by Black, Tasha
“Ruby Bruno?” the choreographer called out.
“Out of the frying pan,” Ruby muttered.
“You’ve got this,” Margot told her.
“At least I’m getting it over with,” Ruby said bravely.
Margot watched her friend march away and said a silent prayer that she wouldn’t knock anything over on her way.
Kent stepped into the room, looking resplendent in a tux with a snowy white shirt.
Margot’s heart skipped a beat.
She forced herself to look away and head into wardrobe.
It’s just a TV show. It’s not real.
Half an hour later she was in full wardrobe and make-up.
Say what you would about reality television, they certainly had the resources for speedy and elaborate preparations.
Margot felt she’d made out well. She really liked her emerald green lace gown, and the people in make-up hadn’t gone too crazy on her.
But the best luck of all was that she hadn’t had to interact with anyone who had ever made her up before.
She stepped back onto the dance floor, which was now strung with fairy lights. Rose petals had been sprinkled on the floor.
Kent stood at the center of the space.
Though all eyes were on him, he wore his usual relaxed expression.
Ruby was nowhere to be seen, but Margot assumed they had set up the lights based on her and then sent her to wardrobe as the others were finishing make-up.
Sure enough, Ruby appeared at just that moment.
She looked absolutely lovely in a pale lavender dress.
Kent smiled and held his hands out to Ruby.
Margot was shocked to feel a momentary surge of jealousy.
That’s my friend. And he’s just an alien who wants to be on TV, she told herself firmly.
The music started and at first Ruby held things together admirably. She looked lovely, spinning, curls bouncing, eyes sparkling.
Then she slipped on a turn and her face went blank.
Kent caught her and quickly dipped her to cover the mistake.
Ruby giggled and Olivia gave the cameraman a thumbs-up.
Margot smiled and watched her friend carry out the rest of the dance without a hiccup.
“Margot Chase,” the choreographer called when the dance was finished.
Margot took a deep breath and moved to the center of the dance floor.
Ruby grinned at Margot as she passed.
“You were great,” Margot told her.
“Thanks,” she whispered back, looking delighted.
Margot continued past her to join Kent under the spotlights.
“Margot,” he breathed. “You’re so beautiful.”
“Thank you,” she said curtly, though her traitorous heart was racing.
“Miss Chase, we’re going to have a lot of tight shots for this scene,” one of the assistant directors told her. “Please keep your face angled up at Kent as much as possible, and try not to worry too much about getting the steps just right.”
Crap.
Tight shots were not good news for a semi-famous actress trying to go incognito.
“Go ahead and mark your steps once just to give us an idea,” the director went on.
Kent held out his arms.
Margot stepped into them, trying not to shiver at the rightness of his body encircling hers.
The music began and they started the dance.
It was amazing how a simple piece of choreography practiced alone blossomed into something so much more interesting with a partner.
Margot felt as if she were dancing on air, her heart light even as her mind rallied against it.
Kent gazed down at her, an expression of surprising tenderness softening his masculine features.
“Okay, looking great,” the director said. “Restart and let’s roll.”
Margot let go of Kent instantly and marched back toward the center.
“Is everything okay?” Kent whispered, trotting to keep up.
Margot chose not to answer.
“Okay, lights, sound, action,” the director announced.
The music swelled and they were floating across the dance floor once again.
This time Margot angled her face away from Kent, trying to avoid the cameras.
“Cut,” the director yelled after a few beats. “Margot, we need to see your face.”
“Sorry,” Margot said.
“No problem, let’s reset and take it from the top,” the director said kindly.
Everyone went back to the beginning. The music swelled, and they sailed off again.
Margot looked down quickly and back up, allowing her hair to billow between her face and the cameras.
Kent smiled down at her in an annoyingly charming way.
“Cut,” the director said again. “Can you not get her face?”
“Her hair’s in the way,” the cameraman said.
“Get make-up out here,” the director yelled. “Let’s get everything reset, please.”
A woman from make-up came trotting up.
“Can you get her hair out of her face?” the director asked.
The make-up woman nodded grimly, pulling a bunch of sinister-looking three-inch hairpins out of her apron.
“Hold still,” she told Margot, deftly pinning a large section of her hair up behind her ear. “There you go.”
“Fantastic,” the director said. “Ready to go again, babe?”
“Sure,” Margot said.
“Follow in tight this time,” the director told the cameramen.
The music swelled, the lights shone, and they were dancing again.
This time the cameramen were not to be deterred. They had come in so close it was a miracle Kent didn’t knock them out with an elbow on every turn.
In desperation, Margot realized that if her face were as far as possible from Kent’s they might not fit in such a tight shot.
She bent her knees and hunched her back a little, bringing herself face to face with his rib cage.
Out of the corner of her eye she could see the choreographer gesturing madly at the director.
“Cut,” he said. “What is it?”
