by Tia Siren
Then, as if in slow motion, she turned to scan the crowd and it was like I was hit by a speeding train. The breath I had been holding gushed out when our eyes met.
It was her!
I couldn’t move. I stared at her, drinking in the sight of the woman who had been flitting through my dreams for too long. Seeing her in person, I realized she was far more beautiful than I had even remembered. Her high cheekbones, perfect skin, and long, flowing chestnut hair were all so much prettier in person than in my memory. The two of us stood in the crowd of women, staring at one another. I knew people were watching us and didn’t care.
I started to move toward her.
“Tyler?” called a voice from behind me.
I stopped to look back and saw Cora looking at me with irritation.
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled and turned back to find her.
She wasn’t there. I quickly scanned the crowd; my height was no match for the killer heels most of the women were wearing. All the brown heads in the room made it even more difficult to find her.
“Hi,” a woman said, reaching out and touching my forearm.
I smiled. “Good evening,” I said, still looking for my mystery woman.
“I was hoping we could chat for a few minutes,” the woman said.
I didn’t want to be rude, but I didn’t want to chat with anyone but her.
“You know, I’ll be around. I need to take care of something real quick,” I told her, extricating my arm and moving toward a blue dress.
I was close but was stopped once again by Gabe.
“Hey! This is an amazing turnout!”
I nodded, my eyes focused on the back of the blue dress moving farther away from me. “It is.”
“Have you had a chance to talk with most of the women?” he asked.
I finally gave him my attention. “Not all.”
He chuckled. “You don’t need to talk to them all. Have you found anyone you’d like to get to know better? We need to announce who you will be going on the first date with.”
“What?” I said, blinking several times to try to focus on what he was saying.
“You need to announce the first date. That’s what they’re all waiting to hear,” he said in a low voice. “They’re getting restless.”
I looked at my watch. “It’s been an hour.”
“For you. We had to get on-camera interviews with them and get shots of them mingling and talking about who they thought would win and that kind of thing,” he said.
“Fine. Give me a couple minutes,” I said, hoping to find her and at least get her name.
I made my way toward the last place I’d seen her. She wasn’t there.
“We’re ready for you, sir,” announced a young man wearing a shirt that identified him as part of the production crew.
I went with him and stepped onto the small stage, scanning the room once again. I saw her toward the back of the room, looking unsure and out of place. I smiled. I knew she recognized me. I could see it in her eyes. She looked a little embarrassed. I wanted to race to her and tell her how glad I was to see her. I couldn’t. Not yet.
The host of the show was standing in front of a podium, giving a little speech about the way the dates would be chosen and making a big deal about the first date of the show. I watched her the entire time, drinking in every detail about her. Her little sparkling jewels highlighted a healthy amount of cleavage. I remembered those breasts in my hands and wanted them again. I saw her squirm a little and smiled again. She was remembering our night together as well.
It was my turn to speak.
“I’m told I get to ask one of you lovely ladies out on a date, and I have it on good authority you’ll say yes,” I said with a smooth smile.
There was a collective laugh from the room.
“You’ll have to forgive me if I don’t remember all your names. I’ve met a lot of lovely women tonight, and I promise, I will learn to keep the names straight.”
My eyes went to her. “The woman I’d like to take to dinner tomorrow is you,” I said, pointing at her. “The woman in the blue dress who clearly doesn’t have a watch,” I teased. “Would you please go out to dinner with me?”
Everyone turned to look at her. Two men holding cameras on their shoulders cut through the crowd, racing to get an up-close shot of her. I saw her blushing and smiled.
I raised an eyebrow, silently asking her again. She nodded her head and gave a shy smile. “Yes,” she said.
I barely heard the word; it was masked by moans in the crowd. I stepped off the small stage and tried to make my toward her. I was consistently snagged by eager women hoping to get the next date. My eyes kept roving around the room. I saw her disappear through a small door with Gabe and Jack and wanted to follow. I never got the chance.
When I caught up to Gabe, I asked where my date had gone. He informed me she had left for the night. I wanted to scream in frustration.
“Relax. You’ll see her tomorrow,” Gabe said, assuring me with a big grin. “She’s pretty. The camera loves her.”
I nodded, not giving a shit about the camera. “I’m ready to call it a night.”
Gabe looked to the producer, who had been standing nearby. “Another thirty minutes.”
I looked at him, ready to tell him to kiss my ass, but was waylaid by the lovely Cora. I’d stick around for a bit more and leave when I was damn well ready.
Chapter Ten
Emily
“Mom!” Tommy hollered from the living room. “Someone’s knocking on the door!”
Nerves danced around in my belly as I walked to the door to let Sarah in.
She took one look at me and smiled. “You look hot.”
“Is it too much? I don’t want to look like I’m desperate.”
“You look great. Leave your hair down,” she instructed.
I smoothed the forest-green dress, feeling a little more exposed than I was comfortable with. It had spaghetti straps with a single lace ruffle cutting diagonal across the chest, where it hugged my body, before dropping to a slightly angled, matching ruffled skirt that fell mid-thigh.
