For the briefest moment, she wondered if she’d misheard him.
Spend the night with me.
The words pulsed through her like a current, dizzying and dangerous.
Her first instinct was to step back, to laugh it off, to pretend he hadn’t said what every part of her had secretly longed to hear. Because what would people say? There were eyes everywhere. The Lawsons. Esther. Miem. O Lordy, Miem would have a field day.
And he wasJK Kenziefor heaven’s sake.
But then another voice whispered …why not?
It was a fantasy come true, a once-in-a-lifetime moment that most women could only ever imagine. A story to treasure on lonely nights back home, when the silence pressed too close and the memories were all she had for company.
Like one of those clichéd sayings — with a little Suzette twist, of course: what happens in Texas stays in Texas.
Maybe it was time she lived a little.
Time to remember what it felt like to be a woman.
To be wanted.
And somehow, unbelievably, JK Kenzie wantedher.
Her pulse fluttered as she met his gaze again, heat simmering between them like something forbidden yet beautifully inevitable.
Take the leap. Live it up, Suzette. Just this once.
The corners of her mouth curved into the faintest smile. “Okay.”
He blinked, his steps faltering, eyes widening in stunned disbelief. For a man so smooth on camera, he suddenly looked completely disarmed. His jaw slackened, his mouth opening and closing once, speechless.
Suzette arched a brow, amusement tugging at her lips. “Shocked you, did I, mister movie star?”
The smile that broke across his face was one she had never seen before. Not in any of his movies. Unguarded and genuine, almost boyish. It softened the lines at his eyes and made something in her chest go wonderfully, dangerously warm.
“Only in the most delightful way,” he said.
She leaned back slightly, a feeling of giddiness bursting from her belly. “So, how does this work? You throw me over your shoulder and haul me off like a prize won? Or do I sneak out at midnight and meet you on your jet?”
His laugh came from deep in his chest. Rich, full-bodied, and impossible to ignore. It rolled through her like music, warm and unrestrained.
“You’re a breath of fresh air, Suzette Bosch.”
And just like that, she felt it again — that dizzy, fluttering awareness, the heady mix of danger and delight. Only this time, it settled deeper, somewhere near her heart. Maybe it wasn’t just infatuation. Maybe, just maybe, she was in far deeper trouble than she’d ever meant to be.
But right here, right now, she didn’t give a damn.
She had the rest of her life to piece back her broken heart.
4
In the end, meeting up for their … what was it, exactly? A tryst? A one-night stand? Well, whatever one called a night of illicit sex with a movie star, arranging it turned out to be a surprisingly simple affair.
Itwas happening in a cabin. On the ranch.
Far from curious eyes and possible cameras. Total privacy.
And that was thanks to a fairy godmother disguised as her new best friend, Maebh O’Connor. The wily octogenarian, armed with her Irish sight and more than a hint of mischief, had somehow — foresaw? Surmised? — their situation and quietly whispered the code to unlock the rustic haven on the edge of the small lake.
