Hollywood Baby Affair. Anna DePalo

she hadn’t yet agreed to her manager’s latest scheme. After all, there was a reason that Chiara had partnered with someone like Odele. She knew her celebrity was important, and she needed someone to curate it.

      But Odele had increased the stakes by referring to a possible stalker... It complicated his calculations about whether to get involved. He should just convince Chiara to get additional security—like any sane person would. Not that sanity ranked high on the list of characteristics he associated with fame-hungry actresses.

      Jordan tilted his head. “Woman in your thoughts?”

      Rick brought his attention back to the present. “Anyone ever tell you that you have a sixth sense where the other sex is concerned?”

      His younger brother smiled enigmatically. “Sera would agree with you. Marisa’s cousin is driving me crazy.”

      Their brother Cole had recently married the love of his life, Marisa Danieli. The two had had a falling-out in high school but had reconnected. Marisa’s relatives were now an extension by marriage of the Serenghetti clan—including Marisa’s younger cousin Sera.

      Apparently that didn’t sit well with Jordan.

      “I’m surprised,” Rick remarked. “You can usually charm any woman if you set your mind to it.”

      “She won’t even serve me at the Puck & Shoot.”

      “Is she still moonlighting as a waitress there?” Rick had had his share of drinks at Welsdale’s local sports bar.

      “Off and on.”

      He clasped his brother’s shoulder. “So your legendary prowess with women has fallen short. Cheer up, it was bound to happen sometime.”

      “Your support is overwhelming,” Jordan replied drily.

      Rick laughed. “I just wish Cole were here to appreciate this.”

      “For the record, I haven’t been trying to score with Sera. She’s practically family. But she actively dislikes me, and I can’t figure out why.”

      “Why does it matter? It won’t be the first time a family member has had it in for you.” Jordan had come in for his share of ribbing and roughing up by his two older siblings. “What’s to get worked up about?”

      “I’m not worked up,” Jordan grumbled. “Anyway, let’s get back to you and the woman problems.”

      Rick cracked a careless smile. “Unlike you, I don’t have any.”

      “Women or problems?”

      “Both together.”

      Jordan eyed him. “The press is suggesting you have the former, and you look as if you’ve got the latter.”

      “Oh, yeah?”

      “Who’s the starlet on your latest film?”

      “Chiara Feran.”

      His brother nodded. “She’s hot.”

      “She’s off-limits.”

      Jordan raised his eyebrows. “To me?”

      “To anyone.”

      “Proprietary already?”

      “Where did you get this ridiculous story?”

      “Hey, I read.”

      “Much to Mom’s belated joy.”

      Jordan flashed the famous pearly whites. His good looks had gotten him many modeling gigs, including more than one underwear ad. “Gossipmonger reported you two have been getting cozy, and the story has been picked up by other websites.”

      “You know better than to believe everything you read.” If the gossip had reached Jordan, then it was spreading wider and faster than Rick had thought. Still, he figured he shouldn’t have been surprised, considering Chiara’s celebrity.

      “Yup. But is it true?”

      Frankly, Rick was starting not to know what was true anymore, and it was troubling. “Nothing’s happened.”

      Except one kiss. She’d tasted of peaches—fruity and heady and delicious. He’d gotten an immediate image of the two of them heating up the sheets, his trailer or hers. She challenged him, and something told him she’d be far from boring in bed, too. Chiara was full of fire, and he warmed up immediately around her. The trouble was he might also get burned.

      Jordan studied him. “So nothing’s happened yet...”

      Rick adopted a bland expression. “Unlike you, I don’t see women as an opportunity.”

      “Only your female stars.”

      “I’m done with that.” Isabel had been the star of Rick’s movie when they’d been snapped together. The fact that they’d both been working on the film—he as a stuntman and secretly as a producer, and she as an actress—had lent an air of truth to the rumors.

      Jordan looked thoughtful. “Right.”

      Rick checked his watch because he was through trying to convince his brother—or himself. In a quarter of an hour, they needed to head to dinner at Ink, one of the neighborhood’s trendy restaurants. “Just finish your damn beer.”

      “Whatever you say, movie star,” Jordan responded, seemingly content to back off.

      They both took a swill of their beers.

      “So, the new digs treating you well?” his brother asked after a moment.

      The apartment had come furnished, so there wasn’t a hint of his personality here, but it served its purpose. “The house is nearly done. I’ll be moving in a few weeks.”

      Jordan saluted him with his beer bottle. “Here’s to moving up in the world in a big way.” His brother grinned. “Invite me to visit when the new manse is done.”

      “Don’t worry. I’ll tell the majordomo not to throw you out,” Rick replied drily.

      Jordan laughed. “I’m a babe magnet. You’ll want me around.”

      Privately, Rick acknowledged his brother might have a point. These days, the only woman he was linked to was Chiara Feran, and it wasn’t even real.