It wasn’t a question. Adam thought about Megan. Her expressive eyes told him what she was feeling. Her smile warmed his heart. The sound of her laughter brightened his day. The intoxicating scent of her made him dizzy with desire. With all those things in mind, Adam knew exactly what he needed to do about the awards ceremony.
“Yes, you can count on me,” he said. “I’ll take Lane to the Viewers’ Choice Awards.”
That would slow down whatever this thing was he had for Megan and keep it from going any further than friendship. He didn’t like the way he kept reacting to whatever she said or did. Or the way she could always sense how he was feeling. He didn’t like the way he felt off-balance when he was with her and unsettled when he wasn’t.
This was for the best. Even if Adam wasn’t looking forward to having to tell Megan.
* * *
In Lane Gregory’s dressing room, Megan secured a diamond-encrusted watch on the actress’s slim wrist. She double-checked to make sure it was fastened correctly. Dressing actresses sure beat being stuck fixing broken zippers or doing laundry after everyone went home. “Is that too tight?”
Lane moved her wrist back and forth. Her lips were set in a frown, and she’d been snapping since they arrived. “No.”
While Kenna kneeled on the ground fixing the hem of Lane’s skirt, Megan checked the photograph showing what the actress had worn when the previous scene had been shot. Hair, earrings, scarf, blouse, jacket, watch, wedding ring, skirt, belt, shoes.
Scenes weren’t shot in chronological order. Lane had worn this costume last week. Everything had to be the same as then.
Megan checked the photograph again. “The scarf knot is on the wrong side.”
Kenna stood. “I’ll fix it. Get me some double-stick tape.”
Megan rummaged through their supplies of safety pins, needles, glue and anything else that might come in handy to find. A cell phone buzzed.
“Someone get that for me,” Lane said.
Megan grabbed the phone off a table, then handed it to her.
As the actress read the text, her features relaxed. The frown disappeared. “Thank heavens, he came through for me.”
Megan glanced at Kenna, who shrugged.
Lane handed the phone back to Megan. “Thanks, sweetie.”
Definitely in a better mood after that text message. Megan placed the phone back on the table. “Good news?”
“Yes.” Lane checked her reflection in the mirror. “I’ve been so upset since I found out my fiancé couldn’t take me to the Viewers’ Choice Awards.”
Hearing the words Viewers’ Choice Awards sent a thrill shooting through Megan. She couldn’t wait to go. Not only to see what an awards show was like, but to spend quality time with Adam. She saw him only if their breaks and mealtimes coincided. His days off were full of personal appearances for his upcoming movie release. They might be just friends, but she missed him when they were apart.
Adam starred in her dreams. He’d pushed Rob out of her mind and made her wonder if her heart had truly ever belonged to her best friend. Or if her dreams about Rob had been one big schoolgirl fantasy she’d clung to into adulthood.
Not that she was ready to give her heart to Adam. But the thought of kissing him again had been on her mind.
“You’re nominated for an award,” Kenna said.
“Best actress.” Lane shimmied her shoulders, sending the scarf every which way. A good thing they had tape to secure it in place. “But my dearest, devoted Hugh came through for me.”
Megan handed Kenna the tape. “He isn’t going away?”
“He’s still going, but he’s found the perfect man to escort me to the awards ceremony.” A canary-eating grin settled on Lane’s face. “Adam.”
Megan’s heart slammed against her chest. She clutched the back of a chair to keep her knees from buckling. Not her Adam. She wanted to tell Lane she was wrong. Lane had to be wrong. “Adam?”
Lane laughed. “Adam Noble. You know, my costar and leading man.”
I’m a leading man, not a best friend. You’d be wise to remember that.
His words echoed through Megan’s head. But that didn’t mean... It couldn’t...
Adam had invited her. He’d asked Eva’s permission. The entire costume department knew. There had to be some sort of mistake. “I—”
Kenna touched Megan’s shoulder and sent her a compassionate yet pointed look.
