“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” grimacing even as the words came out of his mouth. She was going to shred him to pieces.

“Don’t you play cute with me, I want to know what’s going on.”

Hayden kept his eyes on the road, trying to ignore the fact that hers were boring holes into him. Ignoring her was not the best thing he could do. But it was the ONLY thing he could do at the moment.

“Okay, now let me tell you why I find this strange. You have not dated anyone in the past six months. I know you’re straight. And the damned electricity in that room was astounding,” said Natalie, settling back into her seat but still giving him hard looks.

“I kinda liked the lighting myself. Did you see the lamp with the-” began Hayden jokingly.

“Hayden.” Her voice was now dangerously serious. “I meant the sparks fly between the two of you. If I hadn’t moved out of the way I would have been hit.”

Hayden stopped the car on the side of the road as soon as he saw a clearing. He turned to her, a grim expression on his face.

“Natalie. You are my friend. And you’re a good friend. If any lusty sparks flew between Nikita and me, you should know better so as to respect my business.”

Natalie folded her arms and pouted. “But you do admit there were sparks back there.”

He closed his eyes and counted to ten. If this had happened to either Shane or

Orlando he would find it funny. But not when it happened to him.

“Let me tell you something about Nikita though. She has walked out on her parents and there is some stuff I’m sure she’s keeping hidden. Her problem is her tell tale eyes. You can make out she’s hiding something.”

Hayden glanced at her. She smiled back at him and said,

“All I’m saying is, be slightly careful with her. Don’t try to one off with her, it won’t work. She’s a great girl and I don’t want you to hurt her. Or the other way around” she added quickly.

Hayden grinned at Natalie and ruffled her hair just as a flash of light startled them.

“Oh NO!” cried Natalie. Another tabloid photographer.

Now there will be rumors about them dating again.

Hayden made a slightly ignorant gesture at the photographer and looked back at Natalie, “So are you going to tell me what kind of guy she likes or not?”

Natalie looked at him sheepishly.

“Um, I don’t think she dates.”

He stared at her, shocked out of his skull. “She’s a dyke?”

Natalie stared at him in astonishment and then laughed. “NO! She’s perfectly straight! She just…doesn’t date!”

We’ll see about that thought Hayden to himself, starting up the car again. He usually gave up on a girl when he heard something like this. But there was something behind those big soulful hazel eyes that made him want to know…

What could she possibly be hiding?

Good Lord, that was too close, thought Nikita, her son now fast asleep next to her on the bed. She had vowed never to fall for a man again. And she had never had any feelings of lust in her life. Not even as a teenager with her rampaging hormones did she feel for a real flesh and blood man as she did now.

He had been her childhood crush for so many years. And she had not really given him much thought after she came to the US, probably because she was trying to handle her son and career and all her secrets at the same time.

But she had mentioned to Natalie and Amy Lee her two best friends that she used to kiss his picture every single night before going to bed until…her nightmare occurred.

But he had come here larger than life itself with his handsome face and beautiful green eyes. His dark eyes were so beautiful and she felt their serene calm when he looked at her.

Her mouth curled into a smile as she thought of the autograph again. Oh god, girl! Give it up! What will he see in a cheap hussy like you?

She shook herself up and shut out the light.

But not before putting the autograph under her pillow…