The Rancher's Surprise Marriage. Susan Crosby
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She started to head to her trailer, then turned around. “Is it a real cowboy bar?”
“It’s nothin’ fancy, that’s for sure. Got pool tables, though.” He grinned, knowing how much she loved to play the game.
“Then you’d better save some of your hard-earned cash for when I do come.” She waved and walked away, noting that the cowboy had left during the exchange. So. The decision was taken out of her hands. He was gone. She hadn’t even heard his voice to know if he sounded like John Wayne, too.
Silly thought…
In the car a half hour later, Leesa said to Maggie, “You want a laugh?”
“Always.”
Leesa placed a copy of Meteor in Maggie’s lap. The gossip weekly’s cover photo had Maggie resting her hand on her abdomen and a wistful expression on her face. “‘Twins on board? The real reason for Maggie and Scott’s quick wedding.’”
Knowing Leesa expected her to smile, Maggie did, but something twisted inside her, too. Twins. She should be so lucky. She craved a family. After being orphaned at ten, she’d been raised by her maternal grandparents, the paternal set having died before she was born. Now her beloved Gram and Gramp who’d raised her were gone, too. She knew she shouldn’t complain—after all, a lot of people loved her—but she wanted someone who was…hers. Scott would be that, then before too long, children, she hoped. Family. Stability. She would prove it could be done successfully in Hollywood.
“So, seven weeks now constitutes a quick wedding?” Maggie asked, handing the magazine back to Leesa.
“For you. In the public’s minds, anyway. Your fans would’ve expected a long engagement from you, and a ceremony to rival royalty.”
“Which is pretty much what’s happening, isn’t it? I’ve been promised it’ll be the wedding of the year.” Even though she would’ve preferred a small ceremony with her closest friends, she’d agreed to a big, elegant, star-studded event as a favor to an old friend, Jenny Warren, who’d convinced her to hold the wedding at a brand-new hotel, The Taka San Francisco. More important, Jenny was counting on Maggie, and Maggie never let her friends down. Regret had dogged Maggie ever since she’d said yes. She should’ve trusted her instincts and done the intimate, surprise wedding. Now it was too late. She couldn’t let down Jenny and her family. They were counting on the publicity.
Even more important, Scott had admitted to wanting the big splashy affair, too. And Maggie wanted to make him happy.
Maggie’s car pulled into the Desert Canyon Resort and Spa parking lot a while later. She followed her bodyguard/driver, Dino, as they climbed to her room on the upper level. He’d been with her as long as Leesa. Sometimes Maggie had to keep a team of bodyguards with her, but the production company had private security on set, and she was keeping a low profile in Sedona, not in need of an entourage, hotel security doing extra duty there, too.
“You’ve been quiet, even for you,” Maggie said to Dino as she toyed with her engagement ring. He’d handed it to her as she’d climbed into the car.
“Yep,” Dino said, hands clasped, legs spread and planted, staring straight ahead after he unlocked the room door and stepped aside.
A few seconds passed. “You, too, actually,” she said to Leesa. “For you.”
Leesa grinned. “Yep.”
Maggie pointed a finger at her. “You’ve got a secret. You’re both in on it.”
Dino and Leesa exchanged looks then said, “Yep,” just as Maggie opened the door directly into the living room of the elegant suite. A tall, blond man rose from the sofa. Blond? She almost didn’t recognize Scott, her fiancé of three weeks. His hair had been dark brown two weeks ago. On the other hand, she’d been blond instead of her current auburn. Such was the nature of film roles.
Funny—her heart didn’t skip a beat at seeing him. But she put that thought from her mind, telling herself she was very glad he’d come, and wondering why she was trying to convince herself this should be so.
“We’ll leave you two lovebirds alone,” Leesa said. “Let me know if you need anything. Have fun.” She winked at Maggie, then she and Dino headed to their adjoining private suites.
“Well.” Maggie hurried toward Scott, smiling. “No warning? No fanfare? Just you?” When he didn’t answer, she wondered if she’d said something wrong, and she tried to laugh it off.
“This is a wonderful surprise, Scott, although I think it means our publicists are falling down on the job. Usually events like these are orchestrated for maximum press. Which reminds me, did you see the latest issue of Meteor? Apparently I’m pregnant with twins, which is why we’re getting married so quickly.” She laughed again, then put her arms around him. When he didn’t hug her in return, she leaned back, realizing that not only had he not smiled at her yet, but he hadn’t even spoken a word. “What’s going on? Why aren’t you on location?”
“It’s a quick trip, just for tonight. Maggie…”
She didn’t like how he said her name. She let her arms fall to her sides. “Should I be sitting down?” she asked.
After a moment he took her hand and led her to the sofa. His head bent, he ran his thumb over her diamond.
Her stomach churned as realization hit her. “You’re breaking our engagement,” she said, pulling free.
He nodded.
Maggie swallowed around the hot lump forming in her throat. Abandoned. Again. “Another woman?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry.”
“Someone I know? Someone you’re working with on the movie?”
He rubbed his face with his hands. “You’ll find out soon enough. Gennifer Bodine.”
Gennifer? She stared at him, speechless, until she gathered her senses. “Are you crazy? The woman sleeps with all her leading men. And then some.”
“Rumors.”
“Oh, maybe she skipped Charles Jansek. He’s seventy-two, after all.” Then it hit her. “You’ve slept with her already.”
He finally met her gaze. “I’m in love with her. I’m really sorry, Maggie.”
She shoved herself up and walked across the room. Tears burned her eyes and throat. Not now, she thought, pressing her fingers to her eyes. She’d known all along that their “romance” was one-sided. She just hadn’t wanted to admit it. And he wasn’t worth tears…
Calm down. Just calm down. Think this through.
She stood at the picture window staring at the glorious view of the red rocks of Sedona, feeling…feeling what? She wasn’t sure. A mix of confusion, hurt and…relief? How could she feel relief?
“So, how do you want to handle things?” Scott asked. “I’ll take all the heat, of course, but do you want the announcement to come from your team or mine?”
Maggie made herself focus on the situation. The breakup had to be dealt with carefully in the press. She would have time for her emotions to surface later, to figure out how she felt and how she would deal with it. She’d gotten way too good at keeping her feelings at bay.
“I have to think about it,” she said. “And talk to my agent and my manager. And Garnet. Can’t make a move without my publicist’s input, right? You know the drill.” Anger began to take center stage, but she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her reaction. “What I need at the moment is for you to keep it to yourself for a while so that I can figure out the next step.”
He crossed his arms. “Two days, Maggie. That’s plenty of time. I want to move forward.”
“Go public, you mean.” Just as he had three weeks ago when they’d