Both men looked dashing, handsome and virile.
Both men looked like they hated each other.
Oh, the gossips would go wild. Maggie knew that Walter Winchell would be talking about those pictures for weeks!
She slapped the cushion with glee just when someone knocked on the door. “Come in.”
Scott strode in holding the newspaper in his hands. “Well, at least we weren’t front page.” He threw the paper on the table in disgust. “Did you see those pictures?”
“I did. You look wonderful.”
“I look pissed.”
“What?” Maggie stood and went to Scott. “What do you mean by that? I’ve never heard that word used like that before. Are you using foul language?”
“Maggie, in my time when we say we’re pissed it means we’re angry. That’s all.”
“Oh. Well, then. Are you worried about the picture with you and your hand telephone?”
“No,” Scott said. “Nobody knows what that is. I just look stupid holding ‘the box’ up to my eyes.” He shrugged his shoulders.
She stepped over to the handsomest man she’d ever seen and threw her arms around his neck. She kissed him on his lips, thrusting her tongue inside his mouth.
“Umm,” Scott murmured. “We didn’t do enough of this last night.” He nuzzled her neck and kissed her throat, reining kisses down her slim, soft skin and ended just between her breasts.
Maggie felt the jolt of desire straight to her core. Her legs weakened. Scott picked her up and carried her to the sofa.
“Happy New Year, love,” Scott whispered. He blew a breath into her ear and licked around the shell. Maggie moaned. “I have a great idea how we can spend the day celebrating.”
Maggie couldn’t talk. Scott’s hands were everywhere. His kisses covered her face, her neck, her shoulders and he had just wrapped a hand over her breast. She cried out with joy. Maggie knew they would make love. She needed to. She needed Scott.
She loved him.
With no thought to the consequences she frantically unbuttoned her bodice and lowered it to her waist. Scott’s eyes glittered with desire. He rubbed her nipple between his finger and thumb causing shock waves of liquid fire to engulf her body. Scott lay Maggie on the sofa pulled up her skirt and slid her panties down her legs. His fingers found her sensitive spot and he gently rubbed it.
Maggie moaned. She writhed, her head thrashed back and forth and she cried out.
“I know love, soon,” Scott said.
Maggie couldn’t stop Scott. Didn’t want to stop him. She rose on wave after wave of desire. Her heart felt as if it would burst from her chest and she couldn’t get enough air. She gasped when Scott put his lips to her breast and sucked. The explosion that rocked through her took her by surprise and she screamed. Before she could catch her breath Scott entered her.
Maggie eye’s widened at the brief pain and she opened her mouth to speak but Scott slowly entered and withdrew. The hard velvety feel of him, the wet sound of suction as they moved together soon erased any thought she had.
Life came down to this minute, this moment, this man.
Maggie felt her tightness ease with Scott’s gentle movements. Soon he moved faster and faster. Maggie rose higher and higher. Scott pushed her to a peak and she had a fleeting moment of wonder. The she crested the wave as multicolored stars, blinding lights and sensual awe filled her. Maggie screamed with joy and completion.
They lay there heaving. Scott dropped on top of Maggie and stroked her hair. There was a comfortable closeness with the two of them still connected. Maggie felt Scott pull away and grabbed him. “No. Don’t leave yet.”
“I’m too heavy.”
“You’re just right.” She sighed and closed her eyes. She was a woman now. Maggie had wondered what it’d be like the first time she made love, but never in her wildest dreams had she thought it would be this exciting, this fulfilling, this rewarding. She wanted to tell Scott she loved him but couldn’t. Not yet.
“Happy New Year, love.” Scott nuzzled her face. “Want to welcome in the New Year again?”
Maggie burst into giggles. “Give me a few minutes. I, uh, need to use the restroom.”
“Wait, Maggie. I want to say something.” Scott sat up, straightened Maggie’s and his clothes and pulled her into his arms. “Thank you.”
“Whatever for? I wanted this as much as you did.”
“You gave me your greatest gift. This was your first time, wasn’t it?”
