Insert Groom Here

by K. M. Jackson

  Eva bit at her bottom lip as her hands began to shake and her eyes watered. Freaking crap. She couldn’t cry. Not now. Not when her makeup was already done. She put down the phone and fanned at her face while she jumped up and down, fighting for control. Then she picked the phone up once more and hit her contacts, texting Cori as she looked at the dress hanging on the back of the bathroom door.

  E: So I took your advice and got under one. And now look where I am. About to squeeze into a Léger dress worth more than my rent and I can’t stop crying. Remind me to never listen to you again!

  She found the emoticon with the crying non-smiley face and hit SEND. She knew that with the time difference it would be a while before Cori saw it and responded. In the meantime, she might as well go on with her next date.

  Tonight she was meeting some hotshot lawyer for a more traditional, casual dinner type date. She didn’t remember the name of the guy. They were honestly all starting to blur together. He was some last-minute replacement by the matchmakers, but she was at least assured that tonight’s date didn’t involve any climbing, acrobatics, water, or outdoor activities of any kind. With that, she was already ahead of the game.

  Eva let out a sigh, thinking about having to make a choice soon. She guessed that if at this point she had to choose—and hell—she did. It would be either Opera Dude or the Surfer. She frowned. Scratch Opera Dude, he gave her the creeps with all his breaking talk as if she were a runaway horse, and Surfer, despite the sand and the physical extremes, made her laugh quite a bit. Also, how wrong was it that his rigorous travel schedule spelled an amiable marriage for all involved?

  Eva let out a long breath. It really was pointless. Probably in a couple of weeks she’d be admitting defeat on national television and falling on her proverbial single-in-the-city, bound-to-be-a-spinster-girl sword.

  This whole idea was ridiculous anyway—a modern-day, shotgun-style wedding, and she’d set it up so she was essentially her own jury and executioner.

  Eva grabbed her dress and shimmied herself into it, overshooting the mark and pulling it up high under her breasts, then smoothing it back down over her hips and adjusting her breasts so they sat up on the built-in booby display shelf in just the intended way. She scrunched up her face and rolled her eyes. Hell, you didn’t see guys going through all this bullshit. There aren’t any cock amplifiers built into pants. Bring back the codpiece!

  It was then that Eva’s phone pinged, surprising her and causing her to jump. She picked it up and swiped.

  C: Dammit woman all these years later and you choose now to start listening to me? You know I don’t have no good sense. Shit!

  Eva snorted and sent her friend a kiss emoji by way of answer. She then picked up her pearls and gently clipped them around her neck, the coolness tickling her softly, bringing her mind to Aidan’s gentle, feathery kisses. Her pearls looked good against her skin and the black dress backdrop. But still her brows drew together as she looked at her reflection. It’s not like he would be on the other side of the door to admire them, as she’d foolishly gotten used to. Eva paused as she reached for the bathroom door handle and looked herself in the eye. “It doesn’t matter,” she said to her reflection. “You started this by yourself, and you can end it that way.”

  She quickly picked up her phone once again and swiped at the contacts before she started typing.

  You said you always finish your jobs. You, Mr. Walker, are a liar. Good day.

  * * *

  Aidan looked at the screen, then slammed his cell back on his desk.

  “What the hell, man? Now I know you never had to worry about money like the rest of us working stiffs, but come on, breaking cell phones can be an expensive habit. Especially if you’re out of contract,” Carter said by way of greeting as he entered Aidan’s office.

  Aidan looked up from where he was seated and leveled Carter with a sharp glare. “I’m not in the mood right now, C,” he said in hopes that Carter would get the hint and leave him be.

  He didn’t.

