by Nana Malone
Larissa nodded. “You should have seen us all stealthy. Sneaking down my fire escape then into the garage. I wanted to don my best cat burglar outfit, but Mia insisted on wearing normal clothes, no matter how hot I told her she looks in leather. Then, in case they were on the look out for us, we split up. I walked; Mia took a cab.”
Her sister shook her head. “I swear if you needed an extraction, you should have called me. It’s what I do.”
It’s true, Delilah was a bad ass fixer, and she made even the most messed up celebrities look like they were Oscar winners. Mia held up her hands. “I’m going to save that for when I really need it. For now, I can play Mission Impossible.”
Delilah finished off her margarita. “Now, let’s get on with it. We all saw the kiss. Was it as scorching hot as it looked?”
A flush crept up Mia’s neck. “Was it that obvious?”
Her sister fanned herself. “Uh, I don’t know how to break it to you, but there was a point I thought they’d yank it off air. But they didn’t, thank God. I mean, that was seriously hot. I worried that you’d melt the TV. Granted, it made for the weird and awkward as we all realized Mom and Dad saw it.”
Just what Mia needed. A reminder that her parents had seen her with Ryan’s tongue in her mouth and his body… Shoot her now.
“And as hot as that shit with Ryan was, Dorian was on the other end of the scale.” Larissa covered her eyes. “Girl, that was so hard to watch. I could almost feel that lizard kiss.” She shuddered.
“Imagine how I felt. So gross and too much spit.” Mia gagged a little just thinking about it.
“Just focus on the Ryan kiss. I promise that’s all anyone else will be thinking about. I mean, Dorian who?”
Delilah and Larissa exchanged a glance. And it was her friend that prompted her. “So, Dude, are you gonna tell us what’s going on, or what?”
“I don’t know.” Mia dropped her head into her hands. “I mean, I know I wanted Ryan off the show, but I’m weak. Weak, I tell you. God damn, he can kiss.”
Larissa hooted and snapped her fingers in solidarity. “Sure looked like it too.”
Her sister, though, was too astute for Mia’s liking. She asked, “Why do I have a feeling that this is about more than the too-hot-for-TV kiss?”
She busied herself with another long gulp as she tried to think of what to say. What the hell? If these two couldn’t help her, then no one could. “Okay look, this goes into the vault, you two. You cannot say a word to anyone, otherwise I’m toast.”
Delilah arched a delicate brow, and Larissa just resorted to smacking her. Yeah, okay, they would never say anything. She had to quit stalling. “When I got home from the second date, Ryan was waiting for me.” She let that little tidbit sink in.
Delilah had no reaction. She was probably working on how this would play out and what spin would be needed. Larissa, on the other hand, sat there with her mouth agape.
Ever calm, her sister asked, “Then what happened?”
“Well, he came over to warn me about Jamie. Told me she was trying to manipulate me and the show and the outcome. And then, well, because we can’t seem to keep our hands to ourselves, he kissed me again.” Just thinking about the kiss made her shiver. His hands, his lips, the way he’d rocked their bodies together.
“And…” Larissa prompted.
“And nothing. I mean, well almost something, but I stopped him.”
“What the hell for? This is the first time since David you’ve actually let your guard down.” Her best friend didn’t look pleased.
“Riss, it’s not that easy. If anyone found out, sure, he’d get booted, but I’d lose my job and the chance to have my own show.”
Delilah put a hand on hers. “Okay, one problem at a time. How do you feel about him?”
That was the 64 thousand dollar question. “I’m not sure I can trust him. On my date with Dorian, I felt like maybe he’d been coached. I mean it was a classic “Single Guy” date. But I like how I feel when I’m with Ryan. Antsy and my skin buzzes. It’s addictive. It’s sort of a problem because, like an addict, I’m starting to crave it.”
Delilah nodded. If anyone would understand, it would be her sister. “I know what you’re going through. The real question is how do you feel when he touches you?”
“Like I’m the only woman on the planet.”
