When she arrived on scene, she was whisked over to hair and makeup and spent a couple of hours there having makeup applied and her hair curled. They started out with her hair down, which went well with the strapless designer gown. It was an ivory satin full ball gown, luxurious and a striking complement to the gorgeous Jewel Box, with its Art Deco cantilevered design. They did the first pictures outside. It was the perfect day from a production standpoint. Though quite hot, little to no breeze helped to keep the dress and other paraphernalia in place. They had to stop in between the shots though, to keep patting her down to erase any sheen. The dress was ultra heavy and not at all suited for outside August weather in St. Louis, but she handled it just fine.
Fortunately, the photographer was quick, and before Kat knew it, she was out of that dress and into the next, this time a lovely white lace A-line with sleeves. She was lucky this series of photographs would be taken inside, next to some of the most beautiful flowers she’d ever seen. They’d redesigned her hair for these photos, pulling it up so it was off her shoulders. After all, the lace on her shoulders and down her arms had to be seen.
After a couple of hours of various poses in that dress, they were finished for the day.
She went back to her hotel and showered off the heavy makeup, washing the excess product out of her hair. She let her hair air-dry outside on the balcony of her hotel room while she talked on the phone to Cerissa, who told her everything at home was fine. Leo was working out a lot and Anya was, as typical, always on the phone or with her friends.
At least she didn’t have to worry about the kids. After she hung up, she grabbed a book she’d started in the middle of her flight to St. Louis and spent about an hour reading. When her phone rang, she put the book down and looked at the display.
It was Grant. She thought about ignoring his call, but that would be rude. Not that she wasn’t an expert at rudeness, but he’d been so nice to her and the kids, so she at least owed him an answer to his call.
“Hello, Grant.”
“Hi. How was your shoot today?”
“It went well, thank you. What did you do today?”
“Not much. Day off, so I worked out and cleaned my garage.”
She tried to get a mental visual of him working in his garage. All sweaty, maybe his shirt off.
More dangerous thoughts.
“I see. Sounds relaxing, I suppose.”
“I was thinking of barbecuing some chicken for dinner and wanted to invite you over.”
She couldn’t imagine him doing that, either. “Oh, well, I have an early call tomorrow, so …”
She wanted to let him off easy. She’d thought a lot about him—about that kiss he’d given her the other night. She was attracted to him. Too attracted.
It was time to back away.
“I promise to have you back to your hotel in time for curfew. Whatever time that is. I’d really like to see you, Kat.”
Well … crap. And the problem was, she wanted to see him, too.
Wasn’t that the problem?
She should say no. End this, before things got even more complicated than they already were.
But the words spilled out of her mouth before she had a chance to pull them back. “Sure. What time?”
So much for listening to her inner voice.
“How about I pick you up … uh, let’s say about four o’clock?”
“That sounds fine. I’ll be outside so you don’t have to park.”
“Okay. I’ll call you when I’m close so you don’t have to linger outside too long. See you then.”
She hung up, then stared at her phone.
Clearly, there was something wrong with her. Normally, she had no problem saying no to men. She said no all the time, because she got asked out all the time. She’d said no politely, and not so politely, depending on who was asking. She was an expert at turning men down.
But for some reason, she hadn’t yet figured out how to say no to Grant Cassidy.
Maybe she should stop thinking of all the reasons to say no. Maybe she’d let her fears guide her for too long. Grant was gorgeous and hot, and of all the men she’d ever been tempted by, he was the most—
Tempting.
She’d thought a lot about her conversation with Savannah, about having some fun.
Grant could definitely be fun. Not a forever thing, but a temporary fling. Or at least a gorgeous man to hang out with.
There was absolutely nothing threatening about that.
THIRTEEN
AFTER HE’D GOTTEN OFF THE PHONE WITH KATRINA, Grant had spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning his house.
The place was a wreck. As a bachelor, he didn’t much care what it looked like on most days, unless his parents were coming for a visit. Then he usually brought in a cleaning service to scour the place from top to bottom, because if there was one thing his mom didn’t stand for, it was a messy house. When he’d lived at home, as soon as you were old enough to hold a broom in your hand, empty trash, or do dishes, you had a chore, and it didn’t matter if you were a guy or a girl. Mom wanted everyone to grow up and be able to fend for themselves. Even cooking.