The Producer's Unlikely Bride

by Lorana Hoopes

  His lips parted as he smiled back. “I am too, but don’t go getting ideas. I’m a good actor, but I make a terrible boyfriend.”

  Chapter 12

  Ava couldn’t keep from looking at Justin as they finished dinner. It was like she was seeing through his facade for the first time. He claimed what he’d done with Tia was just him acting a role, but she didn’t think so. It had felt genuine, and then he’d kept his arm around her even after they moved out of Tia’s sight. Even now at the table, he had scooted his chair slightly so that though not touching, she could feel the heat from the proximity of his body. And he looked handsome in his tux. Most men did, but his tux appeared tailored perfectly for his body.

  “So, what happens next?” he asked leaning closer to keep his voice quiet.

  “A speaker will take the podium in a minute and they’ll announce the winners for the different awards. Then there’s usually dancing, but we don’t have to stay for that part if you don’t want.” She offered him the out though she hoped he wouldn’t take it. The thought of dancing close to him with his arms around her sent her heart racing.

  “I suppose we could stay to dance.” He looked around the room. “Will there be any photographers taking pictures? Dancing together would look great on a cover.”

  Ava shook her head unsure of the answer and even more unsure of everything else. Had she read more into his actions than existed? Maybe his nice guy act really was more for image than for her.

  “Welcome everyone to the fifteenth annual Romance Gala. I’m Nancy Johnson, and I’m excited to be announcing the winners for our seven categories. As you know, all of these men and women work very hard throughout the year to put out the best romances possible. Some have many books out and some are brand new authors. We pride ourselves on finding the best talent out there. Without further ado, let’s begin with our winner for the erotic romance genre.” She held up a white envelope and waved it as if she were Vanna White indicating a new puzzle.

  “Which category are you nominated for?” Justin whispered.

  “Clean romance. I don’t write erotica. Far from it.”

  “I should have guessed that,” he said with a small smile before turning back to the presenter.

  “The winner in our erotic genre is Devin Sheets.”

  Ava clapped along with the rest of the room as a woman with a large curly mane of dark hair took the stage.

  “That’s a pseudonym, right?” Justin sounded pained at the notion that might be her real name.

  “Probably. Most erotic authors don’t use their real names.”

  Devin Sheets gave her acceptance speech and then Nancy took the stage again. “Our historical romance is quite the large category. It covers everything up until about 1950, so the competition is quite fierce. This year, our winner is Bev Franklin.”

  Another round of clapping as an older woman with a head full of white hair took the stage.

  “She looks like she’s the historical fiction,” Justin whispered.

  Ava giggled and swatted his arm. “Be nice.”

  After Bev, they announced the contemporary romance award, the mystery and suspense award, and the paranormal romance award. The woman who won that resembled a wolf with her black and grey hair and stormy eyes.

  “And our last romance category is our clean romance genre. This category has gained a lot of traction in the last year, so more competition filled the arena this year. The winner this year is Eleanor Katy.”

  Ava hadn’t expected to win, but the disappointment stung nonetheless.

  Justin placed a hand on her arm. “I’m sorry you didn’t win.”

  “Me too, but Tia didn’t either, so I count that as a win.”

  Justin’s face scrunched in disgust. “She writes clean romance?”

  Ava laughed and shushed him but it was nice to have someone in her corner this year even if it was just as a friend - or whatever Justin was.

  “That brings us to our last category- our emerging author award. This is for a new author who shows promise. In order to qualify for this award, the author can have no more than two books out and they have to meet a sales and review quota. It is my pleasure to announce this year’s winner is Ava McDermott.”

  Ava began clapping along with the rest of the crowd until it registered that Nancy had called her name. Her? She was the emerging author they’d chosen.

  “Get up there.” Something like admiration shone in Justin’s eyes as he motioned for her to take the stage.

  Ava pushed back her chair and stood. She plastered a smile across her face as she made her way to the front, but inside her wheels were turning ninety miles an hour. What was she going to say? She had no speech prepared. She hadn’t even thought this was a possibility.

