Mending The Billionaire Movie Star (MacLachlan Brothers Romance Book 1)

by Bree Livingston

  Zora’s lips curled into a smile. “I’m a nurse.”

  “A nurse?” Angus was taken off guard, even though now that she said it, he remembered that being part of her introduction. He hadn’t pictured Zora as a nurse.

  “Yes, I liked the idea of helping people and thought, ‘What better way?’ I mostly work with hospice patients.”

  “Does it get hard, working with dying patients?” he asked.

  She took a deep breath. “Sometimes. Especially when there’s a connection with them or their family. Overall, though, it’s very rewarding.”

  Jeanie leaned forward. “It takes a special kind of person to do that. At least, I think so.” She was poised and didn’t come off as invasive or catty. Yeah, as far as personality, Jeanie was the winner in that department.

  “I agree,” said Angus.

  “Interesting how both our careers are in the medical field,” Jeanie said.

  Zora nodded. “Personally, I think it’s going to be interesting getting to know everyone. I’m an only child, and I’ve never had to share anything.”

  “Oh, I’m one of seven,” Jeanie said.

  Angus’s eyes grew wide. “Seven?”

  She giggled and nodded. “Yes. My parents loved kids. I was adopted and so were five of my siblings. My oldest brother was their only biological child. My parents are special people. If it wasn’t for them, I’d have probably grown up in the foster system. I was blessed to have them.”

  Jeanie had a great laugh. It made her even more charming.

  “They sound like special people,” Angus said.

  Footsteps plodded behind them, and they turned. Vincent flashed his camera-ready grin. “How’s everything going out here? Is our bachelor learning interesting things about the possible Mrs. MacLachlan?”

  Oh, he was learning plenty, but there would be nothing more than talk. “I am. These two are full of surprises.”

  “How about you, audience?” Vincent asked as he looked into the camera. “What are you thinking? Go to www.celebrityproposal.com and give us your thoughts. We’ll be right back after the break.”

  Angus stood. “I guess it’s time for an extended talk with Amber and Penelope?”

  Vincent nodded. “Gotta give the audience what they want.”

  “Well, I look forward to getting to know you two over the next twelve weeks. It’s been a pleasure chatting with you,” Angus said. He took Jeanie’s hand first and kissed it. Then he did the same for Zora. He could hear them giggling as he walked away with Vincent.

  Chapter 7

  Penelope enjoyed chatting with Amber. They’d found rocking chairs on the patio and struck up a conversation. It was almost like finding a kindred spirit in that she liked being outside too, only Amber actually wanted to be on the show. At least, Penelope hoped she was a kindred spirit. It was possible she was just being nice for the live show.

  What she didn’t enjoy were all the cameras. She expected them to be sticking with Angus, but, apparently, they were going to be in her business for the entire twelve weeks. At times, when she would get caught up in conversation, she’d forget they were there. That made her a little anxious. What if she said something she didn’t want the world to know? Something about Tom or her dad or just her life in general?

  “So, why did you volunteer to come on this show?” Penelope asked. Angus was attractive, so she understood to a degree.

  “I don’t know. I guess I thought it would be fun. Honestly, I never thought I’d get picked.”

  “You and me both.”

  “You really didn’t know?”

  “Not a clue. I have a twin sister who loves putting me in situations like this.” Penelope huffed.

  “Ladies! Our bachelor would like to join you if that’s okay,” Vincent said from beside them.

  Crud. Penelope knew they’d make the rounds and get to her eventually, but she’d hoped it would take a lot longer. She glanced at Angus. The last time she’d seen him he was furious, but it seemed he’d calmed down since then. If he was upset, he sure was good at masking it.

  Amber blushed. “Of course it is.”

  Oh brother. Penelope had to force herself not to roll her eyes.

  Vincent nodded. “Well, I will leave you three so you can talk.”

  Angus took a seat to the left of Amber. “It’s a lovely night to be sitting out here. I caught something about siblings. Do you have any, Amber?”