“Why don’t you trust him? Is it because of him or is it because of David?”
Sometimes, like right now, she really didn’t like her sister. “This has nothing to do with David. I’m over it.” Liar.
Delilah let her slide on that one. “So, exactly, what is he doing on the show?”
Mia chewed her bottom lip. “He’s doing a Single Guy series on his experience.”
It was Delilah’s turn to pick her chin up off the floor. Larissa nodded. “He’s her arch nemesis, can you believe it?”
“Single Guy? You’ve railed on this guy for a year. You’re telling me Ryan’s the one?”
“Yeah, you can say that.”
The drinks flowed freely as she brought her sister up to speed on Ryan and filled both of them in on her meeting with Jamie.
Larissa whistled low. “So what are you going to do?”
“I have no idea. I was hoping my fabulous fixer sister had some ideas.”
Delilah crunched on a chip covered with salsa. “For now, I think you need to talk to Ryan. Maybe he knows something you don’t. And you need to have Dad look over that contract of yours just to cover your bases. Maybe you’re right and Jamie is just a producer and mentor. But if Ryan is right, you’ll want to know your options.”
Larissa chimed in. “And I can help you with the guys. Since you’re not being allowed behind the scenes, I’ll be your eyes and ears.”
“Riss, I don’t want your job in jeopardy.”
Larissa rolled her eyes and leveled Delilah a gaze. “Please tell your sister that I’m ride or die for life. But I’d still like to know where the hell we’re going and why I have to die when we get there.”
Mia laughed so hard some margarita went down the wrong pipe. When she regained her composure, her light mood faded. “And what do I do about the hot and bothered feelings for Ryan?”
“That, my dear sister, is where I tell you to follow your heart.” She shrugged “Or libido. In the early stages, it’s always hard to tell which is in charge.” Delilah winked. “Case in point, me and Nate.”
Oh yes, Nate. There had been a great deal of dramatics when Delilah’s new client turned out to be the first foster kid their parents had taken in. All made worse by the fact that Delilah had had a thing for him since they were kids, and he’d walked out on all of them, never looking back.
“As I seem to recall, Dee, you weren’t so keen on him at the time.”
Delilah waved her hand dismissively. “Why you bringing up old shit, Mi? Just tell me how you feel.”
Mia giggled then dropped her head. Feel? Every time he touched her it was like someone lit her up with fireworks just under her skin. And frankly, her body didn’t give a shit if she didn’t trust him. It wanted more of what he had to give, lack of trust or not. “Like I’m going to explode if he doesn’t touch me.”
Larissa leaned forward in her seat. “Please see earlier comment about lucky bitch.”
Mia grinned. “But you guys have to remember that it’s not exactly the typical dating stint.”
Her sister rolled her eyes. “And you seem to forget that everything has a solution. You just haven’t found yours yet.”
Chapter Eighteen
“Dude, I think your old man’s here to see you.”
Ryan looked up from his laptop and scowled at his friend, Andy Rochester, from the Sports section. “How dumb do you think I am? You think I’ve forgotten those Swedish girls you surprised me with me with for my birthday? I’m not falling for this one, man.”
Andy rolled his eyes. “You get a guy strippers one time, and he never lets you forget it.”
Ryan
sputtered. “They were guys!”
His friend grinned unabashedly. “Okay, yeah, that was pretty funny, but no lie, I think your old man’s here. He was kicking up a fuss in the lobby until someone clued security in as to who he was. Last I saw him, he was headed toward Chris’s office.”
The old man was not here. He wouldn’t come here. Would he? “What did he look like?”
Andy shrugged. “Well, if I’m honest, just like you and your brother, Reece, just gray and not as fucking Adonis and shit with his gym routine, but yeah, he looks just like you, man.”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. What did he want?
He didn’t have to wait long to figure it out, because even behind Andy’s massive form, he could see Chris’s mass of curls and the taller man behind her. Both stalking to his tiny office. “Yeah, I see them coming my way.”
