18
AARON
Something seemed off about her when I got back from the morning date. I didn’t know if she was just jealous and pissed about the make-out session I’d had with Tawny, but I could have reassured her that it had sickened me the entire time.
Tawny was the opposite of my princess. She was a pretty girl, but she lacked the depth and appeal that Reagan had. She was just missing something and that made my mouth feel like ash when I acted my scene that morning.
“Hey,” I said when I found her in the kitchen. Her eyes widened, then darted around as if looking for a way out. She looked guilty somehow.
“Hey,” she replied just before popping a carrot into her mouth and chewing loudly. I had a weird feeling she was deliberately trying to keep me from kissing her.
“How was your morning?” I asked, trying to draw her into conversation.
“It was alright, how was yours?”
She wasn’t making eye contact and seemed very closed off, her arms folded in front of her across her chest.
“It was good,” I replied. “Can we talk?”
She glanced around the kitchen at the crew and her cheeks reddened. “Okay,” she replied and followed me when I took her hand and led her through the maze of Kaslo Lodge hallways to the small sitting room at the side of the mansion.
We were alone and at this time of day, nobody really had a reason to come in here. I sat on an overstuffed leather sofa and she sat next to me. I couldn’t help it—with her that close, my body responded in kind, and it took every ounce of self-control to not kiss her.
“Is something wrong?” I asked her, searching her eyes as she formulated an answer.
“No, I mean, yes. I don’t know,” she exhaled as she melted against me, limp as if exhausted. “My Dad texted me, and it has me all wound up. I was sure I could keep this professional after reading it, but damn you, Aaron, the minute I’m alone with you my resolve goes to hell.”
I put my arm around her and let her curl under it, her face pressed against my chest.
“He’s a tough man to please, isn’t he?”
“You have no idea,” she sighed. “I feel like my entire life has been leading up to the moment that he tells me he’s proud of me, and when it happened, my head and heart are headed in different directions.”
“I take it I’m the heart part,” I smiled as I hugged her shoulders.
She looked up at me and my own heart squeezed tight, filled with emotion for my beautiful princess. She looked forlorn, though, and I hated that she was feeling that way. “You are, my god, you are. I never planned on meeting a man like you, especially one so far away from my hometown.”
“How about we limp through the next day or so and we’ll figure shit out after that?” I suggested. “I don’t think either one of us is a barnacle, we are capable of moving, especially if it’s for the right reasons.”
“Yes,” she said, her eyes lighting up. “Definitely.”
I bent to kiss her at last and felt the tension leave her body as we shared a moment together, even if we were only alone for a few minutes.
Seeing her like that made my resolve even stronger, though—I knew what I had to do, and I knew I had to do it soon.
I just hoped we were truly on the same page.
* * *
“I can’t believe you two survived to the last day,” Melanie said that night at dinner. We were having kind of a premature wrap-up party with her, Reagan, and a few of the core crew members. Sage had been here earlier, my house sitter and neighbor, but I had a feeling he’d been too tongue tied to stay longer than an hour with some of the girls who were still hanging around.
“Shit, I thought you two were going to elope and leave us all hanging,” said Dirk, a cameraman with a razor-sharp wit. “I was afraid we’d have to sub Norman in for you, and that would mean the ratings would tank.”
We laughed at Norman, who protested wildly but took it with good humor. “I grew the beard just in case,” he said, stroking the wispy tuft of hair sticking out the bottom of his chin.
Reagan giggled and drank a little more wine—we were all indulging ourselves and letting our hair down with the finish line so close.
I’d had a full day filming the final dates between Tawny and Mickey, the two finalists. We’d had to fake enough footage to make it seem like I’d spent a couple days with each girl, and it had actually been hard work. I had a new appreciation for actors in this business after working on the show.
I let my mind drift as the group chatted and talked about what they were going to do when they got back to LA. I was sure Reagan imagined me moving to LA with her, and I didn’t know how to break it to her that I was going to stay put.
I couldn’t move that far away. My brothers were all so busy with their lives or fucking up like Axel that I couldn’t depend on them to help run the family sawmill.
And after my father had his heart attack, leaving Mom alone, I couldn’t walk away from her. She wasn’t that old and was in great health, but I knew she was lonely without her kids around. I was her rock, the one that stuck it out and checked up on her more than the others.
In fact, we’d been in constant touch via text this entire production. She was pretty proud of the fact that her son was already showing up on TV and had even asked me to send the show trailer to a couple relatives in the Lower 48 that I barely knew.
There was no way Mom would ever want to leave town and turn her back on our family legacy, so I guess you could say I was stuck.
Besides, it might be selfish of me, but I had a gut feeling Reagan would be happier up here. She had a fresh wholesomeness that didn’t jive well with the LA vibe. She wasn’t like some of the people down there, she wasn’t a narcissistic sociopath, and she’d be eaten up and spit out by the people down there who were.
I’d be concerned for her if she went back and planned on doing whatever it took to make sure that didn’t happen.
I smiled and answered a question here and there, promised to visit a few of the crew after the show was aired, and laughed at Eddie’s invitation to his wedding with Crystal.
