“I imagine our chemistry was hard to hide,” he says.
I look up and lean in on my elbows, grinning. “Chemistry indeed. I can’t believe the effect we’ve had on each other in such a short time. Have you noticed we can’t keep our hands off each other?” I shake my head as if it’s a bad thing.
He grins. “Yeah, I really like all the touching.”
I laugh. “Believe me, I do too, but we have to stop until the shoot is over. Or at least when we’re around other people.”
“True, but it’s organic. I don’t even think about it.”
“My neither, that’s the problem.”
“I can’t help that I’m so drawn to you. I feel like a kite in the wind, and you’re slowly pulling me in,” Will says.
“Is that a good thing?” I ask.
He smiles. “Yeah, as long as you don’t let go of the string.”
We sit silently for a minute taking it all in. Suddenly I realize that Will is clenching and unclenching his fists, over and over, his eyes looking far away in thought.
“Hey, you. What’s up? Has your kite flown into the dark clouds?” I whisper.
He squints and he presses his lips together. “This is really going to happen, isn’t it? Can I change my mind and back out?”
His question stuns me. “Is that what you want to do?”
He nods, scowling a bit and looking off to the side.
“Oh, no.” I moan, lifting my hands to my face in horror.
“Don’t worry, Sophia. I said I want to back out. I didn’t say I would. I agreed to do it, and I follow through with my promises.”
I let out a loud exhale. “Well, thank you for that. Damn, you scared the hell out of me for a moment.”
“Sorry. I promise I’ll pull through. I’ll just grit my teeth and bear it, no matter how tortured I am,” he says sheepishly.
“I promise I won’t let it be torture.”
“Okay. What’s the worst that can happen, right?” he says, lifting his hands up like he’s reasoning with himself.
“Exactly, and by next year we’ll be like, ‘so how’d we meet again?’ All of this stress will be a distant memory.”
“Yeah.” He grins.
“And maybe I’ll be working on documentaries.”
“And maybe we can take a trip somewhere exotic. I haven’t really traveled much.”
Feeling great, I lift my water glass in a toast. “So, here’s to our big adventure.”
I have a thought as he walks me to my car. “Remember what you said last night about keeping things light? Why can’t we just decide to have fun working together?”
“Really? It will be fun?”
I wink at him. “I’ll make it fun. You’ll be my Mr. Christmas.”
“Is this going to involve me wearing a Santa hat and no clothes at some point?” His teasing has a hopeful edge.
“No, but I’ve been a really good girl this year,” I say, biting my lip and batting my eyelashes.
“How good?” His smile turns into a grin.
“Really good, except when I was bad, of course. I can’t help it—you make me want to be really naughty.”
“That works for me. You can be naughty with me any ol’ time.”
“Hmmm,” I moan while I tap my finger on my chin like I’m thinking up lots of naughty plans.
Will looks properly seduced with his hooded eyes and sexy smile. “Okay then, so what do you want from Mr. Christmas?”
“I want to jingle his bells.”
Will laughs. “Anything else?”
“And ride his sleigh.”
“Really?” He grins like a Cheshire cat as he leans against my car and pulls me into his arms.
I press my body against him and glide my hands up his chest, while he runs his fingers up and down my back.
“So if I’m Mr. Christmas, who are you?” he asks.
I moan as he kisses my neck. “Who do you want me to be? And don’t say an elf.”
“No,” he says as he gently bites my earlobe and whispers in my ear. “How about my girl… Ms. Christmas?”
I lean back and look him in the eyes. “Yeah?” I say, my heart fluttering. “I’d like that.”
He smiles and gets a playful look in his eyes. “And one day I’ll take you for that hot ride on my sleigh.”
“Are you flirting back, Mr. Christmas? ’Cause that was saucy. You’ve got mad skills.”
He leans down to kiss me good-bye. “Oh beautiful, when it comes to my mad skills—you haven’t seen anything yet.”
Chapter Nine
The next morning the production truck from True Blue Entertainment pulls in front of Will’s house. The sun’s still so low in the sky that it shimmers over the wet grass and casts long shadows from the production team as they unload equipment. Will watches from the front window with an apprehensive look on his face.
The studio group gathers on his front sidewalk, and I lead them up the walkway. Almost everyone has a steaming travel mug of coffee and a backpack.
Will steps away from the window and opens the front door. He looks at me first with a small smile, then scans the group. “Good morning.”
“Hi, Will. It’s the big day! We’re all here and raring to go. Are you ready?” I ask.
He shrugs. “I guess so.”
I’m impressed with his polite and neutral countenance. You’d never know that he had me pressed against my car last night.
He notices Paul, who’s studying him intently. “We haven’t met. You must be Paul.”
Paul shakes Will’s hand. “Yes. Good to meet you and thanks for participating on our show. From the stills Aaron showed me, you’re really going to wow our audience with your amazing Christmas house.”
“Thanks.” Will steps back so everyone can enter.
Aaron and the equipment guys swarm in like it’s their place. Tarps are spread across the floor and one of the smaller guys starts moving things to the edge of the room.
“So they won’t get damaged,” he says when Will’s eyes get wide.
