Insert Groom Here

by K. M. Jackson

  Suddenly he stopped and his head popped up, abruptly releasing the nipple he’d been so gloriously teasing. “What happened?” she asked.

  “Princess, you have got to stop thinking so hard. I can practically hear your wheels turning. Now, please relax.” He leaned down and extended his rather amazing tongue and swirled it in the most tantalizing circle around her nipple. “If you just lean into it with me, this won’t take too long at all.”

  She couldn’t help but laugh then. “Lean in? Really, you’re going with that?”

  His head popped up again, and she saw the playfulness in his eyes. “I’m going with that. It’s your bed. You call the shots. Now, lean in and tell me what to do, boss lady.”

  She shook her head as Aidan went back to work. What was she going to do with him? They’d broken all the rules by going on and now had to totally rewrite the rule book. She turned and looked at the clock. Shit, they really didn’t have much time. “Aidan, please. You’ve got to go soon. We’ve got my third date today, and I’ve got to get ready for it, plus the crew will be here soon. You don’t want to get caught.”

  He stilled mid-lick and looked up at her. “Okay, fine. But only if you join me in the shower.”

  Eva tilted her head, looking down at him. “And how will joining you in the shower speed up anything?”

  Aidan grinned as he leaned back, showing off his wide chest, amazing abs, and what was now a rock-hard erection. “It probably won’t, but I don’t think I’ll be able to work today if you don’t join me.”

  Eva let out a long breath. He was incorrigible. Completely and totally infuriating. He drove her mad and got on her very last nerve. She then looked into his eyes and caught the wicked flash. He was also the very best time she’d ever had in her life. “Okay, but you’d better not get my hair wet, or I’m cutting you off.” He pulled her up and against him. “Well, at least cutting you off for the rest of the week.”

  He pulled her in and kissed her hard. “Trust me, kitten, I promise to get everything in that shower wet except your hair.”

  * * *

  Eva had never felt more ridiculous in her life. She sat in a dirty boat in the middle of Central Park, trying to look like she belonged there while wearing a silly straw hat with an organza flower on top of it no less. Her dress today was a flowy one in a tiny floral print more suited for an English garden summer wedding and definitely more suited for some petite English rose of a girl and not a grown New York woman like her. She didn’t know if it was the flower that set her nerves on end or the floral print dress. It didn’t matter; either way, she knew she must rein them in or risk it all showing on camera.

  Besides, it was a beautiful day. She had that. And the night would come soon enough. She now had that too. Her mouth quirked up into a smile as she thought once again of her morning excursion with Aidan. Maybe the hat wasn’t so bad after all. At least at the right angle it could hopefully shield the blush she was sure was rising on her cheeks. She had to get it together, get her mind off Aidan and on the date in front of her. But damn if it wasn’t hard. Aidan had indeed kept his promise and her hair hadn’t gotten wet in the shower, but the prolonged time she had spent up against the steamy shower walls with Aidan behind her did little for its previously smooth appearance. The network’s hairdresser was in a right tizzy when she arrived at her apartment along with the makeup artist, not twenty minutes after Aidan finally departed and she got a look at how frizzy her hair had become overnight.

  “You’re looking like you’re finally enjoying yourself. One would think you were meant to be on the water.”

  The voice brought Eva’s wandering mind forward, and she once again focused on today’s date. Walter van Wetherton III gave her a Cheshire cat grin as he rowed her around in his Bermuda shorts and blue, crested coat. As Eva looked at him, she sincerely hoped it was Mitzi’s wacky hand that had gotten to him too and he didn’t consider his outfit everyday attire. But sadly, something about him had her suspecting it was his style, and that brought her down. Tall, dark, and indeed handsome, he was the kind of man her mother would surely approve of. But his attire and affected way of talking had her instantly knowing she and he would not be a match.

  It was kind of a bummer, though. He was from a well-established African-American family and pretty well known in society. Old money, as far as old money went in the black community. And in the span of their already short, cute meet and greet at the park’s carousel, where she took a reluctant and embarrassing ride for the cameras, he gave her the rundown of his complete résumé. He had gone to Yale and from there to Oxford. Was a lawyer and also on the board of his parents’ company. He summered on the Vineyard, where they had a home, though at times, he’d slum it and rent with friends in the Hamptons. Which was said as if he were doing the Long Islanders a favor or something. He was also on the board of several city conservation projects that bore his family’s name. Oh, and he was an avid skier. As if.

  His comment about her change in expression took Eva completely off guard. He was right—she was out of it and, yes, rudely thinking of hot sex in the shower and could give a flip about skiing in the Catskills—but at that point, she had completely tuned him out, expecting not to have to contribute anything to today’s conversation and, after the boat ride, to be able to strip off the hat with the offending organza flower and get the hell out of there.

