Chapter 11
The next morning, Chrissy was better. In all his euphoria over PJ, Ethan had completely forgotten her. Now, seeing her drawn yet smiling face at the breakfast table, he tried to figure out what to do. Only a jerk broke up with someone on vacation. Of course, only a jerk cheated on someone on vacation, too.
He grimaced as he poked at his bacon. How had he gotten himself into this mess? He had allowed his attraction to PJ blind him to the fact that he had a girlfriend, a girlfriend he had dragged halfway across the country to be with. Did other men get themselves in these messes? Looking around the table at the King brothers, he doubted it.
After some serious thought, he decided what he was going to do. He would make a clean break with Chrissy and offer to pay her return back to New York. That way she could still salvage some of her Christmas vacation, maybe spend the time with her friends and family. She would undoubtedly be angry with him, and rightfully so, but she wouldn’t be heartbroken because they weren’t that serious. In fact, there were several times over the last few weeks that Ethan had thought Chrissy was going to break up with him, but for some reason she held on.
“Do you feel up to taking a walk?” he asked as soon as breakfast was finished. “We could go to one of the barns; they’re heated.”
“Sounds good,” she agreed. “Let me grab my coat.” She left the table and Ethan noticed PJ watching the exchange, trying to pretend she hadn’t been eavesdropping. He wanted to tell her that he was going to break up with Chrissy, but he couldn’t exactly do that with the rest of the table listening in. Instead, he gave her a wink and a smile and watched with pleasure as her cheeks warmed with a blush. When was the last time he made a girl blush? She was charming.
Chrissy returned and interrupted his dreamy thoughts. Ethan stood and led the way outside. She chattered happily, seeming much more cheerful after her illness. His thoughts drifted until they reached the barn.
“This is actually really pretty,” Chrissy commented as they entered the large wooden barn. “I always wanted a horse growing up. I bet most girls do.” She looked around again, biting her lip. “There’s a reason so many people write about Montana. It’s beautiful here.” She bit her lip again, looking nervous. “Ethan, we’ve been dating awhile now.”
Ethan frowned, puzzled. Was she breaking up with him? On the other end of the barn, PJ entered and began working, studiously ignoring everything but the horses. Ethan tried to pay attention to Chrissy, but his eyes were automatically drawn to PJ’s fluid movements.
“So I was thinking,” Chrissy continued, oblivious to the fact that Ethan was only half listening. “I think it’s time you tell me the truth.”
That caught his attention. He looked at her in surprise. Had she guessed the truth of his feelings for PJ? If so, how? She had been asleep for most of the time. “What? The truth about what?” Guiltily, he looked at PJ again.
“Suzanne Rey.”
Now his attention was riveted on Chrissy. “What did you say?”
“I said I think you should tell me the truth of Suzanne Rey’s identity. I know you know who she is. I want to do an article. As my boyfriend, I think you owe it to me to tell me. And I also know it’s someone in the King family. My research led me that far.”
Ethan’s jaw dropped. Things were beginning to come together and make sense. Chrissy’s seeming indifference combined with her tenacity. He had wondered why she hadn’t broken up with him when her feelings for him were lukewarm at best. Now he knew. The whole thing had been a lie. She had been getting close to him in order to find out the identity of Suzanne Rey. He felt used, angry, but also a little relieved. Perhaps PJ’s word had been apt, and he really was a cad, but he was relieved to have a legitimate reason to break up with Chrissy.
“Chrissy, I don’t talk about my job outside work,” he said.
She rolled her eyes. “C’mon, Ethan, these aren’t state secrets. I just want to do an interview, and it will be a positive interview. You know my magazine isn’t known for tearing celebrities apart. But everyone is dying to know who Suzanne Rey is. I told my boss I had a killer idea, and this is it.” She crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a challenging pout.
“Not for all the money in the world,” he said sincerely, and meant it. Chrissy wasn’t the fist person who had tried to pry Suzanne’s true identity from him. Other reporters had offered money, though. She was the first to use emotional manipulation.
That was when Chrissy had a full-blown tantrum. She mustered tears, wept bitterly, jammed her balled fists at her sides, and made all manner of baseless threats. Ethan tuned her out, soothing himself with the sight of PJ as she moved fluidly around the other end of the barn. How had he ever thought he wanted someone like Chrissy? PJ was like a breath of fresh air. She was lovely. She was…
“What did you say?” he asked Chrissy, belatedly tuning in for the latter portion of her tantrum.
“It’s her, isn’t it?” she asked, and now she was looking at PJ.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“She’s Suzanne Rey. I get it now.”
