Big Girls Don't Cry Read online

  “Yes, you should. I was suspended from school for a week because of you.”

  “And yet here you are, begging me for a job.”

  “Wrong. Here I am, saving you from trouble yet again.”

  “That’s why you came back to Rock Creek from Chicago? To save me?”

  “Do you need saving?”

  “Do you?” Cole countered.

  Leena shrugged. “I gave up looking for a knight in shining armor to save me ages ago. These days, I save myself.”

  “And you also save overworked vets.”

  “That’s right.”

  “Even though you have no experience working in a vet’s office.”

  “I have experience booking appointments.” As a model she’d usually been on the other end of the booking arrangements, dealing with bookers to arrange for photo shoots. But how hard could this side of things be? Her organizational skills were very good. Everyone said so.

  Even in kindergarten she’d organized the other kids’ cubbies. And in their mobile home, at age eight Leena had rearranged the entire contents of the kitchen cabinets for greater efficiency.

  By the time Leena was a teenager, she’d perfected time management so that she knew exactly how long to study for a test to get a B or a C.

  Emma was the A student in the family, so Leena hadn’t wasted her time on academic matters. Instead, after reading an article in a magazine about plus-size models, she’d focused on learning everything she could about the modeling industry. She’d gone to model shows and model talent searches at shopping malls all over the state.

  And when she’d graduated from Rock Creek High, she’d packed her bags and headed to Chicago with her portfolio under her arm—consisting of several head-shots and one full-length shot.

  She could still remember her excitement at driving her used Toyota down Chicago’s famous Lake Shore Drive, seeing all those tall buildings lining Lake Michigan. Someday, she’d promised herself, she’d live in one of those pricey condos along the Gold Coast.

  Instead she’d ended up sharing a small apartment with two other girls on the outskirts of the Ukrainian Village area of Chicago.

  “So you have experience booking appointments.” Cole’s voice brought her back to the present, refocusing her wandering attention on him. The man was hard to ignore. His light brown hair had a bit of a wave to it and was totally rumpled, giving him that I-just-got-out-of-bed look that worked very well for him. She wondered if he slept in the nude.

  She probably should be paying attention to his questions instead of imagining him starkers. She’d known him when they’d been kids. Surely that should make her immune to his charming ways, right? Come on, she’d beat the guy up once.

  So why were her hormones humming like queen bees zipping around a hive?

  She should know better than to judge a person by their looks.

  But then Cole’s charm went beyond his looks. It was also generated by the way he talked, that sexy drawl he’d mastered when his voice had deepened during adolescence.

  “Hello?” He waved his big hands in front of her face. “Anyone home in there?”

  “Sorry.” Leena blinked. “I was, uh . . . thinking about, uh . . . something else.”

  “Your Prada boots?”

  “How did you know they were Prada?”

  “One of my patients told me. The terrier owner.”

  “Ah, Oscar, the terrier with the nervous bladder.”

  “You’ve got a good memory.”

  “I never forget a bitch named Oscar who ruined my Pradas.”

  “They named her Oscar before they realized the dog was a she not a he. And then they refused to rename her.”

  “Which is probably why the dog has a nervous bladder. Gender identification issues.”

  His laughter caught her by surprise.

  “A sense of humor is a requirement for this job,” he said.

  “So have I passed the audition?”

  “I still can’t figure out why you’d want to work for me when you’re a model. Something happen in Chicago?”

  Leena shrugged. “Lots of things happen in Chicago.”

  “And you don’t plan on telling me about them? You don’t think, as your prospective employer, that I’ve got a right to know?”

  Leena was prevented from answering by the dramatic arrival of her sister Sue Ellen, who burst onto the scene as she always did, with maximum effect.

  “It’s true! You’re really here! You’ve come back home!” Sue Ellen engulfed her in a mighty python hold that squeezed the air out of Leena’s lungs. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? We could have set up a special welcome celebration. A parade or something. And what on earth are you doing over here at the vet’s office? Did you get a pet while you were in Chicago? Is it one of those designer dogs? Don’t tell me, let me guess. Is it a schnoodle? A labradoodle? A yorkipoo? Is it sick? Is that why you’re here?”