“It’s so short,” I said, tugging the skirt down.
“It’s hot. It shows off your amazing legs. Wear your black strappy heels,” she ordered.
I wrinkled my nose. “You don’t think that’s too much?”
“Girl, you’re going on a date with one of the hottest men in the world. He chose you. You need to make sure the world sees why he chose you. Show your stuff off! If you’ve got it, flaunt it! You’ve been hiding that body for too long,” she said.
I laughed. “Thanks. It has been a long time since I went out on a real date. I can’t believe how nervous I am. It isn’t like he hasn’t seen me naked,” I whispered.
She giggled, her blond hair falling over her shoulders as she did. “There is that. Just relax. Forget about the cameras and focus on him.”
I nodded. “I will. Thank you for watching Tommy.”
“Of course! Spending my Saturday night with the cutest little boy in the world is better than a date with some sexy billionaire!”
I laughed, not sure if I agreed with her. I grabbed the shoes she recommended and quickly put them on. My phone chimed with an incoming text.
“The car’s here,” I said, my voice suddenly hoarse.
“You’ll be fine. Have fun and try not to freak out too much.”
I gave Tommy a quick kiss, reminding myself I was doing this for him. When I got to the black town car, there was a man waiting for me, standing next to the back passenger door.
“Good evening, miss. I’m Alex. I’ll be taking you to the restaurant to meet Mr. Case.”
I smiled. “Thank you.”
I was both relieved and disappointed to find I would be going to the restaurant alone. It gave me a few more minutes to pull myself together, though I’d been looking forward to having a few minutes alone with him before the cameras were turned on. That part I was dreading more than anythin
g. There was no way in hell I was telling him about Tommy with the cameras in my face.
When I arrived at the restaurant, it was completely empty. I was taken to a table in the center of the restaurant where Tyler was seated. There were cameramen everywhere and cameras pointing at me as I walked in. There were cameras on him as well. It was extremely nerve-racking, and I silently prayed I wouldn’t trip and fall on my face.
He stood up and smiled. “Hi,” he said.
“Hi,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.
He pulled a chair out. I sat and scooted forward. A camera was only a few inches from my face.
“I know this is weird,” he said, and I could see he was a little uncomfortable with the cameras as well.
I heard a snap of fingers, and within seconds, the lens that had been in my face was pulled back. We were given some breathing room. Although there were cameras all around us, it didn’t feel nearly as awkward.
“It’s empty,” I said, pointing out the obvious.
He smiled, and I felt that familiar warm feeling in my belly. “I rented the place for the evening. I figured it would be hard enough to have a conversation with the cameras. I didn’t want other people staring at us as well.”
I nodded my head. “Good thinking.”
I took a drink from the water glass on my right, needing something for my suddenly dry mouth.
“I’ve already ordered for us,” he said.
“Oh,” I muttered, a little irritated he had been so bold as to decide what I would eat. I remembered he had been dominant that night as well. I wasn’t sure if that was a good trait.
“I wanted to skip the interruptions,” he explained.
I nodded my head. “Okay.”
“You do remember me,” he said in a low voice.
I felt myself blush a little, silently hoping he wouldn’t bring up the details of that night on camera. “I do.”
I remembered the orgasms, the way he had made my body feel and the way it had felt to have his naked skin against mine. I wanted to fan myself but stopped. That would make it way too obvious that he had me fired up with the simple reminder of our one night together.
“I’m glad we had the chance to meet again.”
I smiled. “So, now that I know your name, what else should I know about you?”
I felt a little like I was interviewing him for the position of father to my child.
He shrugged. “Obviously you know I’m wealthy. I started my company about twelve years ago, fresh out of college. I have no family to speak of. My mother raised me on her own and passed away about five years ago.”
“I’m sorry,” I blurted out, knowing exactly what that felt like. “I lost my mom, too.”
The topic was too heavy for a first date, even if we had already slept together.
“What made you enter the competition?” he asked, looking directly into my eyes.
“You.”
He grinned. “I figured that much, but why?”
I sighed. “I’ve always wondered about you. I wasn’t sure who you were. When I saw your face on an advertisement for the show, I decided to enter the competition. I have to be honest: I’m not sure I really want to compete for you.”
He looked shocked by my bluntness. “Why not? Are you saying I’m not worthy of your time?”
“No. Nothing like that. I wanted to meet you, see you again, but it doesn’t necessarily mean I want to marry you. The whole splashing my life all over reality TV isn’t really my thing either, but I wanted to talk to you again and this was the only way I knew how to do that,” I said, being perfectly honest minus the omission about Tommy being the real reason I had signed up. “Why’d you agree to do the show?”
He shrugged a shoulder. “I thought it would be fun.”
“Really? You thought having your every move documented by cameras and then splashed all over TV would be fun?”
He smiled, and I had a feeling it was his way of hiding something. “Maybe not fun, but it led me to you. That has to be worth a little irritation from the cameras.”
