A Baby by Chance Read online

  “Because Shiloh’s barely trained,” Chance responded, whipping off his leather gloves and coming to join them. He was happy Madison was supporting him. It meant a lot.

  Ursula’s lips tightened. It was clear she felt Chance was being contrary again. “He looked fine to me.”

  “Looks, as we all know, can be deceiving,” Chance replied, folding his arms as if for battle.

  “Chance is right,” Madison said quickly, stepping between them and doing her best to make peace before an argument broke out. “Shiloh is just now getting trained. He would be unreliable, at best. It isn’t worth the risk.”

  Ursula’s frown deepened.

  Madison’s boss sent a conciliatory look at the AMV Corporation exec then turned to Madison. “May I see you a moment? Privately?”

  Uh-oh, Madison thought, here it comes.

  Chance brushed by them, heading for the front door. “I’m going up to get a shower,” he said.

  “No. Don’t. Stay just as you are,” Ursula interjected.

  Vince Smith joined them. “I agree,” he said.

  “I thought we were going to try and match Chance to one of the models and film the black tie scenes today,” Madison said.

  “Right now I want some shots of Chance just as he is,” Vince stated.

  Chance rolled his eyes at the absurdity of it all, at least from his point of view, but gave up on the idea of a shower—momentarily, anyway. He stalked to the garden hose, turned it on and drank deeply from the water pouring out of the end.

  Meanwhile, Ed steered Madison to a corner of the yard. “May I remind you that this is one of the largest accounts our agency has ever had? Thus far, given Chance Cartwright’s uncooperative attitude, it hasn’t been going all that smoothly. So if Ursula and/or the AMV Corporation want that particular horse to be used—”

  “I know what you’re saying.” Madison put up her clipboard to cut short the lecture. “And normally I would agree with you and just do what the client wants, even if we had to discard the film later because it wasn’t right for the commercial. Unfortunately, we can’t do that here. Shiloh may have responded to Chance’s gentle touch, but he’s still prone to some pretty drastic mood swings. He’ll be totally calm one minute, completely wild the next. We can’t possibly use him in any of the commercials. There are, however, many other horses here that are equally beautiful that Chance has given us full permission to use.”

  “Any other big black stallions?”

  “Well, no, but they are docile and completely reliable when it comes to following Chance’s direction.” She had seen him working with them over the last few weeks.

  Ed grimaced and turned his glance to the activity going on around them as the film crew set up their equipment. “I have a feeling ‘docile’ is not what Ursula wants here.”

  “Just trust me on this, okay?” Madison said, as determined to protect Chance’s interests as she was to finish the commercial. “AMV is going to be happy with the finished Ranchero ads.” She paused and met her boss’s assessing gaze, her stubborn determination evident. “I haven’t let you down yet, have I?”

  Ed didn’t reply. He didn’t have to. They both knew she hadn’t.

  And wouldn’t, Madison thought. Not if she had anything at all to say about it.

  * * *

  “VINCE IS RIGHT—it’s like trying to pair a swimsuit with combat boots and a gun.” Madison shook her head. “It isn’t going to work no matter how we pretty things up.”

  “I agree.” Ed Connelly sighed. They had spent hours attempting to pair Chance with one of the half-dozen models the Dallas agency had sent. “The look just isn’t right.”

  And with the dinner hour nearing, Madison thought, glancing at her watch, there wasn’t much hope they would get the shots accomplished on schedule.

  “There’s no chemistry between any of them,” Ursula complained.

  Madison knew that, and she couldn’t help but be secretly pleased.

  “Even when he’s trying to look interested, Chance comes off as barely engaged,” Ed observed.

  “You’d think he would cotton to one of them,” Shawna said wistfully. “I mean, you gotta admit—” she leaned close, confiding “—these ladies are no slouches in the looks department, and we’ve got a good variety, too. Two blondes. Two brunettes. And two redheads. All with figures and faces to die for.”

  “There’s just no faking chemistry. Either you’ve got it or you don’t,” Vince said, frowning.

