The Rancher's Surprise Marriage. Susan Crosby

It wasn’t the first time I’d done such a thing. It’s part of the job, good publicity for both parties, yada, yada. But things clicked between Scott and me. We liked each other right away and started dating, as much as our situations allowed. We discovered one of the biggest things we had in common was that we’d both lost our parents at a young age. My grandparents had taken me in, raised me with a very strict upbringing, one I didn’t rebel from. He’d grown up in the foster system. We were both searching for a fantasy life, I think.”

      “I think we all do that,” he said, glad to see she’d calmed some.

      “You, too?”

      “Of course. I was even married once. One big fantasy, that’s for sure. Ended with a hard dose of reality.” He hardly ever thought about her anymore, it had been so long. A man who didn’t put the past behind him couldn’t move forward. He’d been bitter for a while, but time had cured that, too.

      “Well, Scott understood the pressures of the business, as well as the media, of course. One night he asked me to marry him and I said yes, figuring we had a better-than-average chance for success, since we had similar backgrounds.”

      “You didn’t love him? He didn’t love you?”

      “We each said so, but looking back, I don’t know. I think we got caught up in the romance of it all. And then before we had time to sit back and reconsider, our publicity machines went into overdrive and the whole world was involved.”

      “You could’ve backed out. Better that than make a bigger mistake.”

      She turned around, leaned against the window frame and finally looked at him. “Of course you’re right. But by then an old friend of mine, Jenny Warren, had called and asked a big favor. Her family is about to open two luxury hotels, The Taka San Francisco and The Taka Kyoto. The San Francisco opening is scheduled for around the end of September. Jenny asked if I’d hold the wedding there, have a huge, lavish event. They’d assumed all costs. I could just tell them what I want, and it would be done. Publicity for everyone. Win-win, right? Scott wanted the big splash, too, so I said yes. And regretted it right away. ‘Big’ isn’t my style.”

      “So you felt stuck?”

      “I never put that word to it. I felt…rushed. But then I had this movie to film, and Scott had his, so there wasn’t time to hash it out.”

      “In all the headlines I read today, I didn’t see anything about your engagement being over, only that you were caught kissing a cowboy. In fact, nothing from your…Scott at all.”

      “That’s because I told him I needed a couple of days to figure out how to handle it. Then instead of staying home and working it out alone, I handled it by taking myself to a cowboy bar and dancing with a tall, dark and handsome cattleman. And then kissing him so that a photographer could film it.” She put a hand on his chest, lightly, briefly, and smiled.

      “At least no one knows about us sharing a motel room,” he said. “I’m sure my foreman, who came to get me, put two and two together, but he won’t say a word.” He finally gave in to the need to touch her and brushed her hair back from her face with his fingertips. He wouldn’t mind hauling her off to her bedroom. Wouldn’t mind it at all.

      “I’m so sorry for all the trouble this has caused you, Tony.”

      Hell, his family’s admiration of him had gone up a notch or two. It was a shame that’s what it took for them to see how successful he was. He’d built his ranch from almost nothing, making it what it was today. He was damn proud of it. He still had a ways to go, but he’d done it himself—mostly, anyway. He had something to prove, especially to his father, but sleeping with a movie star wasn’t how he’d envisioned proving himself.

      “Well, now, Margaret,” Tony said, putting on the cowboy act thick for her, “seems to me I got somethin’ special to keep in my memory out of it. I can live with people teasin’ me.” He leaned in to kiss her.

      “Could you live with it for a few more months?” she asked before their lips touched.

      He pulled back, met her gaze, saw that her jitters were back. “Meaning?”

      “Last night when I said I knew who you were, that you owned the ranch, you said your ranch owns you. Am I remembering that right?”

      “You are.”

      She drew a deep breath. “Okay. So, then, I have a proposition for you.”

      The last one had resulted in their being naked together. If this one involved that again, he’d be saying yes faster than a bronc bursts out of a chute.

      “I’m listenin’, darlin’.”

      “Marry me.”

      Chapter Four

      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