Of course he was kidding, but I’d axed her a while back just to give them more time together. Who knew? Maybe there’d be more than one love match made on Lumberjacked.
I finally made my way to bed after leaving Reagan in the hallway outside her room. Tomorrow night she would finally be mine, alone at my house, and I could wait for that.
She was worth it, and after I made my move, she’d be mine, I was sure of it.
* * *
The tension in the room was crazy. Even though this show was completely scripted, and everybody had an idea how it would end, we were all on edge.
Especially Reagan. She moved from camera to camera, adjusting angles and giving directions as her hands fluttered nervously.
The great room looked super cheesy. It had props laid out everywhere. Everything you could think of to do with the outdoors was leaning here or set up there. Snowshoes, an old-fashioned tree saw, a tent and fishing rod, and even a damned tree stump eight feet high had been dragged in.
I was sitting on a throne of carved wood with about a million candles spread between me and the two remaining contestants. The girls who had already been kicked off were gathered around in two lines on either side of Tawny and Mickey. I had the ring in my hand, and the speech I was going to give was memorized, but I also had plans of my own in mind.
I was going to blow this entire final scene and hoped Reagan could forgive me for it, but I couldn’t make myself ask Tawny or Mickey to marry me on national TV.
I settled into the chair, hoping I didn’t get butt splinters, and watched as Mickey and Tawny walked up a red carpet through the candles and stood in front of me. They were both smiling widely and looking directly into the cameras. They were naturals, and I did wish them success in their careers, wondering if the show would help them along on their paths.
I wished them no harm, but I didn’t want
to play this game any longer. At Melanie’s prodding, I picked up the ring box, stood up, and walked slowly toward the two anxious girls.
And right past them. Their faces dropped as I passed, and they clued into my plan before anyone else.
“Aaron, what’s going on?” Melanie mouthed with a panicked face from off-camera.
Reagan hadn’t caught on yet. She was standing behind a camera man and staring intently into the view screen over his shoulder.
“Reagan,” I said as I approached her. “I have something to say to you.”
“Keep on him, keep rolling,” Melanie whispered frantically. “Don’t leave them.”
Reagan finally realized what was happening and looked up, startled to be on the other end of the camera for once.
She glanced sideways and gave me a nervous grimace that I supposed was a smile. “What’s going on, Aaron?”
“Come out here, I need to say something.”
“Uh, I don’t know if I can do that,” she replied, and I could see the nervousness building in her quickly as she shifted from one foot to the other.
“Just do it, get out there,” Melanie hissed from the sidelines.
Reagan blushed deep red and obeyed her friend, stepping gingerly over the props and wires to stand in front of me at the end of the red carpet. I looked over my shoulder, and the two girls were standing behind us, watching intently. Tawny looked pissed off, while Mickey had a bright smile on her face.
“What is it?” Reagan asked, looking up at me.
I promptly dropped to one knee on the carpet, flipped the ring box open, and smiled at her.
“Reagan Black, will you marry me?”
She stood there like a deer in the headlights for a moment, jaw hanging open before she managed to stammer with a nervous laugh, “This isn’t how it’s supposed to work!”
“I know it’s not a ring that I bought you, but I promise I’ll make good on that. I just need to know if you’ll be my bride.”
She seemed speechless and brushed her curly hair out of her face. “I don’t know what to say, I-I…you caught me off guard!”
“From the moment I saw you, Reagan, I knew I had to get to know you. Being here on the show with you has given me the chance to know enough for me to ask you right now, in front of the crew and the country, will you be my bride? You are the most beautiful, fascinating, funny, and intelligent woman I’ve ever met, and I know what I’m feeling is mutual. I love you, Reagan, so marry me!”
I saw bright tears sparkle in the corner of her eyes as she realized this was really happening, and she clasped her hands together to her mouth. “Oh my god, Aaron, this is crazy. You’re crazy! You’re going to ruin the show”
“I know I am, princess, but I’m crazy for you and I’d do anything to prove it.”
“Well, what’s your answer?” Mickey demanded from behind me. “If you don’t, I’m telling you right now I’m going to snatch this big hunk of man meat up for myself.”
“Yes,” Reagan whispered at last as tears spilled over and rolled down her cheeks. “We’ll have to redo the ending, but yes, I will marry you, you insane, gorgeous man, I will be your bride.”
I slipped the diamond engagement ring on her finger, jumped up, and pulled her into my arms. We twirled around, swinging her until she was laughing so hard she was out of breath.
When I set her down, the crew and cast members applauded wildly, cheering us on and giving us their support.
I didn’t care if we were forced to reshoot the ending of the show, Reagan had agreed to be my bride, and I was the happiest man on earth.
19
REAGAN
We didn’t reshoot the ending of the show. First of all, Melanie decided against it. And secondly, there was no way I was going to spend one more moment away from Aaron.
I wasn’t going to keep the ring, of course—it did belong to the studio, after all. And it felt wrong to use a prop from the show to signify the love I had for Aaron. I would return it later though; I wanted to keep it on for a little while at least.
