Free The Real Thing by Paige Tyler Page A

silent, but Raine could feel her eyes on her. Was she wondering if she should go in for the hard sell?
    “Forgive me, but you look so much like the actress Raine Montgomery that I just have to ask,” the woman said . “Are you her ?”
    Raine’s first instinct was to deny it, to tell the woman she heard that all the time, but she didn’t. She smiled. “Yes, I am.”
    The woman’s eyes went wide. “ Oh my goodness! Are you in town filming a movie, then?”
    R aine shook her head. “Actually, I came to see Logan McBride’s work . I’ve heard a lot about it and wanted to see his paintings in person.”
    “Really?” The woman beamed. “Well, if you like his paintings as much as you seem to, you simply must meet him . T his is forward of me, but i f you’re going to be in town a while, do you think we could set up a photo shoot with the Seattle Times ? It’s always good publicity for an artist to have a famous celebrity gush over his work.”
    “Um…”
    Her heart was p o unding so hard at the prospect of seeing Logan aga in it was practically ready to jum p out of her chest, so why was she hesitating?
    T he door of the gallery swung open , saving her from answering both questions, and she quickly turned back to the painting hoping the wom an would run off to chat up her new client.
    “Logan, what perfect timing! There’s someone you have to meet.”
    If Raine’s heart was beating wildly before, that was nothing compared to how hard it was thumping now . Hoping Logan couldn’t hear how deafening it was, she slowly turned to face him.
    Despite fantasizing about him for the past week, her breath still hitched at the real thing. Dressed in jeans and a button-up shirt, that trademark scruff on his jaw , he looked even more gorgeous than she remembered.
    Logan stared at her, as if not quite believing what he saw. “Raine?”
    N ot trusting herself to speak, Raine gripped her handbag tighter and offered him a small smile.
    The woman from the gallery looked from Logan to her in confusion. “You two know each ot her?”
    Logan ignored her , his attention fully focused on Raine. “Wha t are you doing here?”
    She wet her lips nervously. “I was doing some filming up in Vancouver, and thought I’d drive down here to s ee your work.”
    “She’s particularly fond of that one you did of your cabin,” the gallery woman put in. “In fact, we were just discussing the possibility of the two of you doing a photo-op when you came in.”
    Logan’s dark eyes were almost a caress as they regarded Raine. “The one o f the cabin, huh?”
    Was he thinking what she was thinking , remembering what she was remembering? She dragged her gaze away from his to smile at the woman. “I’d like to purchase it if it isn’t already sold. ”
    The woman ’s eyes lit up. “Excellent! If you two wi ll excuse me, I’ll go start the paperwork.”
    Raine barely heard her . E verything else in the room had ceased to exist the moment Logan walked into the gallery . Being this close to him again was intoxicating.
    The corner of his mouth edged up. “I thought my artwor k wasn’t to your taste.”
    She frowned. “I never said that.”
    “You implied it.”
    She was pretty sure she hadn’t, but she wasn’t going to ar g ue with him. “Let’s just say that the cabin has a special significance for me.”
    He regarded her in silence, his dark eyes unreadable. “So, how long are you in town for?”
    “ A couple days.”
    She would have said more, but the woman from the gallery interrupted them, saying she need ed Raine’s signature on a few things.
    Raine was keenly aware of Logan watching her as she signed the paperwork and paid for her purchase. Her hand trembled so much that her signature looked like a ten-year-old write it, but the woman didn’t seem to notice.
    “Now that’s out of the way, what do you think about that photo- op I mentioned? The one for the Times .”
    Logan’s brows drew together. “What