Blame It On Texas. Cathy Thacker Gillen

      

      “I don’t want word getting out that I hired you to help me,” Lewis said

      Lexie propped her hands on her hips. “Don’t you think that they’re going to figure it out when you start looking a whole lot different after spending concentrated time with me?”

      Lewis paused. His lips curved up on either side. “Well, maybe not so much if people thought we were dating and you steered me in another direction, clotheswise or something. If word got out that we were dating, would that be so bad?”

      “Yes. You’re a client,” she reminded sternly.

      “But people here don’t know that,” he insisted, looking her square in the eye.

      “But I do,” Lexie shot back. “And I don’t date clients, Lewis.”

      Not anymore. Not since she had found out mixing business and pleasure with a sexy available man was the worst mistake a single woman could make.

      Lewis paused to come up with a new strategy. “Then we’ll just have to tell people we’re spending time together because we’re friends.”

      Dear Reader,

      Figuring out what to wear is something that has stumped us all from time to time. The “look” you eventually end up with usually depends on how and where you spend most of your time. For instance, my office is in my home and I place a premium on comfort, so you’re more likely to find me in jeans, sneakers and a cotton shirt than a dress and heels. Fortunately, no one really cares how a writer is garbed when he or she is writing—people just want to read a good story. Celebrities and CEOs, on the other hand, are held to a different standard.

      Globe-trotting former Laramie, Texas, resident Lexie Remington knows this and has made a career of helping clients figure out what kind of image they want to present to the world. Whereas the brilliant—but hopelessly style challenged—computer genius Lewis McCabe is too much of a man’s man to employ anyone to tell him how to dress. And this puts the fun-loving millionaire in a quandary. Lewis wants Lexie’s attention. He won’t get it if he doesn’t at least pretend to respect what she does for a living. So following a small misunderstanding, he inadvertently gets himself in a Texas-sized mess. One his four brothers think is a hoot…

      I hope you enjoy BLAME IT ON TEXAS as much as I loved writing it. For more information on this and other books, please visit my Web site at www.cathygillenthacker.com.

      Happy reading!

      Cathy Gillen Thacker

      Blame It on Texas

      Cathy Gillen Thacker

      ABOUT THE AUTHOR

      Cathy Gillen Thacker married her high school sweetheart and hasn’t had a dull moment since. Why? you ask. Well, there were three kids, various pets, any number of automobiles, several moves across the country, his and her careers and sundry other experiences (some of which were exciting and some of which weren’t). But mostly, there was love and friendship and laughter, and lots of experiences she wouldn’t trade for the world.

      This book is for Mary Thacker, for her love and support over the years.

      Contents

      Chapter One

      Chapter Two

      Chapter Three

      Chapter Four

      Chapter Five

      Chapter Six

      Chapter Seven

      Chapter Eight

      Chapter Nine

      Chapter Ten

      Chapter Eleven

      Chapter Twelve

      Chapter Thirteen

      Chapter Fourteen

      Chapter Fifteen

      Chapter One

      A full moon shone and stars twinkled in the velvety sky overhead. It was shaping up to be a beautiful October evening, Lewis McCabe thought, as he strode briskly up the steps of the Remington ranch house. Before he could press the doorbell, the front door opened. Jenna Lockhart Remington stepped across the threshold, the look on her face anything but welcoming. “I know why you’re here,” the elegant older woman said firmly.

      “You do?” Lewis McCabe murmured. Darn it, had his four brothers phoned ahead to make his plan public before he put it into action? If so, there was going to be heck to pay, he decided grimly, and then some.

      “And although—” Mrs. Remington paused to shrewdly peruse Lewis from head to toe, none of her customary hospitality evident “—I can see your need is dire—”

      How could she have known how long it had been since he’d had a date? Lewis thought in irritation. Then again, this was Laramie, Texas, where everyone was family, and nothing stayed secret for long.

      “Lexie is here on vacation.”

      “Exactly,” Lewis said, glad they were no longer talking at cross purposes. “I figured since your stepdaughter’s in town again I’d use the opportunity to—”

      “Take advantage of her kind and generous nature?” Mrs. Remington scolded, clearly annoyed.

      Was Mrs. Remington intimating he was a pity date? That Lexie would only go out with him if she felt sorry for him? “I assure you, Mrs. Remington, I have nothing but the utmost respect for Lexie,” he said sincerely, determined to do whatever it took to get an audience with the woman he’d had his eye on for what seemed like forever. “I hold her in highest regard.”

      “Which is, of course, exactly why you are here,” Mrs. Remington interrupted. “Because Lexie is so successful.”

      Given the fact this conversation had started off on the wrong foot, and had been going down the wrong path ever since, Lewis wasn’t sure what to say to that. “Of course I admire what Lexie has done professionally,” he admitted. “Everyone around here does.” Thanks to her stunning fashion sense, she’d become every bit the celebrity her clients were.

      Footsteps sounded in the background. Jake Remington, Lexie’s father, appeared at his wife’s side, his tall, lanky frame filling the doorway. Jake nodded at Lewis. “McCabe.”

      “Mr. Remington.” Lewis stuck out his hand. After a moment, Jake shook it. Encouraged, Lewis continued, “I was just telling Mrs. Remington that I—”

      “My wife is right,” Jake Remington interrupted imperiously “There is no way Jenna and I are going to let Lexie see you. Because if we do and you ask her what darn near everyone else around here wants to ask her right now—”

      Lewis swore inwardly. “Other guys have been here ahead of me?” He thought he’d gotten the jump on this, since Lexie had only arrived here from London, via her father’s private jet, earlier in the day.

      “Let’s just say you’re not the first to come calling,” Mrs. Remington replied. “And the answer to everyone was the same. Lexie is not receiving guests at this time.”

      “Well, then when will she be?” Lewis asked, doing his best to maintain a positive outlook. Not easy, given how unfairly he was being shot down.

      Jake and Jenna looked at each other. “As far as we’re concerned, never,” Jake said. “At least during this visit.”

      The thought of letting Lexie leave town without seeing her—again—did not sit well with Lewis, maybe because so many chances to connect had already passed them by. Deciding he wasn’t going to let the Remingtons’s assessment of his chances with Lexie decide the matter, Lewis insisted as politely as possible, “I just need a moment of her time. I won’t stay. I promise.”

      Jenna sighed, looking