Secret Gifts_Steamy Version

by Elena Aitken

  Gage nodded.

  “Well, I wouldn’t let Megan hear about it, not if you’re serious about her anyway.”

  “I am,” Gage said quickly. “I mean, ah, dammit. I don’t know. But nothing happened with Lisa anyway.”

  “At the springs? Yeah right.” Jeff steered his horse onto a smaller trail where the trees were much denser.

  “It’s true. Nothing happened.” Not that she didn’t try, he thought, remembering how Lisa had thrown herself at him and he’d turned her down. But not until he’d kissed her. It was a crappy thing to do, and as soon as the kiss started, he’d realized his mistake. There was no heat with them, no spark. The charge he felt just being near Megan was missing with Lisa. He’d pulled away and told her no, but the damage had been done.

  “Still,” Jeff said. “I don’t know Megan, but I do know women well enough to tell you to keep your mouth shut. Whatever did or did not happen up there…some things are best left unsaid.” With a final push through the brush, the horses nosed out into a pasture, and Jeff immediately spurred his horse into a trot, leaving Gage behind to digest his words.

  Gage didn’t like the idea of lying to Megan, but Jeff was right: some things were best left unsaid. An uneasy decision made, he gave his horse a kick in the flanks and took off across the field.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Megan was on her third cup of coffee with no signs of slowing down by the time Gage came out of his room and poured himself a cup. She tried to ignore his shirtless state, but it was practically impossible when he sat down across from her on the couch and crossed his legs.

  “Good morning,” he said.

  She looked up and immediately looked down again, aware her face was probably an intense shade of red. “Good morning. Do you own a shirt by chance?”

  “I do.”

  She looked up again at the humor in his voice.

  “Am I bothering you?”

  He was teasing her, and she loved it. “Not at all,” she said. “I was just wondering if maybe your stylist didn’t pack you enough to wear.” She met his gaze.

  “Oh, I assure you,” he said, and took a sip of his coffee. “I have plenty to wear.”

  “That’s good.” She held his eyes a moment longer before shaking her head. “I trust you slept well,” Megan said, changing tracks.

  The night before, after enjoying dinner with Jeff and Eva, and ironing out the rest of the plans for the party, they’d returned to the suite with tension in the air. Megan hadn’t been sure what to expect from Gage. There was definitely a connection between them, and during dinner when he’d reached out to hold her hand under the table, it was exhilarating, but a little confusing too. A large part of her had wanted a repeat performance of their afternoon activities, but it was probably for the best that they’d gone to their separate bedrooms. He’d said he wanted to take it slow and despite the fact that Megan had no idea what it was they were taking slow—considering they couldn’t possibly be in a relationship and they’d already had sex—it felt right, whatever they were playing at.

  Gage put his coffee down and came to sit next to her on the couch. His proximity sent shivers flying through her, and ignited a spark of desire in her core, but she didn’t move. “As a matter of fact,” he said. One hand reached out and traced a line from her ear to the corner of her mouth. “I think I would have slept a whole lot better with a goodnight kiss.”

  “Is that right?” She breathed the words as he leaned in. “Well, I guess you’ll know for next time.”

  “Um,” was all he said in return. His face was so close to hers, she could smell his minty toothpaste and the crisp scent of soap on his bare skin.

  “Since you had such a terrible night’s sleep, it only seems right that your day starts off a lot better,” she said. Her tongue darted out between her lips, moistening them slightly. “I’d hate to see you suffer.” Megan closed the gap between them and the moment her lips met his, Gage’s hands came around her body, pulling her close.

  The passion between them was hot, and Megan knew if they weren’t careful, as much as she wanted to, they’d end up back in bed. She pulled away, reluctant to do so, but aware that they needed space if they were going to get anything done.

  Gage touched his fingers to his lips. “I think that will start my day nicely,” he said.

  Megan laughed and gave him a light smack on the arm. “Good. Because we have work to do.”

