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Sophie covered her face with her hands. “You’re the second person on the receiving end of my drink today.”
Zane caught Danny’s and Bryce’s good-humored expressions, but he knew they were laughing their asses off on the inside. Nervous women kept their distance from him, so this was a first.
Bryce cleared his throat. “We don’t want this to be uncomfortable, Sophie. We’re just asking for a little extra time from you. Nothing more.”
She dropped her arms. Fire sparked in those green eyes of hers now, the bright red in her cheeks fading. “I’d be quite insulted if you thought anything else.”
Huh. Sophie Birch did more than embarrassment. She had poise, too. The juxtaposition intrigued him. He often felt the same way, although he’d mastered hiding his unease.
“Sophie,” Zane said, “you don’t have to agree to this, but you’d be doing me a huge favor.”
…
The way Zane said her name had her just about sliding off her chair. His voice was mellow. Sonorous. Sexy. Like maybe hehadnoticed she was a woman. He wasn’t asking for more than a couple of appearances, but for a girl like her, that was huge. Her own version of Mr. Right Now.
Mr. Right Now.
That’s what dallied along in her thoughts as she processed this simple but unbelievable request. Were these men crazy? Desperate? Did it matter?
“I, uh, I don’t know what to say.” She very carefully took her water glass and guzzled half the liquid down. Didn’t cool her insides, darn it.
“Yeswould be nice,” Bryce said. He could pass for Zane’s darker-haired, darker-eyed brother, but he didn’t put any sort of quivers in the pit of her stomach like Zane did.
Which meant this would be a huge mistake. There was nothing harmless about Zane Hollander. He oozed heartbreaker. Not that anything remotely involving her heart would occur, but she did crush on the opposite sex with some frequency, and her feelings were rarely reciprocated. The truth was, like Honor had said, whowasn’tinfatuated with Zane?
She shook her head to tighten the screw she had loose. Agreeing to this could jeopardize her entire reason for being in White Strand Cove. She had a film festival to oversee, and if she pulled it off without a hitch, she might get more special events to coordinate on her own. No one back home believed she could plan events as well as she could do brain research. But she loved planning parties and seeing the happiness on people’s faces right away. She’d received so little instant gratification growing up that she wanted to feel it now with special occasion and milestone celebrations. Maybe she’d get to do more traveling for other functions. Putting on a successful festival was the first step to making that possible.
“No,” she said. She was in White Strand to further herowncareer goals and gain a sense of independence. And if she spent extra time with Zane and not the other film festival participants, it might be a conflict of interest.
“No?” the three shocked men said in unison.
“It’s nice of you to ask, but I really should just stay focused on the festival as a whole.”
Shoot.She hadn’t meant to imply Zane messed with her focus.
Zane picked up her hand. A platoon of flutters sped up her arm and charged toward spots on her body guaranteed to make her blush. She stared down at his warm, tanned hand swallowing her small pasty white one, like avoiding eye contact would stop the sensations thrumming though her.
Sensations she’d never ever experienced before. She pressed her legs together.
“I know this is way out of your realm of ordinary. It is for me, too. So don’t think I find this any easier. We can figure out something that works for both of us.”
Meaning he didn’t socialize with pale, simple-looking girls from Montana who took to the sea and floundered.But.
But admitting he felt out of his comfort zone did appeal to her basic desire to help those who needed it.
Meeting his incredible blue eyes, she wondered what it would be like for someone like him to burn for her with genuine longing.
“Your job is important to you, we get that.” Bryce broke into her dizzying thoughts. She slid her hand from Zane’s and moved her attention across the table. “I know this is your first big event on your own, that you’re filling in for your boss. We’re arranging a few informal get-togethers with town officials and notable residents. Let us hire you to take over the planning.”
She thought about that for a minute.
If she did these extra events for Zane, it would prove she was a go-getter and that she could get business on her own.
Their suggestion niggled at her, though, sounding less than honorable. “Are you bribing me?”
“Shit,” Danny said. His light brown hair and light eyes were a nice combination as well. Jeez, the three of them probably slayed women everywhere they went. “We don’t mean that at all. Extra work means more for your résumé,and it’s our way of saying thanks. We’re trying to be as up-front as possible here.”
“I appreciate that.”
