Tender Deception by Heather Graham

shared a thousand such kisses. But he surely did remember the night she came to his house, and it was evident already he didn’t intend to let her forget.
    She had never really blamed him. Her decision to keep her secret a secret had been based on several factors, the main one complimentary to him. He might have wanted to marry her and she couldn’t have, knowing that he cared nothing for her. Furthermore, his whole career was before him. He had become a success almost overnight. It would have been too ridiculous to put through a call to Hollywood and say, “Hey, Brant, we really don’t know each other that well, but I’m the friend you consider to be a sweet little girl. Well, anyway, you know that night I said was nothing. I’m afraid there’s something after all…” Who in their right mind would have believed her?
    No, what she had done had been for the best. Her way had been the only way. And she had done so well, she had no regrets. She adored her son and she loved her life in the theater.
    Except now. Brant was back. She had been fine as long as he was living in the Hollywood dream world. But he wasn’t an elusive memory. He was flesh and blood, and in Sarasota, Florida. Every day for the next three months he would be talking to her, touching her.
    And she would want him again, but in three years she had grown too old to play with fire. She could tell by his eyes last night that he no longer considered her a child. She had also grown old enough to be fair game. Lord, she moaned silently. How was she going to cope? She couldn’t run around acting like a spoiled, spiteful child. But she had to keep a distance.
    Annoyed with her fear and confusion, Vickie jumped out of bed and into the shower. It was early, she thought wryly, but at least she wouldn’t spend the morning rushing! By the time she finished scrubbing her skin, she felt she had the answers.
    Polite and aloof. She could manage that. Again, her way would be the only way, especially when she still had feelings for him. Oh, not the puppy love of three years ago. But he was still and always would be her knight in shining armor no matter how mature or how capable she was, or how wonderful the life she had chosen was.
    Block out the past, she told herself firmly, be polite and aloof. The summer could go smoothly. Besides, she was assuming a lot in imagining Brant was interested in her now. Terry was available, and the city was alive with attractive young women.
    Yet her mind would not turn off as she dropped Mark at his school and finally parked at the theater. Pausing to brace herself mentally for the morning to come, she unconsciously checked her reflection in the rearview mirror. Had she changed much physically? Three years was not actually that great a span of time. Did one change externally as a result of internal changes?
    To an extent. Her face had narrowed, increasing the height of her cheekbones and giving her a look of greater sophistication. The raven hair, which she had worn fairly short before, now waved down her spine. Monte liked her with long hair; it was useful for many of her roles, easily hidden when not.
    Her nose hadn’t changed any, but its imperious little tilt had its uses. It could give her the image of cool regality, an image she planned to rely on now.
    The dining room, lit by the full glare of the houselights, was abuzz with conversation as she entered. Two tables were drawn together and the cast were sitting around them, sipping coffee, munching on danishes, and chatting. Vickie picked out Brant’s blond head quickly and with dismay. The seat beside him was empty, obviously left for her. Monte would be to her right.
    Squaring her shoulders, she sidled through the other tables and made her way to the group, chirping a pleasant “Good morning” that extended to everyone. The group answered her in a ragged chorus before returning to their individual conversations, except for Brant, and although he was being included in other