His Larkville Cinderella

chapter THIRTEEN



THREE days remained on the shoot. Adam had never been so damn miserable in his life. The only thing that kept him from sitting himself down at the local tavern night after night was the need to give this shoot his best effort. He needed to salvage something from this project. He doubted he’d be seeing an acting nomination now due to the tension on the set between him and Lane.

The actress used people and spat them out, but that didn’t make her happy or feel less alone. Adam didn’t want to end up like her, yet he felt so lonely, even surrounded by crew members. He’d wanted to avoid getting hurt, but he’d been hurting ever since Megan left.

His cell phone rang. The ring tone told him it was his mother. She was on an extended tour of Europe after her cruise. He hoped nothing was wrong. He hit Answer on his touch screen. “Mom?”

“Hi, Adam. I hope your shoot is going well.”

Her cheerful tone lessened his concern. “I’ll be back in L.A. in a couple of days. How’s the vacation?”

“Wonderful.” His mom sounded like she was smiling. “I met the most perfect man.”

Adam grimaced. Not again. He prepared himself for what was no doubt the beginning of yet another end full of heartbreak and tears. “Who is he?”

Probably another in a long line of jerks.

“His name is Joseph Weber. We were seated at the same table for dinner. It wasn’t love at first sight, but it didn’t take me long to know I’d finally found my Mr. Right.”

Yeah, Adam had heard that before. “I’m going to have the guy checked out.”

“No need, dear, unless it’ll make you feel better,” his mother said. “Joseph owns his own security company in San Diego. He’s an upright and law-abiding man.”

Adam would still have him checked out. “At least you don’t live too far away from him if you keep seeing him when you get home.”

“Oh, we will.” His mother sounded confident, but she usually did at the beginning of a new relationship. “I know I haven’t been the best mother. I put my needs ahead of yours. But I always knew I’d find what we both needed. It took me longer to find than I thought it would, but I think you’ll like Joseph as much as I do.”

Adam’s heart squeezed tight. His mom sounded like she was floating on air. He wasn’t looking forward to her crashing and burning. “You’ll have to introduce us.”

He wanted to believe this time it would work out for her, even if the odds were slim to none.

“I’ll call when I’m home,” she said.

As soon as his mom said goodbye, he disconnected from the call. He tightened his grip on the phone. He didn’t want his mom hurt again. It took everything in him not to reach out to the one person who he felt most comfortable with. The one person he wanted to see, to hear, more than anything.

Megan. He missed her.

Being with her lifted him up and made him stronger. When he was with her, he wanted to be a better man. She’d cared about him in a way no one had before, and he’d let her go.

Megan had been right.

He’d been a coward. Even his mother had been braver than him. She’d never given up trying to find Mr. Right. Even if she’d ended up with a lot of duds along the way. Whatever his mom kept searching for had to be pretty special if she kept risking her heart to find it.

Adam hadn’t even tried. He’d been too scared of being hurt to risk it. He couldn’t help himself. He’d held off everyone, even his own mom at times, because of what his dad had done all those years ago. Adam had even copied him by being an actor and a ladies’ man. Someone who might disappoint, but could never be disappointed.

But Adam wasn’t his father. He cared about people, about his mom, about Megan.

People changed. Megan had grown and changed before his eyes. She’d helped him do the same, too.

What was he doing?

He couldn’t let his chance with Megan slip away because he was afraid. The risk of having her bail on him at some point was worth it to have her in his life now. The excitement of being together and trusting they could make it work would be like riding a wave or jumping out of an airplane. There weren’t any guarantees, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t work out.

Maybe it could. If it weren’t too late.

* * *

Fatigue wore Megan down. She placed a pair of faded jeans, the only remaining item in her dresser, into the suitcase lying on her bed. She’d packed everything and wished she could pack away her broken heart, as well.

She could hardly sleep. Food didn’t appeal to her. Nothing did.

Darn Adam Noble.

Megan was angry with him for not being willing to take a chance and at herself for falling for another man who couldn’t love her back. Sadness gripped her heart like a fist and wouldn’t let go. Emptiness, too, as if her insides had been hollowed out and left bare. Nothing, not even Rob offering to visit without Pru, had made Megan feel better.

But she wouldn’t always feel this way. At least she hoped not.