“What is it?” the choreographer spat. “Look at her posture. She’s not dancing, she’s hunching.”
“You know I think we got everything we needed from the shot before this one,” the director said. “Let’s move on to the next one.”
“But this is the only contestant who can move,” the choreographer moaned.
“That’s show biz,” the director said. “Regina Talbot!”
Margot pulled herself from Kent’s arms immediately.
“Margot,” he whispered. “When can I see you again?”
She dashed off the floor without answering and didn’t stop running until she got outside the theater.
The little town of Stargazer was bustling and happy. Good smells from the bakery and coffee shop wafted past and the town gardens sparkled lushly from the morning’s rain.
The sunny scene seemed to be in complete defiance of Margot’s stormy mood.
She was furious with Kent for trying to trick her into agreeing to another tryst with the cameras nearby.
And at the same time, she felt as if a thread were pulled tight between her heart and his, the ache of it deeper the further she pulled.
What was she supposed to do?
19
Kent
Kent managed to finish his dancing scenes, trying desperately to hide his distress, so as not to make the women nervous.
But the moment they called that the filming was over, he dashed away without even changing out of his magnificent suit.
He headed out the door where Margot had gone, though he knew hours had passed and she would not be there.
The sun was already disappearing over the buildings of the little town.
Kent’s shadow stretched long on the sidewalk as he strode away from the theater.
He had no idea where h
e was going, but he hoped the exercise would do him good. His human form responded to sustenance and exercise very predictably. With luck he would be happy by the time he soaked in a little sunset.
But each step only made him feel further from Margot.
What had he done wrong?
Quick footsteps behind him drew his attention.
It was Parker and Wayne, jogging after him.
“Brothers,” he said, feeling relieved.
It was easy to forget how much less mysterious this world felt with his brothers by his side to share knowledge and ease the burden. He should have gone to find them at the first feeling of distress.
“Are you okay?” Wayne demanded, his brow furrowed.
“Yes,” Kent said, nodding. “Well, no.”
Parker and Wayne exchanged a look.
“Margot? “Parker asked.
“Yes,” Kent said. “She is unhappy with me, but I don’t know why.”
“Jealousy?” Wayne suggested.
Kent stopped walking and thought about it.
He didn’t have much experience with jealousy. The concept was not familiar on Aerie. But he thought of the way he’d felt when the rock star baking judge had interacted with Margot. Maybe it wasn’t so far-fetched after all.
“She had to watch you dance with many other women today,” Parker allowed, cocking his blond head to the side thoughtfully.
“But she is my mate,” Kent retorted. “I told her last night that I chose her.”
“Then it is dishonorable to dance with other women,” Wayne grumbled.
“But it would be dishonorable not to dance with them,” Parker said. “After all, he has given his word to complete this competition.”
“And it would be wrong to show favor to one competitor on screen,” Kent finished sadly. “Yes, I know. But it doesn’t feel right.”
“Of course it doesn’t,” Wayne growled approvingly. “Nothing about this is right.”
Parker gave Kent a sympathetic look.
“Wayne is correct,” Kent said slowly. “And what if Margot doesn’t win this competition? I will have to dishonor myself anyway if another woman wins and I refuse to take her as my bride.”
“So what are you going to do?” Parker asked. “Dr. Bhimani asked us to do this. Sage said it was a good idea.”
Dr. Bhimani had given her lab over to the men from Aerie when they’d first arrived. She and her family had risked their own safety to protect all of his brothers and help them find their way on Earth.
And Sage was another brother’s mate. She had pledged to assist the men from Aerie in connecting with Earth’s citizens. She wanted him to do this too.
“I don’t know,” Kent admitted.
“And she has been lying,” Parker reminded him softly. “Did she explain why?”
Kent shook his head.
He had been afraid to ask, and now she was too angry for him to even think about it.
“But you chose her anyway?” Wayne asked.
“Yes,” Kent said. “She is truthful with me. That’s all I care about. I’m sure she had her reasons for the other lies. Think of the secrets we ourselves have kept.”
He ran a hand through his hair, and caught Parker and Wayne exchanging another surreptitious glance.
It was strange to be at odds with his brothers - even a little bit.
But he was sure about Margot. More sure than he had been about anything since arriving on this strange planet.
“I can’t leave things as they are,” he said, relieved to feel decided. “I need to talk to Olivia.”
“What are you going to say to her?” Wayne asked.
But Kent had already turned back and started sprinting toward the theater.
He didn’t need his brothers to help him with this. He knew what he had to do.
Besides, he didn’t want them involved if things didn’t go well.
20
Margot
Margot and Ruby stood together the next day, listening as Olivia laid out the rules for the day’s contest.
Margot had spent the night tossing and turning, unable to rest thinking about Kent.
