Watching, Billy became even more upset. “I didn’t know the two of you were friends.”
“We’re more than friends,” Beau confirmed, suddenly becoming even more possessive. Maybe because he knew such action was guaranteed to get under her skin. He closed in on her deliberately, not stopping until there was a scant two inches between them. “In fact, I’m her—”
Dani elbowed him. “Very good friend.” No way was she letting him say the word husband. She had enough explaining to do to her three sisters as it was. She was not adding Billy to the list. Beau merely smiled, looking more determined than ever to come out the winner in this battle of wills.
Billy, meanwhile, looked oddly relieved, now that he’d gotten over his disappointment. “So I guess you two have plans for tonight, huh?” he guessed.
Beau nodded. “Big ones. But we trust you to keep that under your hat.”
“Sure. No problem.” Billy looked past her at the clock that was now inching toward seven-thirty. “Look, I don’t have anything else to do this evening, so if you want me to go ahead and start unpacking the boxes of videos tonight, I could.”
“No. Tomorrow morning, nine o’clock, will be soon enough,” Dani said. She took his elbow and escorted Billy to the front door.
Beau swaggered forward and held the door for him. “We’ll see you then,” Beau said.
“I will see you then,” Dani corrected.
“You’re right,” Beau drawled. He gave her a self-assured faintly baiting look. “I’ll probably be sleeping in.” The implication being, Dani thought, that Beau planned to have a very long and tiring night. Doing what, she didn’t even want to imagine. This just gets worse with every second that passes.
“Good night, Billy. Thank you for the flowers.” Dani propelled him out the door. She shut it behind him, then turned and faced Beau. He looked very grim. Disapproving, almost. “What?” Dani demanded impatiently.
Beau pointed to the moving carton with the bouquet on top. “The flowers. You shouldn’t have accepted them. You should have given them back. In case you haven’t noticed, he’s got a giant crush on you,” Beau continued as Billy’s beat-up blue compact with the FILMBUF license plate pulled away from the curb and drove off.
Deciding Billy wasn’t the only one who needed to leave, Dani opened the front door again. She took Beau by the hand and stepped out onto the front porch into the soft breezy heat of early evening. “You think that’s news to me?”
“You should nip this thing with him in the bud,” Beau continued. Taking her by the hand, he led her to the cushioned wicker love seat at the far end of the porch and tugged her down to sit beside him.
For the life of her Dani couldn’t figure out why Beau was so concerned about this. Or why he seemed to think Billy could be a threat to either his or her happiness in any way. “I’ve tried.”
His eyes glimmered with a cynicism that stung. He cocked his head and gave her a thorough once-over. “I saw.”
If there was one thing Dani hated, it was being forced to defend herself when she’d done nothing wrong. And she’d done nothing to make Billy think he was ever going to be anything other than her friend. Or shortterm employee.
Her nerves jangling, Dani jumped up and, irritated, began to pace the length of the porch. She shoved her hands in the pockets of her linen slacks and balled her hands into fists. “I don’t want to hurt his feelings.” And despite Billy’s outward I’m-so-cool persona, he was just as vulnerable as she had been at that age.
Beau leaned back and clamped his arms over his rock-solid chest. “You don’t think leading him on will hurt his feelings?”
Pointedly ignoring that remark, Dani stopped to perch herself on the railing to examine the fragrant magnolia bushes and brilliant crepe myrtle planted all around the front porch. “The only reason Billy is gaga over me is because I work in the film business. Trust me. What he is really feeling—he just doesn’t realize it yet—is gratitude for the encouragement I’ve given him. I think his dreams of becoming the next Stephen Spielberg or George Lucas are possible. From what he’s told me, no one else in Laramie does.”
Briefly, compassion and empathy glimmered in Beau’s eyes. And Dani sensed why. An actor who had made it solely on his own, with no familial connections of any kind, Beau knew what it was like to overcome enormous odds and achieve the kind of success very few ever did. “It’s quite a leap from here to Hollywood,” he conceded thoughtfully after a moment, rubbing his jaw.
“Tell me about it,” Dani murmured. She’d had to work like crazy to get her movie reviews published. First in a single Los Angeles newspaper and now in a syndicated column that appeared in dozens of newspapers across the nation.
“But there are other people—filmmakers—who could mentor him,” Beau continued. “With your connections…”
She looked at Beau, letting him know with a glance that she was not passing Billy off like a piece of clothing she no longer wanted, even if he could be ridiculously naive at times about relationships between men and women, what was possible, what was clearly not. She would get through to Billy eventually, and she would do it without crushing his eighteen-year-old heart. “Not that it’s any of your business, Chamberlain, but I promised Billy a summer job and I intend to honor that promise. Plus, I really need his skills.”
Beau pushed to his feet and waited for her to continue.
“I signed a contract to do a book,” Dani explained as Beau sauntered closer. “One thousand and one reviews of ‘date night’ movie videos. Everything from the classics to the newest releases.”
Beau stopped just short of her perch and regarded her curiously. “How did you pick which ones to review?” And were there any of his movies in the group?
His unspoken question hung in the air.
“That’s just it.” Dani bit her lip as she answered his question, and tension flooded her anew. “I haven’t yet. And with every major film studio sending me several thousand films, I’ve got a ton to sort through. Just cataloging them is going to be a bear.”
“Which is where Billy comes in,” Beau guessed. He leaned forward, bracing a hand on the railing on either side of her.
Dani leaned back slightly. Her heart was pounding. She was tingling all over. She told herself it was the tension causing her body to go haywire and not his proximity. She glowered at Beau. She could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks even as she sought to get a handle on her soaring emotions. “Billy’s knowledge of films, past and present, is incredible. He can help me sort through them.”
Beau leaned in closer. “When is your manuscript due?”
Dani swallowed, her adrenaline pumping for a completely different reason. “A year from now.” Dani tried not to feel too overwhelmed by the work still to be done or the enormous project she had taken on. “They want it in the stores by the following Christmas.”
She could practically see the wheels turning as Beau did some quick calculations. “Which means you’d have to watch and review three movies a day,” Beau surmised grimly after a moment. He folded his arms.
Dani studied Beau’s handsome face and tall muscled form. There was nothing soft or easy about him. She sensed there never would be. He was who he was, take it or leave it. Trying not to think how much they had in common that way, Dani nodded and replied, “Approximately, yeah. In addition to writing my weekly reviews for syndication. That’s why I need so much help this summer getting organized.”
Blue