Stone Cold Surrender - Brenda Jackson [58]
Stone immediately thought about Madison. He would gladly announce to the world that she was the woman he loved and the one woman he wanted to marry, but information like that in this particular barracuda’s hand might be hurtful to Madison. Noreen would never give her a moment’s rest in the process of fishing for a story. She would camp outside Madison’s home if it meant getting a scoop.
“How can I consider marriage when there’s no special woman in my life?”
Noreen’s lips quirked. “What about a special man?”
Stone narrowed his eyes. “You’ve kept up with my past history long enough to know better than to ask that.”
“Okay, so that was a cheap shot and I admit it. So are you telling me that there’s no woman that Rock Mason is interested in at the moment? There is no woman you would consider marrying?”
Stone frowned. “I think I’ve made myself clear on several occasions that Rock Mason enjoys the freedom of being a bachelor too much.”
“Is that why you’ve agreed to do that four-month promotional tour in Europe?”
Stone frowned again, wondering how news of that got leaked to the press. He hadn’t made a decision on whether or not he would go on that damn tour and he had told his agent that. A lot depended on Madison. He would only go if she went with him. He had no intention of leaving the woman he loved behind.
He met Noreen’s curious gaze and said, “No comment. Now if you will excuse me, there’s someone over there that I need to see.” Stone then walked off.
Three days later Stone was in his hotel room, finally packing to return to Montana. He had spoken with his family in Atlanta several times over the past week. They had heard from Quade and were excited that there were now three additional Westmorelands. He had also spoken with Durango who indicated that he hadn’t seen or spoken to Corey since he’d left.
Stone was anxious to get back to Madison. He missed her like hell. He glanced over at the television when he heard his name and stopped what he was doing as Noreen Baker’s face appeared on the screen during a segment of Entertainment Tonight. He crossed the room to turn up the volume.
“As we reported last week, national bestselling author Rock Mason accepted an eight-figure deal from Hammond Publishers and with it came movie options, as well as a four-month book tour in Europe. I spoke with Rock a few nights ago at a New York bash given in his honor and he squashed any rumors that he is romantically involved with anyone, and went on to assure me that he still prefers bedding women to wedding them. He also plans to leave for Europe in a few weeks. So any of you women out there who’re holding out for the attention of Mr. Money Maker himself, don’t waste your time. Rock Mason is as hard as they come when the discussion of marriage comes up and he intends to maintain his bachelor status for quite a while.”
Stone switched off the television, shaking his head. Of course, as usual, Noreen had reported only part of the truth. At the moment he hadn’t made a decision about Europe. And of course she had put her own spin on what she had gleaned from their conversation.
He crossed the room to finish packing. The cab would be arriving shortly to take him to the airport. Right now the only thing on his mind was getting back to Madison.
Hundreds of miles away, Madison was also packing. She had watched Entertainment Tonight and had heard everything the reporter had said. Stone had been gone for ten days and she hadn’t heard from him. Although the phone lines were down, if he had wanted to contact her he could have sent her a letter or something. The postal plane delivered mail to the residents in the area at least twice a week.
He still prefers bedding women to wedding them…
She closed her eyes, fighting back tears. Why had she allowed things to get serious with Stone when he had told her from the very beginning what