The Real Thing (13 page)

Her heart did a silly, little cartwheel at the words. “I’ve never posed for an ar
tist
before.”

Logan
gave her wink. “Just lay there and look beautiful.”

She
laughed.
He knew exactly
what to say to make a woman feel special, didn’
t
he?

Raine might not have modeled for an artist before, but
as he sketched her in various poses over the next few hours,
she was pretty sure it wasn’t suppos
ed to be an arousing experience. S
he couldn’t help herself. Not only was Logan sitting there naked with a hard-on the whole time, but he was
eyeing her like he
could just eat her up.
Another minute and she was goin
g to slide her hand between her
legs and touch herself.

“Done,” Logan finally announced. “For now.”

She hopped up and ran over to him. “Let me see.”

He pulled her down onto his lap and gave her a soul-searing kiss that had her forgetting all about the drawings. Until he pulled away and showed them to her.
Raine’
s
eyes went wide.

“Logan, these are gorgeous.”

“You’re the one who’s gorgeous. I just drew what I saw.”

She blushed. No camera had ever captured her like this
. It was like seeing herself
through his eyes.
And
for the first time in a long time, she liked what she saw
.
She didn’t look like a movie star. She looked like a wo
man who was truly happy, not an actress being paid to seem
that way.

Tears welled in her eyes before she could stop them. She looked away bef
ore Logan
could see, bu
t he cupped her cheek and
lifted her chin.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

She gave him a tremulous smile. “Nothing. It’s just that these are so beautiful.”

He gently wiped a tear away with his thumb. “Well, I wouldn’t have
drawn them if
I knew it was going to make you cry.”

Raine shook her head. “They didn’t. I love them. I love…”

You
.

The word stuck in her throat, refusing to come out. How could she be in love
with Logan when she couldn’t stand the sight of him a week ago?
Was it possible to fall in
love that fast?
Were the things she was feeling even love at all or just the
side-effect
of really incredible sex?
Or a really screwed up life in general?

Logan regarded her expectantly, as if he was waiting for her to say something. She tried to think of some other way to finish the sentence she’d star
ted, but everything she
came up with sounded trite
. O
r just
plain ridiculous. So, she did
the only other thing
she could do—she kissed him.

And got the answer to the questions she’d asked herse
lf earlier. She was totally and
irrevocably in love
with Logan McBride.

Monday morning ca
me all too soon.

Raine
closed her eyes and
snuggled up against Logan,
trying to imprint the moment—make that the entire weekend—into her memory.
“I wish I didn’t hav
e to
go.”

L
ogan
’s arm tightened
around her
. “Then stay.”

She sighed.
“I have to finish shooting those scenes.”

He
tilted her face up with gentle fingers.
“Then come back
when
you’re
done
.”

“I can’t
. At least not right away. Maybe after the wedding.”

God, just saying the word made her feel ill.

He pushed her hair back from her face. “Who’s getting married?”

“I am.”

Logan stared at her so for long Raine thought maybe
she only thought she’d said it
out loud.

“Wait a minute.”
He laughed. Like the way someone laughs when they don’t think something’s funny.
“I must be confused. I thought you just said you
were getting
married.”

Oh, God. He didn’t know. She thought everyone knew. But how could he know? He didn’t watch a lot of television. Which meant he probably didn’t read a lot of entertainment news on the internet.

“I did,” she said softly.

He sat up so fast, she
almost fell out of bed. His eyes bore into hers. “Then what the hell was this weekend all about? What was I, some last-hurrah fuck before you tied the knot?”

Raine reeled back as if he’d slapped her.
Actually, a
slap wou
l
d have hurt less.
“No! Logan, you don’t understand. I
t’s not even a real wedding.”

His eyes narrowed. “What do you mean? You’re either getting married or you’re
not.”

“
I am,
but it’s not going to be a real marriage.
” She gripped the sheet so hard her knuckles were white. “My career
’s been in the toilet for years. And the only way to get it back on track is to be seen with an A-list movie star like Cameron Kincade.
It’s
just a
publicity stunt. I won’t even sleep with
him.
”

“That makes it okay
then.” Logan snorted. “This has
gotta be one of the most fucked-up things I’ve ever heard.”

“Maybe.
”
She cupped his cheek.
“But we can still keep seeing each other. It’ll have to be in secret,
at least
while Cameron and I are married.
We’ll be getting a
divorce
soon, though, and after that—
”

“No.”

The word was almost a growl. A chill ran thr
ough her. “Wh-what do you mean,
no?”

“I mean I won’t be your boy toy.”

“That’s not what I’m asking you to be.”

“I won’t be your
fuck buddy, either.”

Her face turned red
. “You’re more than that, and you know it.”

His jaw flexed. “I don’t know anything anymore.”

She dropped her hand. “I know you’re hurt—

“I’m not hurt. I’m pissed as hell.”

He threw back the blanket and go
t out of bed. Tears stung her eyes she watched him pull on his jeans.

“I can’t believe you’re going to throw aw
ay what we could have over
something as stupid as
this,
”
she said.

He slanted her a hard look. “I could say the same thing about you.”

A tear trickled down her cheek and she wiped it away with the heel of her hand. Logan’s expression softened and she thought he’d come over
and take her in his arms,
but instead he grabbed a T-shirt from a drawer and put it on.

“You should get ready,” he said quietly. “You don’t want to miss the ferry
.
”

Raine stared at his retreating back as he walked out of the bedroom. So that was it? Logan wasn’t even going to consider seeing her
simply because some stupid piece of paper
sai
d she was married? She could understand if the marriage was real, but it wasn’t. She was just going to be playing the part of Cameron Kincade’s wife for a little while. There had to be some way to make Logan see that.
What difference did it make if the whole world thought she was madly in love with Cameron Kincade? She and Logan would know the truth, and that should be all that mattered.

Blinking back tears, she got out of bed and padded across the carpeted floor to the bathroom. She didn’t think she’d ever gotten ready so fast before, but she showered,
dressed and put on her make-up in record time. Taking a deep breath, she picked up her bag and walked out of the bedroom.

Logan was in the kitchen staring out the window exactly like he’d done in the cabin that morning she’d left. Only this time, she wasn’t going without a fight.

He turned at the sound of her footsteps on the hardwood floor. He didn’
t look
angry anymore, at least.

“I guess this is goodbye,” he said.

She set
down
her bag
and closed the distance between them.
“It doesn’t have to be.
”

H
e
shook
his head. “I can’t, Raine
.
I can’t sne
ak
around with a married woman.
E
ven if your marriage is a lie.”

Her
heart squeeze
d
in her chest. “But why not?”

He
cup
ped
her cheek, the tender gesture
making
what he was telling her even that much more painful. “I can’t be the
other
guy, Raine, no matter how much I care for you.
Because while a marriage may not mean anything to you, it means an awful lot to me.
”

Tears started
in her eyes.
If she told him she loved him, would it make a difference? Something told her it wouldn’t.
Logan didn’t live in her make-believe world
where people got married because it was a good career move.
He lived in a world where
people got married for love.
She desperately wished she could live there, too
.

A lone tear trickled down her cheek and Logan lifted his hand to gently wipe it away. “The ferry leaves soon
.
If you miss it, you’ll be late getting back to Vancouver.
Come on. I’ll walk you out.
”

Raine
sniffed. She didn’t want to go,
not until she’d changed his mind. Or at least got his promise that he’d think about it. But
he was right
. She
had to be in Vancouver that afternoon. Wiping her nose with the back of her hand, she picked up her purse.
She would have grabbed her weekender bag, too, but he picked it up before she could.

When they got to her car,
she turned back to him
.
“I wish things cou
ld be different.”

He gave her a small smile. “I do, too.”

They stood for a moment gazing at each other
before Logan bent his head to kiss her. Raine clung to him, her kiss trying to tell him everything sh
e hadn’t been able to
say with words
.

Logan pulled away first, his dark eyes sad. “Goodbye, Raine.”

Raine couldn’t make herself say the same
. Because saying the word out loud would make their parting too final. Stifling a sob, she got in her car and drove away.

Raine had never hurt so much in her entire life. Leaving Logan was the hardest thing she
’
d ever done,
but she forced herself to get on the ferry.
If it had been
a movie, Logan would have come after her,
catching
the boat
just as it was
about to pull away from the dock. She would have been standing at the railing
with
tears in her eyes, and he would have taken her into his arms and begged her not to go.
But it wasn’t a
movie, and none of that happened.

She
spent the next two days filming in Vancouver,
then went home to LA. If anyone noticed how moody she was, they didn’t
mention
it. They probably
chalked
it
up to pre-
wedding jitters
. God, she wished that was all it was. Then maybe she’d stop dreading it so much. Is she was this
miserable
now
,
how was she going to feel on her wedding day? She didn’t know how she was
go
ing to go
through with it.

But then she thought of everything she
’
d lose if she didn’t, and knew she had no choice.

Reginald
descended on her the minute she and Chloe walked in the door.
That wasn’t surprising. What did surprise her
was the copy of
T
he National Investigator
in his
hand.
The scandal
sheet
put a frown on
his
face whenever
he was in the same room with it. I
nstead, he was
grinning from ear to ear.

“You
’
re incredible,
Raine, my dear,
”
her manager said.
“
I wish I’d thought of it myself. Though I must admit, I probably wouldn’t have
hooked you up
with an artist. A musician, perhaps. Or a writer, maybe. But
I rather think I like
the idea
of you and
this artist
guy
together
.”

Raine frowned. Logan was the only artist she kne
w, and there was no way Reginald
could know about him. Unless…

Heart suddenly pounding, she snatched
the paper
out of
Reginald’s
hand
.
Right there on the front cover was a photo of her kissing Logan
beside her car
that morning she’d left for Vancouver.
And above it were the words
“Raine in Seattle.
Does This
Mean Stormy Weather Ahead for Her and Cameron?
”

Her
hands tremble
d as she read the article. It had Logan’
s full name and what he
did for a living.
It even said he lived on Bainbridge Island. He was going to be furious
his privacy had been invaded like this.

“This McBride
guy
could be exactly what we’ve been looking for
.”

She dragged her gaze a
w
ay from
the article to look at her manager. He was still grinning. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about all the added
publicity
this is giving us
right before the wedding.”

“Publicity?” she echoed. She was worried about what this was going to do to Logan, and her manager was worried about how good this was going to be for her look?

“The phones have been ringing o
ff the hook for interviews since this morning, and
I’ve got
five
producers looking to sign you to movie deals
. They don’t even want you to
read for the part
s.” He snapped his fingers. “You know what would be a great idea? Postponing the
wedding
. Just
for a month or two.
You know, make it look like Cameron is pissed off?
You could apologize publicly. Maybe check into sex rehab.
Think how big
the buzz will be
when you get back together
? The
wedding
will be
bigger than William
and Kate’s.
”

Raine
was going to be sick.
“No!
This
marriage is going to happen on schedule, or not at all.
”

Reginald’s eyes went wide. Probably because she’d never shouted
at him before.
“Okay, okay.
Take it easy. We’ll go ahead with the wedding as scheduled.”

Instead of relief, she stood there feeling like she coul
d
n’t breathe.

“We can still use McBride,” Reginald continued. “I’ve been
trying to come up with something to hinge the divorce on
, and
this artist
is the perfect thing to come between you and Cameron. The divorce will be so much more
sensational
if there’s
a lo
ver in the
picture.”

Raine gripped the paper
when what she really wanted to do was tear it to shreds.
“
No, it won’t, because
Logan isn’t going to be any part of this
. And if you try t
o drag
him into this, you can start looking for another job. I mean it, Reginald.”

Her manager stared at her
in shock. Even Chloe seemed stunned.

“Of course.
” Reginald
cleared his throat.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…
”

S
he didn’t let him finish. “I’m tired
.
I’m g
oing upstairs to rest.
”

Tears were running down her cheeks by
the time she got to the top of the stairs. She
wiped them away angrily. Damn
that rag of a newspaper
for taking what she had with Logan and making it seem as shallow and fake
as everything else in her life.
And damn Reginald for wanting to use her relationship with Logan as m
ore fuel for the publicity fire.
And damn her for letting it all happen.

