Anna DePalo - Tempted By The Movie Star

His brother had his back. The heaviness lifted from Matt’s shoulders and he smiled for the first time in twenty-four hours. A press conference in Sheridan, Wyoming. That would be a first, especially if they could get any members of the press to show up, which wasn’t likely.

“I don’t know how to organize a press conference,” Cade continued, “but I’ll bet you do. Or you know people who know people. We can make it happen.”

“Look, it’s a good impulse and I appreciate the moral support, but a press conference won’t work for a lot of reasons.”

“What she’s done is wrong, damn it! It’s character assassination and you need to defend yourself.”

“I doubt I can. She’s a very good actress who knows her camera angles. She orchestrated that kiss so I’d look guilty as charged. Even if I try to tell my side, hardly anyone will believe me.”

“They might if you tell them about the proposition.”

“Not doing that.”

Cade groaned. “I should have known you wouldn’t. You’re too noble for your own good, buddy. She doesn’t deserve your overdeveloped sense of chivalry.”

“It’s not her I’m thinking about. It’s Cliff Wallace. I respect the hell out of the guy. He has lousy instincts when it comes to women, but like I said, Briana’s a very good actress. He may eventually find out the truth about her, but not because of me.”

“You had some love scenes with her, right?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“Hot?”

“Yep.”

Cade was silent for a while. Then he cleared his throat. “Let me just say I respect the hell out of you, cowboy. A lot of guys would have taken her up on that offer.”

“Not if they were members of the Thunder Mountain Brotherhood.” Matt took great pride in being a part of the group Cade had started years ago with Damon Harrison and Finn O’Roarke, the first three foster boys. Now every guy who’d lived at the ranch was included.

“True.”

“And not if they’d been raised by Herb and Rosie.”

Cade grinned. “Also true. And for the record, Mom’s been informing everyone that the tabloids got it wrong. You never would have behaved that way.”

“God, I love that woman.”

“Don’t we all.” He looked over at Matt. “Are you planning to tell her everything you just told me?”

“Probably not.”

“I wouldn’t, either, unless you want her to buy a ticket to LA and open up a can of whoop-ass on Briana. She’s already put a couple of DVDs in the trash compactor.”

Matt chuckled at the image of Rosie listening to the crunch as the DVDs bit the dust. “That’s why I had to come home, so I could hear stuff like this. Mom’s destroying DVDs and you’re ready to call a press conference. It’s a far better reaction than what I got from my PR rep this morning.”

“Which was?”

“She wanted me to publicly show remorse for my behavior.”

Cade met that comment with several choice swear words. “So, did you fire her?”

“Not yet. She doesn’t know me that well and the photo convinced her I’d forced myself on Briana.”

“Did you tell her you hadn’t?”

“Yeah, I said it was the other way around—that Briana kissed me—but Geena didn’t think it mattered who kissed who. I’m supposed to suck it up and be apologetic.”

“That’s her name? Geena?”

“Geena Lysander.”

“Well, this Geena person should have believed you. She should have taken your side. Apologize, my ass.”

“In a way, she was trying to take my side. She kept telling me it would be okay and we’d fix this.” He thought of the earnest light in her eyes as she’d laid out her plan. She had pretty eyes, and when they took on that special gleam, he had the urge to kiss her. Like that would ever happen.

“Well, you’re not apologizing.”

“Nope. I’ll just hide out for the next few days. My phone’s been off for hours and I’m growing fond of that mode. I might leave it off.”

“But you’re a big-deal actor now. Don’t you have to stay in touch with your peeps?”

“My peeps are all right here in Sheridan. You, Lexi, Rosie and Herb. Plus Damon and Philomena. How’s their baby doing, by the way?”

“Sophie’s cute as hell, bright red hair just like her mother’s. And Jake Ramsey moved back to town. He’s working at the fire station and engaged to Amethyst Ferguson. Remember her?”

Matt laughed. “Doesn’t everybody? I can’t hear ‘Santa Baby’ without remembering her sexy performance back in high school. I thought she’d be giving Taylor Swift a run for her money by now.”

“Turns out she’d rather stick to performing locally.”

“You know, after what just happened, I get that.”

“Please don’t tell me you’re hanging it up because of this nonsense.”

“No, I’m not. I’m starting a new movie next month.”

“Awesome! I don’t think I heard about that.”

“It came up pretty fast, and I kept meaning to call Mom but then this thing hit.” Matt let out a weary sigh. “But I’ll hang in there. I love acting. Always have.”

“The ultimate escape.” Cade glanced at him. “Do you remember telling me that?”

“I do, actually. School plays were great when I was a kid, but this...you can completely disappear into the role. You don’t have to worry about what to say because they hand you a script. You don’t have to wonder how everything will turn out, either. It’s all written out.”

“Sounds damned appealing. It’s a wonder more of us didn’t get into that line of work. Perfect way to forget about things you’d rather not remember.”

“Sure is. But I need a break. I’m ready to unplug, at least for the next week or so. Let’s talk about your wedding. Third weekend in August, right?”

“Yep.”

“I want all the deets, bridegroom.”

“You won’t be bored?”

“Not a chance.” He settled back, ready to hear about something positive for a change.

Once Cade got started on the subject of his upcoming nuptials, he barely stopped for breath. Matt got a kick out of his excitement. By the time they turned down the dirt road leading to the ranch, the humiliation of the past twenty-four hours seemed unimportant compared to Cade’s obvious joy in marrying the love of his life.

The tabloid blitz had loomed large back in LA, but moonlight shining on the massive bulk of the Bighorns put everything in perspective. Cade parked in the circular gravel drive in front of the low-slung ranch house and Matt swung down from the cab. Lamplight coming through the windows allowed him to see Rosie, Herb and Lexi sitting in the Adirondack chairs lined up on the long porch.

They called out a greeting as they started down the steps. Matt hadn’t shaved or showered in two days, but nobody seemed to care. Arms outstretched, they gathered him close. Coming home had been the right thing to do.

* * *

As the crow flew, Sheridan didn’t seem that far from LA. Geena wished she could get there by crow, because clearly traveling by passenger plane would take all flipping day. The layover in Denver was ridiculous, but it gave her plenty of time to think about where she’d gone wrong with Matt Forrest.

And she’d gone very wrong with him. She’d also underestimated Briana Danvers’s thirst for publicity. Somehow the woman had learned that Matt had left town and she’d made a huge deal of it, calling his departure an admission of guilt.

That was exactly why Geena had wanted him to stick around, but she’d handled the situation poorly. Because she’d dealt with her fair share of clients caught in compromising situations off the set, she’d assumed Matt fell into that category. She’d expected him to agree with her plan to contain the damage. Instead, he’d stormed out of her office.