personified made her twitch with annoyance. Oh God. She couldn’t kill him in front of witnesses.
Hadley crossed her arms and glared up at his somehow-hotter-than-his-identical-twin’s face. “Get back on that plane.”
“No can do.” He gave his head a regretful shake. “It’s going on to L.A. and I have had my fill of actresses for the time being, but it was sweet of you to think of me.”
Heated frustration shot up from the earth’s core and blasted through her. How did he always produce this hot, flushed, so-damn-bothered involuntary reaction just by existing in the same room as her? Every. Single. Time. Ugh. He was the worst, just the absolute worst.
“What are you doing here and where is Web?” she asked, practically biting off each word.
“In reverse order…” He held up two long fingers. “At our family place in the country puking his guts up, but don’t worry, he’ll be fine.” He lowered one finger. “Coming to your rescue.”
Ha! That would be the day. “I don’t think so.”
He smirked at her.
Yes, smirked, and it wasn’t even the least little bit sexy. It was enraging—like shake-her-fist-at-the-wide-open-high-plains-sky-and-yell-“nooooooooooooooo” enraging.
If Will had any idea how he was affecting her, he didn’t show it, just kept right on going like God’s gift to humanity. “I’m tall, dark, handsome, and rich. I’m pretty sure I fit the bill of a knight; I just need my brave steed. And anyway, I look exactly like Web, so your family will never know the difference. He and I used to swap spots all the time in school.”
Nope. This was not happening. “You can’t come with me.”
“Are you sure?” He shot her a skeptical look. “I was told this was an all-hands emergency. Web’s words were that anything—I repeat, anything—would be better for you than going to this wedding alone. Now, my brother’s not known for exaggerating, but there’s a first for everything. Are you really saying that spending a week with me is worse than facing down your entire family as they question every life choice you’ve made since you left your teeny, tiny hometown?”
The questions would come from love, Hadley knew it. A little query here, a comment there, a concern uttered in hushed tones over the homemade enchiladas. She was bound to crack under the pressure, which was exactly what she did not want to happen. Losing her cool and acting like the metaphorical flaming bag of dog poop during her sister’s wedding and thus ruining everything was pretty much a nightmare situation. She needed someone to have her back, to help keep her sane, and to give her an excuse to escape the confines of her family before she lost it.
She sighed and her shoulders sank. She needed Will Holt, and the big jerk knew it. “Don’t make me regret this.”
He tipped his hat at her again, as if this were some old western movie with him playing the part of the flirtatious gambler while she was the saloon girl with a heart of gold. “I’m all about leaving women happy wherever I go.”
Hadley clamped her mouth shut before she told him exactly how he could make her happy. Not to go into it, but in the week since the incident, she’d developed a very in-depth revenge fantasy that included a deep hole, hot honey, fire ants, and itching powder. Instead of telling him that, though, she turned and marched toward baggage claim, not bothering to check if the wrong cowboy was following.
Chapter Four
If Will didn’t love his brother, he’d try to kill him—on purpose this time for forcing him to go to these kind of ridiculous lengths.
The only positive in the current situation being that Country Barbie wasn’t happy about him being there. Good. Misery loves company.
At least he had her away from his brother. The fresh-from-the-country, I-just-want-to-be-friends scam might have fooled his brother, but Will knew better. There was no way Hadley was as innocent as her big brown eyes and freckled cheeks promised. She was after something, and Will knew well and good that it started with a Holt and ended with his family fortune.
No matter how apple-pie-adorable Hadley looked, she was just one more in a long line of dubious advisors, greedy sycophants, and con artists who saw the orphaned Holt brothers as easy pickings. Just like everyone else, she wanted something from them. No doubt, access to the Holt Foundation funds was just the beginning. That’s why she pushed so hard to be considered as an advisory candidate and why she’d made