Page 46 of Reluctantly Married

“How long have you known Adam?”

“Seven months. But we’ve only been dating for the past month.” She picked at a piece of lint on her shirt.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before he scrubbed his face and said, “I don’t really have a shot, do I?”

Megan stiffened. She wasn’t supposed to let on who she was leaning toward. Granted, the whole show was about getting her to fall for Adam, so it wasn’t going to be that big of a surprise, but she was supposed to go out with these guys and act like she could like any of them. Unsure of what to say, she just shrugged.

Kyle pulled his arm off her shoulders and hooked her chin with his finger so she had to meet his gaze. “I see the way you look at him. You love him, don’t you?”

The words caught her off guard. She didn’t love Adam. Did she? Thoughts of his smile invaded her mind. His touch made her insides turn to mush. She cared about him. Deeply.

Oh, dear heavens above. She was in love with Adam.

How did that happen? Adam didn’t love her. He was just acting. This whole thing was a ruse, brought about by Leon and his stupid ideas. How could she have let her feelings go this far?

Kyle stared at her, his gaze imploring. She couldn’t tell him. Instead, she stared down at her lap.

“I thought so,” he said, his voice quiet. Maybe the camera didn’t pick it up. He stood. “Let’s go back. It’s getting late, and you’ve got a dinner date with Anthony.”

It killed her to see the sadness in his eyes. Out of the three, Kyle was the one she liked the most. But there was no chemistry.

After they got back to the stable and Kyle had the horses back in the stalls, he turned to her. “Thanks for going out with me. I think this is where I get off the train.”

She jerked her head up in surprise. “You’re leaving?”

He shrugged. “I’m about as useful here as a screen door on a submarine. Besides, I’ve got to get back to my ranch.”

Megan wondered if Kyle quitting the show would make the producers mad. “Are you sure?”

A look of contemplation crossed his face, and he brushed his knuckles across her cheek. “No.” He tipped her chin up and leaned down, pressing his lips to hers. It was like kissing her brother. Definitely a Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker moment. He stepped back and smiled, although it didn’t reach his eyes. “Yes. I’m sure. Good-bye, Megan.”

He left her standing in the stable.

17

Kyle’s announcement about leaving theshow dampened Megan’s spirits, but to say Anthony hadn’t noticed would have been an understatement. He’d taken her for a walk around the gardens, his guitar slung across his back. He kept doing these weird dance moves as they walked, using them to punctuate whatever he was blabbering about at the time.

“Heeeey, I wrote you a song.” He threw out his arms and shuffled his feet in what looked like an attempt at tap dancing.

She raised her eyebrows. “Really?” That explained the six-string on his back.

He swung his guitar around in what he probably thought was a cool move. “May I sing it for you?”

She actually debated telling him no, but in the end decided not to be rude. “Sure. I’d love to hear it.” She sunk down on a wrought iron bench surrounded by little purple flowers.

Anthony grinned and then winked at her. No, wait. He wasn’t looking right at her. Good heavens, he winked at the camera. She slapped her hand to her forehead and leaned on the arm rest.

He strummed a chord. “Sweet Megan. Sweet, sweet Megan. You’re like sunshine in the dark.” Another chord. “Megan, sweet, sweet Megan, I want to take you to the park.”

A laugh threatened to bubble up from her chest, but she suppressed it. Something told her it wasn’t meant to be funny. He continued to sing, never quite hitting the high note, and always ending in a word that rhymed with dark. He managed to use mark, lark, stark, bark, snark, and even quark.

He ended the song with another dance move, and shot the camera a sexy smile. Megan wasn’t sure if the song was about her, or about his love affair with being on television. She plastered on a polite grin and clapped. “That was very entertaining.”

He bowed low. “It’s what I do.” Then he punctuated it with a twirl.

Megan stood, grabbed his arm and pulled him along the path. Maybe if they walked through the gardens and came out the other side, they’d be done with this ridiculous date. “What else do you like to do, besides play the guitar and dance?”

“I don’t know, there’s not much time to do other stuff, with all the gigs me and my band do.” He turned a serious face to her. “Music is my life, man.”

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