she couldn’t deny Mark his success.
“Jonathan, listen to me. I want you to run the
series.”
“Look, Lara, we’ve already canceled them.”
“I signed a contract.”
“No, you didn’t.”
She’d given the signed contracts to Mark. He’d never turned
them in. He canceled the articles because of her!
“Overnight me a contract. I’ll sign it. I want you to run
the first article in your next issue.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. Obviously we just got our wires crossed here. I
promise there’s no problem with me writing for TMM . Gives me a chance to
reach more readers.”
“Fantastic! I’ll have the contracts drawn up and sent to you
immediately.”
“Good. And Jonathan? Do me a favor. Don’t tell Mark about
this. I want it to be a surprise.”
When she hung up, she wandered through the house, perplexed
as hell by what she’d found out.
Mark had given up his dream for her. He’d given up fame,
money, everything. But why would he do that unless his feelings for her were
genuine?
Did she dare put her heart on the line again?
* * * * *
Mark opened the issue of Total Man Magazine that
Jonathan had overnighted to him.
What the hell was Jonathan thinking? He was through with TMM .
Did they give him a subscription as a consolation prize?
He was about to toss it across the room when words on the
cover caught his eye. He blinked and looked again.
He Said/She Said! All About Sex From Opposing Sides Of
The Mattress!
Shit! Goddamn, Jonathan! He yanked his cell phone out and
quickly dialed Jonathan’s number.
“Hey, sport,” Jonathan said. “You surprised?”
“Are you insane? What the hell were you thinking running
that feature?”
Jonathan laughed. “Calm down. I have a signed contract from
Lara McKenzie and her written go-ahead to run the feature.”
“What?”
“You heard me. I would have told you, but she made me
promise to keep it a surprise. Hey, you two got something going on or what?”
“Uh, no. She told you to run the articles?”
“Yup. I gotta run to a meeting. Let’s talk on Monday about
the next series of articles. You’re back on board, Mark. And top management
really likes your writing. They want to talk to you about doing more work for
us.”
“With Lara, you mean.”
“Well, the feature with Lara is great, but you’re a damn
good writer. They have a few other things in mind for you to work on solo. I’ll
be in touch next week.”
Mark stared at the phone as if he’d just had an out-of-body
experience. That call hadn’t just happened. No way in hell would Lara have
agreed to run those articles.
She hated him.
Didn’t she?
But if she hated him, why did she call Jonathan? And more
importantly, why did she ask Jonathan to keep them a secret?
Hope filled the empty void he’d been carrying around for a
month.
She loved him. That had to be it.
But why? She shouldn’t love him. God knows he didn’t deserve
it. The first time he’d fallen in love and he’d fucked it up badly. He’d hurt
the one person he cared about more than anyone else.
He had to see her, had to ask her why she told Jonathan to
print the series.
And maybe, just maybe, if he groveled hard enough, she’d
give him another chance.
He shook his head as he jammed things into his overnight
bag. Mark Whitman, the guy who’d never fallen in love, was just about to get down
on his knees and beg forgiveness from the one woman who’d managed to capture
his heart.
* * * * *
Lara grinned at the cover of TMM , their feature
highlighted in big bold letters.
She chewed her lip, wondering if Mark would be angry with
her.
Should she call him? Drive up to New York and try to see
him? She’d never taken a chance like this before. Shouldn’t with him of all
people. But what her head told her to do and what her heart wanted to do were
two different things.
He’d stopped the articles because he loved her. Really and
truly loved her. She had to believe that to be true. She mattered to him
“Jonathan, listen to me. I want you to run the
series.”
“Look, Lara, we’ve already canceled them.”
“I signed a contract.”
“No, you didn’t.”
She’d given the signed contracts to Mark. He’d never turned
them in. He canceled the articles because of her!
“Overnight me a contract. I’ll sign it. I want you to run
the first article in your next issue.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. Obviously we just got our wires crossed here. I
promise there’s no problem with me writing for TMM . Gives me a chance to
reach more readers.”
“Fantastic! I’ll have the contracts drawn up and sent to you
immediately.”
“Good. And Jonathan? Do me a favor. Don’t tell Mark about
this. I want it to be a surprise.”
When she hung up, she wandered through the house, perplexed
as hell by what she’d found out.
Mark had given up his dream for her. He’d given up fame,
money, everything. But why would he do that unless his feelings for her were
genuine?
Did she dare put her heart on the line again?
* * * * *
Mark opened the issue of Total Man Magazine that
Jonathan had overnighted to him.
What the hell was Jonathan thinking? He was through with TMM .
Did they give him a subscription as a consolation prize?
He was about to toss it across the room when words on the
cover caught his eye. He blinked and looked again.
He Said/She Said! All About Sex From Opposing Sides Of
The Mattress!
Shit! Goddamn, Jonathan! He yanked his cell phone out and
quickly dialed Jonathan’s number.
“Hey, sport,” Jonathan said. “You surprised?”
“Are you insane? What the hell were you thinking running
that feature?”
Jonathan laughed. “Calm down. I have a signed contract from
Lara McKenzie and her written go-ahead to run the feature.”
“What?”
“You heard me. I would have told you, but she made me
promise to keep it a surprise. Hey, you two got something going on or what?”
“Uh, no. She told you to run the articles?”
“Yup. I gotta run to a meeting. Let’s talk on Monday about
the next series of articles. You’re back on board, Mark. And top management
really likes your writing. They want to talk to you about doing more work for
us.”
“With Lara, you mean.”
“Well, the feature with Lara is great, but you’re a damn
good writer. They have a few other things in mind for you to work on solo. I’ll
be in touch next week.”
Mark stared at the phone as if he’d just had an out-of-body
experience. That call hadn’t just happened. No way in hell would Lara have
agreed to run those articles.
She hated him.
Didn’t she?
But if she hated him, why did she call Jonathan? And more
importantly, why did she ask Jonathan to keep them a secret?
Hope filled the empty void he’d been carrying around for a
month.
She loved him. That had to be it.
But why? She shouldn’t love him. God knows he didn’t deserve
it. The first time he’d fallen in love and he’d fucked it up badly. He’d hurt
the one person he cared about more than anyone else.
He had to see her, had to ask her why she told Jonathan to
print the series.
And maybe, just maybe, if he groveled hard enough, she’d
give him another chance.
He shook his head as he jammed things into his overnight
bag. Mark Whitman, the guy who’d never fallen in love, was just about to get down
on his knees and beg forgiveness from the one woman who’d managed to capture
his heart.
* * * * *
Lara grinned at the cover of TMM , their feature
highlighted in big bold letters.
She chewed her lip, wondering if Mark would be angry with
her.
Should she call him? Drive up to New York and try to see
him? She’d never taken a chance like this before. Shouldn’t with him of all
people. But what her head told her to do and what her heart wanted to do were
two different things.
He’d stopped the articles because he loved her. Really and
truly loved her. She had to believe that to be true. She mattered to him
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