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Her manager laughed. “Good luck, honey.”
Rushing to the front door, Chiara took a moment to glance at herself in the hall mirror. Her eyes were bright, but she wished she could have looked more polished than she did in stretch pants and a T-shirt. Still, at least these clothes continued to fit her.
She took a deep breath and opened the door, stepping outside.
Rick stopped his horse in front of her, a smile playing at his lips.
Chiara placed her hands on her hips. “You got a horse through my front gate...really?”
“I still have the code. You’ve got to change it if you don’t want to keep having unexpected visitors.”
She nodded
at the animal that he sat astride, her insides buzzing. “And you rode him along canyon roads to my house?”
“Hey, I’m a stuntman.”
She met his gaze head-on. “And this is one of your stunts?”
“Jordan told me to get on a horse. Before I could do it or go with the backup plan of coming by with a wood boyfriend for Ruby, you had your interview with WE Magazine,” he said, not answering her directly. “But I thought I’d...accommodate you anyway.”
She tilted her head. “Accommodate how?”
He swung down, all lithe physique, and then pulled her into his arms and kissed her.
She leaned into him, kissing him back.
When they broke apart, he said, “I love you.”
She blinked back sudden emotion, and joked, “You should if you rode a horse here.”
“It took me a while to recognize it, but then you were put in danger by Jeffers.” His face blazed with emotion. “Damn it, Chiara, I could have lost you.”
She nodded, swallowing against the lump in her throat.
“I let my experience with Isabel color my perspective even though it was becoming increasingly obvious you couldn’t be more different.”
She gave a watery smile. “Well, you can be forgiven for that one. Thanks to Odele, I was using you to manipulate the press, too.”
“In the beginning, yeah. But you had guts and determination. Plus more and more layers that I wanted to uncover even though I kept trying to pigeonhole you as just another evil starlet.”
“Who, me? Snow White?” she said playfully.
He cracked a smile and then gave her another quick kiss.
She braced her hands on his chest. “Thank you for tackling Jeffers...twice. I didn’t take the risk seriously enough because I wasn’t going to let you tell me what to do. But you helped me save my father from himself.” When he started to say something, she placed a finger on his lips to stop him. “Thank you for coming into my life and dealing with all the craziness of fame. I was so afraid of being vulnerable and getting hurt.”
He grasped her wrist and kissed her hand.
“I love you. I was falling in love with you and it scared me to feel so much,” she finished.
“We’re getting married.”
She gave an emotional laugh—happiness bubbling out of her. “Before or after the baby is born?”
“Before. Vegas, even. Your father can give you away.”
“He doesn’t want to give me away. He just got me back! And I can’t be an actress eloping to Vegas. It’s too clichéd,” she protested.
