Free Seven Night Stand by Nicole Helm Page A

made her question herself.
    The twin approached. “I didn’t properly introduce myself this morning.” He offered a hand, a man at ease with people and yet not. He didn’t trust her. That was fair enough. “I’m Ryan Harrington.”
    Vivvy shook his hand—they weren’t smooth as she expected. Not quite as calloused or worked-with as Nate’s, but he wasn’t just a paper pusher.
    “Vivvy Marsh.”
    “I apologize for creating a scene.” He flashed a smile. There was charm there, but it was different than Nate’s. Polished. Practiced. Not innate or easy. “I can be a bit overprotective when it comes to my family.”
    Vivvy bit back the snarky comments wanting to escape and smiled. “No hard feelings, Mr. Harrington. You know, my job isn’t to convince your family to agree to the television show. In fact, my presence here isn’t even a guarantee your family will be offered one. I’m just a scout, per se.”
    Except she did need to convince them. If she took this show idea back to Lee and Gerry, she needed to know that Nate wouldn’t back out.
    Ryan didn’t need to know that.
    “Nate explained that to me. Though, he also said he’s not doing the show, so I don’t quite understand why you’re still here.”
    “I don’t give up that easy.”
    “Neither does Nate. Neither do I.”
    “We’ll see.” Arguing never got people anywhere. Vivvy preferred the low-key approach. Nate approached from the hangar. Vivvy couldn’t help but frown at the little jolt of warmth that went from her stomach to her heart, because it wasn’t just lust. Something else was mixing with that feeling. Something awfully dangerous and potent.
    “Morning.”
    He stood next to his twin, completely at ease. Something had changed since that morning. The charge in the air was gone, the crackling tension. It seemed they’d made amends.
    When Nate’s hand rested on the small of her back, Vivvy had to resist the urge to step away. Warmth coursed through her, but a small dribble of fear doused it. Fear?
    Vivvy worked up her best smile, trying to fight the strange thoughts her brain was coming up with. “I wanted to film you today.”
    Some of the ease left his posture. “Film me?”
    “Yes, you’re very good in person, but some people fall apart on camera. I’ve got some alternative ideas to pitch to Tyson. I’m going to need some footage.” With real footage she could distance herself, be absolutely sure these new ideas were impartial, not some strange, misguided attempt to protect Nate.
    “Look, you’re wasting your time with this. Unless your alternative idea magically makes my family reasonable, which is impossible. Ry’s sticking around for a few days and he’s against the idea as much as I am. Maybe we should just cut our losses.” But his hand remained on the small of her back, and she was an idiot because she didn’t want to step away from the contact.
    “Well, I guess I’ll have to convince you both before I go. Probably do it without even trying.” She grinned up at him, but he didn’t return the smile.
    “Viv, it’s a waste of time. Really.” His voice lowered. “You’ve met my mom. You’ve seen Grandpa. This can’t happen.”
    “Of course it can. If you give me a chance, it can even happen in a way that won’t damage your reputation.”
    “Don’t take this the wrong way, but why should we trust you? Maybe Nate knows you better than I do, but why would you protect anything about us or this?” Ryan folded his arm across his chest.
    “Give me the time to prove myself, gentlemen. What’s the worst thing that could happen besides you agreeing? It’s not like I can force you into a show.” But if she could, she would. She had to.
    “Nothing rattles you, does it?” Nate sighed. “You’re that dead set on wasting your time, guess it’s your right. Ry’s going to be working with me today, if that’s all right.”
    Vivvy looked at Ryan then at Nate. Filming two hot men doing manual labor? Not