I mean, it was love, I was sure of it, and I’d agreed to marry him in front of everybody, but it still made me panic a little. I could only be certain of the way he made me feel, and yet my logical brain kicked in every once in a while and told me I was being ridiculous.
I didn’t know enough about him beyond the fact that he was sexy in a commanding, rough kind of way. He was an amazing kisser and knew how to make me go crazy when he got his face between my thighs, but I’d never even met his family or knew if he had siblings or had pets or anything like that.
I packed my bags slowly, as if reluctant to give into my feelings and let myself go with the emotional side of myself for once.
My entire life, ever since I was a toddler, had been about control and hiding my moods from my father. My mother had died early on in my life, and my father’s fame and money lent themselves to a typical movie mogul party lifestyle.
I learned all about life before I made it to kindergarten, but looking back on it now from this vantage point, I was faced with the consideration that everything I’d ever learned had been wrong.
My father had paraded a continual line of young women through my life, and it had seemed like each time I’d gotten attached, he’d kicked them out and moved on.
So I learned to guard my affections for people.
My father had also been an emotionally distant man who despised what he considered weakness. When you were a little girl alone in a mansion with few people around to care for you, you were often weak. Weakness to him meant any form of tears or emotional outburst…and in some cases, even affection.
I’d learned to clam up, to build a wall and brick myself off from the world.
Aaron wouldn’t let me stay there, though. His love for me crashed into everything I’d done to protect myself, and he dragged me out of my shell.
It was terrifying, but it was exhilarating. Every time he touched me, I felt a thousand feet tall, as if I could stomp down buildings and scale mountains like some kind of Godzilla of love.
It was ridiculous, it made my mind race at a million miles a minute, and it was against everything my logical self had ever believed.
But it was real.
It was so fucking real that I felt like I was connecting with the world for the first time in my life.
It was so real that it was transforming me from a guarded, brittle woman into one who would open her arms and embrace a life she never thought she wanted.
I finished packing just as Aaron tapped lightly on my door.
I opened it and found him there, his own bags in his hands, a smile on his face that seemed lit from within. I could see his love shining under that beard, and it almost brought tears to my eyes, it was so sincere.
“Are you ready, princess?” he asked me, not bothering to play it cool or hide his excitement.
“I’ve been ready my whole life,” I said, and I reached up to pull him down into a kiss.
His beard smelled fresh, his skin smelled musky and masculine, and his body was utter perfection. We fit together like two pieces of a puzzle, as if we’d been made for each other.
I couldn’t help but wonder how well we’d fit when he was buried deep inside of me, and that image set my stomach quivering, as if a hundred butterflies had been set free inside of me.
“Let’s go,” he growled softly against my ear. “I need to get you naked before I fucking explode.”
He picked up my bags along with his, and I trailed behind him as we made our final walk through the Kaslo Lodge.
Melanie was near the front door as we approached, and she shook her head in mock disgust.
“Seriously? What if I need him to reshoot a scene or get a post-production interview?” she asked with a grin.
“Then you’ll have to do it yourself,” I laughed. “He’s mine, and I’m afraid I won’t be letting him out of my sight for a while.”
She hugged me hard enough to startle me. “It looks g
ood on you,” she said quietly as we embraced. “I’m so happy for you, and I hope you guys figure it all out as smoothly as possible. Now get out of here, I have a show to get to air, and my boss seems to have abandoned me!”
“You’ll do just fine,” I replied. “Could you check in on Tiger when you get back? Tell them I’ll pick him up soon.”
“Not a problem,” Melanie said before she hugged Aaron quickly. “Be good to her, but please give her a good deep-dish dicking. She’s been needing one for a while!”
“Glad to see LA Melanie back,” Aaron chuckled, “I was getting tired of Boss Melanie.”
“Haha,” Melanie replied with a play punch to his arm. “Now go on, before her shelf life expires or something.”
We practically ran to Aaron’s pickup truck. He threw our things in the back, and we got in, me in the middle seat right up against him. I was so tightly coiled with anticipation I could barely talk.
He seemed just as excited as me, so we were silent on the drive back to his place.
He came to a halt in front of the steps outside his house, helped me out of the truck, and grabbed our bags. He fumbled with the keys at the front door, and I could sense his growing urgency as he opened the door and tossed our things to the side.
Melanie and I had spent a few days at Aaron’s when we’d first gotten to town, so I knew what to expect. We’d stayed on the main floor guest rooms though, and I’d never been upstairs to Aaron’s master bedroom.
I guess I was going to find out.
“Fuck, princess, I thought I was going to lose my mind back there,” he said, his voice raw and harsh with desire.
I didn’t have a chance to reply. His mouth was on mine, and we were clashing together in seconds, a natural ebb and flow against each other, like the ocean against the shore.
He kicked the front door closed and cupped my face in his hands as he kissed me, gently, roughly, passionately, tenderly, kissing me like he hadn’t kissed me before. He was everything at once, overwhelming my senses and setting my body on fire with his need.
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