  Instead, Carter ignored the cue and walked straight into Aidan’s office as if invited. Shit, just what he didn’t want, Aidan thought as he shrunk down the board email he’d been forwarded from his father. But what was Carter’s interruption really? Just another unwanted interruption to add to his list of life interruptions. He hadn’t planned on being at the station for any real length of time, but this was ever so stealthily turning into a full-time thing. Strangely, he was actually starting to think he might need to invest in taking the time to hire a full-time personal assistant for when a gatekeeper was needed and not just some temp from HR that was always a no-show. The young woman they sent, Monica, was more interested in who was coming in for casting than what his schedule was, and his schedule was getting increasingly more demanding. At this rate, who knew when he’d get back on the road?

  Aidan let out a frustrated sigh, then regretted it. He really should be more patient. And possibly a little more charitable, but, dammit, he was rubbed raw. Who was she to call him a liar? The woman was the queen of bullshit cover-ups and masks, and besides, he was only following her orders, the ones she had set for them back in the beginning.

  So why was it he felt so unsettled? So off, and like a fraud for not being by her side as she got ready for her date tonight. Her date. That was why. Right freaking there. The whole thing filled him with dread. It was cowardly, but after last week, something had turned. Turned as in had gone sour, like old milk. And it wasn’t her, it was the process, what they were doing and the fact that he knew where it was heading.

  He just didn’t have it in him to watch her up close and personal as she auditioned another potential mate. And she was just as crazy as this harebrained idea if she thought he could, night after night, stand by and watch her do it without it ripping him to his core. Like tonight. How was it he was supposed to watch her have another dinner out at a restaurant with some guy, when though they’d shared every sexual intimacy imaginable, he’d yet to even hold her hand in public? Aidan groaned. And what? Was he twelve, dreaming of holding a woman’s hand? Shit, he really was gone over the bend. Tonight’s date was supposed to be some replacement hotshot lawyer they’d found when the predetermined hedge fund manager fell through. On paper, the guy seemed right up her alley. But enough was enough. There was only so much a man could take before he blew. And as Carter had pointed out on the day of the beach shoot, his emotions were already becoming transparent, so the farther away he was from her and the set right now, the better.

  Carter took a seat across from him and crossed his legs. “What’s got you in such a snit? You bit the heads off every executive manager in that last meeting. Damn, man, even your father isn’t that tough.”

  Aidan felt the tension in his shoulders tighten. “That’s because my father doesn’t mind wasting time sitting and listening to endless bullshit. I don’t have to rehash things that don’t matter, or go over and over a point ad nauseam. It’s a waste. I’m not here to build up egos. And I’m sorry if that means you too.”

  Aidan picked up a file and started to flip through it, hoping Carter would once again pick up on the dismissive vibe. The file was the proposal for a promising new feature, and it was the first thing that had come across Aidan’s desk that had sparked his interest. At least he could absorb himself in one show that looked worth the money it would take to produce. They were looking into sending a news team deep into Sudan to research women’s rights after a recent rash of underreported kidnappings. He wanted like hell to get back out in the field, and if he couldn’t do it himself, at least he could manage a team from here and hopefully make a difference, bringing awareness where it was sorely needed.

  “You know, tonight is the final date before she makes her decision, right?” Carter said by way of pulling Aidan’s focus back his way.

  Aidan looked up at him slowly, trying hard to keep his gaze impassive. “And you’re telling me this because?”

  Carter shook his head. “Shit, I was af
raid this was going to happen. I just didn’t expect it to be this bad or this real.”

  Aidan let out a snort, then leveled Carter with a hard look. “Stop trying to talk about something you don’t know about. Real? What are you, tripping? You must be falling for your own sappy TV hype. I don’t have time for real. We have a job to do, and time is precious. See, that right there was your problem in the meeting. You and all your executive cronies spending too much time flapping your gums and living in the clouds.” He threw the file at Carter’s chest. “See, this is what’s real. Not your bullshit date piece that serves nobody. This is real news and real life. Not what you’re doing with your puff pieces and definitely not in the boardroom wasting time in useless pissing-contest meetings.”

  “What?” Carter said. “Are our pissing contests disturbing your on-the-road, Superman-wannabe lifestyle, or is the problem that we’re keeping you from your precious getting-a-piece-of-pearl-draped ass time?”

