Intimate Illusions [The Callens 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) by Melody Snow Monroe Page A

shine was wonderful. He truly did understand how to work a room. If he didn’t like riding horses so much, he could have been a great trial lawyer. She could picture him standing in front of a jury pleading his case and winning. A new respect for the man grew.
    After he paid, they had to collect the six animals he’d purchased. Getting them into the back of the trailer took some doing. She would have volunteered, but if one of those cows had stepped on her foot, it would have broken. Instead, she sat in the cab as he instructed.
    The back doors closed, and Ian slid into the cab. “Ready?” From the way he was grinning, he was pleased with the outcome.
    “You really love being a rancher, don’t you?”
    “I can’t imagine doing anything else. It’s in my blood. I am, after all, a Callen.”
    She liked the amount of pride in his voice. “It’s a whole different world from what I do.”
    “Do you like modeling?”
    Her laugh didn’t come out as cheerful. “It’s all I know. But yes, it has its benefits. The drawback is that there’s pressure to always look my best. I worry that my hip might be at the wrong angle or the expression on my face might not match the mood of the outfit.”
    “Seriously?”
    People had no idea what it took to be a runway model. “The buyers are looking at you as much as the outfit. The way you wear the dress depends on how much the designer sells.”
    “If you’re not feeling well, your boss might lose money.”
    “Precisely.”
    “If you quit, what are you going to do?”
    The worry in his voice implied he didn’t think she had any other way to support herself. “I could get another job, I suppose.”
    “You could teach girls to be models.”
    She hadn’t thought of that as an option for herself, but she knew of a lot of models who did that. “I’m not sure I want to encourage woman to starve themselves. A woman’s self-esteem takes a beating all the time.”
    He glanced over at her and made a right turn into the Callen estate. “Come on. People are in awe of models.”
    “We might look good with all our makeup, but we’re often told our eyes are either too wide or too close together. One cameraman may say our legs are too long and another that our hips are too narrow. We are always being compared against some mythical being of perfection.”
    He cleared his throat. “Well, I think you’re pretty perfect.”
    “Thanks.” That meant a lot to her.
    He stopped, jumped out of the cab and came over to her side to open the door. That was a nice change. He helped her down.
    “I need to get some hands to help me. It’ll be dusty out here. I’m betting you’ll want to take a shower after being at the auction.”
    She appreciated how considerate he was. “I do.”
    Once she stepped into the cool house, her stomach grumbled. They’d left the main ranch after her fittings, and she hadn’t gotten a chance to eat. She bet Ian hadn’t eaten either. As a nice gesture, she decided to make him a sandwich.
    She didn’t think they’d mind if she looked in their refrigerator. Since there wasn’t any noise from inside the house, Max must have been out and about. Maybe he was taking one of the other models someplace. After all, it wasn’t fair that she got to have all the fun and the others didn’t.
    A shiver of possessiveness snaked up her spine. Whoa . She hadn’t expected that reaction. These men were the sponsor’s sons. They had no obligation to her. Ian happened to be focused on making her happy, which pleased her to no end, but she wouldn’t assume it was their job to do so.
    She opened the fridge. All she could find was some luncheon meat. That would have to do. It took about fifteen minutes to make a nice presentation of food.
    “What are you doing?” The deep voice made her jump.
    “Max! I didn’t think you were here.” He had on reading glasses and looked so intelligent.
    He immediately took them off, as if he felt self-conscious about wearing them. “You