I nodded my head. This was the man I had met that one steamy night: confident and arrogant. I sighed, not sure if he was someone I wanted in my life on a regular basis.
Our dinners were served, steak and lobster. “Wow,” I muttered at the huge plate of food in front of me.
His eyes roamed over me, and I could practically feel him undressing me. “Wow is right.”
I ignored the insinuation and took a bite of my steak. It looked too good to pretend I didn’t want it. The flavor burst in my mouth.
“This is amazing,” I told him, wiping my mouth with my napkin.
“I’m glad you like it. The chef is a personal friend of mine. I asked him to impress you, and I see that he has.”
I eagerly nodded my head. “Definitely.”
I had to fight the temptation to dig in and stuff my face. Every bite was so damn good. I had to remind myself the entire world would see this, and I didn’t want the image of me stuffing my face with juicy lobster, butter running down my chin, to be one of those meme things on the internet.
“What do you do for a living?” he asked me, and I suddenly felt embarrassed.
“I work at a restaurant,” I mumbled, hoping the cameras wouldn’t pick it up.
“Really?” he asked, sounding genuinely interested. “Which one?”
I looked directly at the camera over his shoulder, which was pointed at me, and then back at him. “I’d rather not say.”
He nodded his head. “Got it. Smart thinking.”
“Did you grow up in San Francisco?” I asked, returning to my initial goal of learning more about him to determine whether I wanted to invite him into my life.
I hated that I was keeping something so big from him, but what he didn’t know couldn’t hurt him—could it?
He shrugged a shoulder. “No. We lived in San Diego, then LA, and really kind of all over. My mom was always looking for something better. I moved here after I graduated college. You?”
I sighed. “Yep, born and raised. I used to think I wanted to leave and move to New York, but things changed.”
I didn’t tell him he had helped to effect that change.
We talked a bit more, and I felt myself relaxing. Underneath the charm and carefully cultivated image, I got a glimpse into the real man, like when his eyes lit up when he talked about his boat and being on the water. It was only small glimpses. He held on to that suave billionaire image like a lifeline. I wanted to get to know him better before I dropped my bombshell on him.
“I want to see you again,” he said, looking at me in a way that left no room for argument.
I didn’t want to argue. I wanted to see him again as well—all of him. He had taken off his suit jacket, giving me a little reminder of how cut he was underneath all the fancy clothes. I wanted to touch him, just one more time.
“I’d like that,” I told him, meaning every word.
He turned to look at Gabe, who was busy working on a laptop a few tables away. “Gabe!” He said his name, grabbing the man’s attention. “Can I go out with her again?”
Gabe smiled. Tyler turned back to me, then looked at Gabe. “Never mind. It’s my damn show. I can do whatever I damn well please.”
The camera guys burst into laughter.
Gabe wasn’t laughing. “We need to talk about this,” he said.
Tyler dismissed him and turned his attention back to me. “Can I call you?”
I nodded. “Sure.”
He pulled out his cell phone and asked for my number. I looked at him, then the camera. He smiled and winked, handing me his phone. I quickly inputted the number and handed it back to him.
“I should probably get going,” I muttered, not sure how the date was supposed to end. I definitely didn’t want the cameras following me back to my apartment and focusing on us while we fumbled through the awkward end of a first date. To kiss or not to kiss? That wasn’t something I wanted to have playe
d out on television.
“I’ll walk you out,” he said, standing up from the table and helping me out of my chair.
We walked to the door of the restaurant, the cameramen close behind us. Clearly, we weren’t going to get even a second of privacy. I stepped outside and was nearly blinded by flashing lights going off in my face.
“Shit,” Tyler muttered behind me. “Alex, get her out of here.”
The next thing I knew, the driver gently grabbed hold of my hand and pulled me through a crowd of women screaming Tyler’s name and photographers snapping pictures of me. This was never going to work, I decided. I could not live like this. No way.
Chapter Eleven
Tyler
I walked into work feeling excited about the future. I had found her! My little gamble had paid off. I knew her name, had her phone number, and could even get her address. I had wanted to call her yesterday, but the golf charity event I had been committed to went way long and then there was the dinner and auction afterward.
I had found her!
It was surreal, and I had to remind myself the dinner date had actually happened—even if it had been awkward and the conversation stilted. I’d been able to get a small glimpse of her life. I wanted to know more. I wanted to know everything about her.
Connor caught up to me in the hall, his long strides matching my own.
“I take it dinner went well?” he asked.
I nodded. “It did.”
“You have a full day today,” he said, starting to list off the various meetings I had scheduled and as well as some other duties I needed to attend to. “Don’t forget you have that thing tonight,” he said with distaste.
“Thing?” I questioned, having no idea what he was talking about.
“A competition of some sorts. I don’t know, maybe the women will have to joust for the chance to marry you,” he said dryly.
“Competition?”
“Your show? Remember, the one you begged to get? Tonight there is a competition that all the women will participate in. You’re expected to be there to serve as eye candy. You know, so the ladies all know what they’re fighting for.”
I chuckled. “Connor, why do I get the feeling you don’t like this reality television business?”