  Nancy beamed as she handed over the golden pen award to Ava. With trembling hands, Ava took it and turned to the crowded room. She sought Justin among the sea of faces and his smile gave her the confidence to open her mouth.

  “Wow, well, this was definitely unexpected, but I thank you. My first novel was really a gift from God, but I am so pleased. Now if I could just finish the next one.” There was a titter of laughter from among the crowd. Most of them were authors and they had been there at one point in their career.

  “Um, I’d like to thank Gen, my editor and friend. She’s not here tonight, but she bleeds all over my initial drafts making them better than before. I know she edits for a few of you as well, so you know my pain.” Another few chuckles reached her ears. “And my…” she faltered over the word boyfriend. It was what he was pretending to be and it would look awkward if she didn’t say anything about him in the speech, but saying the word boyfriend out loud somehow made it more real. She couldn’t do it. “Justin. I know we haven’t been together long, but you inspire me with new ideas.” Yes, that sounded plausible but not forced. “Thank you all again.”

  She held the award up to another round of cheering and clapping before stepping off the platform and making her way back to her seat. As she passed Tia’s seat, she felt the evil glare of her eyes. The award was nice, but Ava wasn’t sure it was worth giving Tia even more reason to hate her.

  “Wow, I guess I should read this work of yours, you emerging author.” Justin smiled at her as she sat back down.

  “It’s nothing, really.” But that wasn’t the truth. Getting recognized here was the first step into becoming truly successful, but it had also put a target on her back.

  Justin couldn’t believe he was having such a good time at this gala with Ava. It was weird how their differences didn’t seem so pronounced here as they had in the cottage, and they felt even smaller as he twirled her around the floor.

  “Mind if I cut in?” Justin turned to see Tia’s fake smile radiating at him.

  Ava stiffened in his arms, and he forced himself not to go off on this woman. She seemed intent on ruining Ava’s night though he had no idea why. “I’m a little busy.”

  “Please, just one little dance.” She placed a hand on his upper arm and batted her eyes. It probably worked on other men, but Justin had built up an immunity to women’s charms, except, it seemed, for Ava’s.

  “Go on. I’ll just get some punch and fresh air.” Ava stepped out of his arms and motioned for Tia to take her place, but Justin didn’t want to dance with Tia. He wanted to dance with Ava, but he was treading unknown water here. With no idea what past existed between these two women, he chose to take Ava’s lead, and circled his arms around Tia but not before mouthing to Ava that he would come find her.

  “So, you and Ava seem close. How long have you two been together?”

  Justin narrowed his eyes at the blond. She was fishing for something. The only problem was he didn’t know what. “A few weeks. What can I say? It was attraction at first sight.” Which wasn’t far from the truth. The image of her, wet and angry, attacking him still replayed often in his mind.

  “Yes, well, attraction fades especially when you have nothing in common.” She wrapped her arms a
round his neck forcing him to drop his to her waist and sway. “I did some research on you, Justin Miller, and I can’t see that you two have much in common. Not like you and I would.”

  What was she getting at?

  “See, I don’t think you two are really a couple. I saw all the articles about you giving up on love, and then all of a sudden, out of the blue, you show up with Ava? I’ve been in the business long enough to know a PR repair job when I see one, but Ava is too vanilla for you. If you want a woman who can salvage your reputation and make it fun along the way, then I’d be happy to be that woman.”

  Ugh, was she for real? Justin had seen a lot of things in his ten years in Hollywood, but he still had trouble stomaching women like Tia. He dislodged her arms from around his neck and stepped back. “I think I’m done with this conversation, and I’d like to see where my date has gotten off to. Perhaps you should do the same.”

  Her eyes flashed fire as her lips pulled into a taut line. “Fine, but remember that I gave you an out. I won’t be so nice in the future.” With that, she whipped around, nearly swatting him across the face with her blond hair, and stalked away.

