Carter
The diamond he’d given back to her would go a long way in helping her achieve her drama school dream, but Macy’s heart wasn’t in it anymore. She couldn’t force herself to sell the ring. She couldn’t force herself to find a location for the school. Every day she found an excuse to put it off.
And every day she hoped her love for Carter would diminish. Every day she’d tried to talk herself out of loving him until she finally realized that she would probably love him until her dying day, in the same way her mother had loved her father.
It hurt to think her love was one-sided. But the hurt also helped to remind her that he had never loved her back. He hadn’t put up even a mild protest when she announced she was leaving the ranch.
“That’s a wrap!” the assistant director shouted an hour later. The crew, who’d been quietly hovering behind an invisible boundary in back of the director, scattered and scurried to clear away the equipment.
Later that day, Macy stopped at the grocery store to buy eggs and vegetables. A veggie omelet was on the menu for tonight’s meal. Macy pulled the scarf from her head, tired of the disguise, and let her black curls fall freely. The media frenzy surrounding her had died down now that the Tina Tarlington auction was over, and Macy could actually drive in her own neighborhood without being followed. She had Whitney Wynds to thank for that. The rising new starlet had stolen the spotlight for her high crimes in fashion. She’d taken a scissor to a designer’s original work, making it all her own for her first Hollywood premiere, and the style police from all across the nation wouldn’t let it rest.
Macy enjoyed the peace as she walked the brick pathway that led to her condo. But her small smile faded as she glanced down at the sidewalk and saw the shadow of a man looming long and tall behind her. A Western hat outlined by the late-afternoon sun told her who it was.
“Ronny,” she said, gripping her grocery bag tight. “I told you on the set, I won’t go out with you.”
“Who’s Ronny?”
She recognized that voice. Macy whirled around so fast she dropped her bag of groceries. “C-Carter?”
He grinned, a devastating grin that made her breath catch. “Hello, Hollywood. I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve, uh, missed you, too.” Macy blinked. Her heart thudded heavily against her chest. And her legs went wobbly at the sight of him standing in front of her home. “Wh-what are you doing here?”
Carter took a few steps forward and then bent to pick up her grocery bag, sneaking a peek inside. “I bet half those eggs didn’t break.”
She blinked again, trying to get with the program. Carter was here, in Hollywood, and more important, on her doorstep and she wasn’t dreaming. “No, I, uh, guess the grocery boy packed them really good.”
Carter rose, holding the grocery bag in one hand while the other hand touched her arm lightly. His beautiful hazel eyes turned serious. “Do you have time to talk?”
Talk? He wanted to talk?
She nodded, wondering what brought him here. “Okay.”
“I’m not interrupting anything…with Ronny?” he asked, his brows lifting.
“Ronny? Oh no…he’s not-”
“’Cause if you’ve got something going with him,” Carter said, his voice menacingly low, “I’d have to knock him ten ways to Sunday.”
Macy actually laughed. And so did he. “May I come in?”
Macy let him inside her home and immediately wondered what he thought about her decor. She had good taste but loved to bargain shop. Her home was an eclectic display of design on a budget.
“Nice,” he said as she grabbed the grocery bag from his arms. He walked around, taking a look out her terrace window while she put her grocery bag on the kitchen counter. She was so nervous having him here that she fidgeted with the plastic bags of vegetables and actually counted the unbroken eggs. Carter was right, she’d lost only half of them.
She shoved the carton in the refrigerator, her nerves jangling, and when she turned around Carter was there, standing three feet away.
He looked massive inside her small kitchen and handsome wearing a Western jacket over a pressed white shirt. His jeans were comfortably worn and fit him to perfection. He took his hat off and a lock of his dark blond hair fell onto his forehead. It was so endearing, Macy had to hold herself back from rushing into his arms. She didn’t have a clue what he was doing here.
“I paid a visit to my dad the other day. We…talked for a while.”
Macy swallowed past a big old lump in her throat. “That’s good.”
“Rocky came along.”
She bit her lip, holding back her satisfaction. “I bet Riley was glad to see both of you.”
Carter shrugged. “I think so.”
It was a start, Macy thought, and she wondered if the two of them had actually gotten along during the visit. Still, she was glad Carter had made the effort with his father. But she wondered if that was the reason he was here-to tell her about his progress with his father? She waited for him to say more about it, but his expression changed and she knew that conversation was over.
“I, uh,” he began, then stopped to brush invisible dust from the brim of his hat. Macy had never seen Carter looking so nervous. “I never thought I could do this again.”
Macy’s throat constricted and her voice came out small and fragile. “Do what again?”
His gaze fastened over her right shoulder, as if he was searching for the right words. He seemed determined to get something off his chest. “You know that Jocelyn made a fool out of me and it hurt my pride and my ego. She’d been trying to make Brady jealous the entire time we were together. I didn’t see it. That kind of manipulation works on a man’s trust.”
Macy nodded.
“I guess I really didn’t know her, and I certainly didn’t love her,” he said. “I know that now.”
“You do?”
Carter’s gaze shifted back to her. He pierced her with an intense look. “Yeah, I know it for fact. Because I’m crazy in love right now. With you, Macy.”
Macy slumped back against the refrigerator door, floored by his admission. Joy instantly leaped into her heart. “You are?”
“That’s right. I am. I love you. I never thought I’d let myself feel this way. I never thought I could trust anyone with my heart again. I wanted no part of marriage or long-term relationships. I was done. And then I saw you on that New York street-”
“And you rescued me.”
“It was fate, Macy. I might never have met you otherwise.”
Macy looked him straight in the eyes. She knew how hard this was for him. He was taking a giant leap of faith in revealing his feelings. And she should make him sweat it out longer after what he’d put her through. But she didn’t want to tempt fate. And she’d been waiting her entire lifetime to say these words. “I’m pretty crazy in love with you, too,” she said. “For the record.”
Carter closed his eyes to her declaration, as if he was absorbing her words. As if he was reaffirming them in his mind. When he opened his eyes again, she was standing toe-to-toe with him. She looked into his beautiful hazel eyes. “Are you going to kiss me now?”
Carter took her into his arms and Macy melted in his embrace. “Not yet, sweet darlin’. There’s more.”
“I’m listening.” Macy circled her arms around his neck and watched his mouth move, watched his strong stubborn jaw relax and watched his Adam’s apple bob up and down. Every motion, every nuance that was Carter brought her happiness.
“I’m having the gazebo rebuilt. It’s going to be magnificent. And I want the Wild River Inn to house your drama students. They can come for summer sessions and weekends during the school year. I want you to teach, Macy. I want you to be my wife and live with me at Wild River Ranch until the sun sets for the last time on both of us.”
