Make Me Over_ Getting Real - Leslie Kelly [15]
Sarah had reached for money. Someone else’s. She’d landed herself a rich plastic surgeon when she’d gone to Hollywood to pursue her dream of acting, putting her engagement to Drew on hold to do so.
“Forget her,” he mumbled. Truthfully, he nearly had. Once she’d left, he knew it’d been for the best. He’d been practically a kid, just young and stupid, wanting what he thought he’d missed out on in his childhood—a real home, a family. Now, with his whirlwind life of world travel, well, he couldn’t even fathom being settled down with a wife and kids somewhere.
That didn’t mean he was immune to women. Especially not to Tori Lyons. Her unaffected charm and all her energy appealed to him, to the deepest part of Drew that few people really knew. They saw the college professor. The author. Not many people saw the wild kid who’d once had a similar sparkle and enthusiasm about everything in life. Or the man he became when he was away from the academic world, tromping through the jungle in South America or interacting with tribes in Africa.
That’s probably what had appealed to him so much about Tori from the very beginning. She’d called to the part of him he kept so carefully contained in his daily life. The adventurer. The wanderer. The risk taker.
They were a lot alike, though she probably wouldn’t believe it. He didn’t let the world see the rough kid he’d once been. And she wouldn’t let the world see the eager-for-knowledge woman lurking inside her, begging to be brought into the light.
He wanted to help her, encourage her, watch her become the incredible woman he sensed was beneath her rough exterior. Though he had to concede, she hadn’t been rough all over.
Don’t go there, he told himself, knowing he couldn’t afford to think anymore of how soft and perfect she’d felt in his arms.
Tori might like to think she’d “stolen” a kiss for her memory box, but Drew knew better. He’d been surprised she’d made the first move—so very forcefully, which had delighted him—but she’d only done what he’d planned to do. He couldn’t have gone back to his room last night without learning if she tasted as sweet as she looked, if she felt as delightful as she sounded.
She had. She’d surpassed every expectation, until he felt like he was stumbling into something new and rare. Then she’d left. He’d had to watch her walk away when all he wanted was to pull her back down and let her feel what she’d done to him.
His groin tightened. Again. Just at the thought.
Calling himself an ass, he got out of bed and headed for the bathroom adjoining his suite. A cold shower. That’s what he needed. Or her warm body.
No. It couldn’t happen. He’d been strong enough to let her go last night, when he knew, with a few words, they could both have been naked and panting on that couch.
One thing had stopped him. No matter what Burt Mueller and his crew said about the show not kicking off officially until today, he wouldn’t put it past the man to have had cameras already up and running last night.
Bad enough to be caught kissing one of the women he was supposed to be helping the very first night. If he’d made love to her, he’d have humiliated her completely. And ruined any chance he had of getting her to stay—for the right reasons.
After his shower he dressed quickly, then left his room to seek out Mr. Mueller. They had some talking to do. He was going to stay here and see this thing through, but only on one condition. That his number-one pupil stay, also.
If Tori went, so did he.
Which was exactly what he told Burt Mueller when he tracked him down in the enormous dining room. The producer was talking with the director, a man named Niles Monahan, whom Drew had met last night. Monahan was a quiet, nervous type, who barely said a word when the effusive producer was around. He quickly made himself scarce, apparently hearing the curtness in Drew’s tone.
Just as well. Monahan had no power. Mueller planned to leave today or tomorrow, but he’d most