“I’m sure you’ll have a great time,” Kenna said.
“With Adam as my date, I know I will.” Lane looked at Megan. “Did you have something to say, Texas?”
“I, um, hope you win.”
Lane pushed her blond hair behind her shoulders. “Me, too.”
Hurt swirled through Megan, making her throat burn and her eyes sting. Adam had promised her a good time. He’d promised.
He probably figured since they were just friends, she would understand why he couldn’t take her. That he had to put his career first over a friend, a woman he wasn’t sleeping with. A woman who was nothing compared to a glamorous actress like Lane Gregory.
Anger burned. Megan couldn’t believe Adam hadn’t called her first and at least asked if she minded or cared. But he hadn’t. Of course not. He was the star. Adam Noble could do whatever he wanted. And had.
Worse, this hurt more than anything with Rob ever had. Pathetic. She should have stuck to crushing on him. It might not have gone anywhere, Rob might not have made her heart go pitter-pat like Adam, but at least she wouldn’t have felt like someone had done jumping jacks on her chest.
Megan wondered what excuse Adam would give her for taking Lane to the awards. She couldn’t wait to find out, but one thing was certain. She doubted whatever he told her would be the truth.
* * *
A knock sounded at Adam’s trailer door. He grimaced. The last thing he wanted was any company. He needed to figure out what to say to Megan. If only Veronica hadn’t stepped out...
Another knock.
Adam opened the door. “Megan?”
Her mouth was set in a firm line. “May I come in?”
He motioned her inside. “What’s going on?”
She took a breath, then exhaled slowly. “Lane told me you’re taking her to the Viewers’ Choice Awards.”
Damn. He hadn’t expected that to happen. “I was going to tell you.”
“Then it’s true?”
The disappointment in her voice hit Adam harder than a left hook to his jaw. He felt like a jerk, a selfish jerk who had made a decision solely on what he wanted and felt.
But it was for the best. He would only end up hurting Megan more in the long run. Better now while her heart wasn’t tied too tightly to him. Or his...
No, that wouldn’t happen. His heart was safe. He made sure it was always safe.
He moistened his dry lips. “Yes, it’s true.”
The color drained from her face. “I...”
Adam hated seeing her like this. The last time she’d stood in his trailer they’d kissed. He wished they could go back to that time. “I’m sorry you had to find out this way. I was going to tell you at lunch.”
Flames flickered in her eyes. “That’s supposed to make me feel better?”
He met her gaze. He knew she’d be upset. Now he had to own up to it. “No.”
“I don’t understand.”
“It’s not you...” As soon as he said the words he knew he shouldn’t have said them. Not only because they were cliché, but also because they were a lie. His going with Lane had as much to do with Megan as it did Hugh Wilstead. Adam’s mouth tasted like sand. “Lane’s fiancé is a powerful man.”
“I might be only an intern, but I know all about Hugh Wilstead.”
“Then you know when he asks you to do something, you do it or pay the consequences,” Adam explained. “I’ve worked too hard to get where I am to screw up everything now by refusing.”
She raised her chin. “So you did this for your career?”
Not completely. A
Golden Globe−size lump of guilt lodged in his throat. No way could he tell her the entire reason, of how her feelings and his had played into his decision-making. He’d been more open with Megan than any other woman—person—in his life. But he wasn’t going to share that. He...couldn’t.
“This is how Hollywood works,” he explained instead. “Costars go to awards shows and premieres together. Some go as far as pretending to date. It’s part of show business.”
She didn’t say anything, but blinked. Her eyes glistened.
Damn, he didn’t want her to cry. “I know how much you wanted to go to the awards. You can still go. I’ll get you a ticket.”
She shook her head. “I want to go to the awards, but I wanted to go with you.”
Her disillusionment in him was clear. He’d let her down. Big-time. But it couldn’t be helped.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”
A shopping spree on Rodeo Drive would be good. She liked clothes. He would love to see her try on some sexy cocktail dresses and a bikini or two.