  “What was that about?” Ava asked as she appeared beside him, a drink in each hand. She held one out for Justin who took it and looked the direction Tia had disappeared.

  “Your friend Tia is quite the piece of work.”

  Ava scoffed and wrinkled her nose. “She is no friend of mine.”

  “What’s the beef between you two anyway?” He tipped back the cup and let the cool beverage coat his throat.

  “We were friends a year ago. We met at a writer’s conference and shared secrets about our books and the publishing process, but when my book had more success than hers, she turned on me claiming I had hired a ghostwriter. It’s not that people don’t do it, but she knew I hadn’t. We had talked about how we wanted our writing to be our own.”

  “You should watch yourself around her. She hinted that she thinks our relationship is fake, and I wouldn’t put it past her to try to out us.”

  “Thankfully I never see her except for events like this. We don’t run in the same circles anymore.”

  While that might be true, Justin had known vindictive women before and he knew what they were capable of. He had a suspicion Tia was not all talk and no action.

  He placed their empty cups on a nearby table and gathered Ava back into his arms, but the enjoyment of dancing with her was gone. Tia felt like an unknown, and Justin hated unknowns.

  Chapter 13

  “So, tell me all about the gala last night,” Genevieve said as she lounged across Ava’s bed.

  Ava bit back a smile and ducked into her closet to grab the outfit she planned to wear tonight. She had been dying to tell Genevieve about it, but it had been too late when she’d made it back the night before. “It was nice. Tia Sweetchild was there.”

  “Ugh, I can’t stand her.”

  Ava popped back out and held up the outfit to get Gen’s approval. “Me either, but Justin totally put her in her place when she tried to rub it in that I didn’t have a date last year. He amazed me.”

  Genevieve looked over the outfit, tilted her head, and narrowed her eyes at Ava. “Yeah, that’s perfect. Amazed you, huh? And how about the rest of the night?”

  “It was fine. They served delicious food. I won the emerging author award while Tia won nothing, so I consider that a win. We had several reporters approach us and take pictures which should be good for both of our images.” Ava slipped out of her flannel pants and shirt and into the skirt and shirt she had brought out.

  “Why do I feel like there’s a 'but’ coming?” Gen asked as she stretched out on the bed.

  “Well, there was this weird moment where Tia cut in on our dancing, and Justin said she told him she knew the relationship was fake. He doesn’t think it’s anything to worry about, but he doesn’t know Tia like I do.”

  “He’s probably right. Tia won’t come to our office, and even if she did you know I won’t say anything. More than likely, she was just fishing for information.”

  “Maybe, but it still makes me nervous. What if it gets discovered? Won’t that ruin my reputation as a writer?” Ava smoothed her skirt and regarded her reflection in the mirror.

  “You worry too much. Even if it got discovered, it would be a flash in the pan story. People would forget about it quickly and move on. Your writing would be fine. Now, how about anything else? Like more practice on the kiss?” Gen wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

  Ava felt the heat sear across her face, and she averted her eyes. “This is a fake relationship, remember?” But the expression on Justin’s face as he dropped her off flashed into her mind. She could have sworn there had been desire and struggle there as if he’d wanted to kiss her. And she’d wanted him to. At least she thought she had.

  “Yeah, I remember. The question is, do you and Justin remember? I watched his face when he couldn’t take his eyes off you last night - like you were an ice-cold beer after a marathon.”

  “What? Who drinks beer after a marathon?”

  Gen shrugged. “You know what I mean. And then he pulls this knight in shining armor routine? That doesn’t sound like the man who hates romance you described.” Genevieve crossed to the vanity and patted the seat for Ava to sit.

  “I didn’t say he was a knight in shining armor. It’s not like he rescued me from a dragon, although describing Tia as a dragon isn’t far off.” She sat down and faced the mirror. “Besides, it’s part of the game. He’s pretending to care. Nothing more.” Her eyes flicked to the mirror daring Gen to disagree, but Gen said nothing as she picked up the curling iron and began curling her hair. The silence forced Ava to ponder Gen’s words. Justin had seemed different last night, but surely it had been her imagination. He had made it very clear he held no interest in a real romance and one night wouldn’t change that. Would it?