Maggie felt the blush stain her cheeks. She had hoped he wouldn’t notice. “Well, er, yes.”
“That’s a gift I will always treasure.” He kissed her lips and stroked her cheek. “No one in this world will ever have this gift but me. The fact that you gave it to me means everything.”
Tears formed in Maggie’s eyes. She hadn’t known how important it was to her until this moment. She would never forget that Scott treasured her and made her first time so wonderful.
“I need to thank you too. This was an experience I’ll never forget.”
“My pleasure.” Scott laughed. “Really.”
A knock on the door interrupted their tender moment. Maggie rose to answer it. There stood Selma Benning with the newspaper in her hand. The page with their pictures on it faced them. “Mr. Goodman would like to see you two as soon as possible.”
“Not again,” Scott muttered from the sofa.
“We’ll be right there,” Maggie said.
This time before Selma left she gave them a “you’re-not-in-so-much-trouble” look, smiled and left the trailer with a bounce to her step.
Maggie closed the door. Someone knocked. She opened it with, “Yes, Selma, did you forget som— Oh, Mr. Chambers. What can I do for you?”
“I just wanted to tell you how lovely you look in the newspaper, and right now, as a matter of fact,” Chambers slurred as he leaned closer to Maggie. “Why, you’re positively glowing.” His smile changed to a leer then a glower.
“Thank…you.” Maggie stuttered and she felt the color recede from her cheeks. Carey Chambers knew what she had been doing! And he was drunk enough to say it out in the open. With an effort, she kept her shaking hand from flying to her mouth. “Is there anything I can do for you?”
“Is Forrester here? I wanted to ask him about our upcoming scene.” Chambers swayed on the front steps and put his hand on the railing to balance himself.
“I’m here, Chambers.” Scott moved to the doorway. He leaned one hand on the doorframe above Maggie and rubbed her shoulder with his other hand.
“Ah, I see. Well, that explains it, then,” he slurred. A muscle ticked in his jaw. “I’d better be going.”
“I thought you wanted to discuss a scene?” Scott said.
“No. I wanted to see if you were the reason for the glow on Maggie darling’s face.”
Maggie gasped. “Why, Carey. That’s not gentlemanly of you.”
“And you, my dear, are not a lady.”
Before Carey Chambers could turn to go down the steps Scott hit him in the jaw. The man fell backward down the steps and lay stunned. “Don’t ever speak to Maggie like that again, do you hear me you two-faced drunk?”
Chambers slowly got up and rubbed his face. “Don’t worry, Forrester. I won’t have to speak to the little tart again. Except in our scenes together. Maybe then I can get a piece of her, just the way you have.”
* * * * *
They rushed off to the meeting with Sid Goodman without a chance to discuss Chambers’ visit. After getting a big approval for the newspaper pictures Scott and Maggie went back to her trailer. “Scott, let’s go to my apartment. I want to get away from the studio for a while.”
“Sure. I’ve never been there before.” Her car had been parked in the studio’s lot and they drove to Sunset Boulevard. Maggie turned into a two-story apartment complex with palm trees and tropical plants. She parked in front of room fifteen and unlocked the door of the ground-floor apartment. The cool air hit them and Magg
ie immediately turned on the heat. “Welcome to my little home.”
Scott surveyed the small apartment. It was modern for the day and had plush furniture. Cream-colored walls held colorful pictures, mahogany tables and chairs were scattered about adding a warm charm to the room. “It’s very nice, Maggie.” He sat on the sofa. “Come here.” He held out his arms to her.
She slid into Scott’s embrace and cuddled. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Not bringing up the Carey Chambers mess.” She stared out the front picture window at nothing and said, “I guess I’ve gone and ruined my reputation now. Chambers will tell everyone. I’m finished.” Maggie had thought she’d feel a sense of satisfaction at her “ruination” but she didn’t. She felt guilt and remorse. She needed to tell Scott the truth. “Scott, I—”
“Shh. Don’t think about it right now. I don’t think he’ll say anything. He probably won’t even remember the argument when he sobers up. And I’m not telling anyone.”
