STAYING TO THE back roads and winding through neighborhood streets, Logan drove them a few miles away to a one-story home in a beautifully landscaped neighborhood. The house was an older model, but Des could tell it had been recently repainted a lovely green with white shutters. The lawn was well kept, and there were colorful flowers in pots lining the front porch. The garage door was open, and Luke was outside. He motioned for Logan to pull into the garage. When he turned off the engine, Luke pushed the button and closed the door.

They climbed out and Luke grinned. “I figured we’d hide you from the photographers, who’ve been burning gasoline all over town looking for you two for the past several hours.”

Des laughed. “Hey, that’s good for Hope’s gas stations, isn’t it?”

“It’s nice that they’re helping our local businesses, even if they don’t want to be. Come on inside. Emma’s not home yet.”

They walked in to a nice living area with the kitchen and dining area behind them. It was open and sunny, with a large window in the living room and a sliding glass door off the kitchen. Boomer came to greet them, so Des crouched down to pet him.

Des looked up at Luke. “Has Boomer seen a lot of police action?”

“He’s a great police dog, and, yeah, he’s caught quite his share of perps. He took down a suspect last spring that was breaking into pharmacies and medical offices to steal drug supplies.”

Des scratched Boomer’s ear. “Good dog.”

“Come on in and take a seat. Would either of you like a beer or a soda, or maybe some water?”

“I’d love a beer,” Des said.

“Same for me,” Logan said.

Luke went to the refrigerator and grabbed three beers, opened them and handed them out. They went into the living area and Des pulled up a nice comfortable spot on one of the chairs.

“What did you do this afternoon?” Luke asked.

“We went to the high school. Des talked to the drama students.”

Luke looked at her and gave her a smile. “Bet they enjoyed that.”

“I’m pretty sure I enjoyed it more than they did. They’re doing one of my favorite plays, so I wanted to stop by and watch them practice. And how did your day go? Did you and Boomer catch any bad guys?”

“Nothing eventful went on today. A couple fender benders and some speeders. Pretty routine day.”

“Sounds great to me. Whenever I’m in L.A., it seems like you can’t turn on the TV without seeing a televised police chase on the freeway.”

“Big news out there.”

She took a long pull of her beer, swallowed and nodded. “Yeah. And a lot of crime. A town like Hope is a nice break from having to have bars on your windows.”

“I imagine it would be.”

“You don’t have to live in L.A., do you?” Logan asked.

“No. A lot of actors keep homes outside of the L.A. area. I just haven’t gotten around to buying one yet. And I only spend half the year or less at my condo there since I have a busy shooting schedule. Maybe when I get married and have a family, I’ll buy a place somewhere remote. With big dogs and less crime.”

Luke laughed. “That sounds like a great plan.”

The front door opened and Emma came in with Daisy and Annie. It was wild chaos, with dogs scrambling around sniffing each other, tails wagging.

The dogs came over to greet her. “Hi, girls. It’s so nice to see you again.” She bent to pet them.

“Oh, you’re here. I didn’t see your truck, Logan.”

Luke went over and gave Emma a kiss, then took her bag. “I had them park in the garage. The photographers are still trying to hunt them down.”

Emma’s gaze panned over to Des. “You poor thing. It must be hell to be hounded like that.”

“I’m used to it. I’m sorry for the disruption, though.”

“It didn’t disrupt me at all, and Luke tells me it was fun for him today.” She turned and wrapped her arms around Luke. “How was your day?”

“Uneventful. Yours?”

“It was good. Did you get the food?”

“I did.”

Des watched the interplay, the way Luke and Emma only had eyes for each other. So that’s what it was like to be madly in love with someone. She felt the intensity of it all the way across the room. Her gaze slid to Logan, who was watching her, not his brother and Emma.

She felt the zing, and everything inside her heated.

“Are you two hungry?” Emma asked.

Yeah, she was definitely hungry, but not for food. She shifted her gaze to Emma. “Sure.”

“Great. We’re having barbecued chicken kabobs for dinner along with some rice. I hope that’s okay for you.” Emma paused. “I’m sorry. I didn’t even think to ask if you were a vegetarian or something.”

Des laughed and stood. “I’m not, and it all sounds awesome. What can I do to help?”

“Let me take a quick shower, then we’ll get started.”

“I’ll go get the grill fired up,” Luke said.

Alone with Logan, she moved over toward him. “Hungry?” she asked.

His eyes went stormy dark. “Yeah. You?”

Edging closer, she felt the power of him, the way his gaze tracked her as she nearly touched him. “Starving.”

He smelled good, and it had been a really long time since she’d been with a man. And she’d never been with a man like Logan. All the guys she’d slept with before had been actors, and honestly? Not exactly tough guys.

She’d just bet Logan McCormack had never had a manicure in his entire life. She’d bet his hands were rough, worn with calluses. She’d love to feel his work-roughened hands gliding over her skin. There would be no refinement in his touch, no practiced moves that she’d wonder if he’d learned them on a movie set.

She swallowed, and his gaze tracked to her throat. She watched his lips, and really wanted his mouth on her neck.

“Des.”

“Yeah?”

“Stop.”

“Stop what?”

“Whatever it is you’re doing.”

“I’m not doing anything.”

“Yes, you are.”

She cocked a brow. “What is it that you think I’m doing, Logan?”

“Looking at me.”

“And that’s bad?”

“Here it is.”

“So . . . you want me to look at you somewhere else?”

The back door opened and Logan stood. “Anything I can do to help?”

Luke took a look at them and grinned. “No, I think I can turn on a gas grill by myself. Anyone need a beer refill?”