She rolled her suitcase to the front door. Everything she owned. Three boxes and two suitcases worth of stuff were ready to be loaded into her car. The furniture had come with the apartment, except for her little table. That would go in the car, too.

She glanced around the apartment. Even though she’d spent more time at the lot, and on location, this had become home, the one place—the first place—where she fit in and could be herself. No hiding. No pretending.

Not that she would ever go back to doing that again.

Lesson learned. Even if her family might not agree.

When she returned to Larkville in October for her father’s celebration and a family reunion with her new half siblings, they would all have to accept it. Accept her. And even if they didn’t... Well, she was a stronger, more confident woman now than when she left.

She double-checked the locks on the windows. She’d given her perishable food to Mrs. Hamilton downstairs, who still had out the vase from the flowers Adam had sent.

Thinking about him made her chest ache.

Best to forget everything to do with him. That was the only way to heal. She wasn’t the first woman who’d had her heart broken. Unfortunately, she wouldn’t be the last.

She’d cried enough. No more pity parties.

Someday she could look back on this and laugh at the time she went out with a famous movie star. Someday. Too bad that couldn’t be today.

With a sigh, Megan loaded the table, suitcases and boxes into the back of her car. She decided to take one last look around the apartment to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything.

Inside, her footsteps echoed on the hardwood floor. It sounded as if she were in a cave. She recalled talking to a screenwriter while working on a one-day shoot as a stylist two weeks ago. He had told her about the Writer’s Journey, a method used to plot scripts. Megan had accepted the call to adventure when she took the internship. Now she wanted out of the innermost cave. The rest of her life was waiting for her. And maybe, just maybe, she would find the elixir—the treasure—to have made this journey worthwhile.

Best get finished with this portion so she could move on to what came next. Her plans hadn’t turned out like she expected, but she was coming to realize that was okay.

She double-checked the closet, the bathroom and the small kitchen. All the drawers and cupboards were empty. Time to go.

“You’re leaving.”

The sound of Adam’s voice sent a chill down her spine. Every nerve ending stood to attention. Once again, a million and one thoughts ran through her head. She focused on one—don’t lose it.

Slowly, she faced him. “Yes, I am.”

Adam stood four feet away from her. His hair was damp, as if he’d gone for a swim or showered recently. He wore a pair of board shirts and a faded T-shirt.

So handsome. Gorgeous. But looks didn’t make a man.

Whether on the set or off it, Adam played roles. She wasn’t sure who the real man was now. Too bad because she’d liked the Adam she’d gotten to know on set, but for all she knew he was as make-believe as the character he was playing in the movie.

She raised her chin. “What do you want?”

His gaze met hers. “You.”

The air rushed from her lungs. She didn’t know what to say.

He took a step toward her.

Self-preservation made her back away from him. He was too handsome, too charming. She couldn’t allow herself to be swayed by him. That had happened twice already. “I have to go.”

“Where?”

“Portland, Oregon.”

“The beautiful Pacific Northwest.”

“I hear it’s very green and rains a lot,” she said. “I was offered a job on a shoot there. Someone heard about me from Hugh Wilstead. Imagine that. The man whose fiancée had me fired.”

“It’s funny how things work in this town.”

“No kidding,” she agreed. “I tried to find a position on my own, but kept coming up empty even with Eva as a reference. Not enough experience was the standard line I kept hearing, if I heard anything at all.”

Adam took a step closer. “Someone must have called in a favor.”

“I’m just happy for the chance.” Megan didn’t know why she was telling him all this. She needed to shut up. He’d made his choice. She’d made hers. She stared down her nose at him. “Not that it matters to you.”

“But it does.”

Huh? Megan started to speak, then stopped herself. She wasn’t sure how to respond. Or if she should.

Adam crossed the distance between them in two long strides. “I’m sorry, Megan. I was an idiot for the way I acted at the airport.”

Emotion swirled through her. Part of Megan wanted to throw herself into Adam’s arms and kiss him. The other part wanted to see him on his knees groveling at her feet.

He touched the side of her face. “I want to make it up to you. I want us to be together.”

Warmth flowed through her. His words filled her heart with hope. She cared about him. She wanted to be with him.

But no matter how she might want to believe what he said was true, Megan didn’t dare. He’d said it himself. He wasn’t the right man for her. They’d already played this scene and it hadn’t ended well. She looked away. “I have to go.”

