Free Stand-In Star by Rachael Johns

asked eventually.
    She blinked, wondering if he was going to offer to make her dinner. Or maybe he wanted her to cook for him. “A little,” she admitted with a nod.
    “Do you want to go out?”
    “Go out? With you?” She didn’t mean to sound quite so horrified by the idea.
    He chuckled. “No, with the rich, old pervert next door.”
    She ignored his sarcasm. “Okay then.” If she sounded tentative, it was because she wondered if this was the worst thing she’d ever agreed to. The man could barely stand to look at her, but he’d taken her in, treated her ankle and offered her a bed, so it didn’t feel right to throw his offer back in his face. Hadn’t she come to him with the intention of making some kind of truce?
    Then there was the fact she really wanted to see more of L.A. and with Nate by her side while she did so, she’d be more likely to avoid the camera stalkers and not get herself into any more scrapes. Anticipation began to bubble within. “Where are we going?”
    “Someplace really good.”
    * * *
    Nate shut the bedroom door behind him as he stalked to the walk-in-closet to choose an outfit for dinner.
    Dinner. Out. With Holly. How the hell did he get himself in these kinds of scrapes? He couldn’t imagine they’d have anything in common and there was nothing worse than sitting silently and awkwardly in a restaurant all evening. Especially when you knew the awkward evening wasn’t going to end in sex. Not that he hadn’t thought about it—he was male after all—and Holly, although in a totally different way to Daisy, was heat-your-pants hot.
    If they weren’t sharing a house—he didn’t do uncomfortable morning afters. If she weren’t being stalked by the paparazzi… If she wasn’t the wicked sister of his dead lover… Maybe. As it stood, there were too many things working against a carefree night between the sheets because even he didn’t sleep with women he couldn’t respect.
    In theory, this knowledge should make the evening less stressful.
    He yanked clean trousers and a shirt off the rail and threw them on the bed. While dressing, he called up one of his favorite restaurants on speed dial and reserved a table. Ten minutes later he stood by the front door, tapping his feet as he waited for Holly. Despite something about her being different to most of the women he knew, she took equally as long to get ready. Finally, just when he was contemplating delaying their reservation, he heard movement behind him and looked around to see her coming down the corridor.
    “Wow” slipped out of his mouth before he realized. She wore a killer dress and had scooped her hair in some kind of up do, which showed off the pale perfection of her neck. Pity he didn’t want to think wow thoughts about her.
    She smiled at him but her smile didn’t reach her eyes. Her arms were crossed over her body, her hands clasping opposite elbows, masking her gorgeous curves and the dazzling royal blue dress. “I wasn’t sure where we were going, so I wasn’t sure what to wear.”
    She stopped in front of him and, without thought, he pulled her hands out of the way so he could see properly. The classy dress pinched in at the waist to showcase her womanly figure. A spark shot through him at the contact. She flinched. Had she felt it too?
    “That dress will be perfect,” he said, more gruffly than intended. And because he liked to give credit where credit was due, he added, “And you look absolutely stunning.”
    “Really?” She blushed a little. “I mean, thanks.”
    They stood silent for a second. He was all too aware this wasn’t a date and he shoved his hands in his pockets, battling the urge to touch her again. Because he’d closed the gap between them, she now stood so close he could kiss her. If he felt that way inclined.
    “Shall we go?” he asked instead.
    She nodded. He held the door for her then set the security system. They walked in step to his car and he held the door open as Holly climbed