  “That’s true,” Ursula remarked as she sat in one of the canvas folding chairs. “The only woman I’ve seen Chance warm up to the whole time we’ve been here is Madison.”

  Abruptly, all eyes turned to Madison. Embarrassed, she tried not to flush. “I’ve worked hard to develop a rapport with him,” she explained.

  “Then why not use it?” Ursula said practically. “Let’s pair Madison with Chance on film and see what happens. She’s certainly pretty enough. And, as Madison said, they’ve already established a rapport.”

  Madison gulped. “I couldn’t possibly.” Carrying on with Chance in private was one thing. She had begun to see that as inevitable. But having it known, or even suspected, would put her in a league with her father, whose affairs with colleagues had been and were still the cause of a lot of gossip. Madison did not want to go down that road.

  “Sure you can,” Ed said, smiling his encouragement. He stood and beckoned the wardrobe mistress with a crook of his finger. “Get Madison gussied up. We’re going to try filming her.”

  Thirty minutes later, Madison was dressed in a sleeveless white evening gown, her hair swept into a sophisticated French twist, tendrils escaping down her neck.

  Chance strode onto the front porch, a fistful of wildflowers clutched in his hand. He swept off his hat—just as the director had ordered—as he neared her.

  “Looking good,” Chance whispered as he approached her on cue.

  Nothing they were saying to each other was going to be on the commercial, of course. They were just supposed to be seen smiling and speaking to each other, as a man and a woman would on a real date.

  Madison smiled and tried not to feel self-conscious. Or let herself be reminded that the first time they’d met he had presented her with a bunch of flowers, too. “Looking good, yourself.” She tried to keep her actions loose and natural and found it wasn’t as easy as it looked.

  As scripted, Chance offered her his arm. “Ready for an evening of fun?”

  Madison hooked her arm through his. “As soon as this is over?” She held his gaze, aware she could cheerfully drown in the sexy twinkle of his gorgeous eyes, even if it hadn’t been in the script. She took the flowers from him and briefly buried her face in them. “You bet!”

  Chance leaned down and kissed her just above the ear. “So how does it feel to be on camera?” he murmured.

  Madison hugged him, also as scripted. “Horribly uncomfortable,” she said, holding his eyes in the flirtatious manner in which they’d been directed. It was wonderful, being with Chance. And it continued being wonderful as they went through the paces of their “date” in the new Ranchero pickup truck. And for the first time since filming had begun, Chance didn’t seem to mind doing something over and over and over again.

  Finally, they were near the end.

  Vince relayed rapid instructions. “Okay, the date’s over, so help her down from the cab—that’s it—very gently. Set her down in front of you and hold her there. Now slide your arm around her waist, Chance—perfect! Escort her toward the front porch. When you’re almost there, take her in your arms and kiss her!”

  Madison blushed as she and Chance came to the obliged halt in front of the steps and turned slowly, inevitably, toward each other. “You wouldn’t,” she murmured sweetly beneath her breath, tipping her head to his.

  “Watch.”

  The next thing she knew, Chance had swept her into his arms. His mouth came down on hers. He kissed her with all the sweetness and tenderness and passio
n she could have wished for. And then kept kissing her and kissing her, until finally the crew started chuckling and Vince yelled, “Cut!” He strode to Chance and slapped him on the shoulder. “Finally! Something you can get into.”

  Chance chuckled. For once, he and Vince had not locked horns. “I could kiss Madison anytime,” Chance drawled.

  “So noted,” Ursula Rodriguez said dryly. The AMV exec looked happy, too.

  Madison, blushing, tried to restore order to her hair, even as she ignored the thoughtful looks her boss was sending her way. “I think that’s enough for today, don’t you, folks?”

  Vince nodded, clearly more pleased than he had been since starting the shoot. “We got everything we needed here today. And then some.”

  * * *

  “STOP GRINNING,” MADISON said to Chance as they watched the last of the cars, trucks and vans turn onto the highway. They headed into the house, and Chance led her upstairs to change out of the formal wear—which would be turned over to wardrobe in the morning.