In her bedroom, she
curled up on the chaise
by the window and morosely stared out at the huge swimming pool below. She didn’t even want to imagine the look on Logan’s face when he saw the photo of the two of them. If he hadn’t hated everything about Hollywood, he would now.
She only hoped he didn’t hate her for dragging
him
into that world. The thou
ght brought another rush of hot tears.

A knock sounded on the door before it opened and Chloe poked her head in. “Can I come in?”

Raine wanted to point out that she already had, but didn’t. Instead, she wiped
a
tear from her cheek and nodded.

Chloe quietly closed the door, then came over to sit on the bottom of the chaise.

“
You’re in love with
Logan McBride
, aren’t you
?” she asked softly.

Raine’s first instinct was to deny it, but she didn’
t want to. On the contrary, she wanted to shout it from the rooftops.
Although she supposed the modern-day
equivalent
thing to do would be to
announce it on Twitter.
She couldn’t
do either
of
those things, though.
But she could confide in
her closest friend.

“
Yes,
”
she said.

“I thought so. How did you two meet?”

“Remember when I said I went up to the spa at Mountain Ridge?”

Chloe nodded.

“Well, there was this snowstorm…”

Raine told Chloe everything. Well, she didn’t mention the spankings. But she told her about everything else
, including the beautiful sketches Logan had done.

“He’s the most amazing artist I’ve ever seen,” she finished. “The painting of the cabin he did makes you feel as if you’re really there.”

Chloe regarded her thoughtfully. “You can’t marry Cameron.”

Raine did a double take at the sudden change in topic
. She frowned at the mention of the other actor. “I have to. My career is riding on it.”

“Screw your career.
It’s already back on track anyway.
” Chloe sighed. “Raine, don’
t
settle for a fake marriage to
Cameron when you can have the real thing with Logan.”

Raine didn’t say anything.

Her friend sighed again. “I’ve got to get back to work. Just think about what I said, okay?”

Chloe didn’t wait for an answer
. Instead, she gave Raine’s hand a squeeze, then got up and left, closing the door quietly behind her.

Chloe made it sound so simple. But while her career probably wouldn’t completely derail if she dumped Cameron, it would still take a hit. And even if she did c
a
ll off the wedding,
that didn’t mean Logan would want her in his life, especially wh
en she came with a pack of raven
ous paparazzi.

Raine
grabbed the chenille throw
from the back of the chaise and
wrapped it
around her, wishing
she was in
Logan’s
arms
instead.

* * * * *

Logan
couldn’t
get Raine
out of his mind
.
The house was empty without her in it. He couldn’t
sleep. He
couldn’t paint.
He could barely breathe
. Which gave him a hell of a lot of time to think and wonder if he’d made the right decision. Her marriage to this actor wasn’t real. Would being her guy on the side be so bad?

His head said it would, but the hollow feeling in his chest said otherwise.

Cursing, he
threw down his
paintbrush
and went upstairs to change
into shorts and a T-shirt. Maybe
a long run would exhaust him so much
he wouldn’t have the energy to
think of Raine.

He was just headed back downstairs when the doorbell rang.
Whoever
it was
, he didn’t want any. Unless it was Raine. He wanted her and everything that came with her.

Shit.

He
jogged down the last few steps and opened the door to find his sister standing there.
Two years younger than he was
,
Lydia
was tall with wavy
,
brown hair and eyes as dark as his.
It wasn’t unusual for her to stop by unan
nounced, but she didn’t usually
do it in the middle of the work day.

“You didn’t tell me that y
ou were dating
Raine Montgomery.”

Logan closed the door
behind her. Lydia stood in the middle of the entryw
ay, her
arms folded across her chest
, her eyes accusing.

“I’m not.”

He strode past her
into
the living room
.
His sister
followed.

“
That’s not what
The
National Investigator
says.”

He frowned. “
The what?”

“
The National Investigator
,” she repeated, holding up
a newspaper. “They say she
spent a
very
romantic weekend here with you.”

Logan
took the newspaper from his sister, his
eyes narrow
ing
. On the front cover
big as life
was a picture of him kissing Raine
beside her car. H
e stared at in disbelief.

“So?”
Lydia
prodded when he said nothing. “Are you two an item, or what?”

He clenched his jaw.
“No.
”