Page 10 of Never In My Wildest Dreams

Ugh. Let it go. She’d accepted who she was a long time ago, and she knew she wasn’t Mr. Slick’s type at all. No matter how many stylists and makeup artists worked on her, how expensive her designer clothes and jewelry were, no one had ever called Lorelei Calloway sexy.

She was girl-next-door pretty. She was happy and fun.

But she was no sexpot.

The reminder drove a spike of awareness into her chest, making her body sting.

That’s why Landon chose Cissy. Her former friend was warmer, earthier…raunchier. She gave off lazy days in bed vibes. Meet-me-in-the-bathroom-for-a-blow-job energy.

Cissy was tall and slender—she had a model’s physique. She could throw on jeans and a T-shirt and look chic whereas Lorelei needed the right clothes to dress a body like hers.

I’ve got boobs and a butt.

Stop it. Just stop it right now. What did she care about this stranger’s opinion? He didn’t have to find her attractive. One of them would be gone tomorrow, and they’d never see each other again. For now, she was freezing, and she really shouldn’t be staring at a sleeping man.

She hurried back to the bedroom and dove under the covers. But she was wired and anxious, and there was no way she could fall asleep. Racked with shivers, she curled up like a little pill bug.

When she closed her eyes, she retraced the flashlight’s beam across the stranger’s broad shoulders, the big, round biceps, and the powerful thighs. She’d only ever been with her ex, so she didn’t have experience with other body types. Landon was lean. Scrawny, really, next to this man who took up the entire couch with his tall, muscular frame. And that jaw. He could be a movie star. No, he was an athlete. A hot quarterback.

You’re not my type.

No, she wouldn’t be. A guy like him would date the head cheerleader. The class president. The gorgeous CEO. Together, they’d make a power couple.

She’d once read that girls who grew up without fathers had self-esteem issues. How can you love yourself when your own dad rejected you?Even though she knew the truth now—that her mom had kept her from her dad—it didn’t erase beliefs that were imprinted into the fabric of her soul in childhood.

A melody entered her head. As she lay there, the eight-bar loop playing on repeat, random words popped up.

Imprint. Tattoo.

A child’s eyes. No, a man’s eyes.

Looking for daddy in another man’s eyes.

Yes. Inspiration compelled her to sit up and reach for her guitar. She didn’t want to lose the train of thought, the arrangement, so she started humming, and when her voice splintered the perfect silence of the cabin?—

She remembered.

There’s a man out there. Sleeping.

ChapterThree

Just like that,Lorelei was yanked back to reality. The cold seeped through the layers of her robe, and she settled back under the covers.

Wide awake, she could only wonder what she was supposed to do about this situation. One of them had to leave and, now that the shock had worn off, she could see it had to be her.

Clearly, he owned the cabin. When she’d come here, she’d been frantic. She’d been on the run, thinking the paparazzi had discovered that her family lived in Calamity. Her dad was such a good man, and he’d finally found happiness with his girlfriend—the last thing she wanted was to sic the press on him. So, she’d called her manager and asked her to book a safe place for her to stay.

She was supposed to use a code to unlock the door, but it didn’t have a box like that. It was a keyed entry. Worse, when the first delivery arrived, the driver was confused about the address. She’d had the same guy the whole three months, so he knew to bring things here now.

But if she was living in the wrong cabin, that meant the owner of the rental was simply collecting her rent. Of course, they lived in Florida, but shouldn’t they be checking to make sure she wasn’t destroying the place?

As soon as she had Wi-Fi, she’d talk to her manager. They’d figure it all out.

Of course, if he owned the place…was it really fair for him to be on the couch? She thought about his exhaustion, his long day of travel, his desperation for sleep…come on. He should take the bed.

Oh, brother.

Grabbing the flashlight, she threw off the covers and slid her feet back into her slippers. As she headed into the living room, a sound hit her ears—oh, God. His teeth were chattering. What had she been thinking, making him sleep out here with no heat? He could die.

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