Luxury Model Wife by Adele Downs Page A

and called to the bird. Steve vacated the stepladder and she climbed up after him, leaned close to the statue, and turned her left side against the cool stone. After a bit more prompting, Pirate hopped onto Victoria’s shoulder, preened, and whistled. He winked, looked around, and said, “Got any weed?”
    Victoria gasped. Beverly’s hands flew to her cheeks. Steve laughed. Victoria stepped down the ladder with Pirate in her hands and marched him to his cage. She inspected his wing and found, to her relief, that his feathers were merely ruffled. The delicate wing bones were intact.
    She placed the cockatiel safely inside his little house and turned back to Steve and Beverly. “Who taught him to say that?”
    Beverly’s face flushed crimson. “We were just having a little fun while I bird-sat. I taught him some other stuff, too. Just for laughs.”
    “I hate drugs. I don’t want my bird saying that.”
    “It was a freaking joke. Lighten up. He’s okay, isn’t he?”
    Beverly turned toward her studio and strode away in a whirl of peasant skirt with miniature bells attached at the hem.
    Victoria frowned and clenched her jaw. Steve stared at her with the unmistakable gleam of laughter in his arresting blue eyes.
    “ What? ” she snapped. Why did he have to look so damned appealing when she was trying to be mad? The curve of his lips made her want to…
    She shook away thoughts of kissing—or laughing.
    “Beverly was worried sick about Pirate,” Steve said. “She wouldn’t hurt a fly. You know that, right?” His tone was firm, but kind.
    He angled his head to meet her gaze. His eyes seemed bluer today, with flecks of white that heightened their intensity. “I’m taking a trip for a buying appointment, but I didn’t want to leave Beverly alone in the store until Pirate was safe.”
    “How long will you be gone?” Suddenly, the thought of him going away made her heart beat faster. Anxiety fluttered in her chest. She hoped her voice didn’t betray her physical response to the news.
    It shouldn’t matter to her one ounce if he left—even if his jeans were wrapped around his finely shaped butt like a Dove chocolate wrapper. And damn if that Hollywood smile wasn’t chipping away her resolve.
    What in the world was she thinking? They’d been talking about Pirate and Beverly. She had to snap out of this ridiculous…crush.
    Crush? Is that what you called this heady, can’t-breathe-around-you feeling? She’d known admiration, attraction, and respect for a man, but had never lost her head over one. Steve Carlson made her want to do…things. Crazy things she could hardly put a name to.
    She needed to get a grip. “Never mind.” It wasn’t her business how long he’d be gone. “I’ll talk to Beverly. I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused.”
    Maybe she’d overreacted. After she apologized to Bev and cleaned up the store she’d take Pirate and go. Her association with Carlson’s had caused nothing but grief for everyone. To complicate matters, she’d entered some ridiculous flirtation that could only end in disaster.
    “It’s the other way around, don’t you think?” Steve reached out and brushed her chin with his knuckles.
    “What do you mean?” The feel of his hand grazing her face and the masculine scent of his skin sent tingles down her neck and over her breasts. Her heartbeat sounded like a drum roll. She touched the tip of her tongue to her bottom lip and took a quick breath. She was running out of reasons to deny his effect on her.
    “I’m the one who’s caused problems,” he said. “It’s time I fixed them. My showdown with Jimmy Van Orr is long overdue. I won’t let him stand in my way anymore. Especially now.”
    “Now?” Victoria lifted her face to his.
    “That I’m going to kiss you.”
    He traced the apple of her cheek then tucked a tangle of hair behind her ear. The motions sent low-voltage electrical charges across her skin while his fingers brushed the sensitive