  He reached for his coffee mug before sitting back. “Has anyone ever told you that you work too hard? Don’t you ever make time for a little fun?”

  Megan stood up under the pretense of filling up her coffee mug. She needed space between them to keep herself from reaching for him again. “I went rock climbing with you,” she said. “That was fun.”

  “That was work.” Gage stood up and followed her to the kitchen. “You were shadowing me, remember?” He came to stand directly behind her, the heat from his body radiating through her clothes despite the fact they weren’t touching.

  “I remember,” Megan said. She swallowed hard and slipped to the side, away from Gage. “I also remember it was fun.” She smiled and took a sip of her coffee. “But even though it was fun, you know I have a job to do? I mean, even with all…,” she gestured between them, “this. Whatever it is, between us. I need my job, Gage.”

  He stepped towards her and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Am I really that big of a screw-up that you think you’re going to lose your job?”

  “Yes,” she said and promptly shook her head. “I mean, no. You’re not a screw-up. But, yes. I’ll lose my job if anything happens that causes you to get fired.”

  “So really, we’ll both lose our jobs.”

  She couldn’t help but smile. “Exactly. Only you’ll get another one right away. I, on the other hand, have a boss and an angry ex who will probably bad-mouth my reputation all over town, and I’ll be searching for a new career completely.”

  “That wouldn’t happen.” He traced his thumb down her cheek.

  Megan gently removed his hand and held it in her own. “You’re sweet, but it would. Besides, you don’t want to lose Tumbleweed, do you?”

  “You know I don’t.” His face turned serious. “And I won’t. You may not have noticed, but I’ve been on my best behavior since I’ve been at the Lodge. Nothing’s going to screw it up, Megan. I promise I won’t let anything happen to either of our jobs.”

  She believed him. He leaned down for a kiss, but she managed to slip away.

  “Oh, no,” she said. “I’m not going to let you distract me. Besides, I promise what we have planned today will be fun. Lots of fun.”

  Gage crossed his arms, and as much as she tried not to notice, Megan couldn’t help but watch as his biceps rippled. He really was gorgeous and with his jeans slung low on his hips, it was easy to see why he was Hollywood’s latest “It” boy. Megan ran a hand through her hair and took a deep breath. She would not let herself be affected by him. Not when there was so much to do.

  “I promise,” she said again, this time with a smile. “We’re going to help Eva put the final touches on the party for tomorrow night and people are going to start arriving, so we should…” She drifted off when Gage’s face hardened. “Come on, Gage. You can’t hate parties that much.”

  He raised his eyebrow. “Don’t forget why we’re here in the first place,” he said. “It’s not that I don’t like parties. It’s more that I don’t have the best history with them, remember?”

  Megan reached out and squeezed his arm. “I remember why I’m here. Why you’re here,” she added. “Trust me. I remember.” How could she forget? With Ryan and Lois’ words replaying in her head since yesterday, there was no chance she’d be able to forget what was on the line. “But, Gage, it doesn’t have to be like that all the time.” She squeezed again, trying not to notice how hot his bare skin felt under her hand. “You do know you have a choice with the party, right?”

  He looked hopeful and she grinned. �
�No,” Megan added. “You don’t have a choice about the party. But nice try.”

  Gage faked a pout, and spun so Megan was in his arms. “Are you sure I can’t convince you to let me skip the party?” He bent down and left a slow kiss on her neck.

  “You know that’s not happening.” As much as she would have preferred to stay in his arms, Megan ducked and escaped his embrace before he could use any more of his kisses against her. “But you do have a choice about how the party will go. You don’t have to give the paparazzi what they expect of you, you know?” She left the kitchen and gathered up her notebook. “You know what I don’t understand?” she continued. “You’re totally different than I expected you to be. In fact,” Megan turned around and faced him, “I don’t think you’re anything like what the reporters say. I think there’s more to you. And…” She paused and considered mentioning the phone call she’d overheard a few nights earlier. She hadn’t planned to say anything, but there was more to Gage Mitchell than the party boy the media made him out to be and she knew it. She just needed him to see it. “Your sister,” she said, before she could change her mind. “How come you never talk about her?”

