Time Out (21 page)

She clenched
the designer purse tighter. “The man in the photos is my husband.
Your girlfriend and my husband were involved before she left
L.A.”

The producer.
He had been mentioned a few times in the articles Nick had read
about Megan when she first got to town, but he’d never seen them
together. His hand shook. That look in her eyes. He knew that look.
He’d seen that look when she made love to him. God, he’d thought he
was special. He’d thought she loved him.

“I know how you
must feel,” she said quietly. “I felt the same way. That bitch
ruined my life. She stole my husband, took my children’s father
away. She wanted money, security. I guess she didn’t consider how
much the divorce would cost him.”

Nick sank back
on a bale of hay, trying to process what she was telling him. He
wanted to tear the photos up, but he couldn’t take his eyes off
them. The acts Megan was engaged in… It made him wonder if he knew
her at all.

“This is a
pattern for her, you know.”

Nick lifted his
head. “Excuse me?”

She pulled a
sheet of paper out of her handbag and passed it to Nick. “This is a
list of all the men she’s been involved with.”

He glanced at
the names. Many were athletes, actors, and musicians. “How the hell
did you get this?”

“I hired a
private investigator. I knew something was going on with my husband
when he came to visit me. He was distant, and I suspected it had
something to do with another woman.” She released a shaky breath.
“I’d been married to that man for twenty-five years. I loved him
with everything I had. And that’s how he repays me.” Her bottom lip
trembled as she took a tissue out of her purse.

“I don’t know
why you’re tellin’ me this.” Nick wanted to pretend Megan’s past
didn’t matter, but seeing her like that with another man shredded
him.

“I’m telling
you so you won’t be her next victim.” She gestured to the paper
Nick held. “Don’t you see a pattern there, Mr. McCall? She only
dates wealthy men, men who can give her the kind of financial
security she craves. I’ve done my homework. I know you’re a very
wealthy man in your own right. Your family is very prominent.” She
sighed. “I know this is hard to hear, but that’s the only reason
she wants you.”

The accusation
felt like a kick to the gut. Nick thought back to his own
reservations about Megan when she first came to town. He’d thought
she was an opportunist. His research led him in that direction, but
when he got to know her, he’d given her his heart. Which of his
impressions of her was correct?

“You’re more
than welcome to check my facts. Speak to any of the men on that
list. They’ll all tell you the same thing. They gave her expensive
gifts, jewelry, cars… They fell in love with her, Mr. McCall. But
that didn’t stop her from moving on without a second thought. Are
you really going to allow yourself to be the next casualty?”

Nick couldn’t
think straight. He closed his eyes, but the pictures appeared in
vivid, gory detail. “I think you’d better go. I have a plane to
catch.”

***

Megan parked
her car in front of the stables. Her stomach twisted in knots when
Stephan walked toward her.

He waited until
she got out of the car. “Hey, sis.”

“Where’s Nick?”
She knew he was gone before she asked.

Stephan ushered
her into the stables. “That bitch was here, Megan. She showed him
the pictures.”

Steadying
herself on the gate of an empty stall, she asked, “How do you know
he saw them?”

“She walked in
here with an envelope. A few minutes later, Nick tore out of here.
I put two and two together.” He touched her shoulder. “I’m
sorry.”

She flattened
her palm against her churning stomach. “He asked me to go to
Kentucky with him. But that was before…”

“Maybe he just
needs a little time…”

She forced a
smile. “I don’t think so. I knew it was too good to be true. Guys
like Nick McCall don’t fall in love with girls like me.”

“Don’t say
that,” he said, reaching for her hand. “He’d be lucky to have
you.”

Megan closed
her eyes, wishing she was having a nightmare and she would wake up
in Nick’s arms. He would tell her he loved her, that he wanted to
spend the rest of his life loving her. “No, I’m toxic for a man
like him. I would destroy his life. I have already. He needs
somebody from a stable family, who knows what it means to love and
be loved. That’s not me. That’ll never be me.”

Megan turned
toward the door when she heard the crunch of gravel.
Avery.

Stephan glanced
at Nick’s mother before asking Megan, “Do you need me to stick
around?”

