“Which reminds me. Just how old are you?”
He considered the question. “Okay, I’ll tell you, but this is strictly confidential.”
“What’s the big deal? Age is just a number, right?”
“Only someone your age—what, midthirties? Only someone your age would think that age isn’t a big deal. In my business, it’s a very big deal. I don’t want people to think I’m old. Or irrelevant. But since you asked, I’m forty … two. Actually, since I’m being totally honest here, I’m forty-six.”
“Seriously?” Hattie leaned in to examine his face. “I never would have guessed.”
Trae placed his hands on either side of her face and kissed her forehead, and then her lowered eyelids. “Botox,” he murmured.
“Hmm. Interesting. Tell me more of your secrets to eternal youth.”
His lips traveled to hers. “Collagen fillers. Not something you’ll ever need with lips like yours.”
Her eyelids fluttered. “Really?”
He kissed her again, deeply. “Mmmm. These lips were the first thing I noticed about you. Very erotic.”
His lips lingered there, and Hattie wondered which was more intoxicating—good champagne or being kissed by an expert like Trae Bartholomew.
Now he was kissing her earlobes, and then her neck.
“Neck cream,” he whispered, his hands running along her shoulder blades. “People don’t think about wrinkled necks, but it’s a dead giveaway. Your skin is flawless, but start using it now. You’ll thank me later.”
As he kissed and caressed her, Trae was slowly inching her toward the living room wall until her back was pressed against the mantel. Her arms were wound around his neck and he pressed himself against her, his hands pushing his way beneath her shirt.
53
The Trouble with Bubbles
“What are we going to do about the body?”
Mo squeezed his eyes shut and massaged his temples with both hands. He had Rebecca on the speaker on his phone, and she’d been pounding him with questions about the latest development at the house.
“We are not doing anything about the remains,” Mo said. “The police are handling it. I spoke to the police detective, and the family has tentatively identified the body as the missing school-teacher. I understand they’ll give some kind of press conference tomorrow.”
Rebecca jumped on the mention of the press. “Will they mention Homewreckers?”
“I don’t know. It’s a homicide investigation, not a media junket. Anyway, do you actually imagine that the discovery of a body is good press for the show?”
“It’s fabulous publicity,” Rebecca said. “Everyone in the country has been following this story since that wallet was discovered. It’s a real whodunnit. People are going to want to see the house where everything happened. In fact, I’m thinking we should move ahead with Homewreckers merch for the website.”
“What kind of merch?”
“The usual. Branded coffee mugs, wine tumblers, hoodies, T-shirts, baby onesies, car magnets. Oooh. I know. Wallets. And tiny Homewreckers shovels.”
Mo nearly spit out the mouthful of bourbon he’d been sipping. “Jesus, Rebecca. How ghoulish can you get?”
“Don’t take yourself so seriously, Mo,” she said, laughing. “What’s happened to your sense of humor? You said yourself, the woman’s been dead for seventeen years.”
He mopped up the bourbon that had spattered all over the keyboard of his laptop. “I’ll try to keep that in mind as I race to finish this damn house in the entirely too tight deadline you’ve given me.”
“I’m going to rush those Homewreckers T-shirts into production and have them shipped down there to you,” Rebecca said. “Maybe hand them out to the local cops and firefighters on that island of yours. See if we can get Homewreckers trending on social media.”
“Fine, whatever,” he said wearily. “Anything else?”
“How’s the romance between our two stars? Any new developments?”
Mo’s eyelid twitched. He took another gulp of bourbon, then pushed the glass away because the thought of Hattie with Trae Bartholomew made him nauseous.
“You mean, have they hit the sack yet? Is there a timeline for that, too?”
“You really are in a mood tonight,” Rebecca said. “I’m only thinking about the show and your career, you know. If it’s a hit, that could go a long way with Tony.”