  Gage’s face closed up and he dropped his gaze to the ground. Megan immediately regretted saying anything. But only for a moment, because then he looked up and his eyes weren’t angry. There was something else, but it wasn’t anger.

  “I don’t talk about my family,” he said softly. “It’s the one thing I’ve managed to keep out of the press. And I’d like to keep it that way,” he added.

  “I won’t say anything.”

  Gage walked over to her and took her hand. “I know you won’t,” he said and led her to the couch. “I haven’t seen my family in years,” he said, once they were seated. “They’re the reason I left and the reason I don’t go back.”

  The pain on his face made Megan’s heart hurt, but she didn’t stop him from talking.

  “My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and we had no idea how we were going to pay the medical bills. It was bad. Really bad. And then this casting scout came out of nowhere and wanted me for this movie. It was like something out of the movies.” He laughed, but he wasn’t smiling. “Ironic, right?”

  Megan nodded. “So, I understand why you left,” she said. “I mean, what a great opportunity. But, what I don’t understand is why you haven’t been back.”

  Gage opened his mouth, but before he could say anything else, Megan’s cell phone rang and she glanced down at it.

  “Is it important?”

  Reluctantly, she nodded. “Sorry, Gage. I’d let it go to voicemail but…”

  “The party,” he said. “I get it. I told you I won’t let you lose your job on my account.” He gestured to the phone. “Go ahead.”

  “Go get dressed,” she said, more to rid herself of the distraction of his six-pack than anything else. “I’ll just be a minute.”

  He saluted dramatically and left her in the kitchen. She was still smiling when she pressed the answer button and took the call.

  “Hi, Carmen. What’s up?”

  “Megan, I’m glad I caught you.” Megan could tell she was trying to sound calm, but there was an edge of panic in her voice. “The guests have started arriving for the party tomorrow.”

  “Already?” Megan absently doodled on her notepad. “It’s kind of early,” she said. “But okay. What’s the problem?”

  “The problem is, I have two guests at the front desk who are telling me they were invited as VIPs, but I don’t have any record of them on the list you gave me.”

  Megan automatically flipped her clipboard open and found the guest list. “Who is it?”

  “A Hannah and Diane Mitchell,” Carmen said. “They said they’re related to Gage.”

  Gage reached over and took Megan’s hand in his as they walked to the Lodge to get some breakfast. She’d seemed a little closed off when he’d returned from getting dressed. It was probably stress from the party, or more likely he was reading more into it than there was. Women were complicated at the best of times.

  “You okay?” he asked her. “You seem a little off since you took that phone call.” He gave her hand a squeeze and she smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

  “I’m good,” she said after a moment. “Just thinking about everything.”

  “Don’t worry,” Gage said. “Jeff’s always raving about how Eva is this amazing party planner. You won’t have to worry about a thing.”

  They reached the entrance, but before they could walk in, Megan stopped short, yanking on Gage’s hand. “There’s something I should tell you,” she said. “And I didn’t know—“

  “Gage!”

  Whatever it was Megan was going to say was forgotten at the sound of the familiar voice calling his name. He dropped Megan’s hand and turned in time to see his sister, Hannah, standing in the doorway. She was older, and she looked tired, but it was definitely Hannah. It took Gage a moment to reconcile the idea of his sister being somewhere she shouldn’t be. Somewhere with him.

  “Hannah?” He took a step towards her. “What are you…”

  “Gage, I’m sorry,” Megan said behind him.

  He spun. “What?” His eyes narrowed and he considered what she’d been about to tell him. She knew he hadn’t seen his family in more than two years. He’d trusted her in telling her, but that was only a few hours ago. There was no way. Unless…Gage shook his head, unable to form the appropriate response.

  Abandoning Megan, Gage turned back to his sister and closed the gap. He moved instinctually to hug her, but pulled back at the last moment. They didn’t hug. He settled for a head nod.

