And if things did escalate to an even more intense physical level, she’d have to thank her five older male cousins, all of whom had made sure that each one of the Sloan girls knew how to defend herself. Not just from catty girl brawls, but also if she were ever to be attacked or assaulted for real.
Becca was unable to look away as each girl dug in her heels—or in this case, rears—not giving up an inch. It was like watching a car crash. You didn’t want to look, but…you kind of had to.
The woman who reminded Becca of screen siren Sophia Loren clapped her hands together just once but in a way that immediately garnered the full attention of every person in room. “Ladies, this is not musical chairs. There are enough seats for everyone.”
A snicker rolled across the room like ‘the wave’ at a sporting event. The redhead stood and took an empty seat about halfway down the row, but not before giving Brooklyn a major stink eye. Brooklyn, in turn, looked as pleased as punch and smug, as anyone Becca had ever seen before, at her victory.
Brian leaned just a millimeter closer and said under his breath, “Alllllrighty then.”
Becca tightly pursed her lips together to refrain from laughing. Brian was amazing at impressions. Her favorite was when he mimicked Jim Carrey in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.
He could also do Sylvester Stallone, Bill Cosby, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bill Clinton, Eddie Murphy, Tom Cruise—the list went on and on. She could sit and listen to him doing impressions for hours and never stop laughing.
“Great. So now that we have everyone’s attention, let’s get the introductions out of the way. I am Gavin Holloway and this is Sabrina Denton. We are the creators-slash-producers-slash-directors of Fairytale Love. Congratulations to all of you for being selected as our first of hopefully many casts of this brand-new spin on reality dating television. Why don’t we all introduce ourselves, say our names, and one brief”—Gavin leaned forward, resting his hands, and scanned the entire crowd, making eye contact with each person seated at the table—“I’m talking one-sentence brief, something about yourself.
“Sabrina, let’s start with you,” he said as he sat, and Sabrina stood.
Becca still could not get over how much the woman resembled Sophia Loren.
“Hello. Like Gavin said, my name is Sabrina. I am one of the creators of this show, and whenever I lose my creative inspiration, I like to go fly-fishing to clear my mind.”
Fly-fishing?!
For the life of her, Becca could not imagine this poised, classy, Prada-wearing woman in wading boots. Hmmm. She guessed the saying was true—never judge a book by its cover.
Sabrina sat, and the person next to her stood. He was good-looking. He had a tall, athletic build, and he was tan with honey-blond hair and emerald-green eyes.
“Hi. My name is Colton,” he said with a barely noticeable Southern drawl. “I grew up on a ranch in Dallas. Last year, after receiving my MBA, I bought my own land, which I work in addition to owning an online wholesale farm equipment business.”
Oh boy. A cowboy. A cute accent. And smart to boot. If Becca weren’t already in love with the man seated beside her, she might have fallen in love that very minute.
Becca only half-listened to the rest of the introductions. There was Madison, the NFL cheerleader; Leah, the chef; The redhead, Natalie, a jewelry designer; Jax, who turned out to be a professional weightlifter (no surprise there!), not a lumberjack; Andrew, the architect; Blake, the realtor; and Brooklyn, who was a swimsuit model and emphasized that she’d been Miss Sun Tropic two years in a row, an unprecedented feat.
When Brian stood, he’d said that he had taken a year off of school to deal with some family stuff but that he was in film school and aspired to be a director. That got Miss ‘I’m A Swimsuit Model’ Brooklyn’s attention real quick. Not that she hadn’t already been hanging on his every word, but Becca watched as the girl’s large, brown eyes lit up when Brian said that he planned on a career in the movie industry.
That girl was trouble with a capital ‘T’.
Becca had kept her intro short and sweet. She just said her name and that she was pre-med at Stanford. For some reason, when she’d said that the other girls in the room, especially Brooklyn, looked at her like she was something they’d stepped in and needed to wipe off their shoes.
When she sat back down, she felt Brian’s arm rest on the back of her chair. Then she felt his thumb rub in small circles on her shoulder blade. He’d done that for as long as she could remember. Brian was a really affectionate guy. She used to find that it had a calming and reassuring effect on her. Now, it had an arousing and stimulating effect on her. Oh, how times had changed.
After everyone, including the three PAs had spoken, Gavin once again took the floor, his voice booming through the space. “Lovely. It’s so nice to have you all. Here’s a basic breakdown of what you can expect over the next three weeks. We will be filming ten to twelve hours a day, even when you are all just hanging around the house. You will all be going on mini adventures and dates with your prince or princess. Some will be group and some will be individual. On Sundays, we will be taping a live elimination show, where every week, one couple will be sent home. After filming wraps in three weeks’ time, the remaining contestants will go home for ten days before returning to film the live finale.
“This is a short summer schedule, so there will only be five episodes. There will be five shows that include eliminations and one that is a behind-the-scenes, what-you-didn’t-see compilation episode.
“Those are the basics. Now we’re going to start filming ASAP. We need to get your entrances. Jennifer, who you met when she showed you in, will tell you in what order you’ll be coming into the castle. Everyone will be walking in individually, except for Brian and Becca, who have been friends their entire lives. We’re using the friends competing as yet another new spin.
