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His passion escalated as he understood she welcomed his aggressiveness. At the same time, some small glimmer of sanity reminded him where they were, and he knew that what had started out as a game had backfired. He couldn’t take her like this—not against the side of a building. He must have been crazy to let it get this far. What in the hell was wrong with him?
It took all of his self-discipline to close the front of her vest. Her eyes flew open, their expression revealing a mixture of passion and bewilderment. He settled his hat back into position. She was a rookie in her first big game, and he’d never let her see how close she’d come to unseating a champion.
“I think this is going to work out pretty well, don’t you?” His normally agile hands were clumsy as he began fastening her buttons, and he kept talking to camouflage his awkwardness. “We’re gonna take this in stages. You seemed to have missed out on all the normal messin’ around, so we have to make up for that. I don’t think either of us is going to last too long, you understand, but we should at least make the effort.”
“Does this mean we’re done for tonight?”
She looked so woeful he wanted to hug her. “Heck, no. We’re just takin’ a breather. When we get back home, we’ll start up all over again. Maybe we’ll drive down by the river and see how long it takes us to steam up the windows in my pickup.”
Gracie jumped as the door next to them banged open, and Johnny Pettibone stuck his head out. “Bobby Tom, Suzy just called. She wants you to stop by the house right away. Says she thinks she might have a mouse under the sink.” Johnny disappeared back inside.
Bobby Tom sighed. So much for steaming up windows. Once Suzy got hold of him, she wouldn’t let go of him for a while.
Gracie gave him a sympathetic, albeit slightly shaky, smile. “It’s all right; your mother needs you. I’ll get a ride home with one of the production assistants. Actually, this is probably a good thing. I could use a little time to—to adjust.”
Once again she began worrying her lip. “This body-owning idea of yours . . . I was thinking . . . That is, it occurred to me . . .”
“Spit it out, sweetheart. Neither of us is getting any younger.”
“I want a turn,” she said in a rush.
“A turn at what?”
“At the same thing. Body-owning. Yours.”
He wanted to burst out laughing, but instead he frowned and tried to look
sullen. “I never expected an intelligent woman to be so illogical. If both of us are going around owning each other’s bodies, we’ll never know who’s supposed to make the next move.”
She regarded him earnestly. “I’m sure we can work it out.”
“I don’t think so.”
She set her jaw. “I’m sorry, Bobby Tom, but I’m going to have to be firm about this.”
He started to give her a hard time, just for the pure pleasure of it, but before he could open his mouth, she’d turned her back on him and marched to the door. Just before she disappeared inside, she tossed him a prim look over her shoulder.
“Thank you for a most pleasurable encounter. It was highly educational.” The door shut behind her.
For a moment he just stood there, and then he grinned. Every time he thought he had Gracie right where he wanted her, she managed to surprise him. But he had a few surprises of his own left, and as he made his way to his truck, he knew that initiating Gracie Snow was definitely going to be one of life’s finer pleasures.
13
So much for bargains, Gracie thought as she parked the Thunderbird next to Willow’s Trans Am and picked up the Navaho blanket she had been sent to fetch. As she got out of the car, she sighed. Two weeks had passed since Bobby Tom had taken her to the Wagon Wheel, but to her disappointment, the physical side of their relationship hadn’t progressed any farther. It was almost as if he’d changed his mind. On the other hand, the circumstances had hardly been conducive to privacy. He’d had long work days and lots of distractions.
On Sunday, after their evening at the honky-tonk, Bobby Tom and Suzy had golfed, while Gracie had spent the day helping Natalie make the small house she had rented comfortable. That evening, one of his former teammates had shown up at the door and stayed several days, demanding every minute of Bobby Tom’s free time. The following weekend, Bobby Tom had flown to Houston for a scheduled meeting with the American Express people to discuss making a television commercial for them, and afterward, they had been involved in night shooting, filming a chase sequence involving Bobby Tom and the film’s villain. But even though she knew they hadn’t had any real opportunity for intimacy, she still found herself dwelling on the worrisome possibility that Bobby Tom’s offer had merely been another of his private jokes and he had no intention of going through with it. Since the weekend was fast approaching and he’d made no plans to leave town, she should know soon.
For the past week, they’d been shooting a sequence with Bobby Tom and Natalie in a small box canyon north of town. The equipment trucks and motor homes were parked at the mouth of the canyon, far enough away so the noise from the vehicles wouldn’t interfere with the shooting.
“Gracie.”
Gracie looked up to see Connie Cameron calling her from the catering truck. Her lips formed a smug smile as she stepped out from behind the counter.
“Bobby Tom’s looking for you. It’s hard to tell with him, but I’m pretty sure you’ve upset him again.”
“Oh, dear.”
Connie regarded her outfit critically, and Gracie reminded herself that she had no reason to feel intimidated. That morning she’d put on a scoop neck buttercup yellow knit top with a short sarong-style skirt in a jungle print. Amber hoops swung from her ears, and slim, leather thong sandals displayed her toenails, which she had painted a dark coral the night before. She wished she could work up the nerve to buy a discreet gold ankle bracelet, but when she’d asked Bobby Tom for his opinion, he’d started laughing so hard she’d discarded the idea. It was probably just as well. She couldn’t afford it anyway.
