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A rush of exhilaration exploded inside her as she made up her mind. She was going to take the job as his personal assistant and savor every moment of the time she spent with this star-kissed man her heart had chosen so unwisely to love. She would file away every look he gave her, every smile, every gesture. She would abandon caution and give herself to him, as much of her as be would accept. Maybe he would make love to her. Probably not. But either way, she was going to give herself to him without condition, knowing that when it was over, the best she could hope for was a treasure house of memories.
She made promises to herself. This fierce love she felt for him wouldn’t keep her from seeing him clearly, the good and the bad, his monstrous ego and too soft heart, his keen intelligence and dangerously manipulative charm. Her love wouldn’t let her compromise her principles either. She only knew how to be herself, and even though that wouldn’t be enough for him, it was all she had.
She closed her eyes and saw him in her mind, a cosmic cowboy with his big Stetson and killer grin, a man who scattered stardust when he walked. That stardust had fallen on her, giving new life to her parched body and waking up her shriveled heart.
She knew there would be no happily-ever-after for her with Bobby Tom Denton, and while her heart soared, her head needed to stay firmly anchored in reality. He wasn’t going to love her in return. Extraordinary men were meant for extraordinary women, and she was hopelessly ordinary. The only way she could come out of this emotionally intact was by never forgetting that she had fallen in love with a man who was as much legend as human. Her sense of honor wouldn’t allow, her to take anything from him the way everybody else did. She would give herself to him out of the fullness of her heart, not with the hope of receiving anything in return. And when it was over, this man who had been kissed by the gods would at least be able to remember that Gracie Snow was the one person in his life who had never taken anything from him.
An hour later, still queasy from making such a shattering decision, Gracie approached the brown-and-gray motor home that had been assigned to Bobby Tom. Between the incident last night, her hangover, and her newfound self-knowledge, she was going to have a difficult time facing him, but it had to be done. Before she could mount the steps, however, the door of the neighboring motor home opened and Natalie Brooks stepped out.
Gracie observed the descent of the leggy brunette actress who was being touted as the “new Julia Roberts,” and her spirits sank even lower as she remembered all the love scenes Bobby Tom would be doing with this glorious creature. Gracie took in her trademark dark brown mane of hair, tamed now into a youthful ponytail that didn’t detract one bit from her beauty. Despite the fact that her face was scrubbed clean of makeup, the twenty-four-year-old actress was breathtaking. Her features were bold: heavy dark brows, tilted green eyes, a wide, generous mouth, and even white teeth. She wore her wrinkled brown shorts and an equally wrinkled pink polo shirt as if they were designer originals.
“Hi.” She gave Gracie a friendly smile and extended her hand. “I’m Natalie Brooks.”
“Gracie Snow.” She winced slightly from the sudden movement as she returned the firm handshake. “I’ve enjoyed your pictures so much, Miss Brooks. I’m a real fan.”
“Call me Natalie. Elvis is sleeping now, so we have some time to talk.” She gestured toward a pair of folding aluminum chairs set up in the shade of the trailer.
Gracie had no idea who Elvis was, but she wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to chat with a celebrity like Natalie Brooks, especially when it gave her a good excuse to postpone her encounter with Bobby Tom. After they were settled, Natalie said, “I know from Anton that your references are impeccable, and my husband and I appreciate you flying in on such short notice. We’re determined to have only the best for Elvis.”
Even though Gracie couldn’t imagine what she was talking about, she found the actress’s desperate earnestness rather endearing.
“The first thing I need to tell you is that Anton and I don’t believe in schedules. Elvis is on demand feeding, so as soon as he starts to fuss, I want you to bring him to me. He’s to receive no supplements of any kind. Anton and I want him to have the immunities that only breast milk can provide. We’re also worried because we have allergies in the family—Anton has a first cousin who’s highly allergic—so Elvis isn’t receiving anything but breast milk for his first six months. You are supportive of breast-feeding, aren’t you?”
“Oh, yes.” More than once Gracie had imagined herself with a baby at her breast, and the vision always filled her with a poignancy so sharp that it was almost painful. “But isn’t six months a long time for a baby not to have anything else? I thought they needed cereal.”
Natalie looked as if Gracie had suggested she feed the baby arsenic. “Not at all! Breast milk alone is the perfect food for the first six months of a baby’s life. I should have made Anton cover all this with you. It’s so hard— He has a business in L.A., you see, and this is our first separation. He’ll be flying in on weekends, but it’s still going to be difficult.”
Gracie decided it was a poor reflection on her character that she found being mistaken for a nanny less flattering than being mistaken for a stripper. “I’m sorry, Natalie. I should have interrupted right away, but I was so fascinated by what you were saying that I got distracted. I do that sometimes. As it happens, I’m not your nanny.”
“You’re not?”
Gracie shook her head, only to be reminded by the lingering ache in her temples of her night of drunken debauchery. Holding herself very still, she said, “I’m one of the production assistants. Well, I was a production assistant, but now I’m Bobby Tom Denton’s assistant.”
Gracie expected Natalie to become melty-eyed like everyone else did whenever Bobby Tom’s name was mentioned, but the actress merely nodded. Then her head shot up and her eyes flared with alarm. “Did you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
She shot up from the chair. “Elvis. He’s crying.” Her long movie star legs flew up the steps. Just before she disappeared inside, she said, “Wait here and I’ll show him to you.”
Gracie found herself liking Natalie Brooks, despite her rather intense attitude toward mothering, and she was curious to see her baby. Even so, she knew she couldn’t postpone her responsibilities much longer.
At that moment, one of the equipment trucks moved and she saw Bobby Tom by the corral talking with several attractive young women. It was obvious from their fashionable outfits that they weren’t members of the crew, and she suspected that the ladies of Telarosa had already begun to line up to take the football quiz. He wore only jeans and boots. The sun sparked in his tawny hair and glowed on his bare chest. Her heart jumped at the sight of him.
One of the makeup artists approached him and began to spray his chest from a plastic bottle so that his muscles glistened with oil. He glanced down at himself. Even from a distance, she could see that he looked befuddled, and she couldn’t help smiling as she observed his reaction to what he certainly saw as unnecessary adornment.
Natalie reappeared with a flannel-wrapped bundle in her arms and a beatific smile curling her famous mouth. “This is Elvis,” she said as she settled back down into the chair. “He’ll be four months tomorrow. Say hello, precious. Say hello to Gracie.”
Grade gazed into the face of the homeliest baby she had ever seen. He looked like a miniature sumo wrestler. His nose was squashed, his small eyes nearly hidden in wrinkles of fat from his cheeks, his chin almost nonexistent.
“What a—uh—beautiful baby,” she said dutifully.
“I know.” Natalie beamed.
“An unusual name.”
“It’s an old and honorable one,” she replied with a trace of defensiveness. And then she looked worried. “I just called my husband to see what had happened to the nanny. He found out last night that she insists on cereal for babies at four months, so I’m afraid we’re back to square one. Now he’s making inquiries about one of the nannies who worked for the British royal family.”
Gracie saw by the doubtful expression on her face that Natalie wasn’t certain even that would be good enough.
