Читать книгу The Rancher's Surprise Marriage - Susan Crosby - Страница 11

Maggie watched him let the words sink in. She made herself remember to breathe.

His astonishment came through in his voice. “Marry you? Why in hell would I do that? I’ve known you for about the lifespan of a mayfly.”

“It wouldn’t be for forever. A few months, maybe.”

“I repeat—why in hell would I do that?”

“Because I’ll make it worth your while.”

“Darlin’, all the sex in the world isn’t worth being leg-shackled to a Hollywood star. Even sex as good as last night’s.”

She smiled. “It was good, wasn’t it?”

“Hell, yes, it was good. You know that. You sure don’t need me puffin’ up your ego about it. But it wasn’t ‘I-do’ good.”

“As much as I appreciate the compliments, Tony, I wasn’t offering sex as a way of making it worth your while. I’m offering money.”

His eyes went hard, so did his jaw. Apparently she’d insulted him.

“According to what I’ve heard,” she hurried on, “the cattle business is tenuous, always in need of more capital to keep it thriving. I’ll buy whatever you need for the ranch, in exchange for a short-term marriage.”

“Whatever I need?”

“A man like you wouldn’t ask for more than what’s fair.”

He walked away from her, headed to the well-stocked bar. “I think I’d like that drink now.”

She gave him space to think, waited as he poured himself something straight up. Whiskey? Scotch? She couldn’t see the label on the bottle. He downed two fingers of whatever he was having, poured another, then let it sit as he leaned on the bar.

“And just how do you plan to spin such a thing for the media?” he asked.

He hadn’t said no. Not outright. That was good, wasn’t it? “I figure if I just say we met and fell in love, that it just happened, catching us completely off guard, and that Scott has been wonderfully understanding, it’ll do.”

“So, he comes out of it scot-free, pardon the pun? He falls for another woman while you’re engaged, breaks up with you and you’re going to take all the heat? I don’t get it.”

“I would be saving face from being dumped.”

“So, it’s better for you to look silly and frivolous than be dumped by some jerk? You’re not convincing me.”

“I know the logic is flawed to you, but in my business, it’s about image. Everyone loves a love story. The public will forgive me, because it’s my first misstep. They wouldn’t have forgiven Scott so easily.”

“You want to protect him after what he did?”

“No. I just don’t want this to become the scandal of the year. It can be spun right. You and I met. We fell in love. It was a force bigger than us. People will eat it up. But besides that, I’d also be keeping my commitment to my friend to have the wedding at The Taka, which is very important, too. I keep my promises, Tony. And I know it seems like a ridiculous solution to you, but I’ve given it a lot of thought. It’s the best choice for me.” She came up to him at the bar. “You don’t owe me any favors. I know all I’ve done is mess up your life, and it will only get messier if you say yes. There will be a media uproar the likes of which you’ve never experienced. And all you get out of this is cold, hard cash.”

“What about sex?” Tony didn’t know whether to smile or not at her expression, as if it hadn’t even occurred to her.

“What about it?” she finally asked.

“Is it part of the deal?” He figured the reason she’d slept with him the night before was that she was hurting and wanted to forget the pain.

“Do you want it to be part of the deal?” she asked.

He understood then that it hadn’t been him personally she’d wanted, but that fate had brought them together, and there was a certain amount of attraction, maybe more on his part than hers. “It would be tricky, don’t you think?” he said. “In order to make the marriage look real, we’re going to have to sleep in the same bed. We can’t trust anyone other than ourselves to keep the real reasons secret.”

“I agree.”

“Do you think we can sleep in the same bed and not make love?” he pressed.

“We only have to get through a couple of months. People aren’t surprised when Hollywood marriages end quickly. It seems to me we’d be complicating things a lot if we were having sex along the way, too.”

So, he really had been a means to an end last night. Still was, for that matter. “If such things are accepted as easily as you say, why are you asking me? You could have your choice of dozens of men, I imagine.”

