Blind Love (32 page)

“That’s all I need to know,” said Tony. “You can schedule the final scene anytime.”

Catherine walked away. She’d planted the seed of doubt in Tony’s mind, and now he knew the truth.

Jenny was living with another man.

<>

That evening, Jenny tapped on Tony’s door. The cameraman and director were inside waiting. Tony opened the door and blew out a breath. She was stunning in a pale pink dress that shimmered and skimmed her exquisite figure. She looked good in pastels. Her hair was loose and curled around her shoulders. “You look beautiful, Jenny. That color suits you.”

“Thank you, Tony.” She leaned in for a kiss and he couldn’t disappoint the guy with the camera. He pictured Catherine kissing Ross and understood how hard it must be for her to know that he was here with Jenny tonight.

He poured them both a glass of champagne, but he made no toast, no mention of love. Days ago, Jenny told him she was falling in love with him, and he thought he might love her back. Now he felt stupid for believing her lies.

She was the one who should feel stupid. She wanted to be rich, and with her looks, she could find some rich guy to take care of her. But she came after a carpenter.

They danced to soft music and she snuggled in close while the cameraman watched. Jenny looked right and felt right in his arms. If he’d found out in the beginning, if she’d told him the truth instead of lying, he might have picked her and lost Catherine.

Catherine was the one worth keeping.

She was worth all the others put together.

<>

At breakfast the next morning, Morgan told them to prepare for the final segment. “At ten this morning, Tony will send one of you home.”

“I thought we had another day,” said Jenny.

“The production crew has another job, so it was moved up.”

Catherine knew that wasn’t true. Tony didn’t want to wait another day, and neither did Henry. Every day cost the company money, so the sooner they wrapped this up, the better.

Jenny shared long looks with Tony, and Catherine couldn’t look at them. She picked at her food and then excused herself to go upstairs and find something special to wear. Tony would be wearing his suit instead of a tux, so she didn’t want anything too dressy.

Catherine knew she’d win today, but it would be a bittersweet victory. Finding out about Jenny’s lies had thrown Tony. He might have played around with a lot of women in his life, but he was an honest man. No matter how good she looked, Tony would never stay with a woman who lied to him.

One of the maids stayed with Jessie while Jenny and Catherine went down to the library. They sat in the wingback chairs in the library and stared at the pictures on the wall. All thirteen were lit up, but as the camera panned them, the lights went out one by one, until only the two in the middle remained.

Morgan said, “One of you will be going home today. Say your goodbyes now. You won’t be seeing each other again.”

The two women embraced. Catherine said, “Jenny, I wish you the best.”

“I wish you the best, too, Catherine.”

Catherine went into the formal living room to wait while Jenny stayed in the library.

Catherine just wanted to get it over with.

Chapter Eighteen

T
ony stood in the middle of the rose garden with Riley by his side. The sun shone brightly that morning, the scent of roses filled the air, and the sound of the gently pounding surf echoed the pounding of his heart. Today the show ended. He had to pick one woman, and he had to do it in front of the cameras.

He’d made his choice, and he knew in his heart he’d made the right one.

They shot the session with Jenny first. She walked out in a pale blue mini-dress, showing off her long, graceful legs. He’d spent his entire adult life dreaming about this woman, searching for this woman, and now that he’d found her, he knew they could never make it work. The packaging was as fine as could be, and he loved her little girl, but Jenny wasn’t the right woman for him.

“Tony,” she said in a breathless voice.

“Jenny, you look beautiful today.”

Her face glowed. She thought he’d picked her. He felt a keen sense of disappointment in her, yet he felt sick to have to do this with everyone watching.

“I’ve always dreamed of spending my life with a beautiful blonde like you.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I thought when I found the image of the perfect woman, the woman I’d always dreamed about, everything would fall into place. We’d fall in love and live happily ever after.” He gazed into her eyes and felt nothing. “But images are sometimes deceiving, and life doesn’t always play out like a dream.”

Her smile disappeared. She finally understood what he was trying to say. He didn’t choose her.

“No,” she whispered.

“You’re looking for a better life. I understand, but I can’t provide that for you, Jenny. I want a woman to build a life with, one who respects me enough to be honest with me. One who loves me unconditionally, the way I love her.”

“But I love you, and I know you don’t love Catherine.”

“Yes, I
do
love her. It took me a few weeks to realize it, because I was so caught up in finding the image of the perfect woman. No one is perfect, but when you’re in love—really in love—there are more important things than image.” This show had taught him that lesson. He could have chosen a gorgeous woman, but he fell in love with a cute little redhead, someone he knew he could love forever.

Tears streamed down Jenny’s cheeks. “But you love me and Jessie. She—”

“I’m crazy about Jessie, and I’d love to have a little girl like her someday, but this is not about her. It’s about me loving another woman.”

“Please don’t do this to us, Tony. I know we can make it work. Give me a chance.”

“I did.” He’d given her the benefit of the doubt, he’d given her openings to tell him about Jessie’s father and her other child, and she’d lied to him. He hated lies and deception of any kind, and this woman had lied about everything.

He hugged her. “Goodbye, Jenny.”

She walked away sobbing, and he pictured Jessie’s trusting little face when she’d asked him if he was going to be her new daddy. But the kid already had a daddy, and Tony didn’t love Jessie’s mommy. Just days ago, he thought he might love her, but what he loved was the picture of the beautiful blonde wife and kids of his own. She’d brought her little girl along and used her at every opportunity to soften him up, so she could snag what she thought was a rich man. What she’d almost snagged was a hard-working carpenter and construction supervisor.

