License to Thrill by Lori Wilde Read Free Book Online

he felt one-tenth of the tenderness he felt right now for Maybelline. Not even when Elispeth had given birth to their son, Reed.
    Maybelline was everything Elispeth was not.
    She was bold and brave. When he realized Maybelline had run off to Hollywood both to escape her physically abusive father and to pursue her dream of becoming a makeup artist, her burst for freedom had given him the courage to defy his own father and go into acting. Elispeth, on the other hand, had been so timid and mousy she’d never even raised her voice. No fire. No vim. No vigor.
    Maybelline did things her own way, blazed her own path. She didn’t care if people gossiped about her. Elispeth followed the herd, decorating her house right down to the knickknacks exactly as they were depicted in some New York interior-decorating magazine. Elispeth had never stepped out of line. Had always done what was expected of her.
    Maybelline was whip-smart and had more common sense in her pinkie than most people had in their entire bodies even though she had never finished high school. Elispeth had a masters degree from Sarah Lawrence but didn’t have the good sense to call a doctor if Reed was running a fever.
    And most of all, whenever he was with Maybelline,
he
was different. She made him laugh and take risks. She had once teased him into shaking off his stuffy exterior and going skinny-dipping in a pond. She’d dared him to stretch his acting talents and try for a part he never believed he could win. She had challenged him in a hundred wonderful ways. Around her, he was more alive. More of a man.
    No, that wasn’t fair. Elispeth had been a good woman. She’d done her best. He had no call comparing her to Maybelline. It wasn’t his dead wife’s fault he’d been in love with another woman when he married her.
    Nolan shook his head. The scary thing was that his grandson Mason was about to stumble into the same trap he’d tripped over as a young man: marrying the wrong woman simply to appease family demands. Daphne Maxwell was a lovely girl but she was Elispeth all over again. What the boy needed was a Maybelline of his own.
    To lure his mind away from thoughts he shouldn’t be having, Nolan looked up at the departure board. Their flight was delayed. Sighing, he debated what to do when they arrived in L.A. Obviously, it would be too late to go to the accounting firm straightaway. They’d have to obtain a room for the night. Make that two rooms.
    He closed his eyes and had just dozed off when a hand clamped down on his shoulder.
    “Mr. Nolan Gentry?”
    Startled, Nolan’s eyes flew open. There, standing in front of him, was Elvis. Pudgy Elvis in his famous white rhinestone-studded jumpsuit.
    He blinked. Was he dreaming? He half expected Elvis to launch into a rousing, hip-swinging rendition of “Viva Las Vegas.”
    “Mr. Gentry?” Elvis repeated.
    No, not
the
Elvis, but an Elvis look-alike. The town was chock-full of Elvis impersonators.
    “Yes, I’m Nolan Gentry.”
    “Mr. Gentry, I have a gun in my pocket. I want you to wake your companion and follow me.”
    “What?”
    “Do you need me to repeat what I just said?”
    “You’ve got a gun? But how did you get a gun past airport security?”
    Elvis snorted. “Don’t you watch nighttime news shows like
20/20
where they smuggle all kinds of weapons past the metal detectors?”
    “I don’t believe you have a gun. Show me.”
    “You think I’m gonna whip it out in public?”
    Defiantly, Nolan crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
    Elvis sighed. “Okay, let’s try this another way. If you want to see the Oscar files, then you’re going to have to come with me.”
    Nolan’s gut squeezed. How did Elvis know about the stolen files? “What?”
    “Yep. Believe me when I say I can make or break you, pal. Now move.”
    Nolan shook his head. Nothing made any sense. He had to be dreaming. Otherwise, all proof pointed to the fact that he and Maybelline were