Hollywood House Call. Jules Bennett

Damn, he had that George Clooney sultry look down pat.

      “Your agent can’t get you an audition?” he asked.

      Callie shrugged. “She claims this isn’t the right role for me. But I can’t prove myself if I don’t get the chance.”

      He reached out, placed those large, masculine hands on her shoulders and all sorts of happy tingles spread through her. Mercy, she wanted those hands on her without the barrier of clothing.

      One dream at a time, Callie.

      “Your agent has been in this business for a while,” he told her, his voice softening as if he were trying to explain something to a toddler. “Maybe she knows what she’s talking about.”

      “I don’t see how it would hurt,” she insisted. “If I don’t get it, I’m no worse off. But there’s that chance I could land this and launch into something I’ve been dreaming of my entire life.”

      Dark gray eyes searched her face. “I can’t call her. I know how bad you want this, but I couldn’t live with myself if I threw you into a lifestyle that isn’t as glamorous as you think it is. You haven’t been in town that long, Callie. Why don’t you ease into this? Anthony Price is a big deal.”

      No matter how sexy Noah was, she refused to let him ruin her dream. “Fine. I’ll get this audition my own way.”

      He dropped his hands and placed them on his narrow hips. “Let your agent do the grunt work, Callie. Stars weren’t born overnight.

      “You’re a beautiful woman. You won’t have a problem getting attention.”

      Something very warm spread through her at his declaration. To think a man like Noah Foster thought she was beautiful, a man who created beauty for a living, was one of those compliments she’d keep locked away in her heart forever.

      “I’ll give you fifty thousand dollars to pose.”

      Callie froze at his abrupt offer. “Fifty thousand? Are you out of your ever-lovin’ mind?”

      He chuckled. “You know, when you’re shocked, your accent becomes really strong.”

      “I don’t have an accent,” she told him. “And get back to that offer. Are you kidding me?”

      His smile faded. “I don’t kid about business or money.”

      Fifty thousand could go so far. Her parents needed a new roof desperately and she could buy them a second car, something reliable. God, how could she turn down this offer?

      As she ran through the pros and cons—and there were definitely more pros—Noah’s eyes studied her in that way that always made her nervous. For one thing, he was a Hollywood surgeon to the stars and she always felt as if he was analyzing her. Another reason was because, well, she found her boss drop-dead, curl-your-toes-into-the-carpet sexy. Why on earth the man was still single was beyond her.

      Maybe he slobbered when he kissed—that was a total turnoff. Or maybe he was terrible between the sheets.

      As she studied him, she knew there was no way a man like Noah Foster would be a slacker in the sack. The man exuded sex appeal, and he looked so amazingly perfect with clothes on she couldn’t even imagine what he did to a birthday suit.

      Noah offered that killer, dimpled smile as if to reassure her of her future. He was not fighting fair with those damn twin dimples, and she had a feeling her resolve was going to crumble about as fast as her panties would drop if he’d offer that break-room fantasy of hers.

      Yeah, she knew she couldn’t turn down that money. As much as she’d wanted him to talk to Olivia, she was grateful for the fact he had so much confidence in her to offer such a large amount.

      “I’ll do the ad,” she told him. “If you’re sure my look is what you want plastered on billboards.”

      Crazy thought, but whatever he wanted. He was the one paying.

      “You’re exactly the look, Callie. I want to capture that youthfulness, that innocence.”

      Callie laughed. “I’m not that innocent.”

      “You moved here less than a year ago and you grew up in the Midwest.” His lids lowered slightly over those dark eyes as he leaned forward just enough to get into her personal space. “You’re practically still a virgin.”

      Callie’s mouth went dry because the word virgin instantly brought to mind sex, and the word sex hovered in her mind while Noah stood this close with his bedroom eyes locked onto hers.

      “I assure you, I’m not a virgin.”

      Shut up, Callie.

      “Good to know,” he told her with that cocky grin. “But I’m glad you’ve given in to the pictures.”

      “Have you ever had to fight for anything you want or do you just flash that smile?” she joked.

      Something dark passed over his face; his smile faltered, and he swallowed. But just as quick as it came, it passed. “You’d be surprised by what I’ve had to fight for and what I’ve lost.”

      None of her business, she told herself. Everybody had a past, and just because he was a rich, powerful surgeon didn’t mean he’d had it easy. But this was the first glimpse she’d had of any kind of pain hidden behind that billion-dollar smile.

      She wasn’t a virgin.

      Noah inwardly groaned. Callie Matthews might not be a virgin in the sexual sense, but she was certainly very innocent because if she had any clue where his thoughts traveled when he thought of her, she’d be suing him for sexual harassment.

      He refused to be so clichéd as to date his receptionist, but damn if he didn’t want to see her on more personal, intimate terms. He’d played with fire when he’d cornered her two days ago in the lounge. When he’d moved in closer to her, he’d noticed her bright green eyes widening, the way she kept nervously licking her lips…those sexy, naturally full lips that begged to be kissed. His female clients paid a small fortune for a mouth like Callie’s.

      Noah eased back in his office chair. She’d be coming in any moment and he intended to keep their relationship professional. No more touching, no more getting pulled under by her hopeful eyes and childlike dreams.

      If Callie had any idea what she was in for in this Hollywood wannabe-actress cycle, she’d run back to that cornfield she came from. It wasn’t all glitz and glamour. There was no way in hell he’d see another woman he cared about fall to the dark side of Hollywood.

      The scars from his fiancée were still too fresh, too deep. And between the house they’d shared that he had to go home to every day and her ailing grandmother he cared for, Noah had a sickening feeling those wounds would never heal.

      And Callie reminded him so much of Malinda sometimes it hurt to even think of the bright way his fiancée used to light up over her future career. Callie was Malinda all over again…only this time he refused to get attached.

      He raked a hand through his hair, trying to rid himself of the nightmare that still plagued him.

      His fiancée had meant everything to him. He’d have done anything in his power to save her. But he’d failed. He’d failed the one woman he’d loved with his whole heart, the one woman he’d wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Noah refused to ever let his heart become entangled again. He honestly didn’t think he could afford another crushing loss.

      So there was no way he could talk to Olivia about this role for Callie. He was actually using the modeling as a way to keep her from slipping into a darker world that Callie had no clue about. If he could keep her satisfied with the money, the attention from modeling, perhaps she’d reach those stars in her eyes. Maybe she’d let go of this movie-star fetish.

      He had to intervene and do something. And no, he didn’t care that he was being devious. He couldn’t stand by and watch another