  Aidan jumped up, and before he knew it, Carter’s collar was balled in his hands and his face was pulled in close to his. “Don’t you ever let me hear you talk about her ass or any other part of her anatomy ever again. I thought we got that shit straight on the beach.”

  Their eyes were locked. It was a complete flashback to an old-school, ten-year-old back-in-the-college-days standoff. Aidan felt for sure this time he would take Carter out. And then his friend’s lips quirked up at the corners, and he shook his head. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

  Aidan felt his eyes narrow as he fought to get control of his erratic breathing. He shook his head and let Carter go. The man only slightly swayed as he smoothly brushed at his lapels, straightening his suit. “What the fuck are you talking about, man?”

  Carter shrugged. “Like I said, it’s what I thought. You’re in way over your head. No matter what you say.”

  Aidan let out a growl and slumped back down in his chair. “It doesn’t matter. None of this matters. We’re not compatible. She wants this sham marriage thing. She doesn’t want to be one of those unmarried statistic women that we keep doing all those sensation stories about.” He paused and looked at Carter, letting that sit for a moment. “And the fact is, I don’t. I know that life isn’t for me. I’m made for the road. Not for settling down with a socialite ice princess like her. She’d never be the type to get up and go with me. Besides, why would I even expect her to? You see what the life I want is like. It’s dangerous. And not one in which you can make attachments. The smartest and the best way for me and for both of us is to go our separate ways.”

  Carter gave him a look that turned him inside out and back. “So you say. But you’re wrong. Plenty of top reporters make it work. Both male and female.”

  “Well, they are not me,” Aidan said by way of feeble answer.

  Carter gave him a confused look and shook his head. “Yeah, but she still hasn’t chosen a groom. Looking at the videos, it doesn’t seem as if there are sparks between her and any of the guys.”

  All their amazing nights of passion suddenly flooded Aidan’s mind, and he had to fight to keep his body from responding. “Well, that may be partially my fault.” Aidan studied his desk, really taking in the confined edges of the solid expanse of wood. “This is why it’s probably best that I step aside. Let Lou finish the job. She’s more than capable.”

  “Yeah, especially tonight,” Carter said low under his breath.

  Something in Carter’s tone forced Aidan’s head to shoot up. “What and why?”

  Carter looked down, inspecting his loafers.

  “Bain, I wouldn’t test me if I were you. What is so special about tonight that you don’t think I should be there?” Aidan asked, his voice full of steel.

  Carter sat up straight and looked him in the eye. Aidan knew him well enough to know that his firm gaze was all false bravado. “Well, I may have gotten a call from her ex, and we may have landed a great idea for a final date.”

  Aidan felt a low growl come from deep in his throat. “You have got to be fucking kidding me.” He felt his blood run cold as he looked at his old friend and imagined Eva seeing Kevin once again under the watchful eyes of the television cameras. He got up and grabbed his cell and his keys, going for the door, but first he turned to Carter. “If I didn’t think of you as a brother, I swear I’d beat the shit out of you.”

  Chapter 21

  She was going to kill him. Which him, at this point Eva wasn’t sure. Maybe one, maybe the other, could be both. Either way someone was in serious freaking trouble.

  Eva could not believe that once again she was being taken for a fool, and on camera no less. She felt her throat close up, and it was as if a fire had ignited deep in the pit of her belly. At first, just like before, once again Eva thought, maybe, just maybe, it was all a joke. But of course not. It wasn’t a joke the last time, and it wasn’t one this time. She’d come to learn the hard way that Kevin didn’t do jokes, and it would seem now that neither did Aidan.

  That was, unless the joke was on her. Now there was the joke. Sleeping with her. Turning her inside out and making her feel . . . Eva sucked in a short breath and stopped the thought right there, putting a pause on the pain.

  No way. She wasn’t going there.

