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mortgage payment. And it had meant a whole lot to help his parents buy their place outside of Atlanta. He even liked being able to go out to eat where he wanted and when he wanted. But he’d grown up as the son of a coal miner in a poor mountain town. The fingers of poverty dug deep, especially in places the outside world wanted to pretend didn’t exist. He’d had to learn early on that even with his salary, he couldn’t right all the wrongs in the world.
    And hell, if he didn’t take the million-dollar salary, there’d be a hundred other guys lined up to sign on the dotted line and have their chance at stardom and riches.
    The stardom part he fought with too. There should be some kind of school or program that took guys like him from piss-poor backgrounds and prepared them for life in the Major Leagues. College hadn’t been any help. Life on a sports scholarship at USC had only made him more aware of the gap between him and the rich party boys who didn’t have to have backup careers to fall back on. His dad had kept on him to finish his business degree. Jake knew as well as he did that an injury could’ve ended his baseball career.
    If he kept up his performance and didn’t get injured, he’d make more, even multimillions. He could do some real good with that sort of money. But for now, he had to be realistic. Once the government had eaten its share of his current salary in taxes and he’d paid off his sister’s student loans and bought his parents the house in Atlanta, there hadn’t been a helluva lot left over. But next year? If his agent was successful over the next couple of months, next year would be a different story.
    He stepped into the shower, and the pounding hot water immediately began to soothe the muscles in his upper back. He’d taken a few too many swings on the field the day before without warming up properly. But watching the ball sail over the wall was a thrill, one he’d never tire of. So he’d kept at it until Cameron’s appearance had disrupted the guys on the field.
    He poured shampoo into his palm, slid his hands to his hair and lathered. The scents of rain and soft green spring grass and Cameron Kelley rose in his mind. She smelled like the wildflower honey he used to collect as a boy.
    At the thought of her quick, wide smile and luscious curves, he imagined drizzling honey over that gorgeous body. No wonder half the world was in love with her. She had the bright-eyed look of the girl next door but the curves and flashing smile of the most intriguing siren. A woman like Cameron could drive a guy to distraction. Could drive a guy to thoughts of sex...
    Jake trailed his hand down his body and allowed himself to be distracted. And in just a few moments he found that the release he sometimes craved wasn’t nearly as satisfactory as his blazing fantasy. He whacked the shower handle to cold, and the brisk spray brought him back to his senses.
    He stepped out of the shower. Was he imagining things? He could’ve sworn he heard the sound of Cameron’s laugh. She didn’t laugh much. Hell, their visit to the village hadn’t been material for humor in any way, but she had laughed with the children. And she’d even laughed once at one of his poorly told jokes.
    Her kidnap caper had done more than intrigue him with her spunk and daring. She’d woken him to a bigger picture of the world, up close and personal. He was pretty sure she’d been more shocked at the level of poverty than he had been. But she’d grown up as a Hollywood princess, a child star, and was now an A-list actress. The coal-mining holler he’d grown up in still held him in a firm grip. He knew the sights and sounds that went with being poor, with living on the edge and never being sure there’d be enough money to put food on the table. But he’d never seen poverty like he’d seen in the village the previous afternoon.
    With locker-room quickness, he wrapped the towel around his waist and opened the door leading to the