Andy turned to look over his shoulder and cursed low. “You need me to stick around?”
Yes. But he wasn’t a coward. He could deal with the old man. What he didn’t like was the look of fury on Chris’s face behind her cool placid exterior. He recognized the look. He’d seen it right before she’d proverbially separated one reporter from his balls.
“Nah, I got this. Thanks though.”
Andy beat a hasty retreat, and Ryan opted to stand. Whatever his father was up to, he didn’t want to be in the position of weakness. Well, would you look at that? He’d learned a thing or two from the old man after all.
As soon as Chris crossed the threshold, Ryan nodded at his father. “Dad, to what do I owe the…visit.” Like hell he’d say pleasure.
Chris closed the door behind them. “Ryan, it seems your father here wants me to pull you from Love Reality because I’m tarnishing your family’s good name. He’s suggested that I relieve you of your post or he will relieve me of mine.”
Ryan grinned. Because, while Chris looked placid, his father looked triumphantly annoyed, as if he couldn’t believe he’d even had to engage in this sort of nonsense. Cleaning up his son’s messes again.
“And what did you tell him, Chris?”
She grinned back. “That he can respectfully go and self-fornicate. I do what I like with my people when I see fit.” She leveled a gaze at him. More was communicated in that one look than in a half dozen sentences.
She didn’t want him spilling about the reasons he was on the show. That worked fine for him.
Ryan crossed his arms. “So I take it you object to me getting a date, Dad?”
Christine’s lips twitched. She was having fun at his expense.
His father didn’t see the humor. “You are dragging the family name down by being on that tawdry show. You are hurting your brother’s business interests not to mention my good name.”
He raised a brow. “Don’t you mean our good name? And I have to disagree. Reece knew I was going on the show, and he supports me.”
His father blustered, going so red Ryan worried the old man would have a heart attack.
“You think this is a joke? Your brother would never go against anything I say. He wouldn’t support this juvenile attempt to get my attention.”
“That’s just it, Dad, I’m not trying to get your attention. I’m trying to live my life.”
For as long as Ryan could remember the old man had ridden him hard. Why can’t you be as good as your brother? Why can’t you follow in Reece’s steps? Why can’t you just do as you’re told? Why can’t you just listen to me? Why are you a fuck up? The funny thing was it was Reece who was usually in the papers for doing something stupid. For the most part, Ryan kept out of it. The only thing Ryan ever did was defy the old man. Not at every turn, but enough to incur his father’s hatred.
“You say you don’t want my attention, but now you have it. I’m having you yanked off the show. I have enough favors to call in that I can make it happen.”
Chris slid him a glance. If the old man pulled him, there went their story. But maybe there was a story in that too, one that meant he didn’t have to get molested by his producer to stay on. “Do what you have to do, Dad. But I’m going to keep living my life.”
His father stepped into his space, and the two of them squared off. Ryan remained impassive. This too wasn’t new. His father liked to see if getting in his face would rile him. But Ryan had learned long ago that the best way to get to his father was simply to act as if he didn’t give a shit. So he stared his father down but remained calm. In contrast, his father’s breath came out in harsh, ragged puffs. If any of the older Matthews; society friends could see him now, they wouldn’t believe it. He liked to pretend he was the picture of refinement. But when it came to Ryan, his temper always got the best of him.
Lucky for Ryan, he wasn’t a scared kid anymore. And he also didn’t give a shit about the money.
“Do you ever get tired of spinning the same old tune, Dad? We’ve done this before. And it still doesn’t faze me.”
“We’ll see about that.”
He and Chris watched as his father stormed out of his office then down the hall. Chris’s whispered “wow” was enough to bring him out of his reverie.
“Your old man is a piece of work.”
His chuckle held no mirth. “Tell me something I don’t know.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m not canning you because some douche bag tells me to. You’re one of my stars. He’ll have to pry you out of my cold dead hands.” She shrugged. “Besides, you’re going to give me a hell of a story on that show and Lonely Girl. I can feel it.”