  “I don’t have a dog.”

  “Some exotic pet then? A lynx maybe?”

  “I don’t have any pets.”

  Sue Ellen frowned and released her. “Then why are you in the vet’s office? Unless you came to see him?” She jabbed her thumb in Cole’s direction. “I thought you didn’t like him. Didn’t you beat him up once?”

  Leena tried not to squirm. “That was a long time ago.”

  “And you came here to apologize?” Sue Ellen beamed proudly. “Isn’t that just like you. Even though you’re a big star now, you still remember the little people you beat up along the way.”

  “Hey, watch who you’re calling little,” Cole protested.

  “Well, of course you’re taller now, Cole,” Sue Ellen said. “Leena probably couldn’t take you down with just one punch like she did then.”

  “It was a sucker punch,” Cole growled.

  Sue Ellen patted his arm. “Yeah, that’s what Luke claimed that time Julia hit him before they were married.”

  “Who are they?” Leena asked, trying to follow her sister’s line of thought, which was never an easy task.

  “My friend Skye’s sister and brother-in-law. I can’t wait to introduce them all to my famous sister,” Sue Ellen said, before admitting, “I never bragged about you before because Skye and her family are a little weird about makeup and stuff. But now that you’re here, they can see for themselves how great you are.” Sue Ellen paused to take a much needed breath. “But I still don’t know what you’re doing in the vet’s office.”

  “She’s here about a job,” Cole replied.

  Sue Ellen frowned. “What kind of job could a supermodel do for you? She knows Iman, you know.”

  Which wasn’t a lie . . . exactly. Leena knew of Iman. Who didn’t? The famous supermodel was married to rock star David Bowie. She possessed a tall, graceful elegance that Leena could never even aspire to.

  But Leena had aspired to the world of plus-size modeling and thought she’d made her mark.

  “Then maybe Iman should give her a job,” Cole retorted.

  “Don’t be silly.” Sue Ellen smacked Cole’s arm. “My sister doesn’t need a job. She’s one of the most successful models in Chicago. Tell him, Leena.”

  Leena sighed and wished she could sink through the floor. But years of posing in front of a camera had given her the ability to mask her inner emotions. “I’m having a temporary reversal of fortune,” she said, “which requires my returning home for a short period of time.”

  “How short?” Cole demanded suspiciously. “I don’t want to hire you as my receptionist only to have you take off a few days later.”

  “What do you mean reversal of fortune?” Sue Ellen demanded. “Do you have a gambling problem?”

  “No, of course not.” Leena answered her sister’s question first because it was the easiest. “I don’t gamble.”

  “You taking off to Chicago was a gamble.”

  Okay, so Sue Ellen had her there. Apparently her question wasn’t as easy as Leena first thought. Which left Cole’s questio
n. “I wouldn’t leave without giving two weeks’ notice.”

  “So you’d work two days and then give two weeks’ notice?” he countered.

  “I anticipate being here through the summer.” Saying the words aloud made Leena feel ill. But the bottom line was that unfortunately, it would take her that long to get her act together financially to climb out of debt enough to start over.

  She’d used her organizational skills to come up with a time line that charted out the least amount of time she’d have to spend in Rock Creek. And given the salary this position was offering, proudly displayed on that HELP WANTED sign she’d seen, it would take her a couple of months to regain control of her life.

  The job paid well for Rock Creek, which surprised her at first. Apparently she wasn’t the only one a little desperate. The vet seemed to have trouble getting the position filled. Not that she planned on asking why no one in town wanted to work for him.

  Not yet.

  “So are you accepting my offer to help you?” she asked Cole.

  “How are you going to help him?” Sue Ellen demanded.

  “By working as my receptionist,” Cole replied.

  “No way! Stop right there. No way is my sister working in a crummy vet’s office. Not that you’re a crummy vet,” Sue Ellen hastily assured Cole. “I didn’t mean that. I just meant that your office is crummy. Not that it’s dirty, although it smells like dog urine in here.”

