âI donât want word getting out that I hired you to help me,â Lewis said
Lexie propped her hands on her hips. âDonât you think that theyâre going to figure it out when you start looking a whole lot different after spending concentrated time with me?â
Lewis paused. His lips curved up on either side. âWell, maybe not so much if people thought we were dating and you steered me in another direction, clotheswise or something. If word got out that we were dating, would that be so bad?â
âYes. Youâre a client,â she reminded sternly.
âBut people here donât know that,â he insisted, looking her square in the eye.
âBut I do,â Lexie shot back. âAnd I donât date clients, Lewis.â
Not anymore. Not since she had found out mixing business and pleasure with a sexy available man was the worst mistake a single woman could make.
Lewis paused to come up with a new strategy. âThen weâll just have to tell people weâre spending time together because weâre friends.â
Dear Reader,
Figuring out what to wear is something that has stumped us all from time to time. The âlookâ you eventually end up with usually depends on how and where you spend most of your time. For instance, my office is in my home and I place a premium on comfort, so youâre more likely to find me in jeans, sneakers and a cotton shirt than a dress and heels. Fortunately, no one really cares how a writer is garbed when he or she is writingâpeople just want to read a good story. Celebrities and CEOs, on the other hand, are held to a different standard.
Globe-trotting former Laramie, Texas, resident Lexie Remington knows this and has made a career of helping clients figure out what kind of image they want to present to the world. Whereas the brilliantâbut hopelessly style challengedâcomputer genius Lewis McCabe is too much of a manâs man to employ anyone to tell him how to dress. And this puts the fun-loving millionaire in a quandary. Lewis wants Lexieâs attention. He wonât get it if he doesnât at least pretend to respect what she does for a living. So following a small misunderstanding, he inadvertently gets himself in a Texas-sized mess. One his four brothers think is a hootâ¦
I hope you enjoy BLAME IT ON TEXAS as much as I loved writing it. For more information on this and other books, please visit my Web site at www.cathygillenthacker.com.
Happy reading!
Cathy Gillen Thacker
Blame It on Texas
Cathy Gillen Thacker
Cathy Gillen Thacker married her high school sweetheart and hasnât had a dull moment since. Why? you ask. Well, there were three kids, various pets, any number of automobiles, several moves across the country, his and her careers and sundry other experiences (some of which were exciting and some of which werenât). But mostly, there was love and friendship and laughter, and lots of experiences she wouldnât trade for the world.
This book is for Mary Thacker, for her love and support over the years.
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
A full moon shone and stars twinkled in the velvety sky overhead. It was shaping up to be a beautiful October evening, Lewis McCabe thought, as he strode briskly up the steps of the Remington ranch house. Before he could press the doorbell, the front door opened. Jenna Lockhart Remington stepped across the threshold, the look on her face anything but welcoming. âI know why youâre here,â the elegant older woman said firmly.
âYou do?â Lewis McCabe murmured. Darn it, had his four brothers phoned ahead to make his plan public before he put it into action? If so, there was going to be heck to pay, he decided grimly, and then some.
âAnd althoughââ Mrs. Remington paused to shrewdly peruse Lewis from head to toe, none of her customary hospitality evident ââI can see your need is direââ
How could she have known how long it had been since heâd had a date? Lewis thought in irritation. Then again, this was Laramie, Texas, where everyone was family, and nothing stayed secret for long.
âLexie is here on vacation.â
âExactly,â Lewis said, glad they were no longer talking at cross purposes. âI figured since your stepdaughterâs in town again Iâd use the opportunity toââ
âTake advantage of her kind and generous nature?â Mrs. Remington scolded, clearly annoyed.
Was Mrs. Remington intimating he was a pity date? That Lexie would only go out with him if she felt sorry for him? âI assure you, Mrs. Remington, I have nothing but the utmost respect for Lexie,â he said sincerely, determined to do whatever it took to get an audience with the woman heâd had his eye on for what seemed like forever. âI hold her in highest regard.â
âWhich is, of course, exactly why you are here,â Mrs. Remington interrupted. âBecause Lexie is so successful.â
Given the fact this conversation had started off on the wrong foot, and had been going down the wrong path ever since, Lewis wasnât sure what to say to that. âOf course I admire what Lexie has done professionally,â he admitted. âEveryone around here does.â Thanks to her stunning fashion sense, sheâd become every bit the celebrity her clients were.