exact way? It didn’t mean anything to her. She knew how gorgeous she was and flaunted it to get what she wanted. So, no, he had no interest in dating her.

He wasn’t the type of man to have casual sex even if she wasn’t off limits for every other reason under the sun.

That left him dealing with the attraction for the next two weeks before shipping her home and out of his life.

5

Addie’s phone rang. She set the book she’d found in the room on Creek Indian culture to the side and scrambled off the bed, pushing her glasses back up on her nose. Big surprise. Not Brian.

“Hey there, big bro.”

Trevor’s familiar voice sounded on the other end. “How’s it going?”

She’d been in Statem three days. That’s two days longer than she’d expected. Getting away earlier than her court date looked like a lost cause at this point. “Fine.”

“You always say that, four-eyes. Listen, I don’t have much time before I need to head into a meeting for Grayson, but I want you to know that I’m flying out to Vail to find Brian tonight. I have specific directions from the lawyer I hired to make sure you are released. But Brian has to cooperate.”

Addie’s glasses shifted when she frowned. “I didn’t know you hired a lawyer. I’m paying for this, Trevor. Not you.”

“Addie, these aren’t cheap charges and the lawyer that’s necessary to fight it comes with a similar price tag.”

“Have the bills forwarded to my email. I’ll handle them. I have some money put away.” Close to two million after working for her employer for the past eight years. That disclosure would really cause her big brother some stress.

“We’ll see. Look, I’ll make sure everything turns out okay. Brian will have to explain himself. For both shitty moves. Not returning your phone calls and claiming his car was stolen in the first place. You really need to dump that loser. I’ve said that from day one. Hopefully, now you’ll listen to me.”

And she’d ignored him because she knew there wasn’t any real relationship involved. Her heart was never in jeopardy. But not even the fake Addie would put up with being stranded in rural Georgia without so much as a phone call.

They were done. Brian had been such a convenient guy to date. Cute, usually friendly, and somewhat uninterested in her personal life. Made it a great cover for herHollywoodalias.

“We’ll see, Trevor.”

He groaned. “Wake up, four-eyes. It’s not just this time. The guy acts like you belong to him. He tells you what to eat, what to wear. You didn’t use to be like this. I mean, you changed right after college. I miss my sister. You used to be such a goofball. Nose stuck in a book or pressed flat against your computer screen.”

“I would declare that I’m still a goofball, but I’m not sure I like that exact title. But you can lay off asking Cam for information. Oh, sorry, Cameron. I was told he doesn’t go by Cam any longer.”

---