  She cleared her throat and looked around. “I will admit it is beautiful out here. The view of the city from this angle is breathtaking. I’ve walked by here so many times but never thought of what it must look like from this angle.” Eva looked around and took in the tourists gawking at her from the other boats, as well as the other people watching from the edge of the little pond. The film crew, with their two cameras and long-range lenses trained to capture every word, were on the edges of the pond as well, with all lenses pointed in her direction. She could bet Aidan was having a good laugh at her expense. He couldn’t hide his mirth when he saw how Mitzi had her done up. And when he had gotten a look at Walter this morning, the edges of his mouth quirked up and wiggled so much Eva almost went over and gave him a swift kick. She would have punched him in the arm if she didn’t think he would have gotten a good laugh out of it. Part of her wanted to laugh too, but there was no way she’d give him the satisfaction. She told herself she’d keep it professional when the sun was up, and that’s just what she intended to do. No matter how boorish or silly the date, or how sexy and provoking Aidan was, it mattered not. She still had her mission, and she was determined to see it through.

  Then, as if by some cosmic reminder, the cell phone in her purse rang, and she practically jumped out of her skin at the surprising intrusion, sure she had put it on silent since they were filming. She quickly looked toward the shore, breaking character (which felt odd since she was the character she was breaking) and caught the disapproving glare of Louisa and the head shake of Stan as he put his finger to his ear. Aidan stood with his legs wide, muscular arms folded, and shook his head. “Sorry,” she yelled as the phone squealed again. She looked at Walter as she reached into her purse and caught his raised brow. The better part of her wanted to tell him not to get his ascot in a bunch, but instead she swiped at her phone. “Mother, I can’t talk. I’m filming.”

  “Hello, dear. I wanted to see how it’s going. I won’t keep you. Just checking on today’s date. What did you say his name was?” It was as if her mother didn’t even hear her as she went off onto her own ramblings.

  “I didn’t, and I will have to call you back.”

  There was a long pause. “Please do. And remember what’s riding on this. You know how important this is. You have a part to play, and you must play it well,” her mother said, going on as if Eva hadn’t just said she’d have to call her back.

  Eva looked over at Walter. Once again, she thought he’d probably be perfect to play the part her mother had in mind. She could see their initials monogrammed on stemware. Or cashmere throws for their ski house. It was that typ
e of thing her mother would eat up. Just then a bee buzzed around Walter, and he waved his hand dramatically, making the little row boat rock violently. Eva frowned and looked back at the phone. “Of course. Now please, Mother, like I said, I really have to go. It’s rude to talk on the phone while I’m on a date. I should not have answered.”

  “You’re quite right, dear. I don’t know why you did,” her mother said sharply. And with that, Eva was left with a click and silence. Nice. Eva rolled her eyes as she turned the phone off and looked at Walter, then toward the shore. “I’m sorry,” she said to Walter. “I’m sorry,” she said, lower this time and leaning down toward her chest, knowing the whole crew could hear but not really knowing what she was apologizing for. Probably for being a pain in the ass and getting them all into this in the first place. If not for her, they could all probably be doing some much more important work, like those “I lost half my body weight, so now aren’t I a much better person?” makeovers the morning shows loved to push so much. At least there weren’t goofy location shots and faux yacht captains with those stories.

  Once again, the boat rocked violently, and Eva looked over at Walter. It would seem the bee had brought along a friend, and now both of Walter’s hands were flapping. “If you ignore them, they’ll probably go away,” she said calmly.

  “I can’t ignore them. I’m allergic,” he said, his voice rising.

  “Okay, how about we row back to shore and get out of here then?”

  But it was as if Walter wasn’t hearing her. He was going into real and true panic mode, flailing his hands about and attempting to stand.

  Eva put her hand out. “Um, Walter, why don’t you sit. I’ll row. Don’t worry.”

  But he wasn’t listening, the attempt to stand now a full-on ‘“I’m getting the hell out of here” jump up. All six feet plus of him got to his feet as his arms flailed, making the boat scarily unsteady.

  “Don’t do that. You’ll make us tip over!” Eva yelled. “Here, you sit. I said I’ll row.” Eva rose as she attempted to swap places with him, and in his panic, Walter turned quickly, and there it was, she was gone, right over the side of the little gray wooden boat.

  “Dammit!” Eva yelled as she came up out of the murky water, her big floppy hat in hand, the organza flower a ruined mess.

  The water wasn’t deep at all, and she ended up swimming past the boat and Walter, who seemed to have calmed, so she guessed the bees had gone on about their business. Lucky bees, she thought, as she made her way to the shore. Her dress was a sodden mess, sticking to her legs. One of the PAs was kind enough to wrap a towel around her shoulders as she came out of the water. Aidan had come running up to her and stopped, looking her in the eyes. She could imagine how she must look. Soaking wet, dress all sticky with New York Central Park pond water, hat in hand, makeup runny.

  He reached out and swiped some of the hair away from her face. She watched him intently as the corner of his mouth quirked up. “And you were worried about getting your hair wet.”

  This time she did punch him in the arm.

  * * *

  The next two dates were less eventful than the infamous rowboat date, but still Eva’s public momentum kept growing right along with her passion for Aidan. She learned to play shuffle board from a guy named Paul, and in a terrible twist of fate, she ended up with a dog after the studio thought it would be a good idea if she had a rental dog from the pound for her doggy date with Doug the dog whisperer. She may be the ice princess, but even she wasn’t so cold as to give the cute little fuzz ball back after spending an afternoon with him giving her the full-on charm eye.