Love?
No, he wouldn’t like that. Veronica could take her shopping instead.
Megan arched a brow. “Like you promised me I’d have a good time at the awards ceremony? No thanks.”
His gut clenched. “Megan...”
“Eva was right about actors playing by different rules.”
“I said I was sorry, what else do you want from me?”
“Nothing,” she said firmly. “I get being friends with the costume intern is awkward. But I thought that was okay because you seemed more grounded than some of the other talent on the set. But I realize you live in one world. I live in another. Maybe we would have been better off keeping it that way.”
“That might have been the smart thing to do, but we didn’t.”
“We still could.”
“No.” The word rushed from his mouth before he knew what he was saying.
“Why not?” She eyed him curiously. “It’s not like we’re BFFs.”
They weren’t, but Adam didn’t want to say goodbye to her. “We’re still friends.”
“Are we?” Confusion filled her voice. Her lower lip trembled. “The truth is, I’ve been wondering whether we could be more than friends. But now I realize how foolish that line of thinking was.”
Damn. Letting her go was the best thing Adam could do for both of them, but that didn’t stop him from reaching for her. “Megan.”
She backed away. “There’s nothing left for us to say.”
With that, she exited his trailer.
He plopped into a chair, feeling more alone than he’d ever felt in his life.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
TWO days later, Megan stood in the workroom sorting through the dry cleaning she’d picked up earlier. Wardrobe pieces needed to be labeled and organized. Tedious work, but detail oriented. It kept her distracted, something she needed right now.
She yawned, stretching her arms over her head. She needed more coffee or an energy drink to get her through the day after not sleeping well last night.
Megan ripped off the plastic covering a crisp, white button-down oxford shirt that had been laundered and lightly starched. She removed the cleaner’s inventory number stapled to the tag, relabeled the shirt with the character name, Maxwell, and scene number seventeen so she could stick the clothes in the proper garment bag and hung it on the rack. Adam’s rack. She grimaced.
She didn’t want to think about him, but traces of him were everywhere. Here and at home.
A bouquet of wildflowers had been sitting by her front door when she arrived home the day she found out about his taking Lane instead. A note card had been attached.
“Let me make this up to you.”
Nothing more than Adam feeling obligated to make amends like he had with lunch after they’d met. Well, that was his problem, not hers. She had given the flowers to her neighbor, Mrs. Hamilton. The tears glistening in the elderly woman’s blue eyes let Megan know she’d made the right choice giving the flowers away.
But she had been serious about not wanting anything from Adam. She wanted to put this behind her, move on and...grow up.
Being disappointed was one thing. But that had been part of her daily life for as long as she’d been alive. When her older sister, Jess, the Golden Girl of Larkville, had gotten herself knocked up by a man who wanted nothing to do with her or their baby, Megan had thought her mother would see her differently, perhaps more positively. Instead, her mother had said she always thought Megan would be the one coming home pregnant, not Jess. Even when Megan did everything right, she was still wrong.
What bothered her most about what happened with Adam was how she’d ended up feeling so hurt over this. Going to the Viewers’ Choice Awards would have been fun and an interesting experience. But the excitement she felt, the anticipation of Saturday night, revolved around Adam, not the awards show.
Yes, Adam had been a jerk the way he handled this. He couldn’t help that she’d heard from Lane, but he still hadn’t been planning to tell Megan about it until lunchtime, a few hours late. That was inconsiderate. But knowing her father, her brothers and Rob, she got that men didn’t always think like women. Their sense of timing seemed off. Case in point, Rob.
She also understood that Adam had a choice to make. He chose his career. Yes, it sucked to be her in this instance. She didn’t like what he’d done. But if push came to shove wouldn’t she have made the same choice? She’d told Eva as much.
