on the set every day. It was Mac who was developing a relationship with the boy, and he was starting to like going out on the beat-up little boat with the dogs and the kid and occasionally Emory. It seemed like such a normal life, one he only had when he went back home to the ranch.
As Linda called the makeup girl back for the fourth time to cover up the tiny blemish on the side of her nose, he stood and wrapped his dressing gown around him. The crew was all staring. It wasn’t his thing to walk out on sets, but the small-time starlet with the big-time attitude was starting to bug the hell out of him. He had better things to do.
“I’ll see y’all tomorrow,” he threw over his shoulder as he strode off in the direction of his trailer.
*
Zoe was going to have to take the teacher to one side after she’d finished showing the animals to the children. She’d brought Coke and Ice with her and a couple of Ryan’s rats and a ferret, and when they all left, she was going to have to explain Ryan wasn’t lying. Nor was she. Because when she had telephoned earlier in the week, the teacher had told her it wasn’t advisable to encourage Ryan in his fantasy world.
Fantasy world it certainly was. Reality existed there, though, and the harsh truth was, Ryan belonged to Mac Swann, aka Cormack Blunt. For whatever insane reason, they had to deal with it.
Mac hadn’t been famous when she met him, but he certainly was now, and no matter how much he made her heart race and her tears flow every time she saw his on-screen image, the idea he would strike up anything other than a short sexual relationship was ridiculous.
Her chest ached; her eyes felt squinty and strained, and she noticed she kept sighing all the time. Seeing him again, having him in her life, brought back all the youthful lust and undying love she’d felt at eighteen, and she simply could not let it happen again.
She needed a reality check. Try as she might, though, she could not rein in her thoughts as a thrill trickled through her.
Mac could have anyone he wanted. Every female on the A-list would give their eye teeth to be seen with him. But he’d wanted her—years ago and again last night. It was blatantly obvious she turned him on. Squirming in her seat, she tried not to think about him, about turning him on; without success.
Her cheeks heated with the memory as a warm glow spread through her chest. She’d never had such good sex in her life. He certainly had matured in all the right ways—and moves. It hadn’t felt like a quick romp the way Mac had implied it was going to be. It had felt deep and meaningful; their bodies had been totally in tune with each other’s.
She’d pressed a gentle kiss on his shoulder earlier in the morning as he lay facedown on the huge bed. She’d slipped from his trailer without disturbing him. He’d never even stirred.
Sex with Mac had been a big mistake.
Desperate to protect her heart, Zoe tried not to fool herself. To her it had meant the world; to him it was just sex. After all, he hadn’t wanted to keep her the first time. Why would he bother the second?
She waited while the children congregated, giggling together as they settled down. Some of the mothers drifted in to support the project, and Zoe wondered why on earth she had volunteered. She wasn’t too good with humans, which was why she had chosen to become a vet, and here she was in front of all these people just because Mac hadn’t wanted to and she didn’t want Ryan to be hurt.
The teacher hushed the class and twenty-two sets of children’s eyes stared avidly at her. She took a deep breath and was just about to start when a movement at the door drew her attention.
There he was, big as a mountain, filling the doorway with a massive hellfire grin plastered across his face as his eyes met hers. Zoe’s heart soared for her son, for her. It stuttered, staggered, and fell all the way in love with him again. Her knees turned to water, and she sank into
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