She managed a
tight smile. “No, I’m fine. Thanks.”

“Will you let
me know what you’re gonna do?”

“Sure.”

Stephan greeted
Avery with a low, “Ma’am,” and tip of his baseball cap before he
left.

“I guess you
heard about my job,” Megan said, unable to look Nick’s mother in
the eye.

Avery sighed as
she stuck her hands into the pockets of her dress pants. “I heard.
You want to tell me how you got yourself mixed up with a married
man, Megan?”

“I didn’t know
he was married.” She knew she couldn’t win back Avery’s respect,
and that was one of the hardest pills to swallow. Nick’s parents
had been so kind to her, making her feel like one of the family,
and she hated that she’d disappointed them. “I’m so sorry about
this. I should have known this would come back to haunt me. I
should have told you about it.”

“I already
knew.”

“You did?”

“Yes.” Avery
smiled. “It’s my business to know everything there is to know about
my clients before the rest of the world finds out. I won’t deny
quashing those photos before she has a chance to use them will be
hard, but that doesn’t mean we roll over and die.”

That was
exactly what Megan felt like doing. “I appreciate your concern, but
this isn’t your problem. I made the mess. I have to figure out how
to clean it up.”

“As your
publicist, that’s my job.”

“Why would you
still want me as a client?”

Avery crossed
the distance between them and took Megan’s hand. “Because I care
about you, and when someone hurts someone that I care about, I
fight back.” She opened her arms, and Megan didn’t hesitate to step
into them.

Megan tried in
vain to stem the flow of tears, but before she knew it, they
dampened the shoulder of Avery’s white blouse. “I’m sorry. I made a
mess of your shirt,” she said, sniffling as she wiped her eyes.

“I don’t give a
damn about that. What I do care about is my son and what this must
be doing to him. He loves you, Megan. Anyone can see that.”

Avery’s claim
went through her like a double-edged sword. Hope on one side,
hopelessness on the other. Megan couldn’t expect Nick to forgive
the mistakes she’d made or the feelings that prompted her to make
them. Megan said, “I hate that I hurt him. I never meant to.”

“I know that. I
know it hasn’t been easy for you since your mother died.” Avery
brushed away the tears sliding down Megan’s cheek.

Megan choked
back a sob. She lifted a shoulder. “It wasn’t easy before she died.
We were never close.”

“I know what
that’s like. I wasn’t close to my parents growing up. After I met
Ty and we planned our family, I was able to start repairing that
relationship.” She squeezed Megan’s hands. “What I learned is that
my parents are only human. They made a lot of mistakes while I was
growing up, just like I made a lot of mistakes while my own kids
were growing up.”

“I can’t
imagine that. I see you with Anna and Nick. You’re a great mother.
They both love you so much.”

“Just like you
loved your mother and she loved you. Just like you love your
father, even though he’s hurt you.”

Megan refused
to go there. She was too raw from learning she’d lost her job and
the man she loved in the same day. She couldn’t deal with her
feelings about Manny Moore as well.

Avery brushed
Megan’s long dark hair over her shoulder. “Your mother’s gone,
honey, but your father’s still here, and you have a half-brother
and half-sisters. You have a family. You have us, and we’d love
nothing more than to be your family.”

Megan was
overcome. No one had ever reached out to her and tried to care for
her the way Avery had… except Nick. “Do you happen to know where
your son is right now?”

Avery’s eyes
fell. “He called to say he was on his way to Kentucky.”

“I see.” Megan
saw everything clearly. He didn’t want her anymore, and who could
blame him?

“I’m flying out
there in a little while. Why don’t you come with me?”

Facing him
knowing he didn’t want to see her would be too painful. She gave
Avery a fierce hug. “I don’t think so. Thank you for
everything.”

“Is this
goodbye?”

“I’m afraid
so.” Megan tried to smile, but she couldn’t force her trembling
lips to cooperate. “You’re the best, Avery. I won’t ever forget
what you tried to do for me.”

“Be happy,
sweetheart. You deserve it.”

