Some Like It Charming (A Temporary Engagement) Read Online Free PDF Page B

could’ve killed someone on primetime and no one would have believed it after listening to him.
    He looked into the camera. “I want to apologize to the women I’ve hurt in the past. I know that strong emotion can make an ordinary person a little jealous, a little crazy. What I did to them was unforgivable. I used them to ignore my own breaking heart and can recognize their need for getting back at me through the press.
    “These women built hope that I would one day love them enough. That one day I would choose them. And now that I have chosen another, they’re lashing out.
    “After five long years, Mackenzie Wyatt has agreed to marry me. She has worked for O’Connor Capital for more than seven years and has repeatedly refused to even acknowledge our mutual feelings. She is a very stubborn, very private woman and my life is anything but private.”
    He held up the inside pages of the Enquirer and laughed. “But when even the Enquirer can see the passion between us, it’s time to throw in the towel.”
    Laughter from the reporters drowned out the scream Mackenzie was trying to make. All around her, heads were turning to stare in disbelief, and she kept her eyes glued to the television.
    “My fiancé is a very private person, and while she will have to get used to the attention my life attracts, I would ask that the press go easy on her for a little while. Don’t scare her off! It’s taken five years to get her to say yes.”
    More laughter, a few questions that he smoothly answered, and it was over.
    Mackenzie dropped into the nearest chair and put her head between her knees.

    “You’ll make it up to me? You’ll make it up to me? ”
    Ethan could tell she was a little upset. One thing about Mackenzie, he could always tell when he’d crossed the line into no man’s land.
    “If you’ll just listen to me–”
    “When have I ever listened to you? Never! And do you know why? Because this is what comes out of your mouth !”
    He frowned. “You’re making this into too big a deal, Mackenzie.”
    She sat down hard in the chair behind her desk, grabbed the stapler and started stapling the air. He could see staples falling out the side, and he decided he’d rather have it empty anyway.
    She took a deep breath. “You just announced on national TV that you and I are engaged. And that all the bad press from your ex-girlfriends are jealous tantrums. Did I miss anything?”
    “You know, most women would be thrilled to be engaged to me.”
    “Really? You really think any other woman in this building would be happy at finding herself unknowingly engaged to you? I’m the only anomaly here?”
    He thought about it, then nodded. “Yes.”
    She narrowed her eyes but didn’t bother to disagree with him. “Well, perhaps they can be taken in by a pretty face and a charming smile. I, however, know that you are not nearly as wonderful as everyone thinks.”
    “And why is that, Mackenzie?” He leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers.
    If he was going to be visiting more often, he was going to get this chair replaced.
    She said, “Why can I see through your bull? A gift, I guess. Now I want you to go back downstairs, get those reporters to turn their cameras back on, and tell the world you were joking. We’re not engaged.”
    He shook his head. “I’m sorry, honey. We are.”
    He could see pressure building again and he held up a hand to stop the flow. “Just for a little while. Until I’m back on my feet. It hurts having all these women ganging up on me.”
    “My heart bleeds for you. We’re not engaged.”
    “I’ll let you dump me. You can say you couldn’t handle all the press and leading a public life.”
    She said, “I’m not going to be able to handle it. All the attention is going to jump from you to me!”
    “They’ll lose interest. We’ll have a little press conference, tell everyone how happy we are, and it’ll die down.”
    She rubbed her temple with one hand, the other setting the