  As for Doug, the dog whisperer, she didn’t have any problems giving him back. It was almost tragic, if it hadn’t been so annoying. He made a point of ending all his sentences as if they were commands. “We’re stopping here for coffee. Now.” And instead of asking if she wanted to sit and take a rest on a park bench, it came out as, “Let’s sit, Eva. Sit.” She was hoping she would get a treat or something at the end of each of these requests slash commands, but being the expert trainer he was, Doug taught Eva early on that all treats were reserved for his dog, Lucy, who clearly had his heart and was the reason he was probably still single. The man only had eyes for Lucy, and though he was tall, dark, and good-looking, he was completely oblivious when it came to the opposite sex—or any sex, for that matter. It was as if he walked through the city wearing dog-colored glasses and was blind to the abundance of approving stares he got as he and his pooch walked down the street. Cute guy with a cuter dog. Instant in. Hell. Eva was sure he’d not have given her the time of day that afternoon if she hadn’t had her rent-a-pup by her side.

  But enough was enough. Time was ticking, and she was fast becoming certain she would end up choosing the best from the worst at the rate she was going, or have to end up admitting defeat. Which was clearly not an option, unless she planned to never deal with her mother again. Or go out in public in New York. These stupid segments had made her more of a personality than ever, bringing even more attention to the fact that she had to somehow make it work.

  “What are you thinking about so hard now?” Aidan said from behind her, where he had her snuggled and warm, her backside to his front, cuddled on her bed. This easy, familiar thing they were doing and the little after-snuggle was way too fast becoming the best part of her day, and frankly, it terrified her how much she looked forward to it. She knew there was a definite expiration date on these feel good feelings, so she was a fool for letting herself enjoy them so much. Sex was, for the most part, replaceable, but comfortable, intimate feelings like this she knew she couldn’t replace. They’d fallen into an odd pattern of seeing each other, though not quite. He’d come to her place two or three nights a week, and if it had been a filming night, he’d trail back around a half hour after the crew left, usually bearing some sort of late-night snack for two from the twenty-four-hour diner a few blocks over. He joked that he needed his strength since she was wearing him out, but she’d come to love his seemingly infinite appetite.

  Truth be told, it was she who needed the extra sustenance. She felt more tired, though at the same time more stimulated and alive, than she’d ever been in her life. Just about the only thing she had true motivation for, though, was meeting up with him. On the nights he didn’t come by, she tried to bury herself in her work, which there was plenty of, but she had trouble focusing, she missed him so much. This was just what she had been afraid would happen.

  Aidan nudged at her back. “So?”

  “So what?” she asked sleepily, not wanting to deal with his questions, just happy to lie there next to him and pretend these few hours were actually something real, something that could be her normal, her forever.

  Aidan let out a frustrated sigh, and she could feel him tense behind her. “Fine, if that’s how you want to play it. I can go with it.”

  Eva couldn’t help but stiffen too. She fought not to give into it, but she did. The way he’d been reading her body in the short time they’d been meeting, she knew he’d pick up on her signals right away. It was her own fault. She’d quickly fallen into the relaxed habit of letting her guard down too much around him, and she knew that was a dangerous thing. She had done that with Kevin, and look how he’d played her. Eva closed her eyes and mentally willed her body to relax. Then she turned to him and smiled, pushing at his shoulder and playfully leaning forward for a kiss.

  “Now, come on, stop being so serious. You know we don’t do that here.” She grabbed his perfectly curved ass. “Once those pants come off, so do all of our outside stresses. Now relax. There’s nothing to worry about. I was just stressing about the last few dates and my mother.”

  “Your mother? Why?”

  Eva shook her head. Stupid. She’d opened herself up for that one and probably shouldn’t have even brought it up. This was more of a conversation to have with a friend, not your designated layover on the way to Relationshipville. “You don’t need to hear about this. It’s not anyth
ing for you to worry about.”

  Aidan’s brows drew together, and he put his hands up and close to hers. “Wait a minute. I’m calling a time-out here.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m calling a time-out. This deal or whatever it is we have—as lovely as it is, it’s not working. Call me crazy for saying this, but we can’t work together all day, do a minimal amount of talking, and then jump in bed to screw our brains out without any talking in between.”

  Eva’s top lip curled, and he laughed, as she wiggled against his stiffening erection. “I don’t know what you’re laughing at. If we were really going to go through with this long term, it would probably make for the perfect relationship,” she said.

  He rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Play fair, kitten.” He held her hips steady. “Okay, you’re right . . . but still. For most men it would. But humor the reporter in me. I always need to know the full story.” He leaned down and kissed gently at the swell of her breasts. “And no matter how tantalizing you may be, I want to know what’s the deal with you and your mother? So spill. I’d really like to know what’s going on in that head of yours.”

  Eva frowned again and let out a breath. More about her? What for? What good would letting him in do? It would just be more to miss when this was over and he stopped taking her calls, bringing her off her diet of midnight greasy fries and back to her normal, boring three squares and two healthy snacks and probably routine sex with a guy who filled out a suit well but barely fulfilled her.