“We’re already linked or the idea wouldn’t even have occurred to me. I would’ve bitten the bullet and announced that Scott and I had broken up. Without you, that’s what’ll happen, even though the world has seen us kissing.”

“There’s got to be more to it than that, Margaret. You wouldn’t put yourself in legal proximity with me—and in my bed every night—just because we’ve already been linked.”

Maggie laid a hand on his, resting on the counter, and met his gaze. “I’ve already figured out you’re trustworthy. I need someone who can keep a secret, and I believe you’re that man. You didn’t boast about us sleeping together. A lot of men would’ve.”

“Okay,” he said.

She went still. “Really? You’re saying yes?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Like you, my answers wouldn’t be logical,” he said. “And so I’m keeping ’em to myself. Does it matter, anyway?”

“I told you my secrets.”

“You also flat-out told me you needed someone who can keep secrets.”

After a moment she laughed.

“I’m chivalrous,” he said. “That’s all you need to know.”

Her cell phone rang, and she jumped. She’d left the phone on the coffee table behind her. “That could be Scott,” she said haltingly. “I should answer it. We need to—”

“Get the details worked out,” Tony said, finishing her sentence as she took a step back. He picked up his glass and took a sip. “Go right ahead.”

She answered the phone then mouthed Scott’s name. Tony took his glass and wandered to the window again, listening to her talk to her ex-fiancé, figuring out a game plan, which involved agents, managers, publicists, trusted journalists and others, as if they were making a big business deal.

He heard her say, “The less you know about him, the better,” which made Tony make eye contact with her. “I’m marrying him. That’s all you need to know. Hey, you’re coming out the good guy here, so just drop it, okay?”

Tony lifted his glass to her then took a sip.

His gut reaction to her proposal had been to say no. He’d changed his mind because he never backed away from conflict or controversy. After turning forty last month, he’d come to realize how dissatisfied he was, had always been. As the youngest of four, he’d forever been playing catch-up to his brothers, always pushing to match or surpass their success, even back in his rodeo days. Expectations had been high for him, the pressure enormous.

Instead of falling in step, however, he’d bucked the system—and his family—and had become the black sheep, rebellious, even antisocial to a degree.

The second he’d graduated from high school, he’d hit the rodeo circuit, avoiding going home to visit or even calling. He’d gone into it angry, because his father hadn’t believed in him, so Tony had focused on winning and little else. It was no wonder his marriage had failed. He’d needed to create a new family for himself. He failed at it. Yeah, way to prove to his father he was a winner.

Not that women still hadn’t been drawn to him, but he never kept any of them around for long, sometimes their choice, most times his.

So he’d decided he needed to make a change in his life, even before Maggie McShane had come along. He wasn’t sure he could’ve asked for a bigger change than marrying her. And since it wasn’t going to be a real commitment, the plan was exactly suited to him, something to jump-start his new life. Maybe this famous, beautiful movie star wasn’t exactly what he’d had in mind as a change, but she’d do.

“That’s done, then,” Maggie said, snapping her phone shut. “I need to talk with my publicist. She’ll take care of the details. Will you be available for a press conference tomorrow? I think we should do this in person and let people see us together making goo-goo eyes at each other, rather than issuing a statement for someone else to read.”

“Goo-goo eyes?”

She laughed. “You know what I mean.”

“I’m supposed to look like I’m sweet on you. Got it.” He paused. “I’ve got one condition to this whole business, Margaret.”

She lost her smile. Wariness dulled her eyes. “What’s that?”

“I’ll be the one to decide when to end the marriage, not you.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re running this entire show, otherwise. Doesn’t sit well with me.”

“It’s a big condition.”

“Take it or leave it.” He needed control over something in this whole business, especially the right to end things if it all turned sour sooner than expected.

She stuck out her hand. “Deal.”

“And a prenup,” he added.

“Also a deal.”

He took her hand and pulled her close. He’d never really answered her question about them sharing a bed, only she had. He had no intention of having a sexless marriage to this sexy woman, but he knew he needed to woo her. She’d acted out of hurt last night. He didn’t want her again unless it was him she was wanting.