  “That’s from my boots.” Leena looked down at her ruined footwear. “Oscar peed on one of them earlier. I tried to clean it off . . .”

  Sue Ellen glared at Cole. “You allowed a dog to pee on my sister? Do you have any idea who you’re dealing with here? She’s famous! She is not someone to be peed upon!”

  Cole shrugged, his mouth curved as if he were holding back a smile. If he laughed at her, Leena would have to punch him again. Instead he drawled, “I can’t guarantee it won’t happen again.”

  “Then she is not working here,” Sue Ellen stated firmly. “Come on, Leena, let’s go.”

  Leena recognized Sue Ellen’s bossy-big-sister mode. Sue Ellen was seven years older than Leena and she took her job as the elder sibling very seriously.

  But Leena had no intention of being bossed around. Not unless it was by someone who was signing her paycheck.

  Cole, curse his twisted soul, just stood there, arms crossed across his chest, a stupid grin on his face. She could read his mind. Whatcha gonna do now, big girl?

  Okay, maybe the “big girl” bit at the end was her own interpretation, but the challenging look in his admittedly sexy blue eyes was definitely being broadcast to her loud and clear.

  “I’ll be back in the morning,” she told him firmly before heading for the door.

  “The office opens at nine,” he called after her, “but staff should show up at eight thirty.”

  “No problem.” Right. Talk about a huge lie. Leena had tons of problems. Boatloads of them. But at least she had a job. Now she just needed to find somewhere to stay.

  “You’re staying with me, right?” Sue Ellen said. “You know that Mom and Dad gave me their trailer. I haven’t had a lot of time to redecorate it yet because I’ve been getting my real estate license. I’m sure I’m going to pass that test this next time around. Anyway, you can stay in your old bedroom.”

  Just kill me now. Leena reached through the open window of her blue Sebring, grabbed a paper bag from her front seat, and started breathing into it.

  “What are you doing?” Sue Ellen demanded.

  Leena just shook her head and held up her finger in the universal sign for Wait a minute, I’ll be right with you. Right after she had a nervous breakdown.

  “She’s hyperventilating,” Cole said as he joined them in the parking lot.

  “You’re a doctor, do something to help her!” Sue Ellen shoved him toward Leena, almost knocking her down in the process.

  The second Cole put his hands on her waist to steady her, Leena instantly wished she was thinner. Or richer. Or both.

  She lowered her hands, and the paper bag, to remove his fingers from her body before he measured her further.

  The rustling crush of the bag mimicked her rustling heartbeat.

  His hands left her waist, but only to move to her shoulders in order to pull her even closer.

  “What are you do—mmmbbb!”

  His lips covered hers, muffling the rest of her words and answering her question. He was kissing her. Gently, softly, seductively, but this was a kiss all right. No mistaking that.

  He didn’t try to tongue-down right there in the middle of the parking lot, in front of her sister. No, he was just tempting her, exploring infinite possibilities before releasing her.

  Just breathe, Leena told herself, inhaling a ragged gulp of air.

  Grinning, Cole gently lifted the paper bag back to her mouth.

  Leena batted it away and glared at him. If the man was amusing himself at her expense, he’d live to regret it, regardless of how awesome a kisser he was.

  “Do you always kiss your employees?” Leena demanded.

  Cole’s grin widened. “You’re not officially an employee until you fill out the paperwork tomorrow.”

  “You were kissing my sister?” Sue Ellen stared at him in disbelief.

  “Just practicing a little mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, ma’am.”

  “Well, go practice it on someone else.” Leena lifted her chin to give him her best haughty queen-of-the-universe look. “I don’t need you rescuing me.”

  “Yeah, so you said earlier. You’ve come to rescue me, right? You know, I think I could get used to that idea.” One final devastatingly sexy grin and then he was gone, sauntering around the corner of the building and out of sight—but not out of Leena’s mind.