“Any questions? No? Good,” Gavin said rapidly so no one could possibly have time to interject if they did, actually, have a question, which Becca did. She had lots of questions. But Gavin put his hands up in the air like he’d just won a prize fight and been named the victor. “Okay! Let’s do this!”
Chapter Eleven
Brian couldn’t help but feel excited. Sure, this wasn’t the kind of production he’d dreamed of directing one day, but he just loved the energy of sets. He loved the camera equipment, the lighting, the people all working together to get the job done. He really didn’t think that most people knew how much blood, sweat, and tears went into making the television shows and movies that entertained them.
“I just can’t get over how flawless your skin is,” Rayne, the Goth makeup artist, commented for the second time as she sparingly applied concealer to Becca.
“Thanks,” Becca said. Brian heard a slight crack in her voice, and he knew that she was feeling nervous.
Brian and Becca were sitting in the makeup trailer, waiting their turn. They were slated to be last to ‘arrive’ at the castle. Gavin had informed them that they would be using the best-friend angle quite a bit in the show, especially capitalizing on it during their confessionals. Asking each other how they thought the other was doing and so on.
“What do you use?” Rayne asked as she pulled and scanned Becca’s face, assessing her handiwork.
“Whatever’s on sale,” Becca answered.
Brian saw the look Rayne got in her green-contact-wearing eyes. He knew that the makeup artist thought that Becca was either trying to pretend like she didn’t use any special skin-care regimen or just flat-out lying about her beauty ritual.
Brian knew that Becca wasn’t doing either. Not only because Becca didn’t play coy or lie, but also because he’d shopped with Becca on numerous occasions. She always bought whatever was on sale when it came to her cosmetics and toiletries.
Outward appearances had never been important to her like he’d noticed they were to every other female in his life, including his mom and little sister. Becca put her time and energy into her studies, helping
people, or spending time with her friends and family.
Even when she was forced to really dress up. He hated to admit this, but several times when they’d been getting ready for a dance, a wedding, or even a black-tie event, she’d taken less time than he had. At that memory, those nights flashed through his head like slides being projected onto his brain. He realized that, even though he was sure the other women at those events had spent up to five times longer on their appearances, Becca had easily outshined them all.
“Well”—Rayne raised a suspicious brow as she continued applying makeup—“whatever you’re doing, it’s working.”
“Thanks,” Becca said to her.
Then, when Rayne turned so that her back was facing them, Becca looked up at him through the reflection of the mirror, her eyes widening the way they always did when she was uncomfortable or thought something was funny but couldn’t laugh. He grinned at her and she smiled back.
He was happy to see that, since they’d had a chance to spend some time together after the production meeting, Becca seemed to be in a much better state of mind. She’d been laughing and joking around while they talked about how crazy it was that they were really doing this. They seemed like them, back in their easy groove. He’d started relaxing and not feeling like he’d dragged her into something that was horrific for her.
Now, if they could just steer clear of spiders, Brian was hoping that things would be smooth sailing from here on out. Well, if they could steer clear of spiders and his feelings, then hopefully they would ride this thing out and come out the other side none worse for wear.
“You’re all set,” Rayne said after she put on the finishing touches.
A buzzing sound filled the small trailer, and Rayne reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone.
“Hey. What are you doing?” the makeup artist asked as she scooted between Becca and Brian, opening the door and stepping out of the trailer.
Becca swiveled in her chair towards him, looking up to where he stood. “I can honestly say I never thought that I would be sitting in a makeup chair about to make my television debut.”
“You look beautiful.” Brian had said those same three words to Becca countless times over the years. But this time, there was a huskiness there that usually did not accompany his compliments.
He knew that Becca had heard it, too, because a flush rose on her cheeks. She cast her eyes down for a moment, and when she looked up, she spoke softly. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”
It wasn’t so much the words she’d spoken but the way she’d spoken them that stroked over him like a soft caress. He felt his pants once again tightening.
Damn. Brian wanted her. Badly.
“All right, kids.” Gavin swept into the room, and for a moment, Brian thought he was going to hit his head on the top of the trailer. The guy had to be pushing six foot six. “You’re up. Now remember, you’ve never met these people. Mingle, look at the house, and for the love of Barbara Walters, please act natural. We just had to do six takes of Brooklyn’s arrival because she overacted so hard it looked like an SNL skit. Let’s go.”
Gavin turned and Becca and Brian both followed him out. As they walked to his Jeep, where they would be pulling back in and parking to make it look like they’d just arrived, Gavin continued giving them direction.
“We really like the dynamic between the two of you. Both Sabrina and I feel like it is going to be what grounds the show. So make sure that you play that up. Make sure that you two find each other so that you can discuss everyone.”
“You want us to talk about people behind their backs?” Becca asked with worry in her tone.
Gavin stopped in front of the Jeep and turned back to Becca, giving her a gimme-a-break look before shaking his head down at her. “Please. Like you don’t already.”
He then opened the passenger side door and practically shoved Becca inside before lifting her shirt and turning on the battery pack that was clipped to her waistband for her mic.