  “I have two sisters. Well, had two sisters. My youngest sister died in a car accident when I was sixteen.”

  Penelope's lips parted with a short inhale. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I wish I had something better to say.”

  “That must have been hard,” Angus said.

  “It’s okay. It was seventeen years ago. It took a while, but I’m finally able to cope with it relatively well. How about you, Angus? Do you have siblings?” Amber asked.

  “Three brothers who live in Scotland.”

  Penelope looked away and tuned them out. The sliver of moon made the setting picturesque. She could see why this lodge was picked. It was sort of a mini-mansion, ten times the size of her small house in Destin.

  She set her elbow on the chair arm and propped her chin in her hand as she let everything around her blur. Tom would have loved this place. She had no idea why she’d suddenly thought of him. They’d never gone on a mountain vacation, but they’d talked about it until…

  “Penelope?” Amber touched her arm.

  Penelope jerked straight and blinked away tears. “Yes, I’m sorry.”

  “Angus was calling your name.”

  “What?”

  “I asked you how you like dog grooming,” Angus said.

  Penelope held his gaze a moment. “I love it. I’m going to miss my clients, and George, of course, but my sister is taking care of him at the moment.”

  “George?”

  “My standard poodle.”

  Angus chuckled. His laugh was warm, pleasant, and, from what Penelope could see, completely genuine.

  Crud. He had a great laugh.

  Most men laughed when she said she had a standard poodle. His laugh didn’t come across as mocking, though.

  “I bet he’d get along with Morna well,” he said.

  “Morna?”

  “My standard poodle. One of four that I have.”

  Penelope’s jaw dropped. “You do?”

  “Aye, I have Iona, Nessie, Somerled, and Morna. Iona is my oldest. She’s been my girl for twelve years now. Nessie is her sister from a separate litter, and she’s nine years old. Somerled, which means wanderer, comes by his name honestly. I have an eight-foot fence just to keep him in, and Morna is the baby. I got her about a year ago.”

  Really? He was her type, and he had standard poodles. Geez.

  Tom had been her type too. Red hair, light eyes, and a killer smile. She’d been attracted to him also…before the lying and secrecy.

  If only she could trust herself after Tom.

  Angus oozed charisma. It had oozed from Tom too. Then all that charisma turned into control and dominance. And because she loved him, she’d ignored flags red enough to set off bulls.

  She stood. “It doesn’t change what this is, and it doesn’t change that I’m…never mind. You want your career back. And all of this is an effort to do that. Prancing around in front of a camera, pretending you want to get married, and stringing along girls you have absolutely no interest in.” Cameras! Penelope cringed as the realization that she was being filmed hit her.

  Angus pushed out of the chair and stood inches from her. “You don’t know me! You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  She took a deep breath. He smelled fantastic, and up close, he moved from the gorgeous category to downright beautiful. Visions of running her hands through his hair began to play in her head like a full-color movie. That red hair. It should be criminal to look and smell that good.

  For all Angus’s tabloid exploits, there was an easiness and comfortability about him that wa
shed over her. Something in his eyes said he was kind and gentle.

  Penelope pushed the thoughts away and huffed. “I know enough.” She stomped off to her room and slammed the door behind her.

  Stupid show. Stupid beautiful man.

  Penelope sat on the bed, and hot tears streamed down her face. Tom had broken her heart and her self-worth. She’d fallen so hard for him, and then things had gone south and ugly. This was no different from last time. Angus was no different from Tom. He was a liar and a fraud too, and the show was nothing more than an attempt to regain his star status.

  A light tapping came from the door.

  “I don’t want to talk.”

  The knocking continued until she got up, wiping her eyes before answering the door. The second she opened it, Angus’s cologne wrapped around her.

  Penelope rolled her eyes. Of course, more cameras. “What do you want, Angus?” The question came out clipped. She sighed as she lowered her gaze. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to come out like that.”

  “Unfortunately, there’s nothing I can do about the cameras, but I needed to talk to you,” he said. “I’m not sure what I did, but I apologize.”