  “How’s Mom?” he asked. “You probably shouldn’t have left her. Is she feeling okay? I don’t know if—“

  “Gage.” Hannah held up a hand. “She’s here. I brought her.”

  A wave of emotion crashed through him. “What? But, how?”

  “Come,” Hannah said. “She’s inside. We’re waiting for a room, but they said the lady said we weren’t on the list which is ridiculous because it was the Grace Agency who invited us. But we need to get Mom into a room, Gage. She needs to rest. The trip took a lot out of—“

  “I’ll take care of everything,” he said, and then turned to Megan. Gage narrowed his eyes at the woman who only moments before he’d wanted nothing more than to steal away and kiss her forever, with her in his arms. But that was before. Megan had stepped over the limit. Way over and she didn’t even realize it.

  “You did this,” he hissed. He hesitated when he saw her flinch at his tone, but he was too angry to rein it in for long. “Now fix it. Because if my mother has to spend even five more minutes sitting in the lobby without a bed to rest in, I’m going to be the least of your problems.”

  “Gage, I—“

  “I’m not interested, Megan.” He scrubbed his hand over his face, trying desperately not to let her see how hurt he was, on top of the anger. “Not now.”

  Without giving her a chance to say anything else, Gage turned and with a nod to Hannah, asked, “Where’s Mom?”

  The lobby was full of people, many he recognized from the set, and in order to get across the room, he had to greet people, exchange quick pleasantries, and generally try not to charge through the crowd, which would only cause a scene. Finally, she was there. Propped up in an oversized easy chair and with an oxygen tube in her nose, she looked impossibly small.

  “Mom?”

  Her eyes fluttered open and immediately a smile brightened her face. “Gage.” She reached out her hand, which Gage took in his own.

  It was so small and fragile. How could it be that she’d deteriorated so much in such a short time? But it hadn’t been a short time. Gage pushed the thought from his head. It didn’t matter. She was there; they were together.

  “Mom, it’s so good to see you.” He dropped to his knees and wrapped his big arms around her, careful not to squeeze.

  “I’m not going to break, Gage. Now give me a hug.
” He glanced up at his sister, who only raised an eyebrow in response. He hugged a little tighter, but not much.

  “It’s good to see you.” He pushed himself up from the floor, so he was sitting across from her. “I still don’t understand why you’re here, though. It’s an industry thing, and—“

  “We were invited.” Hannah had her hands on her hips and was looking just as pissed off as she did the last time he’d seen her.

  “And you look really impressed about that,” he fired back, unable to resist his little brother tendencies.

  “I only came because Mom can’t travel alone. She shouldn’t be traveling at all if you ask me, but she insisted. So, don’t worry, Mr. Hollywood, I’m not here to soak in your fame—I’m here for Mom.”

  “Good to know.”

  “Stop fighting,” their mother said, and Gage turned his attention back to her. “I didn’t come all this way for—“

  Deep, chesty coughs wracked her body and Hannah jumped up to hand her a tissue and adjust her oxygen mask.

  “Is she okay? What’s wrong? Hannah!”

  Hannah spun around and glared at him. “Yes, she’s sick. She has cancer.”

  “I know that,” he said, trying to control his anger. “But it’s gotten worse. What’s going on?”

  “I told you on the phone that it was worse. It metastasized into her lungs, but you’d know that if you bothered to come home.”

  Gage bit back a retort. He put his hands on his hips and scanned the room. A few people had stopped their conversations and were starting to pay attention to the scene. He needed to get his mother into a room, and fast. She needed to rest and he didn’t need his family under a microscope.

  “Where the hell is Megan?” he muttered under his breath.

  “I’m right here.” She appeared at his side, and put her hand on his arm. “I took care of it,” she said. “They’ll be staying with you in your suite.”

  “There are only three rooms.” He looked at her hand on his arm, but didn’t shake it off. Despite his anger, her touch felt good. Better than it should.