Nick wasn’t surprised
Brandi was crossing the room toward him. He knew she would be at
the Derby with her parents to support her brother. He couldn’t deny
she looked lovely wearing a pink cocktail dress and hat in keeping
with Churchill Downs’ annual theme.

He hadn’t seen
her in almost a year. When she’d returned from school, she came to
his ranch, hoping to pick up where they’d left off. He told her, as
gently as he could, their relationship had run its course and he
had no interest in revisiting the past.

“Hey there,”
she said, reaching up to give him a hug. “It’s great to see
you.”

He kissed her
cheek. “You too, Brandi.”

“What’s
new?”

Aside from
the fact my life is falling apart?
“Not much. You?”

She grabbed a
champagne glass off a waiter’s passing tray and smiled at Nick when
the bubbles tickled her nose. “I don’t know why I drink this stuff.
You know I hate it.”

“Tradition.
How’s workin’ for your brother goin’?”

She lifted a
shoulder when she glanced at Shaw. “It’s not what I expected to be
doing when I came home from school, that’s for sure.”

Nick knew
Brandi had hoped their relationship would progress to the point
where she’d be living at his home, calling the shots as mistress of
his manor. “Sometimes life has a way of throwin’ you a curve ball
now and again.” He thought of the pictures tucked into the
nightstand drawer in his hotel room.

“Shaw tells me
you’re involved with someone.”

Leave it to
Shaw to stick his nose where it didn’t belong. Since he had no idea
where his relationship with Megan stood, he was reluctant to talk
about it. “How about you? You seein’ anyone special?” he asked,
trying to deflect.

“You know I’m
interested in only one guy,” she said, running her hand down the
lapel of his black jacket. “I’m just waitin’ for you to come to
your senses.”

There may have
been a time when marrying Brandi seemed a logical choice. She was
beautiful, intelligent, loved living on a ranch, and they had so
much in common. But that was before he meant Megan and realized it
didn’t matter whether all of the boxes were checked. The only thing
that mattered was whether he got that feeling… the one that told
him his life wouldn’t be the same without her.

“Brandi, you
really shouldn’t waste your time waitin’ on me to come around. It’s
just not gonna happen. What we had was good. It was fun, but it
wasn’t meant to last forever.” Nick regretted the flicker of
sadness in her eyes before she fixed a smile on her face.

“But what you
have with
her
is?”

“We’re still
tryin’ to sort things out.”

She lifted her
chin, looking every bit the spoiled daddy’s girl he knew her to be.
“Shaw seems to think she’s too good for you.”

Nick chuckled.
If that was intended as an insult, she’d missed her mark. “For
once, your brother and I might actually agree on somethin’.”

She slipped her
clutch under her arm and twisted the stem of her glass between her
fingers. “I have to admit she’s beautiful. I’ve seen her on
TV.”

Nick knew how
much admitting that cost Brandi, so he rewarded her attempt at
civility with a smile. “I think so.”

“Is this the
girl who’s finally gonna talk Nick McCall into settling down?”

“We’re not
there yet.” The way things were going, Nick didn’t know if they
would ever get there.

She gripped his
forearm, and the sincerity in her gaze caught him off guard. “You
deserve the best, Nick. Don’t settle for less.”

No man in his
right mind would consider a future with Megan
settling
.
“Meg’s special, Brandi. Let’s just leave it at that.”

***

The following
day, Nick was still torturing himself with the pictures of Megan
and her former lover when a knock sounded at his hotel room door.
He didn’t want to see or talk to anyone.

“Not now!” he
shouted, hoping his tone would deter his visitor.

“Nick, open the
door. We need to talk.”

Great, his
mother.
He shoved the pictures into the nightstand drawer while
chastising himself for not tearing them up. Seeing the woman he
loved engaged in lewd acts with another man was making him
crazy.

He pulled the
door open, muttering a curse under his breath when Avery glared at
him. “I’m really not in the mood to-”

“I don’t care.
You’re going to listen to what I have to say whether you like it or
not,” she said, pushing past him.

Taking a deep
breath, he reminded himself his mother deserved his respect. With
anyone else, all bets were off, but he would never unleash his
anger on his parents. “What can I do for you?”