the show filmed?”
Maggie, her eyes shining with enthusiasm, said, “This season we’re filming in Las Vegas. Normally, the first thing we have our bachelor do is fill out a questionnaire and meet with our marriage counselor. Then we select ten bachelorettes ideally suited for him.”
“What do you mean, normally?”
“We’ve already signed contracts with this season’s bachelorettes.”
“Because?” he prodded. The woman had talked his ear off, and now she went quiet?
“Our scheduled bachelor backed out at the last minute.”
“Does he know something I don’t?” Griffin asked as he tossed a hunk of hay in Sugar’s trough.
“He was a retired pro football player who returned to the game. We picked out bachelorettes for him. Of course, there’s a possibility some of the women will leave when they learn we have a new man.”
“You’re saying they’ll think I’m a scrub replacement?”
Maggie gasped. Embarrassment flamed across her cheeks. “I’m not saying that at all. I apologize for my poor choice of words. No woman would see you that way.”
He couldn’t keep from grinning. “I had you worried, didn’t I?”
She laughed, but not one of those dainty, practiced, feminine giggles. Joy rang out in her full, honest laughter, and her face lit up.
“That was a good one. You really had me going.”
“You’d think with three older brothers you wouldn’t be so gullible,” Griffin retorted.
She crossed her arms over her chest again. “In my defense, I’m in work mode right now. Believe it or not, very few people tease me when I’m discussing business. Are you always so vexing?”
“Pretty much.”
Maggie’s melodic laughter reverberated through the barn once more, but Griffin sobered. An athlete. That meant they’d probably picked women who liked sports and the outdoors. Ones who’d be comfortable on a ranch. Not exactly what he wanted.
“You want me to pick a wife from women you selected for another man?” he asked, already slipping into the charade. Wouldn’t that be what a man who really wanted to find a wife would say?
“You’re not going to get me again.”
“This time I’m serious.”
“Sorry. The altitude must be messing up my radar.” Maggie frowned and tucked a stray brown curl that had escaped from her ponytail behind her ear. “I think you’ll be happy with the women we’ve selected, and if for whatever reason any of the bachelorettes choose to not continue with the show, the new candidates will be selected specifically for you.”
“What if I’m not satisfied? After all, my happiness isn’t your main concern. You’ve got to pick candidates who’ll make good TV.” His main concern was avoiding marriage, while getting the thirty grand. He ran his hand along Sugar’s expanding belly, and her foal moved under his palm. The horse swung her head toward him. “I know, girl, you’re ready for this baby to be here, aren’t you?”
“Watching a foal coming into the world must be such a miracle,” Maggie said.
“Changing the subject won’t work. What happens if I’m not happy with who you’ve picked?”
“Out of ten women, you really think you might not like any of them? Come on. No man can be that particular.”
She had no idea how picky he was about to become.
“We’re talking about finding me a wife. I need to be sure I can spend the rest of my life with one of these ladies.” He almost smiled at how easily he played the game, telling Maggie what she wanted to hear without technically lying. He’d find someone to spend his life with about the same time he decided to work a nine-to-five desk job.
“We’ve never had a bachelor unhappy with our choices before.”
“When I’ve studied the bios, if I don’t like what I see, I want veto power.”
She clasped her hands in front of her. “Veto power? Tell me you’re not a control freak.”
“Like I said, I’m pretty laid-back, but I’m not big on trusting someone I just met with something this important.”
Maggie bit her lip, and her leaf-green eyes focused on him. He froze. The intensity in her gaze surprised and intrigued him. Such fire. If it weren’t for her gorgeous eyes, he’d call her plain, but they changed everything.
A woman with that much heat flashing in her eyes, but dressed in pants two sizes too big and a baggy cardigan, made Griffin wonder what she wanted to hide and why.
“If we break the bachelorettes’ contracts we still have to pay them. That would cost the show money. But more importantly, recasting would take time we don’t have. We’re scheduled to start shooting in two weeks.”
“You could always find another bachelor. But if you do, it’s your loss.”
He shot her the smile he’d used with his high school teachers whenever he asked for an assignment extension. It hadn’t failed him yet.
“It seems unreasonable for you to have complete veto power.”
When faced with her resistance, he paused to calculate his next move. He wanted to be able to make changes in case there weren’t enough career-minded types. The last thing he wanted was ten women looking for a man to save them from whatever mess they’d made of their lives, financially or otherwise.
Still smiling, he stepped toward Maggie. Their gazes locked. He lowered his voice and whispered, “I’m not asking for much. Surely you can give me this.”
A smile spread across her face. Her eyes twinkled. He had her.
“Nice try turning on the charm, but this is a business deal, and that’s how I’m treating it.”
Now that was a curve he hadn’t expected. Where had he gone wrong? Women worked hard to please him, and rarely gave him grief.
“Then we’re at a standoff.”
“I’ll give you two vetoes,” Maggie countered.
“Six.”
“Out of ten women? Forget it. Three. That’s my final offer. Take it or leave it.”
He thought about countering with five, but the iron resolve on her face, the confidence in her eyes, along with her braced stance, told him she wouldn’t budge. “Deal. I want it added to the contract.”
He hadn’t won, but on the upside, he hadn’t lost, either.
“I have to run it by my boss and Legal, but I think they’ll go for it. Once they approve the change, I’ll have them email me a new contract. Is there anything