Lindsey grabs his arm. “Hey, Will, while they set up let’s go to the kitchen and go over the schedule and some details.”
He seems a bit dazed as he leads us down the hall. “I’ve got coffee going,” he says when we’re all gathered around the island.
“So can we walk Will through what’s going to happen today?” I say to the group.
Lindsey sets her pad of notes and scheduling on the counter. “Sure. Right now the guys are getting long shots and details in the foyer and living room.” She turns to Paul. “We may have some budget kickbacks ’cause we had to do some supplemental lighting I hadn’t budgeted for.”
Paul groans and rolls his eyes back. “You can bet we’ll get shit for that.”
“Anyway.” I push them to get back on track.
Lindsey shakes her head and looks at her watch. “Will, we should be ready to do some shots with you by eleven. Why don’t you sit for makeup at ten-thirty?”
She turns to Gia sitting at the end of the counter. “This is a good spot, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, good light.” Gia turns to Will. “I’m Gia, by the way. And don’t worry. I’ll make you look great.” She gives him a wink.
Turning back to Lindsey, Gia asks, “What about wardrobe?”
“Right. Look what I found. It’s perfect.” Lindsey lifts up a shopping bag and pulls out two T-shirts. She holds up a green one with a large cartoony reindeer on the front. “We were going to do this, but then I found this one.” She holds up a deep red T-shirt.
“Mr. Christmas!” Paul exclaims, reading the caption on the front of the shirt. “That’s perfect!”
Will blinks repeatedly before looking over at me.
I shake my head frantically with my hands up like I didn’t know anything about this.
“Can you iron both just in case?” Lindsey says to Gia.
Gia nods and gathers the shirts and works them onto hangers.
“Those aren’
t for me, are they?” Will asks, his “what the fuck” look still firmly in place.
“Sure they are. Aren’t they awesome,” Paul says happily.
“Sophia tells me you’re the one interviewing me on camera. So, are you wearing one?” Will asks Paul.
“Ah, that would be no,” he says, laughing.
“Good, then I’m not wearing one either. This is the first I’ve heard of it anyway. I’m just going to wear my own clothes.”
Paul’s face gets a little red as he considers what to say to Will. Finally he turns away and walks toward the hallway.
“Sophia, you work this out,” he says as he passes me.
Later when the group takes a break to check on the work up front, Will heads to the backyard. I watch from the window as he stomps across the wet grass and away from the house. I follow him out.
He looks wary as I approach. “What was that about?” He doesn’t even try to hide his anger.
“I swear, Will, I didn’t know about the shirts… and I sure as hell didn’t know about Mr. Christmas.”
Will gazes off into the distance and shakes his head. “I don’t feel good about any of this. You said they weren’t going to make me look like a fool.”
“Please don’t be upset. I’ll say you won’t do the shirts. It’ll be fine, I promise.”
“Sophia, don’t make me promises you can’t or won’t keep.”
“I wouldn’t do that,” I say softly, my eyes glazing over with the realization that this has damaged his hard-won trust in me.
He glares toward the house and squints. Then he turns toward the back of the yard. “Follow me,” he says gruffly.
I rush after him to the back corner of the yard and come to a stop behind a towering shrub. He turns to me and grinds his boot heel into the hard soil.
“Will?” I ask, trying to control the concern in my voice.
“I need to know something.” He jams his hands in his pockets.
“I’ll tell you whatever I can.”
“Sophia.” His eyes are so intense it’s as if he’s looking straight through me.
“Yes?” I whisper, fear bubbling up in me about whatever dark thing he’s apparently thinking.
“For this shoot… to get me to do this”—he pauses and looks down— “did you play me?”
“What?” I say, now fighting back tears. “How can you ask that?”
“I need the truth.”
“I’m telling you the truth. I did not play you.” I drop my chin and close my eyes. “I wouldn’t do that to you,” I whisper.
When I finally look up at him he’s watching me intently.
“I swear Will.”
He studies me and then looks away.
I step closer to him and put my hand on his forearm. “Will?”
He lifts his chin and looks up at the sky. “Sophia, when we first met you asked me to trust you and I decided I would. But since then some of your actions have made me wonder if I made the right decision. I’m just hoping I didn’t make a mistake.”
I curl over and press my hands above my chest like I’m trying to protect my heart. It’s as if his words slapped me and I can still feel the sting. “How can you say that after all of our talks? Don’t you know how important it’s been to me to earn your trust? Why would I jeopardize it like that?”
He shrugs, and looks off into the distance.
I step even closer until we’re almost chest to chest. “Last night you told me I could be your girl. I may not have had all the struggles you’ve had in life, but I’ve been hurt too. My heart is on the line here as well. But I believe in you. I believe in the possibility of us.”
He watches me and I can see there’s a battle raging in his eyes.
“Don’t let this shoot mess it all up.” I turn to walk back inside the house.
Before I can take more than one step, he grabs hold of my arm. “Come here,” he says softly.
I step into his embrace, and he holds me tight. “I’m sorry, Sophia. I just got really freaked out.”
“I know,” I whisper, my lips against his shoulder.