“I’m not talking about a fling,” Adam said. “I’m talking long-term.”

Her gaze jerked up to his. “You don’t do long-term.”

“I haven’t,” he admitted. “That doesn’t mean I can’t. Forever with you sounds awesome to me.”

Her mouth gaped. She closed it. His words wouldn’t let the hope in her heart die.

“I miss you, Megan. I don’t want to lose you.”

She was tempted. Oh, how she was tempted. But that road would only lead her to where she was now...brokenhearted.

Megan moved past him. Getting far away from him was her smartest move at the moment. “I’m sure you’ll find someone else on the set to keep you company. If you haven’t already.”

“I love you.”

She froze. Her shoes felt as if they’d been glued to the floor.

“I love you, Megan Calhoun,” Adam said. “I understand why you’re upset. If you want to leave, go. I don’t blame you. But if there’s a part of you who wants to take a chance on a risky guy like me, here I am. I’m yours.”

Her pulse rocketed out of control.

His gaze implored her. “You were dead-on about me playing roles. But not with you. It was only when I got scared, realizing how close we’d gotten, that I wasn’t myself. It’s what I did when I was a kid to survive. But you showed me it could be different. I could be myself. I want to be with you, Megan. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to keep you in my life.”

Her heart pounded so loudly she was sure people in the next apartment could hear it. She stared at Adam with a mix of surprise, affection and respect. The sincerity in his eyes and the way he stumbled over his words made her believe he was telling the truth.

He loved her.

Fireworks exploded inside her. “I love you, too.”

Adam pulled her toward him. He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her firmly on the lips. His arms wrapped around her. She went willingly, eagerly. She melted against him, allowing his kiss to consume her. This was where she belonged.

“I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” He ran the side of his finger along her jaw. “But first I want you to go after your dreams.”

The love in his eyes matched the way she felt. “They’re already coming true.”

He removed something from his pocket—a ring box.

The air rushed from her lungs.

“This is a promise ring. I don’t want you to feel rushed or any pressure. But I promise—” he slid it on the ring finger of her left hand “—when you’re ready, I’ll replace this with an engagement ring.”

She stared at the silver ring. The diamond sparkled. She couldn’t imagine any engagement ring being more beautiful.

“It’s...” Megan struggled to find the perfect word. “Stunning.”

He kissed her hand. “Not as stunning as you.”

She studied him. “Are you sure about this?”

“I’m not sure what the future will hold,” he admitted. “But I’m sure I want you in it. I’m committed to making this work.”

That was good enough for her. “A part of me wishes I didn’t have to go to Portland now.”

“Why? There’s so much to do there—climbing, skydiving, waterskiing, year-round skiing on Mount Hood.”

His daredevil ways hadn’t changed. She smiled. “Let me guess, you want to BASE jump off Mount Hood?”

“No,” he admitted. “But I have in mind a few adventures for us. Ones we can do and experience together to create memories.”

“Too bad we’ll have to wait to do those things until we’re together.”

Mischief gleamed in his eyes. “My shoot is in Portland, too.”

Megan didn’t know how he’d managed that, and she didn’t care. They were going to be together. That was what mattered. She rose on her tiptoes and kissed Adam on the lips, hard.

“And I have an adventure for us...in Larkville.” She had no idea what it would be like to bring him home, but she had a feeling it wouldn’t be bad. “We’re celebrating my dad’s life at the annual Fall Festival in October. My entire family will be there, including my half siblings. I’d love it if you would go with me.”

“I’m in.” Adam didn’t hesitate. “I can’t wait to meet your brothers and sister.”

“Sisters, remember—I have a brand-new one!” Megan smiled a bit nervously. Adam looked at her and grinned.

“It doesn’t matter how many sisters you have, you’ll always stand out.”

Megan blushed. “Well, you’re the one who’s helped me to stop hiding and start having adventures!”

“And the lessons have only just begun.”

He kissed her again, a kiss worthy of a Viewers’ Choice Award for Best Kiss. Or maybe the MTV Movie Awards gave out that one. Either way, Megan knew she and Adam were the real winners no matter what happened after the screen faded to black.

Happily ever after. Sounded like a perfect ending to her. She had a feeling Adam would agree.