What was she to Adam, anyway? Not his girlfriend. Not his best friend. Not a close friend if you went by how long they’d known each other and the amount of time they’d spent together. She would have been his date for one night. Nothing more.
The bitter truth stung because Megan had wanted to believe it could be more. Different. Better. But it was just like...
Rob.
Realization washed over her with hurricane force winds. Her legs wobbled. She leaned back against a table.
What a fool she’d been.
Megan had taken all her wishful thinking about Rob and transferred it onto Adam. Another crush on a friend. Dreaming about what could be rather than the reality of the situation. Pretending things would change when they never would.
She was still the same little girl who loved to escape into animated princess movies where the evil mother—make that stepmother—would be defeated, the princess would be rescued by a handsome prince and all would live happily ever after.
None of what she’d been feeling and thinking had been any more real than the fairy-tale cartoons. Not with Rob. Definitely not with Adam.
In some ways, Megan was still trying to do what her mother wanted. Fit in and gain respectability so she wouldn’t be seen as odd or different. With Rob, the grandson of the mayor. And with Adam, the handsome movie star and lead actor on the set.
She straightened and squared her shoulders.
No more.
No more crushes.
No more wanting what she couldn’t make happen.
She didn’t need anyone to define her or give her respectability or help her fit in. She could do all those things herself. She should have a long time ago.
But it was never too late to start.
She tore the plastic wrap off a purple silk blouse. One of Lane’s wardrobe pieces.
Megan swallowed a sigh. Moving forward, she reminded herself.
Kenna and Rosie burst into the workroom with laughter and glowing faces. The two looked like they had won the lottery.
Rosie waved a white envelope in the air. “You’re not going to believe this!”
Megan hung the purple shirt on a rack so it wouldn’t wrinkle. “What is it?”
Kenna rubbed her hands together. “Three tickets to the Viewers’ Choice Awards. One for each of us. They’re up in the balcony, but who cares? We get to go!”
Rosie bounced from foot to foot. “Plus we’re on the lists for the after-parties and have a limo a
t our disposal for the entire night. We’ll be living the high life.”
The sinking feeling in her stomach told Megan where this high life had probably come from. “Adam.”
Rosie touched Megan’s arm. “Please don’t let what happened with Adam stop you from going out. Our having a blast doesn’t have anything to do with him.”
Megan stared at the tickets. “I told Adam I wanted nothing from him.”
“So? He’s given all three of us something.” Kenna grinned. “He’s obviously trying to get back on your good side.”
Megan wasn’t going there. “More likely trying to assuage a guilty conscience.”
“Who cares what his reasons are?” Rosie did a little dance. “We’re going to the awards show. We have our own seats. We can get into the after-parties. Nothing else matters.”
Uncertainty rushed through Megan like water released from one of the dams on the Rio Grande. “I don’t know.”
“Well, I do,” Kenna said firmly. “You’re disappointed. I would be, too. But you’ve put on a brave face and haven’t been all mopey or let it interfere with your work.”
Megan knew throwing herself a pity party wouldn’t solve anything so she’d thrown herself into work.
“That’s how it’s done in Texas.” She had no idea what was happening back home on the ranch. Or Austin. She hadn’t heard from Rob since he let her know he’d received Adam’s autographed picture. Truth was, she didn’t miss hearing from him. Her feelings for Rob weren’t as deep as she originally thought. Rob was safe, stable and familiar, not the love of her life.
As much as she longed to escape Larkville, she now realized she’d wanted something to keep her connected. Otherwise, she feared she would be all on her own. Her parents were dead. Her siblings were too busy with their own lives. That was where Rob had come in. He’d shown interest. Made her feel wanted. So had Adam. But she wasn’t wanted. Not by her family or Rob or...Adam.
“My dad used to say everything happens for a reason. This is no different.” Maybe what happened with Adam was so she’d figure out what had been going on all these years with Rob. And with her. “I think the two of you should go and have a great time. Tony can use my ticket. I’m going to sit this one out.”
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