  She watched as Gen created cascading curls in her hair. It created an effect so different from her usual look. It wasn’t that Ava couldn’t curl her own hair; she simply rarely did. Maybe it was because she thought her time was better spent writing and maybe it was because she didn’t want a man to fall in love with a perfect image only to find out she wore sweatpants and a ponytail around the house most days. She’d had a friend tell her stories of how she woke up at five am to put on makeup because she was terrified her husband would leave if he knew what she looked like without it. Ava didn’t want a relationship like that. Better for him to see her flaws from the beginning.

  The doorbell rang, jolting her mind back to the present. “That’s Justin. Do I look okay?”

  Genevieve flashed a knowing smile. “Yep. Good luck. Don’t do anything stupid on national TV.”

  “Thanks for the boost of confidence.” Ava stuck out her tongue at her friend before opening the door. “Don’t forget to lock up when you leave,” she hollered over her shoulder.

  “Did I interrupt something?” Justin asked looking over her shoulder.

  “No, just Gen being Gen.” She pulled the door shut behind her and followed Justin to his car. “So, this is my first television interview. Is there anything I should know?”

  “Yeah, avoid water. Trust me, the last thing you want to do is fight a full bladder on TV.”

  Ava chuckled as she pictured him squirming in his seat. “I take it you speak from experience?”

  He shot her a pointed stare as he opened the car door. “It’s not funny. The first time I appeared on a show, I was so nervous that I downed an entire bottle of water while I waited in the green room which had no bathroom. I thought it would be fine because I was supposed to go on twenty minutes later, but the guest in front of me had a seizure and they had to call an ambulance. Nearly an hour passed before they got her taken care of and came to get me. That left no time to use the bathroom as they were already behind in their filming. Needless to say, nerves combined with a full bladder do not make for a comfortable experience. It was the longest twenty minutes
of my life.”

  “I wish I could have seen that.” Ava couldn’t help the smile that parted her lips as she slid into the seat. Justin rolled his eyes as he shut her door and walked around to his, but she had caught the ghost of a smile on his mouth.

  The ride to the studio remained quiet, but not uncomfortable. Ava found it odd how they could sit in silence especially accounting for the fact they were still practically strangers. Though he didn’t feel much like a stranger anymore.

  She followed his lead when they pulled into the parking lot, and a surge of relief flooded her as he took her hand. Ava had no idea if that was part of the act, but gratitude filled her with the gesture.

  He stopped outside the front door and turned to her. “Try not to be too nervous,” he said squeezing her hand. “Remember, they smell fear.”

  Ava nodded and took a deep breath as he opened the door. A smart brunette manned the desk in the lobby and looked up at them as they entered.

  “Hi, Justin Miller and Ava McDermott. We have an interview with Kevin Jones.”

  The brunette tapped a few keys on her computer. “Yes, sir. I’ll call Vicky to come get you. It should just be a few minutes.”

  Vicky, a young woman with a headset glued to her ears and a clipboard attached to her hands, showed up a few minutes later. She led them down the hallway to a small dressing room with a large mirror and two chairs. “Desi will be in shortly to check your makeup.”

  “Is she always so brusque?” Ava asked as she perched in one of the chairs.

  Justin shrugged. “I don’t recognize her from the last time I appeared, but it’s not usually long from here. After they check makeup, they’ll probably move us to the green room which leads to the stage when it’s time.”

  A minute later another woman entered. Her blond hair was pulled into side pigtails but her clothes made the look appear hip instead of childish. “I’m Desi, and I’m here to make you beautiful. I know you think you are already, but believe me I work magic. What you’ve done doesn’t always look good on HD, so please don’t be offended if I change something.” The smacking of her gum exaggerated the bored timbre of her voice, and Ava wondered how many times a day she gave the same spiel.