Brian saw the look of surprise and discomfort at the situation on Becca’s face, and his hands fisted at his sides. She looked up and saw what she was sure was a look like he wanted to knock Gavin out, and she smiled at him—the smile that always cleared his head, cleared the skies, cleared…everything. When she smiled at him like that, the rest of the world didn’t exist.
Just him and Becca.
Gavin started talking and Becca turned her attention back to him. Taking a deep breath, Brian stalked around to get in and drive them out only to turn around and drive right back in like they’d been instructed to do earlier by Sabrina. He tried to remind himself that Gavin was only doing his job, but seeing someone, anyone, tug up Becca’s shirt and touch her was almost more than Brian could handle.
Yeah. He was pretty sure his blood pressure was through the roof.
Before he opened his door, he clicked his battery pack on. Then he climbed in just as Gavin was giving the thumbs-up that they were both live; which meant that everything they said from this point on was being recorded. As Gavin closed the door, Brian turned the ignition on and screeched out of the large turnaround. Dust flew up as he did, and Becca grabbed the door.
Everything inside of him was screaming for him to keep going—to get her out of here. Why had he thought this would be a good thing? Why had he been relieved to have her here? He needed to talk to her without it being broadcast to production.
“What are you doing?” she asked, looking up at him, wide-eyed.
Brian shrugged as he shifted and sped down the road that led up to Stone Castle. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to tell Becca what he was doing, what he was thinking. It was just that he didn’t want everyone in the sound room to hear it. Halfway down the long road, he took a sharp left, pulling onto a side road. There was a secret spot he’d been shown by some locals in Whisper Lake when he was a kid. It wasn’t immediately visible from the main road. If you didn’t know it was there, it just looked like you’d drive into the trees. But there was small area that was covered with dense trees, mainly used by teenagers to come park in.
“Bri—”
He lifted his finger to his lips, indicating for Becca to be quiet, and put the Jeep in park. Then, quickly he shut off his own mic before leaning across Becca, slipping his hand up her shirt, and shutting hers off as well.
He was looking down at his hand beside the sexy line of smooth skin on the side of her belly. His heart pounded loudly as he felt Becca’s fingers wrap around his arms, clinging to him. He felt her fingernails digging into his skin.
Without a thought in his mind, acting on pure instinct, Brian watched as he lightly brushed the backs of his long fingers against the softness of the pale skin just above the waistband of her white shorts. Her body trembled beneath his touch, and he saw her chest rise as she let out a small sigh.
His eyes were trained on her bare, exposed skin, but he could feel the heat of her stare and the sweet fan of her breath on his face. He knew that they were barely an inch apart, but he couldn’t bring himself to look up. Seeing her skin beneath his touch was equal parts erotic and precious. Leaning over her, his body surrounding her like this, he didn’t want this moment to end.
“Brian?” she rasped.
Lifting his eyes, he saw the look of arousal and confusion in her eyes. As badly as he wanted nothing more than to thread his fingers through her silky hair and press his lips to hers, claim her with a kiss she would remember, he didn’t. Even knowing she felt at least some of the desire he was feeling was not enough to risk what they had.
But he could do this.
“We don’t have to stay,” he gritted out, trying to push down his need. “I can get you out of here. We can leave.”
* * *
“What?” Becca asked as she tried to process the words that had just come out of Brian’s perfect, full lips.
Granted, she knew that her mind was so clouded with lust that having a coherent thought might be totally impossible, but she was hop
ing to at least try and keep up with the conversation. His fingers moved against her skin again, and the motion sent a tidal wave of tingles flowing through her body.
Nope. There was no way she could possibly talk to him when he was touching her so softly and looking at her so intensely. She’d thought that she’d seen every look Brian Scott had, but this one was new. It looked primal, raw—and she liked it. So much more than she should. Biting down on her lip, she held on to him tighter, terrified that he was going to move away from her and almost just as scared at what would happen if he didn’t.
“Becca.” Brian’s pupils dilated as he said her name, and she could see the tiny specks of gold that were sprinkled around the light brown of his irises.
A loud noise sounded behind them and they turned to see one of the PAs holding up a bullhorn, pressing the button to sound the obnoxious horn before announcing loudly through the electronic device, “Found them!”
“Do you want to go?” Brian asked, his voice sounding borderline panicked.
No way did Becca trust herself to speak, scared that her pesky voice would betray her and scream, “Yes, please!” So she went the safer route for everyone and shook her head no. As badly as she wanted Brian to drive her away from this place, she knew she needed to be strong. If she kept having near panic attacks, Brian would keep second-guessing being here, and he needed to have his head in the game. The reason they were here—he needed to win this thing.
Brian sat back in his chair and ran his fingers through his hair, looking as frustrated as he used to look when his team would lose a baseball game in high school. She knew that he always took responsibility for the losses even though she pointed out, on more than one occasion, that it was a team sport. Still, he’d feel like he’d let his team down.
She was just about to assure him that she was fine, that she was happy about being here, when her door opened and the PA, who had blown the horn and announced her great discovery, stood looking more than a little pissed off.
Fairytale Love - Becca & Brian Page 11