smile as he pretended to ward off a physical attack. “You can thank me any way you wish.”
“Really? Okay. How about with a hot poker down your shorts?” Taylor suggested, leaping to her feet in one fluid, graceful motion and setting off down the beach.
Holden watched in admiration for a few moments, then went after her because he really did like her. He really did care what she thought about him. And he really, really wanted to explore that “crazed rabbit” attraction Amanda had so rudely interrupted.
“Look, Taylor, it’s no big deal. I already called Sid in Maui, and he’s going to fax some trumped-up story out to the media. Holden Masters, siblings in tow, is vacationing at an undisclosed New Jersey resort with his loving fiancée. I’m protected from any more rumors on my physical condition. You’re protected from Amanda’s flapping tongue. It’ll all blow over in a couple of days. All right, maybe in a couple of weeks. By the time I sign my new contract tops.”
“And, as an added bonus, you get rid of Amanda the Beautiful just as her customary six months are up. You forgot to mention that,” Taylor added sarcastically,making him wince as her verbal arrow struck home. “So I guess—as we’re doing time lines here—this also means our bogus engagement will be history by, oh, Christmas? At least I have something to look forward to, I suppose. I wonder if my parents will be equally as thrilled?”
“Your parents?” Holden winced again. “I hadn’t thought about your parents, Taylor. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” she responded, still walking and with enough built-up energy radiating from her tall, slim body that she probably could make it all the way up the coast to Atlantic City without breathing hard. “I’ll call them later and explain everything, listen to yet another lecture on why I should never have left Allentown for a return to the big city of Manhattan and then promise to call them next week. What about your mother?”
“Miranda?” Holden hadn’t given his mother’s reaction a second thought—even a first one. “I don’t know. She’ll probably beg me not to make her a grandmother yet, then send us something from Bloomingdale’s. You like ostentatious crystal bowls?”
“Don’t pretend to be dense, Holden. It doesn’t become you.”
He reached out and took her hand, pulling her to a stop at the water’s edge, as she had made a sharp right turn as if intending to walk into the ocean and swim to England. “Look, Taylor,” he said seriously,swinging her around to face him, “I don’t like this any better than you do. But it was all I could think of, honestly. I only think fast on my feet when a three-hundred-and-fifty-pound defensive end is bearing down on me.”
“Oh, sure, expect me to believe that. I’m not Amanda Price, remember,” Taylor countered, pulling her hand free of his. “You graduated top of your class in media communications, bucko, so don’t act like you can’t add two and two.”
Holden grinned. “Did your research on me, huh? I’m flattered.”
“Don’t be,” she said, picking up a clamshell and sending it out over the breaking waves before turning away from the water. “So—how long do we have until ‘The Nose’ finds us?”
“Then you’re going to go along with it?” Holden asked in impossible-to-hide relief, following her again and feeling like a puppy who’d messed the new carpet and was now trying to make up for his mistake by being extremely lovable. “Sid did say it was the perfect press release to get me back in the news in a favorable light, get me out of this stupid role of secrecy he put me into and still keep the negotiations on the front burner. So it’s working out all around. I get my therapy, you get a small vacation—because I am getting much better, don’t you think?—and everything ends happily. I can’t thank you enough, Taylor. Honestly.”
“First Tiffany, and now you and Uncle Sid,” Taylor
“Really? Okay. How about with a hot poker down your shorts?” Taylor suggested, leaping to her feet in one fluid, graceful motion and setting off down the beach.
Holden watched in admiration for a few moments, then went after her because he really did like her. He really did care what she thought about him. And he really, really wanted to explore that “crazed rabbit” attraction Amanda had so rudely interrupted.
“Look, Taylor, it’s no big deal. I already called Sid in Maui, and he’s going to fax some trumped-up story out to the media. Holden Masters, siblings in tow, is vacationing at an undisclosed New Jersey resort with his loving fiancée. I’m protected from any more rumors on my physical condition. You’re protected from Amanda’s flapping tongue. It’ll all blow over in a couple of days. All right, maybe in a couple of weeks. By the time I sign my new contract tops.”
“And, as an added bonus, you get rid of Amanda the Beautiful just as her customary six months are up. You forgot to mention that,” Taylor added sarcastically,making him wince as her verbal arrow struck home. “So I guess—as we’re doing time lines here—this also means our bogus engagement will be history by, oh, Christmas? At least I have something to look forward to, I suppose. I wonder if my parents will be equally as thrilled?”
“Your parents?” Holden winced again. “I hadn’t thought about your parents, Taylor. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” she responded, still walking and with enough built-up energy radiating from her tall, slim body that she probably could make it all the way up the coast to Atlantic City without breathing hard. “I’ll call them later and explain everything, listen to yet another lecture on why I should never have left Allentown for a return to the big city of Manhattan and then promise to call them next week. What about your mother?”
“Miranda?” Holden hadn’t given his mother’s reaction a second thought—even a first one. “I don’t know. She’ll probably beg me not to make her a grandmother yet, then send us something from Bloomingdale’s. You like ostentatious crystal bowls?”
“Don’t pretend to be dense, Holden. It doesn’t become you.”
He reached out and took her hand, pulling her to a stop at the water’s edge, as she had made a sharp right turn as if intending to walk into the ocean and swim to England. “Look, Taylor,” he said seriously,swinging her around to face him, “I don’t like this any better than you do. But it was all I could think of, honestly. I only think fast on my feet when a three-hundred-and-fifty-pound defensive end is bearing down on me.”
“Oh, sure, expect me to believe that. I’m not Amanda Price, remember,” Taylor countered, pulling her hand free of his. “You graduated top of your class in media communications, bucko, so don’t act like you can’t add two and two.”
Holden grinned. “Did your research on me, huh? I’m flattered.”
“Don’t be,” she said, picking up a clamshell and sending it out over the breaking waves before turning away from the water. “So—how long do we have until ‘The Nose’ finds us?”
“Then you’re going to go along with it?” Holden asked in impossible-to-hide relief, following her again and feeling like a puppy who’d messed the new carpet and was now trying to make up for his mistake by being extremely lovable. “Sid did say it was the perfect press release to get me back in the news in a favorable light, get me out of this stupid role of secrecy he put me into and still keep the negotiations on the front burner. So it’s working out all around. I get my therapy, you get a small vacation—because I am getting much better, don’t you think?—and everything ends happily. I can’t thank you enough, Taylor. Honestly.”
“First Tiffany, and now you and Uncle Sid,” Taylor
Similar Books
