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She smiled. “Must be you.”
“Ouch.” He laughed again. “Actually, I think you’re more interested than you let on.”
The short answer to that: Yes. The long answer: Hell, yes.
“And sunbathing?” He gave her a slow leisurely look, starting from the top of her head to her toes. His laughter turned to a wide, sensual smile. “Don’t sunbathers usually have tans? Although, come to think of it, you are looking a little pink.”
She peeked in the mirror. A little pink was an understatement. She was red all over, and it had absolutely nothing to do with the sun, but with a different type of star altogether.
“Now if you told me your hobbies included pretending to be someone you’re not and playing competitive board games, that I’d believe.”
She stiffened. The man saw through every lie she told, straight down to the true person. She had to say something. What would fit Destiny Dane enough not to ruin her cover but would match Cheyenne Kirk?
“Why don’t you tell me about your family?” he prompted.
Perfect.Both Destiny and Cheyenne had families. She wouldn’t give real names, but she could share general stories without blowing her cover. Of course, there was one facet of her family she would never mention, not to him, not to anyone. “I have four older brothers.”
Julian whistled. “Now that must’ve been fun growing up.”
The familiar wave of affection rose. “I love them with all my heart, but they were a tad overprotective. Let’s just say my dates brought me home an hourbeforecurfew ended.” She laughed softly. “It was like having four bodyguards. To top it off, they all grew into tall, muscular guys by the time I hit high school.”
“It’s a wonder you ever made it out of the house.”
“I made sure of it,” she confided. “They might’ve intimidated the big guys, but I stood tall against them. So to speak.” She gave a rueful grin. “I even forced them to take me along on their adventures. I was quite the tomboy.”
He gestured toward her feminine attire. “You’ve come a long way.”
Actually, she hadn’t progressed at all from her tomboy origin. Did Julian realize her upbringing didn’t quite match Destiny Dane’s personality? “So what are they doing now?” he asked.
“They all stayed true to their roots even if I didn’t. They chose jobs with high physical demands. Two are cops, one went into the military and the other is a firefighter.”
“Do I need to worry when they find out what we’ve been doing?”
“Of course not.” Because they were never going to find out. Ever. If they did, they’d forget she was a grown woman and haul her back to the family home, 9 p.m. curfew firmly in place. Not that she would let them, of course, but it was still easier to avoid the fight. It had been bad enough when she decided to join the force.
Julian eyed her carefully. “You aren’t going to tell them, are you?”
“Not a chance in hell.” She grinned. “Your turn. Tell me about your family.”
“You mean you don’t know?”
“Oh course not. How would I kno–” She stopped. What was she thinking? His biggest fan would know everything about him, including his family, hobbies, the brand of deodorant he used. Those probably made front page news. “Of course, I know.”
“Do you?” He folded his arms across his chest. “I’ll give you one chance.”
One chance to guess about his family? A hundred, or a thousand, wouldn’t be enough.
“One chance to take it back,” he elaborated. “Remember when you claimed to know my last movie?”
“Hey, I knew all aboutThunder Wave.”
“NotThunder Wave.”
“Thunder Plunder?”
“Try again.”
“Thunder and the Seven Dwarves?”