had confiscated her phone so she had no idea how close they were to leaving. At this point she just wanted to go and get it over with....
* * *
“Car will be here in ten, Mr. Miller!” One of Silver’s bodyguards who’d taken quite a shine to Ben called out to him.
“Not sure why we have to get there so early,” Ben muttered to no one in particular as he paced the carpet and tried to get used to his fancy new shoes.
“Because you need to be seen and admired,” Ayla reminded him. “Well, Silver does, and it’s your job to show her off.”
“I can do that,” Ben replied. He’d attended a few of these red carpet events in the last year and had just about got used to the noise, and the unbelievable amount of flashing lights. He was still working on not looking like “a scared coyote caught in the crosshairs.”
He smiled as he remembered his father’s latest text about his last outing. Jeff had taken to Silver, and even if they occasionally got into it, his father always enjoyed a good fight. She also got on with his mother, which pleased him more than he’d imagined, but Silver was good at that—she was nice to the core.
He stared at the back of her head as her stylist and hairdresser decided where each pin should go for maximum effect. He could no longer imagine her in his bed or riding tandem with him on Calder, her arms wrapped around his waist as they checked the beef cattle at home. Yet, when she was there, she pulled her weight, nurturing the baby calves, mucking out the horse barn, and tending the chickens.
When the new house was finished, and they’d moved in, he’d caved and gotten a housekeeper because neither of them enjoyed cooking and cleaning. Sometimes, like all couples, they still argued about money, but Silver never made him feel like the leech the tabloids tried to portray him as in their relationship. The ranch was thriving under his ownership and turning enough profit that he could afford to pay all his bills.
He was damn lucky. But he still couldn’t wait to get out of his tux. . . .
“Five minutes, Silver.” Ayla had her headphone on and looked all business. “Shareem and Bree will follow your limo and meet you at the front to make sure everything has survived the journey.”
Silver made one last check that everything was secure and then turned to Ben. Her hair had been swept up on her head, and her long dangling earrings caught the light. She looked like the movie star she was, and for a moment, he just stared at her like any other long-term fan.
“Are you ready, Ben?”
He heard the anxiety in her voice and held out his hand. He’d seen the movie she’d helped to produce and costarred in. It had been an eye-opener about how good an actress she really was. He had nothing but total respect for her skills.
“I’m good. Let’s do this thing.”
A torturous hour later they were on the red carpet and between the massive gold statues. His head was ringing from the screams and all the flashing lights had half blinded him. He concentrated on looking attentive as Silver spoke to what felt like a million idiots with a mike as they slowly progressed into the theater.
As he was taller than a lot of people—who knew that male movie stars tended to be on the short side in real life?—he spotted Mike, Inola, Kaya, and the rest of the film crew ahead of them. They weren’t moving much faster than he and Silver were, which meant it was still going to be a while before they were out of public view.
He resisted the urge to stick his finger down his collar. Who thought it was a good idea to dress up like this in the heat of the Californian sun? At least if he’d had his Stetson on, he would have some shade.
“And how are you doing tonight, Ben?”
He jerked his attention back to the smiling woman who was now shoving the mike in his face.
“I’m good, thanks.”
She giggled loudly and turned back to Silver. “He doesn’t say much, does he?”
“No, but he’s really good at lifting heavy things,” Silver cooed, and stroked his arm. It was all he could do not to burst out laughing.
“I bet you’d rather be home on the ranch, eh?” the woman persisted.
“Yeah.” Ben nodded.
“Riding the range.”
Ben just looked