  “Can’t help it,” Chance drawled, looking as unable to stop thinking about the kisses as she was.

  Madison knew what he meant about feeling powerless. She had never blushed so much in one day in her entire life. That bothered her. A lot. It wasn’t like her to wear her heart on her sleeve. She had a business reputation and an air of utter professionalism to maintain. Even in situations like this. Especially in situations like this. “What we were doing out there was just—” Madison paused as she searched for an appropriate word “—playacting.”

  Chance quirked a disbelieving brow and continued to look at her steadily as he shrugged out of the tuxedo jacket. “Except you’re no actor.” He loosened the knot of his bow tie and took the onyx tuxedo studs out of his shirt. “And neither am I.”

  “So the...attraction—” Madison began when a search for a better word failed her.

  “—and the passion—” Chance interrupted with a very satisfied, very male grin. He watched as she took her earrings off, one by one.

  “—we’ve been feeling for each other showed through,” Madison concluded, kicking off her shoes. “It doesn’t mean we can’t go back to business as usual tomorrow.”

  Chance removed his suspenders and dropped them over the back of the chair. “With you calling the shots and me following orders,” he guessed. Shirt undone, he headed toward her.

  Her heart pounding, Madison struggled against giving herself up to the inevitable. “Right.”

  A skeptical look on his face, he braced a shoulder against the wall. The sexy sparkle was still in his eyes, but along with it was something stronger, deeper, more tempting than simple desire.

  “You don’t think we can do that?” Madison asked, aware her blood was racing.

  Chance shook his head slowly, his heated gaze caressing her from head to toe. “When you kissed me back the way you did today?” he murmured softly. “Quite frankly, no.”

  Madison swallowed, aware she wanted nothing more at that moment than for him to take her in his arms and kiss her long and hard, and then make love to her, not just once, but as he had the night before, again and again and again. She knew he would, too; she just didn’t know when.

  Aware he was making her feel far too vulnerable, she turned so he could unzip her evening gown. “As great as all this is, it’s just passion, Chance,” she murmured. Maybe if she said it enough she would believe it. And anyway, as much as she wanted him, Madison reassured herself firmly, as much as she cared about him, she was still a strong, independent woman who could handle anything that came her way.

  Chance drew her zipper down, not discouraged in the least by her practical words. “Just passion,” he echoed, sliding his hands inside the fabric of her dress, running his lips along the nape of her neck, down her spine.

  Madison shut her eyes. She thought of the past and warned herself not to get caught in the trap of expecting—of wanting—too much. But with Chance it was so easy to do. She could look in his eyes, drown in his kisses and easily imagine a thousand and one sunsets. And sunrises. All spent together. But what if it didn’t happen? What if the newness and excitement faded, and a month—a year—down the road he no longer wanted her? What would she do? How would she cope then? Already she could hardly imagine her life without him.

  She swallowed and turned away, aware she had ventured into dangerous territory. And that her heart and her future, as well as her baby’s, were on the line. She struggled for a casual tone. “I’ve been down this road before.” She slipped out of her dress and hung it on a hanger. Clad in her undergarments, she walked to the garment bag.

  Struggling to understand, Chance sat on the edge of the bed. “Made love with someone you’re working with?”

  “No.” Madison hung up her dress and reached for her robe. She belted it on over the lace and silk teddy. “Had a love affair based on physical attraction.” Not trusting herself to sit on the bed next to Chance, she leaned against the bureau. “It was great while it lasted,” she fibbed, knowing full well that her first and only experimental love affair, embarked upon while she was in college, was nothing at all like this. “And then it ended.” Leaving her feeling lonelier and more disillusioned than she had been before it started.

  “Let me guess.” Chance braced his hands on either side of him, giving her a look that let her know no matter what she did or said, he wasn’t going to go away. “The two of you remained friends.”

  “No. We completely lost touch.” A fact for which Madison was eminently grateful. She couldn’t think about that time without feeling foolish. Duped, somehow. As if her life had been cheapened by it instead of enriched, as all the magazine articles had promised it would be.