  When she steeled enough courage to look up, her mouth parted. He had light freckles all over his face with a wave of darker ones across his cheekbones and nose. She needed to focus.

  “I don’t like fake, and everything here feels fake and showy.” She leaned against the doorframe. Just because it wasn’t real, didn’t mean she had to be a jerk to him. “I’m having a hard time here, but that’s no excuse to be mean to you. I’m sorry.”

  Angus ran a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry I’ve come across as fake.”

  Penelope took a deep breath and crossed her arms over her chest. That beautiful face had “heartbreaker” written all over it, and it was in flashing neon. “Look, we both know you aren’t here to find a wife. I won’t say anything, but can we agree to be roommates and avoid each other if we can? I’m not interested in you.” Liar. Liiiaaar! her heart screamed as loud as Valerie from The Princess Bride. “Even if you were interested in a relationship, you wouldn’t be interested in me. I’m not in your league, and we both know that too.”

  Anger flashed across his face for a split second, and Penelope thought he was going to argue. “I can manage that,” he said.

  “Good. Now, I’ll leave you alone, and you can leave me alone. We’ll sail through this nonsense. Deal?”

  Angus turned and paused, looking back to hold her gaze once more before leaving.

  Penelope exhaled and shut the door. Whew! At least that was done.

  * * *

  The worst part about the entire show was the confessional interviews. They were going to be stuck in a room with a camera pointed at them at least once a week. Penelope was the last one to be led to a small room where Vincent Big-Teeth lay in wait to question her.

  “So, Penny,” he said.

  “Penelope.” How long would it take him to catch a clue, or had his teeth whitener bleached his brain?

  He smiled, but she could tell under all that gleaming exterior that he didn’t like her any more than she liked him. “Penelope.” His grin never faltered. “Do you see yourself finding love here?”

  Her mouth dropped open. “Um. No.”

  “You really don’t like our bachelor, do you?”

  She palmed her forehead. “I don’t know him, and I don’t want to.” She lifted her gaze to the camera. “Look, I’m sure he’s a great guy, but I’m only here to keep my sister out of jail for fraud. Had I been smarter, she’d be here instead of me. But, apparently, I’m a sucker for crocodile tears.”

  “Anything else you’d like to add?”

  She rolled her eyes. “No, I have nothing else to add.”

  They stopped the camera, and Vincent pinched the bridge of his nose. “Okay, you can go.”

  “Fantastic,” Penelope said and bolted from the room. Twelve weeks of this? It was going to be awful.

  Chapter 8

  “She actually said that?” Finn asked.

  Angus sat in a deep-blue upholstered chair, staring out the large picture window in his room. “Aye. I mean, yes.” He’d been slipping since the show started. He’d worked hard to tame his thick accent since moving to America twenty years ago, but when he was troubled, it was hard to keep it hidden.

  And troubled he was. He was certain Penelope was crying before she opened the door. The redness in her eyes was a dead giveaway. He hated she was being forced to stay on the show. He could only imagine what she was saying in her interview about the evening. What was worse, now she was going to try to avoid him. It was obvious she had no clue how television worked.

  “Barb isn’t going to like that. She was pretty happy about those initial ratings. There’s no way she’s going to let the two of you avoid each other.” Finn popped the top off his soda and sat in the chair next to Angus.

  Angus ran a hand over his beard. “Naw, I mean, no, she’s not.”

  “Do you like any of them?”

  “Naw.” He shifted in his seat, giving up trying to rein in his accent.

  “Zora is a bonnie, eh?” Finn popped him on the shoulder.

  Angus exhaled slowly. “All of them are bonnies.”

  “Except Penelope. She’s not exactly in the same league as the others.” Finn noisily slurped on his drink.

  She was cute in her own way. A real way, which gave her the potential to be dangerous. But he knew Finn wouldn’t appreciate that, since looks trumped everything for Finn, and Angus wasn’t about to admit it even if he did. “Maybe not, but she likes dogs, which is nice.” Clara had taught Angus that there needed to be substance along with the attractiveness.