A massive boulder of guilt settled on his shoulders. His father was willing to do anything in the world to get what he wanted. In this case, it was bring him to heel. How were they even related? While Ryan wanted to be a features writer, he wasn’t going to sacrifice Mia to do it. There was always another way. He just had to find it.
His phone rang in that moment, and Chris nodded a goodbye.
“What?” Ryan answered.
“Whoa, easy, bro. I come in peace.”
Reece. “What do you want?”
“What put your panties in a twist? I’m calling to do you a favor. The old man rolled in today on a tear about you and the show. You might want to take cover.”
“Too late. He’s already been here.”
“Fuck, sorry. What did he say?”
Ryan rolled his shoulders before easing himself back in his chair. “Oh, you know, the usual. Do what I tell you, or else. If you keep doing the show, I’ll ruin you. And of course the requisite, I’m going to get you fired blah blah blah.”
“I swear, he never learns.”
“Why can’t you be like your brother, and it felt like being at home all over again.” There was a beat of silence, and Ryan regretted what he’d said. It wasn’t Reece’s fault he was the golden son.
“Shit, sorry, Bro. You know me, I don’t fight. But then I don’t need to. I like what I’m doing.”
“Not your fault. You’re not the old man. I’ll deal.”
“Okay, I’m not taking his side here, but maybe he does have a point. You’re sure about this show?”
“What the hell? You’re the one who told me to go on.”
“Yeah, I know, but maybe not the best idea.”
“There’s a story here, and I’m chasing it. I need to stay on at least for the time being.”
“And what about the girl, Mia? What if you get voted off?”
Mia. Just hearing her name made his dick twitch. “I’ll do what I need to do to stay on the show. I’m not getting voted off anytime soon.”
His brother chuckled. “Ahh, so the chemistry I saw is real.”
“Not having this conversation with you.”
“The fuck you’re not. I mean she is smoking hot. I wish she didn’t wear those contacts, but not a bad piece of ass if I do say so.”
His fists curled into a fist. “She’s not a piece of ass, Reece.”
“Whoa, okay. I’m just saying she’s hot.”
“Yeah, she is, and those aren’t contacts.”
His brother whistled. “Dang, you hit the jackpot there. But what’s she going to do when she finds out you’re not just doing the column but also working on a feature about the show?”
Therein lay the problem. There was no way around it; she was going to get hurt.
Chapter Nineteen
First rule of date club was no one talked about date club. Okay, maybe she had that reference wrong, but Mia certainly felt like she was part of some kind of club that no one knew about…or would want to be a part of. Sure, on paper it looked like fun, but she was exhausted. Some of the guys were actually great, but Dorian made the whole process a chore. There had been two more votes, and he was still there. Thankfully, he’d lost his co-top spot. But that meant Ryan had it solo. The public loved him.
If this were the real world, Mia would never date someone like Dorian. For starters, he had that domineering alpha attitude she loathed. Next, he made it clear he saw Ryan as his direct competition and therefore wanted to one-up him on everything but fell hopelessly short. He’d won a solo date earlier in the week, and he’d opted to take her on a friend’s yacht. Only problem was, she was terrified of the water, so when he’d suggested they go on the jet skis, she’d declined.
And of course, being the macho ass wipe that he was, he thought teasing her was going to do the trick. Mia had been sure the public would have voted him off by now. Every date he was part of became an exercise in torture.
Today though, she’d had enough. She had to talk to Jamie to do something about him. If she had to endure one more show with him, she was going to lose it.
The moment the cameras stopped rolling, Dorian took off his mic and earpiece and started chatting up one of the busty servers from the yacht. The asshole couldn’t be bothered to pretend he actually wanted to date her.
Mia stripped off her life vest and shed her mic pack, laying it down with his. She heard a faint static sound, picked up the tiny earpiece, and held it to her ear. Jamie’s voice rang through loud and clear. “That was perfect, Dorian. Just the kind of tension I’ve been looking for. Makes for great television. Keep that up, and you could see the finale.”