Hot Property (Hot Zone 4)

“So I hear.”

She began to hum, a pleasant sound that didn’t disturb him, and he shut his eyes once more.

After a few minutes, her voice once again broke the silence. “Listen, the boys and I are having a small get-together in our suite tonight. Why don’t you join us?” she asked. “They’d love to meet you. Especially Mike, my drummer. He’s also a fan.”

Roper opened his eyes to see she wasn’t even looking at him. In fact, her eyes were shut and she was enjoying the bubbling water. Clearly she wasn’t flirting with him, just extending an invitation. One he appreciated, since he was ready for some human companionship here in Greenlawn.

He was surprised to realize that he was relieved the beautiful Hannah wasn’t showing any interest. Though there might have been a time when her perky breasts and pretty face, all probably molded by a plastic surgeon, might have appealed to him, it was the lightly freckled Floridian who held his interest now. Despite the fact that she’d tricked him into coming up here.

Damn Amy, even out of sight she wasn’t out of mind. She had obviously spoiled him for anyone else, which only served to convince him he had to act on his desire.

And what better way to break the ice after a week of not speaking than at a small party? “Sure. I’d love to come,” he told Hannah. It wasn’t as if he had someplace else to be tonight. He was on his own in this little slice of seclusion.

“Great.” She still didn’t open her eyes. “I’m catering food up to my room. That’s why we love this place. We can really keep to ourselves.”

He nodded. That suited his purposes just fine. He glanced up at the ceiling, then asked Hannah the question circling in his head. “Mind if I bring a friend tonight?”

She shook her head. “Not at all. The more the merrier.” She rattled off her suite number, then began to chat with him about the season in a way that told him she was one of the minority—an understanding fan who knew even a million-dollar player could have a bad stretch.

By the time he climbed out of the water, he realized that despite Hannah’s celebrity, she was as down-to-earth as they came. She even reminded him of Amy.

He wrapped a towel around his waist and ran his fingers through his hair. “I’ll see you around eight?” he asked.

Hannah, who’d also come out of the tub and had begun to dry herself off, nodded. “Come earlier if you can’t find anything to keep yourself occupied,” she said.

“I might just do that.”

“Do what?” a familiar female voice asked.

He jerked around to see Amy staring at them. He wondered what she’d overheard, and worse, what she thought was going on between them.

“Hey, there,” he said to Amy, trying not to look or feel guilty when he had no reason.

“Hi.” Amy lifted one hand in an awkward wave. The other pulled tighter on the towel that covered her one-piece bathing suit. “I didn’t mean to interrupt. I just thought a sauna would be a great way to finish off this awful cold. And it’s through there. The sauna, I mean.” Her gaze darted from Roper to Hannah, then back again. She took a step back, and then another one, clearly intending to escape.

“Don’t go.” Her obvious discomfort tugged at something inside him and he wanted to reassure her. “Hannah was just inviting us to a party tonight. Hannah Gregory, meet Amy Stone. Amy, Hannah is—”

“I know who Hannah is,” Amy said, extending her hand. “Nice to meet you. I love your music,” she said with genuine warmth.

More warmth than she was shooting his way at the moment.

Hannah beamed at the compliment, suddenly looking even younger than she really was. Given the frosty look Amy turned his way, and considering she had walked in on the tail end of their conversation, it was obvious she thought the events at her cousin’s wedding were repeating themselves. She believed she’d witnessed John Roper picking up a woman while he had another one waiting in the wings, hell, while she was upstairs sick.

Apparently Amy didn’t know him as well as she thought she did. It was time he enlightened her as to the man he really was.

He looked forward to the challenge and to ending the night exactly where he belonged. In Amy’s bed.

BACK IN HER ROOM, AS AMY showered to get ready for Hannah’s party, she knew there was no way she could compete with a music pop star who was gorgeous, impeccably groomed and much more worldly than Amy could ever be. Again, it wasn’t that she lacked self-esteem, she just understood what it took to keep up in Roper and Hannah’s world. They exuded star quality without effort, and as young as Hannah was, Amy had no doubt she’d had plastic surgery of some sort to keep that perfect body and face. So Amy wasn’t even going to put herself in that league. As her mother had taught her, she should always just be herself.

Still, Amy was human and she couldn’t help but wonder what Roper had thought when he’d turned from Hannah in her itsy-bitsy teenie-weenie bikini to face Amy in her Speedo one-piece racing suit.

It shouldn’t matter.

But it did.

Just like she shouldn’t be personally interested in Roper.

But she was.