  Chance was enjoying their intimate talk. These were the kind of things he needed to know about her if he was ever really and truly going to understand her. He leaned across the small space between them, grabbed her wrist and tugged her over to sit beside him on the bed. “And that didn’t break your heart?”

  “Actually,” Madison said, choosing her words with care, “it was a relief.”

  “How so?” Chance asked, carefully folding his clothes.

  Madison hadn’t felt anything back then. She’d thought making love would have changed things between them, brought the missing spark and pizzazz to their relationship. Instead, the lackluster lovemaking had made the loneliness all the worse. “Because technically, Brad and I were right for each other.” Madison studied their linked hands and tried to figure out a way to explain all she had felt. “We had the same type of backgrounds, the same career goals, the same interests. But emotionally we were all wrong.” She paused and shook her head. “In the end, we just didn’t click the way we should have. I was never able to read his mind. He was never able to read mine. So when Brad graduated from college and went off to take a job in Santa Barbara and I stayed in Texas, it just seemed like the time to say goodbye.”

  “And you’re comparing what we have to what you had with this Brad guy?” Chance held tight to her fingers when she pulled away.

  “Don’t you see?” Madison confessed on a tortured breath, all her insecurity coming to the fore. “If that ended eventually, then this will, too. Because you and I have nothing in common, Chance.” Frustration turned the corners of her mouth down. “I’m a city girl who lives and dies by her career. You’re a rancher. I’m in Texas. You’re in Wyoming.”

  “All I see is that I want you and you want me.” Chance wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her onto the warmth and security of his lap.

  Madison barely repressed a moan. She wished like hell he would stop trying to make everything so easy and simple when it clearly wasn’t. “Chance—”

  Chance tunneled one hand through her hair, tilting her face to his. He had to get her to trust him, heart and soul, if he ever wanted to get her to commit to him for more than a moment. “This doesn’t have to end, Madison.” He rubbed his thumb across her lips, tracing the soft bow. “Not when the filming is
over,” he promised. He lowered his lips to hers and touched them lightly, evocatively with his. He drew back and finished speaking with a curious gruffness to his voice. “Not even after the baby comes, if we don’t want it to end.” They could have the rest of their lives together, if only she would give them a chance.

  Hope sprang inside Madison, but with it came caution and the need to be honest—even if it hurt. She tried not to think about how nice it would be to just kiss him again and not talk about all this. But the businesswoman in her—the part that wanted everything spelled out plainly in direct terms—wouldn’t let her.

  She smiled at him ruefully. “You say that now.” Maybe he even believed it. “But you aren’t going to want me when I’m out to here—” Madison put a palm out to indicate the swollen belly that came with the later stages of pregnancy. “And I have stretch marks and heaven only knows what else.” She sighed. She didn’t want to fall in love with him. Didn’t want to be that vulnerable. But she already knew in her heart it was too late. She did love him, heart and soul, and always would.

  Chance grinned. “You’re wrong about that, Madison,” he drawled, and he covered her mouth in a kiss that was as demanding as it was tender, then untied her belt and opened her robe. He slid his hands inside, tracing the lace-edged silk of her teddy. “I’m going to want you for the rest of my life.” He bent his head and kissed her again, until passion swept through her and her body arched and her hands clung. He kissed her until she lost what was left of her restraint and abandoned herself to the pleasure of the moment. Her pulse jumped as he eased the ribbon-thin straps of her teddy over her shoulders and exposed the uppermost curves of her breasts to his rapacious view. He bent and brushed light butterfly kisses across her skin. A soft moan—or was it really a sigh of surrender?—shuddered through her as he lowered her slowly to the bed. “But I can see bein’ the city girl slash career woman you are that you’re having a hard time believin’ a slow old cowpoke like me could be forever faithful to anything but his horse. So I guess I’ll just have to prove it to you....”

  Madison laughed softly and tried to pull away, but he held fast. “Chance—”