Chapter Eight
When Tor Edwards had said he would arrange for their ride up to Dallas, Sophie hadn’t been sure what to expect. On the one hand, the man was a billionaire, so presumably, he could arrange for any kind of transportation he preferred. On the other hand, though the land was well cared for and the main house was nice enough, she’d seen no indication that he indulged in any kind of flashiness. She had half expected him to show up driving a pickup truck—perhaps a bigger version of Zeke’s. So she was delighted to see he had chosen a conventional limousine, complete with driver—a driver who wasn’t also the local Fire Marshal, this time.
When Zeke got out of the limo, her breath caught in her chest. Wearing a tuxedo, rather than his blue jeans, plaid shirt, boots, and hat, seem to give him an added air of—she wasn’t even sure how to put it–being less provincial and more debonair.
For an instant, Sophie wished this could have been a real date.
Most of the way to Dallas, they discussed neutral topics, though Sophie found the subject of cattle ranching suddenly utterly fascinating.
It wasn’t until they had reached the Dallas city limits that Sophie brought up the one topic that had been nagging at her all day.
“Zeke tells me that you changed your stance on Ten-Gallon Texas filming in Necessity.” Sophie leaned forward, her sharp and intent on Tor.
The billionaire rancher laughed easily. “I changed my vote in the town meeting. I never changed my stance,” he said with a smile. “And honestly, I think that this morning’s incident illustrates exactly why I was concerned.”
“But you have to realize that events like today’s are pretty unusual.” Crossing her arms over her chest, she reclined against the leather-upholstered seat, narrowing her eyes as she stared thoughtfully at Tor. “What’s your real reason for wanting to keep us out?”
There had to be more to it. It was clear that Tor Edwards liked and cared about Necessity, but as a general rule, Sophie didn’t know about the kinds of behind-the-scenes deals that went on before her job began when filming did. For her to have learned of Tor’s attempts to keep them out of Necessity, it had been a fairly intense battle.
She glanced at Zeke out of the corner of her eye, concerned that her direct approach to the question she had posed to his boss might be making him nervous. After all, he had stepped in to help her when he didn’t have to—she would hate to cause him any undue anxiety. However, he looked calm—merely interested in the conversation.
The answer hit her out of nowhere, as if she had been working on it subconsciously the whole time—as she probably had. “It’s the press,” she announced.
Tor’s startled expression would have given it away, even if Leta’s delighted laughter hadn’t. “Oh, sweetheart,” she said, “she does have you pegged.”
The billionaire’s girlfriend leaned forward, speaking in an apparently confidential tone to Sophie, but loudly enough for everyone to hear her perfectly well. “He spent the entire week before the meeting figuring out exactly how he would have to upgrade security to make sure that none of the media attention to all of you overflowed to us.”
“You don’t have to give away all of my secrets,” Tor said to Leta, but everything about the way he said it, from his gentle touch on her back to the gleam in his eye to the indulgent smile on his face, belied the words.
Their interactions surprised Sophie. It had been a long time since she had seen a couple interacting in a way that seems so open and loving.
So genuine.
Another glance at Zeke suggested that there was nothing unusual about it, either.
I’ve been in Hollywood too long.
“Did you know about any upgraded security out of the ranch?” she asked Zeke.
His slightly lopsided grin was more than a little sheepish. “Why do you think I took you out there in the first place?”
“But if you hate media attention so much, then why all this?” Sophie waved a hand indicating Zeke’s tuxedo, the limo, Tor’s attendance at the Cattlemen’s Ball with Leta.
This time, Tor and Leta exchanged meaningful looks. Tor held out one hand, palm up, turning the question over to his girlfriend to be answered.
Leta never took her eyes off him as she said, in a voice as full of affection as his response to her had been earlier, “Tor and I have a history with charity balls. They’re still our favorite kind of event.”
“At least you’re not attending this one in your plane, boss,” Zeke broke into the conversation.
The others laughed aloud at this, and Sophie would have asked more questions, had they not pulled up to the Ritz-Carlton at that moment.
Sophie’s stomach tightened. She hadn’t realized how much she had relaxed in the last several hours until the tension came rushing back in. Eileen had called several Dallas media outlets to let them know she would be attending that evening. When Sophie had okayed it, she hadn’t realized she would be attending with Tor and Leta, or that Tor would be so press-averse.
Too late now.
Even as the chauffeur came around to open the door, photographers’ cameras were already flashing, set to take rapid-fire shots of anyone important who might emerge from the car. In this case, it was Tor, a recognizable figure in Dallas society. He handed Leta out of the car and then, rather than escorting her inside immediately, the billionaire took his girlfriend’s hand and stepped aside to give Zeke room to exit, as well.
Although Zeke wasn’t as adept at handing her out of the car as Tor had been with Leta, Sophie was glad for his steadying touch. Yet, as they stood on the red carpet leading in, Tor leaned over to murmur in Sophie’s ear. “You owe me for not insisting we take the back entrance.”
Sophie’s swift, startled glance was met with a reassuring twinkle in Tor’s eyes, and Sophie found her practiced public smile dissolving into laughter.
This is going to be a good evening.
The four of them swept into the hotel ballroom for what Sophie hoped would be a turning point in her public image.