“What do you get?” he asked, thoroughly confused.
“Your big and mysterious connection to her. Don’t think I haven’t noticed, Ethan, because I have. It didn’t make sense to me how you could meet a stranger and think she’s your soul mate, especially not someone like her, but now I understand. You’ve known her all along because you work with her. She’s your author.”
He was shaking his head, but Chrissy was oblivious as she continued.
“And that one book, her second, had all that stuff about Native Americans. This makes perfect sense. Of course she’s not actually some backwoods hoof trimmer; she’s secretly a famous author, and that’s why you like her.”
“Chrissy…” he tried to insert, but she wouldn’t listen.
“And I’m going to get my interview with her, like it or not.”
He watched, dazed, as she strode off in the direction of the unsuspecting PJ. He trotted to catch up with her, but it was too late.
“I want to interview you,” Chrissy declared, striking a defensive pose with her feet planted firmly and her arms crossed over her chest.
PJ froze and looked at her with an expression of alarm mixed with amusement. “Interview me? What for?”
“Don’t pretend. I know,” Chrissy said, her tone cryptic.
PJ looked helplessly at Ethan. “Chrissy seems to think you are Suzanne Rey,” he said.
“I don’t think; I know. It all makes sense now. Look, if you don’t want to give me an interview, then I can make things really miserable for you. I’ll out you and you’ll have reporters knocking down your doorstep, hounding your every move. Your peaceful Montana life will be finished.” She snapped her fingers for emphasis.
PJ was looking at her like she was crazy, and rightly so, but Ethan was looking at her with dawning horror. He had brought this abomination here and, while he wasn’t worried about her outing PJ who had nothing to hide, he was worried about her destroying Cam’s hard-earned privacy. He could imagine what she described. There would be a frenzy of interest in Cam. His solitude would be shredded, to say nothing of how his friends and neighbors would react when they learned that the head of the biggest ranch in the area was secretly a romance writer. Ethan had to do something, but what?
“All right, I’ll talk to her and see if I can get her to consent to the interview,” Ethan said, surprising both women so they turned to look at him in astonishment. “But, Chrissy, can you not see that your demanding attitude is making everything worse? Why would she want to give you an interview when you’ve been nothing but horrible to her since the minute you met?”
Chrissy bit her lip and looked worriedly at PJ. “I’m sorry if I’ve come off a bit rude and pushy. I wasn’t feeling well.”
They all knew she was feeling perfectly well now and was still being rude and pushy, but PJ didn’t say as much. She nodded in acceptance of the apology before
turning her confused eyes back on Ethan.
“Ethan…” PJ began, but he cut her off with a slight shake of his head.
“Here’s how it’s going to work,” he said to Chrissy. “I’m going to talk to her and see if I can convince her to give you the interview. You’re going to behave yourself and act like you actually have some manners. And then, whether she decides to give you the interview or not, you’re going to go home. Oh, and consider this our official breakup. Now go back to the house so I can talk to PJ.”
Chrissy frowned up at him, not sure if she wanted to be angry or grateful. At last gratitude won out and she turned submissively toward the house. PJ and Ethan watched her go in silence, not speaking until she was safely in the house.
“What was that about?” PJ asked, confused.
Ethan closed his eyes and took a deep breath, holding a few beats before slowly releasing it, but it did nothing to ease his tension. Finally, he opened his eyes and looked at PJ. She was so very soft, so utterly feminine and beautiful. By all rights, there should have been some sort of angel beam on her when he realized he loved her, but there wasn’t. She stood in her leather chaps, metal tool in hand, but as far as Ethan was concerned, she had never looked lovelier. Before answering her, before he could possibly ruin what might be between them, he put his arms around her, pulled her close, and kissed her.
This kiss wasn’t like the chaste one they had shared the previous night. It was passionate, demanding, and potent enough to waken the untapped sensuality within her. At first she was hesitant, but then she tossed aside the tool she was holding, wrapped her arms around his neck, and fully immersed herself in the kiss. Ethan, realizing that he was her guide in this uncharted territory, reluctantly pulled away before the kiss could become more than a kiss. PJ opened her eyes and looked at him, dazed in an attraction-soaked haze that he would have delighted in at any other time. The utter trust and adoration in her eyes made him feel like a heel, especially in light of what he was about to say.
“I need you to do something for me,” he said.
She blinked up at him, trying to clear her mind. Her hands came to rest on his chest, her thumbs smoothing over his collarbone. “What is it?”
“I need you to lie.”
Christmas With the Kings, Kings of Montana Bonus Book Page 11