How did he know that? It wasn’t in the memo. If she wasn’t careful, she might actually believe he had feelings for her. Other than anger and annoyance. She might actually believe she had feelings for him, too. Other than suspicion and a growing fascination with his kiss.
“You shouldn’t have competed so hard to win a man you didn’t love.” He squeezed the top of her arm.
That wasn’t part of the script, either, and she felt like she was in Sandspit again, sitting at the Waffle Hut and being judged by him. “If you’d tried a little harder to win me, I never would have pulled on a pair of Daisy Dukes and climbed down from a tractor.” That wasn’t in the memo, either, but honestly, being lectured by the hypocrite who’d lied about his identity when they’d first met added irritation to her list of feelings.
Sean laughed. “If I’d known you were going to win a husband on the set of a fake farm, I would have hog-tied you, baby.”
Sylvia’s laughter joined Sean’s, and Lexie could feel a crease pull her brows. Baby? They hadn’t discussed terms of endearment and she hadn’t thought to include them. “You’re so romantic.” One unauthorized endearment was probably okay, but this was her life. One wrong move could put a pin in her last chance. She’d have to include some in her memo just to be safe.
“It does sound romantic,” Sylvia agreed. “When did you realize that you couldn’t let her marry Peter Dalton?”
“When I saw the last episode.” Sean removed his arm from around Lexie and sat forward with his forearms on his knees. His green eyes stared across at the reporter, blasting her with his megawatt charm. “I’d signed with Seattle in late October. Mostly so I could see Lexie, but when I got here, I couldn’t find her. I don’t watch a lot of television, and I’d never even heard of Gettin’ Hitched. I’m from Canada. Her father wasn’t my biggest fan, so I couldn’t ask him.”
“That must have been difficult. You have your career on one side and the woman you love on the other.”
“It was, Sylvia.” He paused, as if remembering that difficult time. “I searched for Lexie behind the scenes, but no one seemed to know where she was. She’d just vanished on me and I was very concerned.”
Wow, he’d gone off script again and made himself look like a great g
uy? And what did being Canadian have to do with anything?
Sean looked down at his leather shoes. “I don’t watch a lot of television, but I was on a spin bike one night at the Key and I looked up and there she was. Rolling in the mud with a pig.”
He was purposely ad-libbing, and Lexie got that familiar panicky palpitation in her heart. “That was the lipstick-on-a-pig competition. We had to catch a greasy piglet and put lipstick on it.” She paused to put one hand on her chest and explained, “No pigs were harmed during the episode, and I wouldn’t normally exploit an animal like that. The poor little pig’s heart was beating like crazy. I felt horrible.”
Sean glanced over his shoulder at her. His eyes settled on her lips, and he said, his voice deep and intimate as if they were the only two people in the room, “You’re so sweet.” The palpitations pinched a corner of her heart. This wasn’t real, she reminded herself.
“Did you win?” Sylvia wanted to know.
“Of course.” Lexie ducked her chin to hide the warmth rushing her cheeks.
Sean laughed and sat back. “We should probably add cutthroat to the list of your charms.” Once again he wrapped his arm around her and dropped a casual kiss on her lips. He was good at that. So good at making a casual kiss seem like so much more. If she wasn’t careful, she might start to like it too much. If she wasn’t careful, she might start to like him too much, and that was impossible.
Sylvia looked down at her notes as if she was intruding on a private moment. “How did the plan to run away from one man to the other unfold, Lexie?”
Impossible. She didn’t even like Sean. Not very much, at any rate. “I got a note from a mutual friend that Sean was waiting for me at the docks off Fairview.” After Jimmy had messed up the “leak” they’d decided to leave his name out of things as much as possible. “The note said he still loved me and would wait for me until seven-thirty.” Then, because he was rubbing her arm and purposely confusing the palpitations in her heart, she added, “He signed it with a little heart.” He squeezed her against his side and she smiled up at him. “Wasn’t I supposed to mention the hearts?”
He lowered his face and whispered next to her ear, “You’re going to pay for that.”
“Ahh . . . now who’s being sweet?” She laughed at the color rising up his cheeks. “I was terrified that I’d miss him,” she continued, returning her attention to Sylvia. “But there he was, standing at the end of the dock, waiting for me with open arms.”
“It reminds me of Carrie and Mr. Big.” Sylvia smiled as if she was reliving the last ten minutes of the Sex and the City movie. This was nothing like Carrie and Mr. Big, and Lexie looked into Sean’s puzzled green eyes. He clearly didn’t know what Sylvia was talking about. Maybe he should watch some TV.
“Except for the closet and the Manolos.” And just about everything else.
The reporter laughed at the little joke. “Sean, did you worry that she might have fallen in love with Pete and not show up?”
“No. I was only concerned that she wouldn’t get the letter in time. There was no question in my mind that she’d choose me over that guy.”
Okay. That was a good answer.
“Pete’s a loser,” he added. “What kind of man goes on national TV to find a wife?” Lexie opened her mouth to answer, but Sean answered himself, “A sissy who can’t get women on his own.”
Now he sounded like a jealous lover, which was good but confusing. If she didn’t know this was all an act, she might start to believe he cared. “I don’t want to talk about Pete.”
“I don’t blame you. He’s a weasel.”
Staring at the amusement in his eyes brought her back to reality, reminding her that: