He grinned, all mischief again. “I was wondering about that,” he teased, getting slowly and deliberately to his feet. “You used to be such a tomboy.” He sauntered closer, inundating her with his size.
Her pulse racing, Lexie leaned her head back, to better see into his face. “Still am, at heart,” she drawled right back, knowing that much was only too true. As a child, she’d played outdoors constantly and rarely wore a dress—and then only under protest.
Lewis fingered the stand-up lace collar. “Then why the frilly getup?” he teased.
She drew a breath and stepped back before his hand brushed the delicate skin of her throat, or the equally sensitive underside of her chin. “All the clothes I brought with me from England are in the wash. So I had to pick something that was still in my closet here to wear when I got out of the shower.”
A muscle worked in his jaw. “You really wore something like this?” he asked, doing a double take.
Lexie huffed in irritation. “I had a romantic phase, years ago.” It had been a time when she had wanted to be swept off her feet. Fortunately, she was no longer the foolish young girl she had been when she had left Laramie on the arm of Constantine Romeo. “Don’t worry. It passed. Never to return.”
Lewis stepped back to regard her. “That’s too bad. I kind of like it. It’s…sexy…in an innocent sort of way.”
Lexie’s body tingled. She wished she’d at least had the foresight to put on a bra or a bathrobe before inviting him up to her lair. “Listen, if we’re going to work together, you can’t say things like that,” she chided, backing away from him again.
He matched her, step for step, until the backs of her knees hit the side of her bed. Clearly trying to push her buttons, he asked, “What if we’re just fooling around together? Can I say it then?”
To her dismay, Lexie could imagine playing around with Lewis McCabe way too easily. Resolved to keep her guard up, Lexie feigned immunity to his teasing. “I’m serious, Lewis.”
“So am I.” Desire, pure and simple, was in his eyes. “If we’re going to be spending time together, for whatever reason, why can’t I tell you what’s on my mind?”
Determined not to put herself in an emotionally vulnerable position with him, she said, “Because it makes us aware of each other in a way we shouldn’t be…and that does not make for a good work environment.”
He flashed her a contemplative grin. “Voice of experience talking?”
Hanging on to her composure by a thread, she revealed, “I got romantically involved with a man who also ended up being my client.”
Lewis grimaced. “Constantine Romeo.”
Years later, people were still talking about the way she had simply picked up and run off with the handsome actor, much to the chagrin of her parents and stepmother. Lexie pinned Lewis with a glare. “That’s not a mistake I intend to repeat.”
“Hmm. Well, if you’re worried about that,” he said, his low, sexy voice doing strange things to her insides, “then maybe you and I shouldn’t work together.”
“We have to!” Lexie countered emotionally, before she could stop herself.
He paused and eyed her thoughtfully. “Why?”
Aware she was revealing far too much of herself to a man she barely knew, Lexie gave him a flippant look. “Besides the fact that you desperately need my help?”
“Yes.”
“Because unless I do a favor for you, then I can’t ask you to do a favor for me,” she explained before turning away.
Lewis clamped a hand on her shoulder and turned her back to face him. “Why not?”
His strong, capable fingers radiated warmth. “Because then we won’t be even.”
He angled his head. “Why does it have to be even?”
Frustrated, Lexie threw up her hands. “Because that’s the way the world works.”
“Maybe that’s the way Hollywood works,” he agreed, as he caught both of her hands in both of his. “It isn’t the way Laramie, Texas, works. Here, you can do a favor for someone without worrying about whether or not you’re going to get paid back. And vice versa. People just naturally help each other out. They don’t keep score.”
“Well, I’m not comfortable with that,” she retorted, not about to get drawn into any sort of flirtation with him, no matter how desirable she found him. “If I ask something of someone, I give something in return. That way, I don’t have to worry about owing anyone anything.”
Lewis let her go. “I see.”
“You disapprove.” The question was, why did it matter to her what he thought?
His lips took on a reassuring curve. “I think you need to relax, take it down a notch.”
So did she. “Which is why I asked you to climb up here, Lewis,” Lexie explained with a grimace. “I’ve only been here a few hours and I’m already going stir-crazy in this house. I have to get out. I’ve got to have some fresh air and moonlight…and the feel of freedom I get when I ride, or I’m never going to be able to sleep.”
Lewis gave her a seductive smile that was enough to make her stomach drop. “Makes sense.”
Finally, they were on the same page!
Lexie surveyed his vintage ’80s clothing that were not exactly ranch ready. She bit her lower lip. “You do ride, don’t you?”
Lewis nodded.
“Well enough to keep up with me?” she asked.
“Only one way to find that out,” he drawled.
Her curiosity about him intensified. The Lewis she recalled had been awkward with the ladies. The Lewis in front of her seemed to know his way around. “Good. So meet me at midnight,” she urged hurriedly, trying not to think what his newfound confidence was doing to her. “I’ll be waiting at the end of the drive, down by the road.”
Lewis resisted her efforts to push him back toward the open window. Instead, he linked fingers with her. “Why can’t we just tell your parents what you want to do and go now—via the front door?”
She unlinked their palms, not sure how much she could trust him to do what she wanted if he knew everything there was to know about her current situation. “Uh…long story.”
His expression guarded, he studied her. “I have all the time in the world.”
She scoffed, aware far too much time had already passed. “That’s what you think.”
Lewis quirked an eyebrow.
“Do you really want to face my father when he realizes you’re still here?”
Recognition dawned. “I gather he wouldn’t appreciate me spending time in your bedroom,” Lewis remarked, a look of distinctly male satisfaction on his face.
Refusing to consider what it would be like if Lewis really were there for amorous reasons, Lexie stepped away from him. “You gather right.”
He lifted both hands in surrender. “Say no more. I’m out of here.”
Relief flowed through her. Much more of this two-stepping around her bedroom and she’d be thinking about kissing him. She let out a slow breath. “I’ll see you later.”
“Lexie.” Lewis paused, one leg thrown over the windowsill. He looked deep into her eyes. “Are