Read Dreaming With My Eyes Wide Open (Hollywood Legends #2) for Free Online

voice. Not anger. More of an edge.
    Lottie hated tension. She grew up in a household that always
    seemed to be one step away from all-out warfare. Smoothing over a tense
    situation was her specialty.
    Before Lottie could intervene, she heard a snicker from
    Paige.
    “Well, damn.” Nate grinned. “She has a sense of humor.”
    Paige sent him another look, this time with a slight smile
    and sparkling eyes. “On occasion. How about you, Hollywood? Can you laugh at
    yourself?”
    “On occasion,” Nate shot back. For good measure, he gave her
    hair a gentle tug. “Blondie.”
    Lottie almost slapped herself on the forehead. So that was
    it. Paige wasn’t pissed off at Nate. She was attracted to him. And if her
    instincts were right, Nate was attracted right back.
    Instead of lamenting the loss, Lottie silently rejoiced. It
    had been a long time since Paige met a man who interested her. Her best friend
    wasn’t in the middle of a sexual dry spell. It was a certified drought. If she
    didn’t get laid soon, her vagina would dry up and blow away.
    Nate would have his work cut out for him. Paige wasn’t a
    push over. If he wanted her, he would have to work for it.
    Out of the corner of her eye, Lottie gave his long, muscular
    body another once over. From the tips of his scuffed work boots to the top of
    that dark, wavy hair, Nate Landis would make any woman’s mouth water. Paige
    wouldn’t be immune to that sexy smile and bright blue eyes. Getting her to
    admit it was another matter.
    Lottie mentally rubbed her hands together in anticipation.
    She didn’t know who would win the battle of wills. But for Paige’s sake, she
    rooted for the Hollywood hunk.

 

CHAPTER THREE
     
     
    THE CHAMBERLIN RANCH had been in the family for close to a
    hundred years.
    Paige’s great-great-grandfather came to Montana to work in
    the copper mines. He didn’t make a fortune by most estimation. However, for an
    Irish immigrant who came to America with little more than the clothes on his
    back, having enough money to buy a few acres of land was exactly what he
    dreamed of.
    Cyrus Chamberlin wasn’t afraid to work hard. He started
    small. Two head of cattle turned into four. Then ten. Soon, he purchased more
    land and more cattle. In time, he sold beef to the very mine owners he once
    worked for.
    The Double C Ranch never became a huge moneymaking
    enterprise. Some years were better than others. They survived the Depression.
    Heavily fluctuating cattle prices. More often than not, they were cash poor and
    land rich.
    When Paige’s father was born, there were already two
    brothers ahead of him. He loved Montana. He loved his home. It was his dream to
    run the Double C. Turn its fortunes around. He had ideas that he knew would
    work.
    However, he understood that as the youngest, he was never
    going to get the chance to put those ideas to use. So he moved to California
    where he hoped he could find work. In his mind, Chuck pictured himself working
    the land. He was an outdoor person. He didn’t want to be trapped all day with
    four walls surrounding him.
    He fell into the movie business. A friend of a friend set
    him up with a one-day gig moving scenery. It meant joining a union. Once he had
    his card, Chuck soon had more work than he could handle. He was reliable, fast,
    and did the job right the first time. He made a reputation for himself and, as
    a result, was paid well.
    It wasn’t the glamorous end of the business. Not by any
    stretch of the imagination. He was a grunt. One who was known by sight by the
    biggest of the big.
    Chuck had a nice nest egg put aside when he received a call
    that would change his life. His brothers had been killed when their truck went
    off the road, flipping several times. Neither wore a seatbelt. Both had been
    drinking.
    Since his brothers never married, the ranch went to him.
    It was hard to be happy when the fulfillment of his dream
    came at such a heavy price, with no family left and a heavily