Jake stumbled backwards as Fleur threw herself at him, and they both crashed to the ground. There was an explosion of laughter from the film crew. Fleur lay sprawled on top of him, pinning him down with her half-naked body. She wanted to crawl away into a corner and die. She was an elephant. A big, clumsy, giant of an elephant, and this was the most humiliating moment of her life.

"Anybody hurt here?" Johnny Guy, the film's director, chuckled as he came over and helped her up.

"No, I—I'm all right." She kept her head down and concentrated on brushing the dirt from her bare legs. One of the makeup people ran over with a wet cloth, and she wiped herself off without looking up at Jake. He'd done everything he could to keep her from getting cast in his film, and she'd just proven he was right. She wanted to go back to New York.

"How 'bout you, Jake?" Johnny Guy asked.

"I'm okay."

The director patted Fleur's arm. "That was real nice, honey." He grinned. "Too bad this boy's so puny he can't stand up to a real woman."

Johnny Guy was trying to make her feel better, but he was making it worse. She felt big and clumsy and ugly. Everybody was staring at her. If only she could shrink-wrap herself. "I—I'm sorry," she said stiffly. "I think I've ruined this bathing suit. The dirt doesn't want to come out."

"That's why we have spares. Go on and get changed."

In too short a time, she was back in the porch swing, and they were ready to go again. As they cameras rolled, she tried to recreate the feeling of excitement she'd experienced during the first take. She ran down the steps, across the yard, checked herself ever so slightly, and slid into his arms.

Johnny Guy hated it.

They did it again, and she stumbled going down the steps. The fourth time the porch swing bumped against the back of her legs. The fifth time she made it all the way to Jake, but again, she checked herself. Her misery was growing by the minute.

"You're not relating to him, honey," the director said as Jake released her. "Don't worry so much about where you're putting your feet. Do it the way you did it the first time."

"I'll try." She endured more humiliation as wardrobe noticed she'd sweated through the work shirt she wore over the white bikini. They had to bring her a new one without half-moons under the arms. As she headed back for the porch swing, she knew no power on earth could make her throw her body full force at Jake Koranda again. Her chest tightened, and she swallowed hard.

"Hey, wait up."

Slowly she turned and watched Jake walk up to her. "I was off balance the first time," he said curtly. "It was my fault, not yours. I'll catch you the next time."

Sure he would. She nodded and started to walk away.

"You don't believe me, do you?"

She turned back to him. "I'm not exactly a lightweight."

His mouth curved in a cocky grin that looked strange on Bird Dog Caliber's face. "Hey, Johnny Guy!" he called over his shoulder. "Give us a few minutes, will you? Flower Power here thinks she's got me beat."

"Flower Power!"

He grabbed her arm and propelled her none-too-gently around the side of the house away from the crew. When they were ankle deep in weeds, he let her go. "I've got ten bucks says you can't knock me over again."

She shoved a hand on her bare hip and tried to look like she wasn't intimidated. "I'm not getting into a wrestling match with you."

"Glitter Baby worried about messing up her hair? Or are you afraid you'll knock me down again and win the bet?"

"I know I'll win the bet," she shot back.

"We'll have to see about that. Ten bucks, Flower. Put up or shut up."

He was baiting her on purpose, but she didn't care. All she wanted to do was wipe that stupid smirk off his stupid mouth. "Make it twenty."

"I'm scared, Flower. Real scared." He moved back and braced himself. A lot of good it would do him.

She glared at him. "I hope you have a good doctor."

"So far all you've got is talk."

"Don't you think this is just a little juvenile?"

"Glitter Baby's chickening out. She's afraid she's going to hurt herself."

"That's it!" She dug her feet into the sandy ground, pumped her arms, and charge him.

It was like hitting a wall.

The impact would have sent her to the ground if he hadn't caught her. Instead, he held her tightly against him. A few seconds ticked by as she tried to catch her breath before she jerked away. Her chin hurt where she'd bumped it against his shoulder, and her shoulder throbbed. "This is stupid." She started to stomp away.

"Hey, Flower." He ambled forward with his worn-out cowboy gait and reined in next to her. "Is that really the best you can do? Or are you afraid of getting that skimpy white bikini dirty again?"

She looked at him incredulously. Her ribs ached, her chin was killing her, and she couldn't seem to catch her breath. "You're crazy."

"Double or nothing. And this time get farther back."

She rubbed her shoulder. "I think I'll pass."

He laughed. It was almost a nice sound. "Okay, I'll let you off. But you owe me twenty bucks."

He looked so smug that she actually opened her mouth to take him up on his challenge. Fortunately, her common sense kicked in. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, he'd done a nice thing for her. They began walking back around the house together. "You think you're pretty smart, don't you," she said.

"Hey, I'm a boy genius. Read the critics. Any of them. They'll tell you."

She looked up at him and curled her mouth in a fake-sweet smile. "Glamour girls like me don't know how to read. We just look at the pictures."

He laughed and walked away.

The foregoing is excerpted from Glitter Baby by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced without written permission from HarperCollins Publishers, 10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022.