And now that she was finally being given a task that would distract her effectively, she finally found herself tired, yawning in spite of the coffee she had just pounded.
“You okay?” Ruby whispered.
Margot nodded, not wanting to upset her friend.
It was bad enough that she’d had to tell her that she was an actress. At least Ruby seemed to be treating her like a normal human being after getting that info.
But Margot couldn’t bear to tell her that she had been spending time with Kent.
Or maybe she couldn’t bear the idea that Ruby might confess the same to her - that Kent might just have secretly declared his intentions to every woman here.
Margot bit her lip and tried to pay attention to Olivia.
“Today’s contest is the Scavenger Race,” Olivia announced excitedly.
There were some sounds of excitement from the women, most of which Margot assumed were put-on.
But when Ruby started jumping up and down a little Margot realized she was actually jazzed.
“I love these things,” Ruby squealed. “And I’m really good at them.”
“You’ll need to follow three clues and get the final item in order to win,” Olivia went on. “And the top two in today’s contest are guaranteed to be part of the Final Four!”
“That will be us,” Ruby whispered.
“So, without further ado, here is your first clue,” Olivia shouted.
Music swelled and the cameramen panned around to show the women’s expressions of anticipation.
Margot made sure to hide herself behind Ruby and look down at her shoes.
“Stargazer, Pennsylvania is famous for being the first place on Earth to have alien contact,” Olivia said. “But before the aliens, what was Stargazer known for? Go get it and you’ll receive your next clue.”
“I know this one,” Ruby hissed. “But we have to pretend we don’t, or the others will follow us.”
“Okay, ladies, begin!” Olivia cried out.
“Hey, I think I want my sunglasses,” Ruby told Margot loudly. “Come with me to get them before we head out? We can try and piece this together on the way.”
“Sure,” Margot said.
They headed back down to the hallway that led to the apartments.
As soon as they’d made it halfway down the hall, Ruby spun around.
“Okay, we lost them,” she said. “Let’s go.”
They ran back the way they came, but instead of going to the stage, they headed out the back door and into the yard.
“Alleyway,” Ruby said, trotting off in that direction.
“Where are we going?” Margot asked.
“Seriously?” Ruby laughed. “We aren’t the only ones who will know this one, so we have to hurry.”
Margot ran along, enjoying the fresh air and the bit of sunshine that made its way between the buildings.
Ruby suddenly stopped on a dime and Margot almost ran into her.
“Here,” Ruby said with a triumphant smile.
“How do you know?” Margot asked, looking at the unmarked door.
“I’m a baker - you don’t think I know the scent of maple pancakes?” Ruby asked.
She banged on the door and a man in a paper cap and apron opened it.
“We’re here for the famous maple pancakes,” Ruby said.
“The entrance is from the sidewalk,” the cook said dubiously.
“We’re here as part of the show?” Ruby said.
“Ah,” the man’s eyes lit up. “Come in.”
They slipped in the back door and into a bustling kitchen. The scent of the pancakes was fragrant and delicious.
The swinging door out into the diner opened as a waiter came in and Margot noticed two other contestants waiting for the hostess.
“See, the backdoor is the best way in,” Ruby said consp
iratorially.
“Here’s your clue, and your transportation,” the cook said, returning to hand them a slip of paper and two skateboards. “You were smart coming in the back and all.”
“Thanks so much,” Margot told him.
“We’ll be back to actually eat pancakes later,” Ruby said.
“Don’t miss ‘em,” he smiled back.
They slipped back out into the alley and Ruby unfolded the paper.
Restore yourself and your enemy to harmony. Right here in Stargazer.
“What the heck?” Ruby asked.
“Oh, I know this one,” Margot said excitedly. “I used to do aikido for exercise. This is the philosophy of aikido. Is there a studio around here?”
“Damn it, times like these I really miss having a phone,” Ruby said.
“It’s definitely not on the west side of town. That’s how I came in,” Margot said thoughtfully. “Let’s head east and ask the first person we see.”
“Do you, um, know how to ride these things?” Ruby asked, giving her skateboard a dubious look.
“I used to ride one when I was a kid,” Margot said. “But not since then. Maybe we can walk?”
“I’m assuming we’ll need it for speed,” Ruby said. “We’ll start off slowly.”
Margot was afraid Ruby would fall and hurt herself immediately. But she didn’t want to embarrass her by saying so.
“Let’s at least get back out on the street where it’s smooth before you try,” she recommended.
The two of them dashed around the building and out into the bright sunshine again.
“Do you really want to do this?” Margot asked.
Ruby nodded.
“Okay, watch me,” Margot said.
She placed the board down, stepped on and pushed off.
Ruby followed suit and they made their way slowly down the street, Ruby wobbling and stopping every few feet.
Margot secretly figured they would have moved way faster on foot, but since she didn’t want to win the contest and they still seemed to be ahead of the others, she didn’t complain.