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“No. Just…I was just thinking about something.”
“Talking to yourself in an empty elevator again?”
She clenched her back teeth together. Why did this man have to catch her in so many awkward moments? “I guess you could say that.”
“Well, just for the record, you don’t need to practice any of your million-dollar smiles on me.”
“Okay…I mean, I wasn’t practicing anything. I already know how to execute a million-dollar smile.”
His face cracked in a slight smile of his own. “I’m sure you do. I’m just pointing out that they don’t work on me.”
“What doesn’t work on you?”
“Seductions.”
She blinked at him. How on earth had he picked up on the exact word she used to psych herself up for a shoot? “I wasn’t trying to seduce you. I never will try to seduce you, I can promise you that.”
“Good. Because as I told Kirk, I’m not remakingThe Bodyguard. That movie is perfect as it is. And we wouldn’t be a good fit,” he added, almost as an afterthought.
“Okay.” She shrugged and offered him a sunny smile. Why should she care if they were a good fit or not? No one would guess it, but she kept men at a very careful distance. Should she mention thatThe Bodyguardwas one of her favorite movies? Maybe not.
“Not that you’re not beautiful, because clearly you are. But FBI agent and hippie-chick don’t really work. I’m sure you feel the same.”
Was she a hippie-chick? She looked down at her outfit. She hadn’t even taken her coat off, so why would he think she was a hippie-chick? Her cloak was more Heidi than hippie. But she did have a string of crystal beads in her hair.
Whatever. She flashed Granger a peace sign—sarcasm intended—and headed toward the unclaimed bedroom.
Two
Bliss Gault was not what Granger had expected, not by a long shot. That peace sign she’d flashed had an edge to it that had not escaped him. Between her heavy woolen cloak and her complete lack of makeup, she seemed to be trying to hide instead of stand out.
Still, she was…dazzling. Something about the dreamy moonstone gray of her eyes and the silky fall of her hair was almost magical. But it wasn’t her appearance he found interesting; it was the way she hid behind it. That caught his attention, even though he wished it didn’t.
Not that it mattered. This was a short-term arrangement that would last only until Carly Gault’s wedding on New Year’s Eve—a matter of days. Hopefully he would have accomplished his mission by then. Surely he could tolerate a flaky hippie chick for that short time. He’d come to Lake Bittersweet for two reasons—one of them involved his friend Kirk Williams and a potential stalker. The other was so secret that he hadn’t shared it with anyone, not even Kirk.
“Where’d you park?” He leaned against the doorframe of the larger bedroom, where Bliss was unpacking a duffel bag with a Chanel logo. The contents were already scattered all across the bed; mini-bottles of shampoo, items of clothing, an inordinate number of skeins of yarn, a journal, a few tangled chargers, sticks of incense. How could anyone live like that? It set his teeth on edge.
“Why?”
“I can grab the rest of your things if you want.” Did he sound irritated? He hadn’t meant to. The truth was, the sight of her bent over her bag almost…aroused him.Thatirritated him.
She gave him a brief, cryptic glance over her shoulder. Maybe all her glances were cryptic. “There’s no need for that. You’re my head of security, not my valet.”
“I should check out your car.”
“For what?”
He answered her question with another. “Why do you need a fake head of security?”
She pressed her lips together, causing him to notice that they were unusually full for such a slim person. “No reason in particular. But go ahead, check out my car if you like.” She dug in the deep pocket of her cloak and tossed him the key fob to a rental car. “It’s up the street a few blocks, but apparently there’s dedicated inn parking around back. If you hang on a minute I’ll come with you.”
“How many bags do you have?”
“I’m doing the makeup for my sister’s wedding, so…” She trailed off as if that might mean something to him. “Quite a few,” she added when he just looked at her blankly. “There’s an entire case just for hair products.”
“Oh, sweet lord above,” he muttered to himself. “Of course there is.”
She abandoned her duffel bag and shot him a playful frown as she came toward him. “Already judging me, Mr. FBI agent? First I’m “Blondie,” then a hippie chick, now I have too many cosmetics supplies. Anything else while we’re on the general topic of Bliss’ flaws? I can probably save you some time and give you a list.”