Logan finished his off in one swallow. “Yeah, I definitely need another.”

She played with the dogs while the guys talked.

Emma came out of the bedroom a short while later, her hair still wet. She had thrown on a pair of capris and a tank top. “I feel so much better now. How about we get started on that chicken?”

Logan followed his brother outside. She washed her hands and helped Emma slice up the chicken and skewer it onto the rods, along with vegetables and pineapple.

“I have this supersecret sauce I marinate the kabobs in,” Emma said.

Des watched her add ingredients to a container. “Supersecret, huh? I have to admit, I love food, but I’m never home enough to do more than grab takeout.”

“You don’t like to cook?”

“I love cooking. Or at least I’d love to learn to cook. Whenever I’m home, I dabble with cookbooks. But I’m just not in one place long enough to get the hang of things, which is why I do the whole takeout thing. Obviously I don’t have a lot of patience—or time.”

Emma laughed. “I know how that is. I ate a lot of frozen meals before Luke moved in. But now that there’s the two of us, we both like to experiment on the food front, and I find myself cooking more than I used to. Plus, this marinade is easy.”

She showed Des the ingredients she used.

“You’re sharing your supersecret recipe with me?” Des asked.

“Well, you do need to do more cooking, right? It’s only fair I give you a leg up on the easy stuff.”

Des grinned. It wasn’t all that difficult to make, and Emma laid the skewers in the marinade.

“Now we’ll let those settle for about fifteen minutes, and we can start the rice cooking.”

“You’re right. That wasn’t hard at all. You’re really good at this.”

“I’ve failed at a few things, but Luke is nice enough not to say anything. It’s mostly a learning experience.”

“I guess I’ll have to practice, since food is one of my favorite things, and I’d like to cook more.”

Emma reached into the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of wine. She opened it, then pulled two glasses from the cabinet. “Come on, let’s grab a seat. The guys can take it from here.”

Emma peeked her head out the door to let Luke know the kabobs were in the fridge and marinating, then led Des into the living room. They took a seat, and Emma poured the wine.

Des took a sip. “This is very good.”

“I’m sure you have great wines out in California, with all the wineries out there, but, you know, we have liquor stores out here,” Emma said with a grin.

Des laughed. “It’s all the same thing, right?”

“I guess so. And as far as cooking, I’m sure it’s hard for you with all the travel you have to do.”

Des leaned back. “Honestly? It’s a little tiring. I mean I love the work, and I want to do as many movies as I can while I’m still popular. But the lifestyle is rough.”

Emma nodded. “I can imagine it is.”

“I don’t want to sound ungrateful. I know there are thousands of actresses out there who would kill to be in my shoes.”

“But it’s exhausting, right? I don’t know how you do it. You released . . . what? Four films last year?”

“Yes. And thank you for knowing that.”

Emma’s lips curved. “I’m a fan.”

“Thank you. And like I said, I’m so grateful for being able to do what I do. I’ve had countless opportunities, and the chance to work with amazing directors.”

Emma looked at her. “But?”

“I don’t know. It’s almost like I feel if I stop, the offers will dry up. And at the same time, I’ve been working nonstop since I was nineteen. That’s seven years, which I know isn’t a lot, but I’m ready for a break, which sounds awful.”

“I don’t think it sounds awful. I’m not an actress, but I went through veterinary school for four years, then immediately started working with a group of doctors in South Carolina. I had intended to do that for several years, but the opportunity to buy my own practice here came up last year and I jumped at the chance, even though it was going to be a huge financial burden. The past several years have been intense. So I understand what it’s like to feel as if you’re running nonstop without taking a breath.”

Des liked Emma. Emma didn’t judge her or treat her any differently just because she was an actress. She even understood where she was coming from. Work was work, no matter what type of job you had. She was so grateful Emma understood that.

Des didn’t often talk about her feelings, figuring no one would really understand how she felt. She worked long days a lot of the time, and she was often on location, moving from state to state or country to country, losing track of time—and time zones. She’d often wondered what it would be like to settle somewhere permanently, to have a home instead of a rented condo.

“But now you’re feeling more settled?” Des asked Emma.

Emma took a glance over her shoulder, smiling. “Yes. Definitely more settled. But it wasn’t easy getting here. I had some . . . issues with my past that had to be dealt with, and Luke has been very patient with me.”

“He’s very hot.”

Emma laughed. “Yes, he is.”

“And a cop, too. That must be nice for you.”

“It is. Though I like to think of myself as extremely independent—and trust me, I fought very hard to gain that independence—it’s still nice knowing the hot cop with the gun sleeps next to me at night.”

Des smiled. “I’ll just bet it is. And he has the handcuffs, too. Imagine the role-playing.”

Emma laughed, hard. “Oh, I like you, Des. My friends would like you, too. Please tell me you’re going to be around the ranch for the Fourth of July shebang.”

“Martha invited me.”

“Great.” Emma studied her. “You mean Logan didn’t invite you?”

“Logan keeps his distance from me.”

She half-turned on the sofa and took a glance out back. “So what does that mean? Do you like him?”

“I do like him. But I think he’s afraid of me.”

“Really.” Emma’s brows arched. “Real-l-l-y. That’s so interesting. Logan is so quiet and mysterious, especially about women. I never know what to think about him.”

“Me, either. I know he likes me, though.”

“Is that right? How do you know?”

“Come on, Emma. You’re a woman. You can tell by the way a man looks at you that he’s interested. And the way Logan looks at me? He’s definitely interested.”

“Oh, so he looks at you that way.”

Des nodded. “Yes. So what he says and how he feels are two different things. I just have to get his mind aligned with his body.”