The Closer You Get Read Free Page B

do it again. Once
bitten and all that jazz.
    Cammie wrung her hands. “Where are we heading?”
    “Austin,” Bud said. “Then it’s on to San Antonio and Corpus
Christi before we head north to Fort Worth. When we leave there, I’ll ride on to
Oklahoma City with you where I’ll catch a plane back home. After that, you’re on
your own.”
    On your own . The very first time in
Cammie’s life when that was essentially true. Even as she’d attended college,
she’d still been under her grandfather’s thumb. Now all the decisions would be
hers to make. The thought was exhilarating.
    Except she somehow sensed everyone had glossed over the real
Brett Taylor. He obviously found her unsatisfactory as an employee. He would
simply have to get over it. She could stand her ground and take on the best, a
trait inherited from her crusty grandfather and stubborn grandmother, the people
who’d raised her after the tragic bus accident that had claimed her parents’
lives.
    “What now?” Cammie asked.
    “Let’s grab some food to go, then we’ll be on our way,” Bud
said, motioning her toward the exit.
    When they stepped onto the parking lot, Cammie heard more
muffled laughter coming from inside. “They think I’m a joke.”
    “Nah,” Bud said. “They think they’re going to have one hell of
a time explaining you to their wives and girlfriends.”
    “Does that include Brett Taylor, too?”
    “He doesn’t have either one. Says he’s not interested in
settling down.”
    “I know the feeling. Maybe we’ll get along, after all. He keeps
his distance, I’ll keep mine, and all will be well in the world of country-music
touring.”
    Bud grinned. “Just one more thing, Cammie.”
    Suspicion hit her full force. “What thing?”
    “He has a serious weakness for brunettes.”
    She considered cowboy charm and laser-blue eyes. Nice-fitting
jeans and black felt hats. The perfect smile and the perfect line. She waved her
hand in a dismissive gesture. “I can handle that because I have no weaknesses
when it comes to men, especially arrogant, high-strung singers.” Not
anymore.
    “Give it time, little girl,” he said. “I still remember running
the boys off when you were in junior high. The fact that you wouldn’t have
anything to do with them made them want you all the more. Someday some lucky guy
will come along and you won’t be so quick to pass him off.”
    “Don’t count on it, Bud.”
    He patted her cheek. “One day you’ll find someone you can’t
resist.”
    “And when I’m eighty years old and still single, scouring the
senior centers looking for a decent man, I’ll drive up in a bus and make you eat
your words.”
    Bud belly-laughed and hugged her hard. “Right now I’m going to
eat some greasy bacon and some eggs.”
    “Sounds good. I’m starving.”
    Cammie linked her arm through Bud’s and tugged him in the
direction of the hotel. When she glanced back at her temporary home, she noticed
the slightly parted curtains and caught a glimpse of the face that undoubtedly
stole millions of hearts on a nightly basis. And for a moment she even thought
she saw him smile.
    * * *
    B RETT YANKED THE curtain closed with a vengeance. Man, this was all he needed. A woman
on board. Now they’d have to watch their language. He couldn’t walk around in
his underwear anymore. Or maybe he could, if she’d return the favor.
    A not-so-subtle surge of downward blood flow coursed through
his body and landed smack dab behind his fly. He fell back onto the bed and
studied the recessed lights. The thought of this Cammie person running around in
skimpy panties had caused his body to react like any normal man’s would. And the
more he thought about it, the more jacked up he got.
    He rolled over and stuffed his face into the pillow. Maybe he
needed a woman. After all, it had been a while. He purposely tried not to be too
preoccupied with sex until his own need forced his preoccupation. Then he’d find
someone who could take