  There was no need to think about whatever it was Aidan had made her feel, because right now he wasn’t here. So feelings for him were not to be dealt with. She might as well put a halt to that. Let the dull, hard lump of misery currently in her belly hang out on its own. Push it aside or bury it, or hell . . . she took a long look at Kevin standing before her, a tall, dark picture of her own manufactured perfection.

  He really cut a good figure with his smooth-burnished mahogany skin, close-cropped hair, not a wrinkle out of place on his probably custom-made suit. She let her eyes rake over him slowly from top to bottom and back up again as she picked up the glass of white wine to her right and quickly drained it. The waiter should really have left the bottle.

  “Hey, beauty, I think you want to slow down there. You know how quickly alcohol goes to your head,” Kevin said by way of a greeting in the trendy karaoke bar the network had picked for their date night. Though she had had no clue about Kevin, she wasn’t surprised by the bar, since Lou had spent a good portion of the evening trying to convince her that belting out a tune would really be the way to America’s hearts. The idea filled her with dread, and she had no intention of going through with singing, so she and Lou settled on her rocking back and forth with a hostess, and that was it.

  By way of answer to Kevin, Eva frowned, then signaled for the waiter by holding up her glass and giving it a tap, indicating that she was ready for another. She then turned back Kevin’s way and gave him an acidic smile, knowing full well that the cameras, though not up close and right in her face, were trained on her every word. Her mic pack, which she’d become used to, suddenly dug into her back, and the boom mic hung overhead like an ominous big brother waiting to pounce. “You care to tell me why I should give a crap about what you have to say about anything?”

  Kevin put up his hand in surrender and gave her a soft smile, the same smile she’d come to know and hate so well. “You’re right, of course. I have no right to give you advice of any kind. I was just looking out for you. Caring for you is something I can’t help doing. It comes naturally to me.”

  The snort came out before Eva could stop it, and she looked up at the boom mic with a roll of her eyes. Yeah, that would come off great for sound engineering. She then looked back at Kevin with a raised brow. “Really? Oh, please. I don’t have time for bull, Kevin. Now why are you really here?”

  Kevin took the seat opposite her, then reached forward, taking her hand. The feeling was odd after so long, and her instinct was to pull back because it was so cold and foreign, after so many nights spent linked, warm body to warm body, in Aidan’s arms.

  “I’m here to plead my case and win you back. I’m here to apologize and tell you how wrong I was. I’m here so we can still have our dream wedding li
ke you always wanted.”

  With that, Eva did pull her hand away from his and wrapped it safely around the stem of her glass. Part of her wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all, while another part of her itched to throw the drink in his face. She looked around, half expecting to see Aidan there, scowling at this whole exchange as he had with all of her dates.

  But he wasn’t there. There was only Lou, Stan, and the rest of the crew, watching her expectantly, their eyes wide in hungry anticipation for one of twho things—either a tearful, heartfelt reunion to end this little series and make America happy or another crazy meltdown on her part, and still America would be happy. Either way, America won, and she’d be the loser.

  She stared Kevin straight in the eye. “So you’re not here for much, huh?” She laughed at her own joke before sobering. “But what made you come back now? The last I heard, you were off with a hostess. Engaged, no less. I thought that was your new deal.”

  Kevin shook his head. “That was just some foolishness.”

  Eva raised a brow. “Smooth talker, aren’t you?”

  Kevin shook his head. “Eva, I was a total idiot, and I take full responsibility. I think I was overwhelmed with the show and work, and things seemed to be spinning out of control. But when I got a call from the execs of the show and we talked things through, I knew this was the right thing to do.”

  Eva felt her eyes shoot up before they narrowed. “You got a call. So this wasn’t your idea?”

  She knew the moment Kevin realized his mistake, saw the hint of fear and hesitation in his eyes. “Baby, of course it was. I knew when I heard from Walker’s assistant that this would be the best way to get to you. Now you know that if I had called, you wouldn’t take my calls, and if I had showed up at your apartment, you’d probably have me on the ‘do not let up’ list.”