Relief flooded Maggie. At least her secret affair was safe with Scott. But would he ever forgive her when he found out the truth? Maggie snuggled into him and decided that this wasn’t the time to tell him.
They had fallen asleep on the sofa, locked in each other’s embrace when there was a loud, heavy knock on the door.
Maggie dragged herself up and opened it. “Father! Mother!”
Scott jumped up and hastily tucked in his shirt. He smoothed his hair back into place but not before John Ingram shoved his way into the room. The short, bullish man stood face to face with Scott, his eyebrows lowered and his lips in a straight line.
“So, this is the good-for-nothing, gold-digging actor that’s sleeping with my daughter.”
Maggie gasped. “Father!”
“I saw your picture in the Los Angeles Times, young lady. You don’t think that everyone back home saw the way you were kissing this…this…interloper.” John Ingram waved his beefy hand in Scott’s face. “From there it’s an easy assumption that you’re sleeping together. I want you out of here right now, mister. You’ve ruined Margaret’s reputation.”
“Mr. Ingram. If you’ll let me explain—” Scott began.
“Come, darling,” a haughty Violet Ingram said to her daughter, interrupting Scott. “Let’s get out of the room with this, ah, person. This is man’s work. Don’t worry, your father will get rid of him.”
“Mother!” Maggie turned to Scott with a pleading, apologetic look. She felt helpless as her mother took her by the shoulders and led her from the room. Her mother turned her nose up when she passed Scott. He winked at Maggie when they’d passed him and he knew Violet Ingram wouldn’t see him.
Maggie smiled with relief. But the feeling only lasted a second. Before the door to the bedroom closed she heard her father say, “Now, how much will it take for me to get you out of my daughter’s life. And remember. Once I pay you off, I never want to see you again. If you ever try to contact my daughter you’ll regret it.”
Instant anger, red and hot, infused Scott. His hands clenched. Maggie’s father was a total ass. “I can’t and won’t be bought. I don’t want your money.” He stared at John Ingram. For such a big man in the business world he was short, rotund and balding. No wonder he tried to buy Scott off. The man had a Napoleon complex.
“I don’t give a damn whether you want my money or not. You won’t have my daughter.” Napoleon poked his finger in Scott’s chest.
“Back off, Mr. Ingram. Now,” Scott growled in a low voice.
The quiet warning penetrated the industrialist’s thick skull. He looked at Scott for the first time and Scott thought he saw a flicker of respect in his eyes. A surge of pride warmed him. He’d stood up to one of the richest men in the country.
“Who are you?” Ingram demanded.
“Scott Forrester, fireman and temporary actor.” Scott saw the man’s eyes widen then narrow.
“What are your intentions toward my daughter?”
“Marriage.”
Ingram jumped at the word. “Impossible.”
“Nothing’s impossible, Mr. Ingram. I make a good living,” In my time, he thought. “I love your daughter and will be kind and faithful to her.”
“Rubbish. You don’t have any social standing. She’s going to marry Roger Morgan.”
The finality of the statement grated at Scott. Another bolt of anger raced through his system and he fought to keep it in check by clenching his fists and taking a deep breath. “She hates Roger Morgan. You’d force your only daughter to marry a man she hates?”
“Yes.”
“Then you’re a fool.” Scott moved toward Ingram and towered over him. He stared the man down for a long moment. “It’s no wonder a pompous ass like you created the biggest steel company in the world.”
Ingram’s face turned red then purple. “I don’t have to listen to a nobody like you. We’re done here.” He pointed his finger at Scott’s chin as he couldn’t point it directly in his face.
“You bet we are,” Scott agreed. “Maggie and I will marry, with or without your blessing. I do believe she’d rather have your agreement, but if I know her, she’ll marry me without it.”
“So, you’ve discussed marriage with my daughter?”
“No, it’s unspoken.”
Ingram laughed, a loud, booming sound. “Got her all figured out, don’t you, boy?” He chortled and his round belly bounced up and down. “The minute Maggie’s out of your sight she’ll be gone and you’ll never see her again. I’ll see to that myself.”
