Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 104820 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 349(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104820 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 349(@300wpm)
Arch called, “Tessa, can I get an opinion?”
She walked into his bedroom and found him in a pair of black cotton trousers that were loose enough they’d fit easily over his cast.
But his torso was bare.
She’d known this moment would come, but she hadn’t expected it just then, and the sight of all that gorgeous skin and muscle had her feeling all fluttery inside. My God, he was gorgeous, with defined pecs, an impressive six-pack, and those incredibly well-built arms that she’d noticed earlier.
More than anything else, she wanted to place her lips right at the vee of his collarbone. A rush of heat went through her as she imagined the taste of his skin.
“Tessa?” His voice pulled her back from her fantasy with a start, which was when she saw what she hadn’t before. His bed was covered in T-shirts. “Can you pick one?”
Black, gray, red, pale pink, and several shades of blue. She picked up two, one navy and one the blue of the ocean on a stormy day, and held them up against his chest. She tried to ignore the heat coming off his body, the pull she felt from standing so close to him, and use her judgment.
“This one,” she said, choosing the shirt the color of the ocean. She didn’t say that it brought out the color in his eyes.
He pulled the shirt over his head, and she stood back, giving the final outfit a critical once-over. She nodded. “You’ll do.”
Which was the world’s hugest understatement, considering she couldn’t imagine a better looking man. Even the other brother she’d met at the party, the one Margaret had called “the good-looking one,” couldn’t hold a candle to Arch right now. At least in Tessa’s eyes.
The shirt fit perfectly, showing off his amazing physique, along with bringing out the gorgeous blue of his eyes. But the overall look was relaxed. Archer Davenport might have a broken leg, but the image he exuded was that he was fine and recovering rapidly. It was exactly what she believed his agent and his PR team wanted the outfit to say.
“Thanks, Tessa,” he said. “You’ve got a good eye for color.”
Mmmm. The sound of her name on his lips. So… well, so sexy. Mentally, she gave herself a shake. She really needed to stop thinking like that! All he’d done was say her name. It wasn’t like he’d begged her to let him strip off her clothes to make love to her, or anything crazy along those lines.
At three p.m. sharp, the doorbell rang.
She turned to check that Arch was completely ready. He was in his big chair, a glass of water on the table by his side and his crutches out of sight. He’d insisted on that.
At her questioning look, he nodded. “Let’s get this over with,” he said with a grimace.
She opened the door to find Roxy Thanton standing there.
By first becoming a super model, then co-hosting Celebrity Tonight, Roxy had become a celebrity herself. Her image was often splashed across the gossip pages of magazines with various hot Hollywood heartthrobs, or she was being praised for her great fashion sense.
In person, the woman was a bona fide knockout. She had long, highlighted blond hair, a tan, and glowing skin made even brighter by her tight white dress. Her makeup was so perfect, Tessa felt like she was looking at a photograph.
“Hello,” Tessa managed, feeling slightly starstruck. Behind Roxy were three men and one woman with cameras and other equipment.
Roxy Thanton walked past Tessa as though she weren’t even there. “Arch? Where are you?” she called in her sexiest voice.
The crew were a lot nicer. One of the guys asked Tessa where he could park the van, and another asked about the power supply. The woman said, “Hi, I’m Shay. This won’t take more than an hour, which we’ll edit down to about five minutes.”
“I’m Tessa,” she said. “I’m Arch’s caregiver, but I’ll do whatever I can to help.”
The noise and activity of a TV crew was a stark contrast to the intimate atmosphere she’d enjoyed with Arch so far. She never could have predicted he’d be so knowledgeable about art, for example. The way he described being moved by a painting or photograph had had her captivated. She was slowly beginning to realize the sensitive way he saw the world. It was probably what made him such a good actor. He was able to empathize and use his intuition to get straight to the heart of something. Or someone.
What surprised her was how real he was, how he talked to her like her opinion mattered to him, which was the opposite of the way Lewis had treated her. Arch didn’t take himself too seriously, and quite frankly, that was almost as attractive as his gorgeous face and killer body. She would need to double her efforts to stay professional to have any chance of keeping her heart from being ripped to shreds.