What he thought was love was a physical attraction to the mother and an emotional attachment to the kid. Finding out Jenny had lied to him about her life and deceived him into thinking she loved him made him feel like a fool. She didn’t love him, and he didn’t love her.

He sat on the bench. Because of Jenny, he’d almost lost the woman who really mattered. Riley put his head on Tony’s knee and whined. Tony put his hand on the dog’s head. Riley would miss Jessie, but someday he’d have other kids to play with.

If Catherine would marry him.

“Here comes Cat,” said the director.

Tony stood and the camera guy turned on the camera. This would be the last scene, and if he screwed this up, he’d never forgive himself.

Catherine walked outside in a pale yellow dress with those skinny straps that couldn’t possibly hold anything up. Her curly red hair framed the cute, freckled face he’d grown to love. She smiled, and the world lit up. Jenny and Jessie ceased to exist. Catherine meant everything to him.

He took her hands, which were trembling slightly, and took a deep breath. She had to know by now that he’d picked her, but he had to tell her why. “Catherine, the day the show began, when I saw you standing on that balcony with the others, I knew you were different.”

“Shorter,” she quipped. “Definitely shorter.”

He smiled, knowing she was trying to put him at ease. “Yes, shorter. And then at the costume party, when all the other women came in wearing sexy costumes and you came in dressed as Little Bo Peep, you blew me away.”

Tears glistened in her eyes. “Don’t cry on me now, honey,” he said gently.

She blinked back tears and he continued. “I love your sense of humor and your honesty. I know I can trust you to tell me the truth. For years I was looking for what I thought was the perfect blonde, when all the time, I should have been looking for you.”

It might be foolish to put his heart on the line on national television, but he couldn’t stop now. He needed to say it all. “When I’m with you, I feel complete, and when you’re not with me, it feels like I’m missing a part of myself. I love you, Catherine.”

Catherine gasped, and he knew she was stunned that he’d say those words in front of the cameras. He didn’t care who was watching or listening. He loved this woman with everything in him, and he wanted her to be a part of his life.

She stepped into his arms and the kiss they shared wasn’t a kiss of passion. It was a kiss of love. They stood in the bright sunshine, holding each other as if they never wanted to let go. The cameras finally turned off, and Tony still couldn’t let go of the woman he loved. She was his life. His future. His everything.

They walked upstairs to Tony’s room, stopping every few steps for a kiss. Tony locked the door, and they spent the next hour in his bed. She didn’t say she loved him, and that concerned him, but she was generous with her body. If that was all she could give him right now, he’d have to accept that as an expression of her love. He knew Catherine well enough to know she wouldn’t be in his bed unless she loved him. Although he’d slept with countless women over the years, she’d been more selective.

And she’d selected him.

<>

Later, while Catherine walked through the house with Henry, Tony called Nick and gave him the good news, the news the family had been waiting for. He’d chosen Catherine.

“Hey, that’s great news, Tony.” He called Cara to the phone.

“I told her I loved her, and she cried, but she didn’t say she loved me back.”

“She will,” said Nick.

Cara said, “Catherine has never been in love before, Tony. She’s probably overwhelmed, like I was when I fell in love with Nick. Talk it out.”

A baby cried in the background, and Cara said, “I need to take care of Max.”

“Okay, go,” said Tony.

Nick said, “Look, Tony, falling in love can be easy and hard at the same time. I went through a tough time when I fell in love with Cara. You and Catherine will work it out.”

They talked for several minutes about the show, and then Nick changed the subject. “What did you think about the property near San Simeon?”

“If I had the money I’d buy it myself, for Catherine.” She dreamed of opening a hotel, and he wanted to give her the dream.

“Oh, yeah? We got a good deal.”

“How good?” asked Tony.

As Nick talked about their investment in that property, Tony tried to think of some way to come up with that much money. He’d recently paid off his mother’s mortgage, so his savings account was down.

“Tell you what,” said Nick. “If you want the property, we’ll sell it to you for a hundred thousand down and you can pay off the balance after you finish the work. If you decide you don’t want it, we’ll reimburse you for what you put into it and sell it to someone else.”

Sure he would. The property would be worth a whole lot more when the work was done.

Tony had about two hundred thousand in savings, money he’d earned by buying and renovating run-down houses. Would a hundred thou cover the renovations on that place? It might cover the materials, but he’d have to do all the work himself. They could always add the cottages and restaurant later.

“It’s a deal.” If Catherine didn’t want to marry him, he’d sell it himself. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d bought a piece of property, renovated it, and turned it into a profit.

A slow smile pulled at his face, and he ended the call. Catherine might be a little confused right now, and she might not have said the words, but he knew she loved him.

Catherine tapped on his open door. “Tony, I hate to leave you now, but I need to go back to the office and help Henry edit the show.”

“I thought you weren’t involved in that, since you’re in the show.”

“With Mitzi gone, he’s short-handed, and I promised to stay until he hires someone else and gets them trained.”

Tony’s heart sank. He’d told her he loved her and now she was all business. Didn’t she know she was ripping his heart out?

“How long until I see you again?”

She hesitated long enough for him to wonder if she intended to see him again. “I don’t know, Tony.”

Didn’t she know what it cost him to admit his love on national television? Didn’t she know how much he wanted and needed her in his life?