  “Okay, well, hire her to be your groomer, but don’t hang your hat on her coat hook. She certainly isn’t interested in you.”

  “Naw, and the feeling’s mutual.”

  Finn shrugged. “That’s good, though, right? You didn’t want to end up with anyone anyways.”

  Angus shook his head. “I don’t like the idea of someone hating me when they don’t even know me.”

  “That’s why we’re here in the first place.”

  “I know, but it was a nameless, faceless hate. I know everyone out there hates me, but living with someone who hates me…that’s different.”

  Finn finished his soda and set the can down. “That’s why you need to charm her. Do your Scottish charm thing. Lay that accent on and butter her up. You’ll have her eating out of your hand in no time.”

  “I’m trying, but every time I get near her, something sets me off. It took every ounce of self-control I had to walk away tonight without arguing with her.” Angus leaned his head back on the chair.

  A light tapping came from the door. Finn jumped up and answered it.

  Barb walked in and stood next to Angus. “So, that Penelope Cooper. She’s something, isn’t she?”

  Angus glanced at her and scowled.

  She grinned. “Yeah, she’s something.”

  “Why did you let that woman through?” asked Angus.

  Finn was taking his seat again and nodding in agreement with Angus.

  Barb shot Finn a glance. “Finn, darling, don’t sit. I need to speak to Angus alone, okay?”

  Finn looked at Angus, who sighed and nodded.

  Finn’s shoulders slumped. “I’ll go fix myself a midnight sandwich, and I’ll be back. You want anything, Angus?”

  Angus shook his head. “Naw.”

  Once Finn was gone, Barb sat next to him. “I’m sure Finn has already said this, but in case he hasn’t…if you bring Penelope Cooper around, the rest of the world will follow. They trust her because she’s real. She’s not going to take what you say as gospel. You’re going to actually have to work to show that you’ve changed.”

  “I’m trying. I just…”

  “Love, you and I have known each other a long time. I remember the first time I saw this scraggly, lanky boy from Rosegail Bridge, Sc
otland. There was something so special about you. There still is, but it’s buried under all this baggage that you keep carrying around.”

  “Barb.” His tone held a warning.

  “No, Angus, I’ve held my tongue long enough. You need to start slaying some demons and exorcise Clara.” Barb covered his hand with hers. “This anger that boils under the surface isn’t good for you. It’s burning you out and changing you. Do what you have to do to be free of her, love.”

  Angus looked away. “I don’t know how.”

  “I’m going to make a suggestion, then. Start small. Tomorrow morning, I want you to make a conscious effort to set your anger down and try having a genuinely good time with these women. Let them see the man I know is still in there. The kind, funny, caring man you’ve always been.”

  “I don’t know if I can.”

  “Don’t let Clara win. That woman, what she did to you, it was…well, I think it would have gone a long way toward breaking me too. You didn’t deserve what happened to you.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Barb squeezed his hand. “Positive. Will you at least try tomorrow?”

  “Aye. I’ll try. It’ll be harder if I don’t keep my distance from Penelope. That woman infuriates me.”

  Barb laughed. “I think that’s what we call chemistry, love.”

  “Naw. Not with her.”

  “If you say so.”

  “Is that why you picked her?” Angus narrowed his eyes at Barb.

  Finn bounced through the door. “Is the big bad talk over?”

  Barb looked over her shoulder. “We were just talking about the chemistry between him and Penelope.”

  “What chemistry? The woman hates him,” Finn said.

  “I don’t think so. I think she wants to hate him, but Penelope Cooper is a sweet girl. Not just sweet, but coma-inducing sweet. That girl doesn’t have a mean bone in her body. She’s putting on a good show too.” Barb caught Angus’s gaze. “You aren’t the only one nursing a heartache, and she’s been nursing hers longer than you.”

  Angus jerked his gaze to Barb. “Her? How?”