She held his stare for a second, and he watched the anger drain out
of her gaze until she glanced down at her hands, shielding her eyes from him
with her long, dark lashes. "But none of that matters now because, as I
said, Mr. Coulter—"
Seth took a step towards her and placed his palms on her desk. The
gentle scent of warm orchids swirled around him as he leaned close enough to be
able to see that the glow on her skin wasn't created with cosmetics, it was all
her. "So it's Mr. Coulter again now? I'll spare you the discomfort of
reminding me one more time, Ms. Franklin, that I'm just a
nobody with a cause."
He turned and walked out of the audition, cursing his own stupidity. The
last chance to save the ranch as it was had gone. They were just gonna have to
sell the top forty acres, and his dad would have to understand. Times were different
now, and very few ranches survived without making some drastic changes to their
set-ups. Seth planned to ask his father about the dude ranch idea again. The
old man was just gonna have to accept that things couldn't stay as they were.
If the Coulters didn't do something about their debts, then the bank sure as
hell would.
Seth burst through the door and back out into a waiting area still full
of excited young men and women, all waiting for their chance to impress the
beautiful Maya. He regretted his harsh words to her. Making her feel guilty
about something that wasn't her fault hadn't been fair.
He shrugged off the thought of her as he pushed on a glass door and
stepped out into the hazy LA afternoon. A zebra print Cadillac cruised to a
stop in front of the building, and Seth watched in amazement as a middle-aged
guy, dressed from head to toe in the same pattern, got out of the car.
Seth ducked his head and put his Stetson on to hide his grin as the guy
walked past him. It was time to get back to Texas. He sure as hell wasn't cut
out for Hollywood!
Chapter Two
Maya walked into Larry's Bar and out of the stifling heat of the Los
Angeles night, sure that her nerves were only slightly less frazzled than her
hair. Dumping her bag on the counter, she kicked off her shoes and lifted the
dark mass of curls off her neck, fanning at her heated flesh with an
ineffectual hand.
Looking around to see how many people Larry had in for the night, her
gaze was drawn to a large guy sitting at the end of the bar. Her body reacted
to hunk of gorgeous male staring back at her a split second before recognition
slammed through her. Seth Coulter .
Hundreds of people had worked their way through her line of vision
during the auditions, dimming her memory of his handsome face for a moment, but
she hadn't forgotten his words. He stared right back, the beer bottle dwarfed
by his huge hand and suspended halfway to his mouth, like he'd forgotten what
he was supposed to be doing with it. Maya smiled, and he blinked a couple of times
before taking a long pull on his beer, his throat convulsing as he swallowed,
his light blue eyes barely visible through slit eyelids but still fixed on her.
She watched him drain his drink and held his gaze until he wiped the moisture
from his lips with the back of a tanned fist and grinned, revealing dimples she
hadn't noticed earlier. She smiled back, happy to see he wasn't holding a
grudge over what she'd said earlier.
"Down, girl," someone whispered beside her.
She turned to find Larry, the owner of the cocktail lounge and her best
friend since the day she set foot in LA, grinning with barely restrained glee.
He put a drink down for her on the bar, taking care of her without being asked,
as usual. "You look like you're gonna eat that boy alive."
"Well, I am pretty hungry..." She laughed as she left the
words hanging, aware that Larry knew as well as she did how long it had been
since she'd even looked at a guy, never mind touched one.
"I think you might find this one a little rustic for your tastes."
Larry swiped a cloth across the counter, trying to hide the fact
of her gaze until she glanced down at her hands, shielding her eyes from him
with her long, dark lashes. "But none of that matters now because, as I
said, Mr. Coulter—"
Seth took a step towards her and placed his palms on her desk. The
gentle scent of warm orchids swirled around him as he leaned close enough to be
able to see that the glow on her skin wasn't created with cosmetics, it was all
her. "So it's Mr. Coulter again now? I'll spare you the discomfort of
reminding me one more time, Ms. Franklin, that I'm just a
nobody with a cause."
He turned and walked out of the audition, cursing his own stupidity. The
last chance to save the ranch as it was had gone. They were just gonna have to
sell the top forty acres, and his dad would have to understand. Times were different
now, and very few ranches survived without making some drastic changes to their
set-ups. Seth planned to ask his father about the dude ranch idea again. The
old man was just gonna have to accept that things couldn't stay as they were.
If the Coulters didn't do something about their debts, then the bank sure as
hell would.
Seth burst through the door and back out into a waiting area still full
of excited young men and women, all waiting for their chance to impress the
beautiful Maya. He regretted his harsh words to her. Making her feel guilty
about something that wasn't her fault hadn't been fair.
He shrugged off the thought of her as he pushed on a glass door and
stepped out into the hazy LA afternoon. A zebra print Cadillac cruised to a
stop in front of the building, and Seth watched in amazement as a middle-aged
guy, dressed from head to toe in the same pattern, got out of the car.
Seth ducked his head and put his Stetson on to hide his grin as the guy
walked past him. It was time to get back to Texas. He sure as hell wasn't cut
out for Hollywood!
Chapter Two
Maya walked into Larry's Bar and out of the stifling heat of the Los
Angeles night, sure that her nerves were only slightly less frazzled than her
hair. Dumping her bag on the counter, she kicked off her shoes and lifted the
dark mass of curls off her neck, fanning at her heated flesh with an
ineffectual hand.
Looking around to see how many people Larry had in for the night, her
gaze was drawn to a large guy sitting at the end of the bar. Her body reacted
to hunk of gorgeous male staring back at her a split second before recognition
slammed through her. Seth Coulter .
Hundreds of people had worked their way through her line of vision
during the auditions, dimming her memory of his handsome face for a moment, but
she hadn't forgotten his words. He stared right back, the beer bottle dwarfed
by his huge hand and suspended halfway to his mouth, like he'd forgotten what
he was supposed to be doing with it. Maya smiled, and he blinked a couple of times
before taking a long pull on his beer, his throat convulsing as he swallowed,
his light blue eyes barely visible through slit eyelids but still fixed on her.
She watched him drain his drink and held his gaze until he wiped the moisture
from his lips with the back of a tanned fist and grinned, revealing dimples she
hadn't noticed earlier. She smiled back, happy to see he wasn't holding a
grudge over what she'd said earlier.
"Down, girl," someone whispered beside her.
She turned to find Larry, the owner of the cocktail lounge and her best
friend since the day she set foot in LA, grinning with barely restrained glee.
He put a drink down for her on the bar, taking care of her without being asked,
as usual. "You look like you're gonna eat that boy alive."
"Well, I am pretty hungry..." She laughed as she left the
words hanging, aware that Larry knew as well as she did how long it had been
since she'd even looked at a guy, never mind touched one.
"I think you might find this one a little rustic for your tastes."
Larry swiped a cloth across the counter, trying to hide the fact
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