“It’s the deputy. That fucking deputy,” he said with a sort of grim, ironic astonishment.
“Funny. That’s kind of how I think of him, too.”
He leaned back in his chair hard again. And stared at her incredulously.
And then the amazement evolved into something like patience. As if he was about to school her.
“Glory... maybe you haven’t figured this out yet, because you’ve been here in this small town, there’s always going to be some guy. For a woman like you? Always. But there’s not always going to be a chance to meet Wyatt Congdon. You can labor in a charming backwater for the rest of your life never really getting anywhere or anything apart from a few cheers from a few drunks, or you can meet Congdon and rise into the stratosphere like...” He snapped his fingers.
“‘Wyatt Congdon,’” she repeated slowly. “See, you’re just saying words again now, Franco.”
His face flared with astonishment. “Two words that can change your lifeforever.”
Glory was about to schoolhim.
“Here’s the thing about the guy in question. He would never hold something I want more than anything in the world over me to get somethinghewanted. Because that would make a whore of both of us. He wants me forme. He wants me to want him forhim. And ironically enough, it’s not sexy to feel like a whore.”
Franco’s head went back sharply, as surely as if she’d shoved an epee at him.En garde.
He was quiet for some time. Outside, there was Hellcat Canyon as she always knew it. It seemed somehow surreal that she should be having this kind of conversation with this man while nothing outside changed.
“You really think anyone in the entertainment business doesn’t whore themselves at some point?” he tried, a little subdued.
“I’m not speaking in general and you know it. What I’m saying is that you want to have sex with me, and you think waving Wyatt Congdon at me will increase the odds of it. You’re just too fucking lazy to win me over with your own charms.”
“Whoa.”His eyes actually widened.
“Am I wrong?” she pressed. It was probably rash, but now she had the momentum of a point to make. And she was pissed, quite frankly.
“No one haseverspoken to me like that before.” He sounded more impressed than angry. He was definitely both, though.
Though when the shock wore off, it was hard to know which of those emotions would settle in for keeps.
“Well, maybe J.T.,” he added, dryly. Almost to himself.
J.T. must be John Tennessee McCord.
Another tense little silence ensued.
“Listen, Glory...” Franco was frustrated. It was pretty clear this was a new corner for him, and he didn’t know how to argue his way out of it. He also wasn’t used to not getting what he wanted. “You can believe me or not believe me... but there’s really no implied obligation here. I want a chance toknowyou. I want to spend time with you.”
“Sure. But you probably think it would be the least I could do. The polite thing.” She was sardonic now.
“Sleep with me on an overnight trip to Napa? Well, yeah. If you’re a stickler for etiquette.” He was joking. Mostly.
She gave a short laugh. “You are hot, Franco, and you know it. You’re sexy and you know it. You’re smart, and you know it. You’re good at your job. But I’m not sure you know anything else about yourself. Because if you do, you don’t seem to want to show it.”
He visibly tensed. He wasn’t crazy about being summed up that way by her, that was for sure. “What the hell could you possibly know about me or the world?”
She could handle pissed-off men, though. Piece of cake. “Probably nothing. In the scheme of things. But thanks for suggesting I might be just that ignorant.”
He made an exasperated sound and dragged both of his hands back through his gorgeous curly hair.
“Glory... I know you’ll probably think this a line, and I probably only have myself to blame for that. But... I honestly can’t stop thinking about you. Not entirely sure why. It’s the music, the attitude, the way you laugh. I do want toknowyou, and not just in the biblical sense.”
She believed him. It happened that way sometimes. Even to movie stars, she supposed.
And while it was hard to truly feel sympathy for a guy who’d had it so easy—or seemed to, she amended in her head, because appearances could in fact be deceiving—she did understand having it easy might get in the way of learning what really fed your soul, when it was so easy to feed your senses instead.