  Which left her with the sinking feeling she’d just jumped out of the frying pan smack dab into the fire.

  Chapter Two

  “So what do you think?” Sue Ellen bounced with excitement as she pointed, a la Vanna White, at a wall in the mobile home’s living room.

  Leena stared in horror at the row of velvet Elvises hanging above a plastic-covered orange plaid couch.

  “It still looks a little tacky, I know,” Sue Ellen added.

  Leena sighed with relief. “You think? I mean, come on. Velvet Elvises?” She laughed. “Talk about tacky.”

  Sue Ellen glared at her. “I was talking about the couch. It’s too orange. I haven’t had time to get new furniture yet.”

  “Wait a second . . . Isn’t that Mom and Dad’s couch?” Leena recognized it now. Clearly she’d managed to wipe it from her memory banks along with the mustard-colored shag carpeting coating the living room floor.

  “I haven’t redone things in here, other than add the artwork.” Sue Ellen again pointed to the Elvis gallery. “I can’t believe you thought they were tacky.” She shook her head. “Just goes to show what you know. You might be a famous model, but I’m the one with the interior design talents.”

  “Since when?”

  “Since I took a course over the Internet. I even have a certificate. See?” She reached over to pull a frame off the wall. “And I’ve almost got my realtor’s license. So not only can I find you a new home, but I can decorate it for you too. You know, a second home here in Rock Creek would be a great investment for you.”

  Leena didn’t even have a first home, let alone a second one. She just wasn’t sure how to break that news to her sister yet.

  Okay, so Leena had exaggerated her success a bit. That didn’t make her a criminal and it didn’t mean she deserved all the bad breaks coming her way lately.

  Yes, it was true that Leena had claimed she was really, really successful when she wasn’t. But there had always been a slim slice of truth in each pie of exaggeration she’d served up to her sister. She’d just put a good spin on her situation.

  Even now Leena just couldn’t confess her career was in the tank and that her agent had just let her go. Instead Leena had described he
r situation as a temporary reversal of fortune. That was her story and she needed to stick to it.

  “So tell me what you’ve been doing in Chicago?” Sue Ellen eagerly asked. “Hanging out with all the famous people? Have you met Oprah?”

  “No, but we’re members of the same health club.” Or had been until Leena couldn’t afford the fees any longer.

  “What about guys?”

  “What about them?”

  “Are you seeing somebody special?”

  Leena had thought Johnny Sullivan was special, but he turned out to be anything but. She thought he might have been Mr. Right—until she heard him talking to his buddies at a cocktail party after he’d had a few too many drinks.

  He’d claimed afterward he wasn’t really serious about the other model he was bedding and that he hadn’t meant to say Leena had thunder thighs. Leena wasn’t buying either seriously lame excuse.

  Believing in vino veritas, she’d immediately dumped him. Kicked him to the curb. Successful lawyer or not, the man was a dirtbag who’d hurt her. Cheated on her. Humiliated her.

  “I know that face. Come on,” Sue Ellen coaxed her. “You can talk to me. I’m great at giving relationship advice. Just ask my friend Skye. I helped her and the town’s sheriff Nathan Thornton get together. They’re a very happy couple now. So sit down and talk to me.” Sue Ellen plunked down onto the couch and tried patting the seat beside her. But her hand stuck to the plastic covering, making a squishy sort of noise Leena remembered from her childhood summers, when her thighs would stick to the plastic.

  She didn’t want to remember those days. She didn’t want to talk about her recent breakup with Johnny. So she did what she’d often done as a kid. She distracted Sue Ellen by moving the spotlight from herself onto her sister. “What about you? Are you seeing someone?”

  “Why? What have you heard?” Sue Ellen’s expression was defensive. “I can’t believe someone already told you about the naked fireman.”

  “They didn’t, but that sounds like an interesting story.”

  “I was seeing this guy for a while. A fireman. He posed for one of those sexy calendars, you know, to raise funds. He was good at that. Raising things. Very well endowed, if you know what I mean. In the end, it turned out he was just a player, so I broke it off.”