Before Scott could say anything John Ingram roared, “Violet, Maggie we’re leaving!”
The women entered the room. Scott knew from Maggie’s face that she hadn’t fared any better with her mother. The defiant look she wore told him all he needed to know. Scott walked to Maggie’s side and put his hand around her waist. She snuggled closer and glared at her parents. “Maggie, love. I just told your father we were going to marry and he refused to give us his blessing.”
Maggie’s surprise and hurt showed on her face. Scott saw a bright flush spread across her skin.
“See? She had no idea,” her father said. “You’re coming with us young lady. Right now.”
Maggie squeezed Scott’s hand and squared her shoulders. He pulled her closer to his side. “I’m not going with you, Father. I love Scott and I’d be honored to be his wife.” She turned to Scott with love in her eyes. “I’ve never felt treasured or cherished before, thank you. My parents didn’t know how to love me when I was growing up. Obviously they still don’t.”
She turned back to her parents. “Neither one of you knows the meaning of the words love and cherish.” Maggie gave each of her parents a hard stare. “Mother, you ignored me and made your charities more important than me. You left me with nannies. Father, you haven’t cared about me since the day I was born because I wasn’t a boy to carry on your family name and your precious legacy.” Maggie’s chest rose and fell from the enormity of what she said. She pulled Scott’s hand to her chest and twined their fingers together. “We’re finished as a family. I can build a new one now, one where love is the foundation, not money.”
John Ingram laughed and Violet Ingram sucked in a sharp breath. “You’ll rue the day you spoke to me like this, girl,” her father said. “Just see how far you’ll get with no money. You’re cut off from the will.”
“No, Father, I’ll bless this day.” Maggie’s smile showed relief and joy. “For this is the first day I won’t have to be afraid anymore. I won’t have to fear a forced marriage to a weasel of a man. I won’t have to fear a bland and boring future and I won’t have to fear you threatening to take away my inheritance. I’m free.”
At that precise moment Scott’s BlackBerry rang.
There wasn’t a sound in the room except for that high-pitched ring. No one spoke. After five rings John Ingram blurted irritably, “What’s that ringing?”
Scott pulled out his phone and answered it. “Hello.” He put it o
n speaker.
“Hey there, brother-in-law. How’s the twentieth century treating you?” Shauna asked.
The reaction from both John Ingram and his wife Violet was comical. John stepped back two feet and Violet gasped. One hand covered her mouth and the other shook loosely in the air. “Not so good right now, Shauna. How are things with you?”
“Fantastic! I went home to 2110, got the instruments I need to twiddle with my BlackBerry and will have the device fixed in a week or so.” There was a moment’s pause then Shauna said. “What’s wrong, Scott. I can hear the strain in your voice.”
“Let’s put it this way. You’re on speaker and my lovely fiancée, Maggie Ingram, and her parents are listening in right now.”
“What?” roared both Shauna and Mike, who’d been listening from their end of the conversation. “You let someone else see the time travel device?”
Gasps came from Maggie’s shocked parents.
“No way around it, bro, since it rang in the middle of an argument with her parents.” Scott sighed. “Why is it that phones always ring at the wrong time?”
No one said anything. There was a long pause, then Shauna said, “Wish I could bring you back right now, Scott. You’ll have to hang in there a little longer.”
“Can do, sister-in-law. But right now I’ve ‘got a lot of ’splaining to do’.” He knew that Shauna and Mike would understand the quote from an old I Love Lucy show.
“So, you’re engaged to the steel magnate’s daughter?” Shauna asked, a note of excitement in her voice.
“Seems so. She just accepted my unorthodox proposal by renouncing her family.”
“Oh,” Shauna said. Scott heard the despair in her voice. An awkward pause drew lengthy as no one spoke.
“She’ll be better off in our family, brother,” Mike said. “At least we know how to love.”
“Amen, Mike. Well, let me end this little call and see what the future in-laws have to say.” Scott glanced at John and Violet. John’s face was as violet as his wife’s name and Violet’s face was as pale as cream.
No Silent Christmas Page 13