“I’m falling for you, woman, and I don’t do that easily.”
“No?” I ask, feeling a mix of haunted and hopeful.
“But you….You just do something to me.”
I take his face in my hands. “Will, can’t you see what you do to me? I think I started falling for you from the moment I saw you in the cafe.”
“Yeah?” A smile breaks across his face as his hands take hold of my hips.
“Hell, yes! I’m standing in the shrubs… with a client… on a shoot… pouring out my heart… not caring that I may lose this job. You’re making me crazy. Can you please just kiss me so we can forget about everything for a minute?
His lips are on mine so fast I don’t have time to breathe. It’s an amped-up kiss fueled with unguarded passion and edged with fear. He groans and lifts me up. Then he slowly slides me back down against him.
I sigh when we part. “Look at what we have. Please, don’t give up on me.”
He nods looking determined. “I’m gonna try because I want to trust you.”
We fall into another kiss.
“Yeow!” I say, jumping back and shaking my leg. “I think this has become a threesome.”
“Dude! What the fuck. Get off my girl!” He pulls Romeo, who is frantically getting it on with my leg, off me and holds him down while I step away. “How’d you get out, you horny bastard?”
I glance over my shoulder. “I better get back in there anyway. Let me go in ahead of you. Okay?”
He doesn’t look completely convinced but still looks me intently. “Yeah, okay.”
For most of the morning Will stays in the yard, hanging with Romeo. Maybe it’s easier for him to be away from whatever the hell is happening in the house. At ten-thirty, Lindsey calls him into the house to sit for Gia, and I join them.
He stands next to me and waves his hands as he talks. “I don’t wear makeup, so thanks but no thanks.”
“It’s not like that, Will,” Gia explains patiently. “I make sure you’ll look like you don’t have makeup on. The thing is, video washes people out and any shine on your face becomes a beam of light. So actually what I’m going to do will make you look natural.”
“Trust Gia,” I tell him.
Will raises his eyebrows skeptically. “I’ve got to admit,” he says, “I’ve spent all these years on the lot and didn’t pay attention to the makeup and wardrobe crews. It’s a completely different world than my set and scenic people.”
“It is.” Gia agrees.
“So let me get this straight. You put makeup on me to make me look natural on camera?”
She nods. “That’s right.”
I smile at him, realizing that he’s coming around.
“So that’s like how they have a writer write the reality show to make it seem real.”
She laughs and gives a knowing smile. “You’re better off not having these deep thoughts, Will. This is La-La Land after all.”
“And I work in the business, but this reality show stuff is new to me,” he says.
“Reality is a concept. It’s open for interpretation, isn’t it?” She challenges.
I roll my eyes, but the idea stings that reality shows are rarely real regardless of what I hope them to be.
When Gia’s finished, Will remembers the list he made of the children’s charities and shelters he supports, along with the schools that have visited the house during the holidays. He goes to grab it and returns.
Lindsey and I are in the hallway going over the schedule. I turn and smile as he approaches.
He hands a page to each of us once he has our full attention. “So here’s the list of the charities the proceeds from the house tours and benefits go to. Sophia said that they could be listed and mentioned in the special.”
Lindsey casually accepts the paper and tucks it partway down the stack of papers on her clipboard. “Sure Will,” she says, giving h
im a warm smile before turning back to continue her discussion with me.
I touch her arm. “Lindsey, this is important. Okay? We need to make sure that happens.”
Lindsey tips her head but nods. “Okay, Sophia, I’ll see what I can do.”
I nod to Will. “I’ll make sure it happens.”
He walks away with a huff. I step away from Lindsey and follow him as he heads up front. He dodges all the open equipment cases and steps over the cords snaking all over the floors. I imagine it’s unsettling to have his furniture shifted around and all the lights they’ve brought in. It must not feel like his house.
Aaron looks up from where he’s hunched over the camera and notices us. “Hey, guys. How you doing, Will?”
Will shrugs. “Okay, I guess. You getting what you need?”
“Yeah, it took a while to get the balance of lighting right, but I think we’ve got it now.”
“Good,” Will says.
“And we’re almost ready for you. You ready for us?” he says with a laugh. “You look uncomfortable, but I bet you’ll come off great on camera. And Paul’s a kick. He’ll make it fun.”
“Listen to Aaron,” I say.
“Okay,” Will says, trying to give him an unforced smile. “I’ll take your word for it.”
When we wander back out to the hall we, run into Paul.
“Good, I was about to go find you,” Paul says, slapping Will on the back. “So we thought we’d start with you welcoming us in the front door. If you’re ready we can do a run through?”
“Let’s get it over with,” Will says.
Paul motions to Lindsey and me to join them, and we head out to the front porch.
Paul turns to Will. “Okay, this is really straight forward—the opening shot. When we say action we’re going to have you open the front door and then say your line. Then you’ll step back and open the door wider like you’re letting us in. The cameraman will actually do a tracking shot going through the door.”
Will nods.
“I’ll show you the walk through.” Paul steps inside and closes the door.
A second later Lindsey yells, “Action!”
Paul pulls the door open with a huge grin on his face. “Hi, I’m Will Sander, and—”
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