Just The Way You Are(34)

"So who was that guy?" Jimmy asked.

Tessa didn't like the way he avoided making a promise. "I told you, he's my brother-in-law."

"You looked awfully cozy for in-laws." Was there a chill in the air or had Jimmy's eyes suddenly gone cold? No. She was getting as imaginative as Alli. "Sam was my best friend growing up," she explained. "We've known each other for years."

"Where has he been?"

"Here. Sam and Alli live here with their daughter."

"They have a kid?"

"Megan. She's eight years old."

Jimmy studied her the way he did when he was searching for an angle to shoot. She laughed self-consciously.

"Stop that. Stop taking my picture in your mind."

"I took a few photos earlier, you know, even got the one where you ran into Sam's arms like a long-lost—"

"Stop."

"Tessa, the camera doesn't lie."

"Okay, he was my boyfriend when we were kids."

"But he married your sister. How did that happen?"

"It's a long story."

"Is that why you don't talk about her? Or about him? Is that why most of the free world thinks you're an orphan?"

"Maybe." Tessa took another spoonful of soup, but found it as unsatisfying as their conversation. "I don't want to talk about this now, okay? I've got more important things on my mind than the past."

Jimmy slowly nodded. "Whatever you say."

She sent him a suspicious look, his agreement coming to quickly. She'd known Jimmy for five years and he never gave up easily. But he was very good at biding his time.

"How did you get here anyway?" she asked.

"I rented a motorcycle at the airport."

"A motorcycle?"

"I needed some air."

"You've come to the right place for air. When is your flight back to L.A.?"

"I don't have one."

"You must have other jobs to do."

"They can wait."

"Jimmy, you're not going to talk me into a photo shoot while I'm in this place. This isn't my home. This isn't my life anymore, and I don't really want anyone to know about it."

"Why not? Why all the secrets, Tessa? Why not tell the world you have a grandmother and a sister and a niece? Why not tell them you grew up in a small town by the sea, that you still like a good cup of clam chowder no matter how many calories are in it?"

"No one wants to know that about me. They want to see my fancy apartment, and my new emerald-green Jaguar, and hear about my trip to Europe and my last date with the latest celebrity of the moment. And I thought we weren't going to talk about this."

"Maybe you sell your fans short. Maybe you sell yourself short. You're more than your photograph."

"Sometimes my photograph feels more real than me."

His green eyes seemed to bore right into her soul, and she knew she'd revealed far too much. So she tried for the practiced smile, the artificial laugh, the uncaring toss of her hair that would draw attention to her beauty and away from her soul.#p#分页标题#e#

"You've been a good friend, Jimmy, the best photographer I've ever had, but this isn't your business. I'm not trying to hurt your feelings, but—"

"You want me to butt out."

"Yes, I do. I'm sorry, but this is personal."

"The least you can do is show me around your hometown."

She sat back in her chair, not sure she wanted to show him even that much encouragement. "There's not much to see."

"I don't know about that. It's been pretty interesting so far."

She saw his charming smile and knew she couldn't say no to his adorable face. Jimmy had a way of making her do things she never wanted to do, like wearing a bikini on an Aspen ski slope or riding a horse bareback down a Texas dirt road. She supposed this was an easy request compared to some of them. "You are nothing but trouble, you know that, don't you?"

He leaned forward, so close she could see the gleam in his green eyes, and she felt an unexpected tingle go down her spine.

"Sometimes a woman needs a little trouble in her life," he said.

She laughed. "Does that line really work on women?"

He grinned back at her. "You'd be surprised."

"I think I'd be more surprised if you ever stopped flirting."

"I keep hoping, that's all," he said lightly.

"Hoping? For what?"

He shrugged, a Mona Lisa smile on his lips that made her surprisingly uncomfortable. This was Jimmy, she told herself. A fun guy, a charmer, a man not to be taken seriously.

"You're not making any sense," she told him.

"Good, I'd hate to ruin my rep. Come on. Show me your old stomping grounds, where you went to school, what roads you took on your driver's test, where you parked to make out with all the boys."