by Pamela Bauer
One noticeable difference, however, was the lack of stage moms. So far, not one parent had campaigned shamelessly or attempted to bribe Kika for the chance at stardom.
During lunch break, Kika compared notes with her assistant, Wendy. They had arranged to have food brought to the school rather than sit in Marge’s Diner. Eating egg salad sandwiches at a folding table in a quiet room was better than feeling like guppies in a fish bowl, which was how Kika felt in the small town.
“We’re never going to get through the list if we don’t pick up the pace,” Wendy commented as she handed Kika a cup of coffee.
Kika removed the plastic lid and took a sip. “You think I’m spending too much time with each one?”
“At the rate we’re going, we’ll probably run out of tape.”
“I thought I told you to expect two hundred.” Kika cast an accusing eye at her assistant.
“You did, but I thought we could weed out the ones we know aren’t going to work,” Wendy explained.
Kika regarded her suspiciously. “What are you suggesting?”
“I could cue you for the ones who don’t have what it takes. Then you could cue Dan and he could just pretend to be taping.” Dan was the technician behind the camera, a seasoned pro Kika had worked with often. “Remember when we did that for the diaper commercial?”
“Yes, but that was in the city,” Kika reminded her.
“So?” Wendy gave her a blank look.
“So, many of these parents have been unemployed for the past six months because of a fire to the big industry in town.”
“What does that have to do with us not taping their kids?” Wendy leaned forward, her shirt coming dangerously close to her egg salad. “If you know they’re not going to work out anyway, what’s the point?”
Before coming to Tyler, Kika would have agreed with her assistant. There had been times when she hadn’t wanted to tell parents to their faces that their child didn’t have what it took to be a star. Pretending to be taping seemed the least painful way to reject them. Now, however, it seemed misleading.
“I really don’t like the idea,” Kika protested.
“We’re way over budget on this project already,” Wendy reminded her.
Kika knew what she said was true. And if they could eliminate some of the kids right at the start, she wouldn’t have to sit and watch endless feet of video of children who were totally inappropriate for the job.
“Dan, what do you think?” Wendy drew the cameraman into the debate.
“I’m with Wendy on this one,” he told Kika. “If we’re going to finish up here today, we’re going to have to cut to the chase.”
Kika chewed on her lower lip. As much as she hated to admit it, she knew it was true. Against her better judgment, she worked out a system of hand signals. A closed fist meant forget the tape. An open palm meant go for it.
Since they were running an hour behind schedule, Kika hurried through lunch. Before opening the doors to the next batch of hopefuls, she washed down two aspirins with a soda. Because she was staying at the lodge out of town, she had been able to avoid running into Nick. But as Melody’s name moved closer to the top of the audition list, Kika’s stomach began to churn. Would the little redhead show up for her appointment?
To Kika’s surprise, she did. Only it wasn’t Nick who brought her, but Glenna McRoberts. In her arms Melody clutched the white bear with the purple ribbon around its neck.
“How’s it going?” the day-care teacher asked Kika while Melody had her picture taken.
“It’s been a long day,” Kika confessed, glancing at her watch. “I can’t believe it’s after six.”
“Nick had to work late so I offered to bring Melody to the audition,” she told Kika.
“Thank you.” Kika smiled warmly. Although there was no need for the hand signals, Wendy flashed Kika a wide-open palm, which Kika in turn flashed to Dan.
Just as expected, Melody didn’t say a word during the audition. She sat in the small wooden rocker, the white bear scrunched in beside her, and smiled in such an adorable fashion that Kika had to resist the urge to pull her onto her lap and hug her.
When it was over, Melody didn’t want to leave. She clung to Kika’s long skirt, until finally Glenna had to pry her little fingers loose.
From then on, Kika was distracted. They continued taping—or not taping—until eight o’clock. At that point she was forced to tell those still waiting that she was sorry, but they were running behind schedule. Auditions would be completed in the morning.
For those parents who worked and couldn’t bring their children in during the day, Kika offered to be there in the evening, as well. It would mean one more day in Tyler, but she figured it would be worth it. Besides, she wanted to talk to Nick before she went back to Minneapolis.
She debated whether she should go see him or simply pick up the phone. She chose to speak to him in person.
When taping was completed the following evening, she drove over to the Miller house. It was dark except for one light glowing in a second-story window. Kika didn’t climb out of her car immediately, but sat contemplating what she would say to him.
Finally, she walked up to the front door and pressed the doorbell, her heart pounding in her chest. She wanted to see Nick, yet didn’t want to see him. After what seemed like a very long time, a light came on in the living room and then the front door swung open.
Nick stood there in a pair of cutoffs and a T-shirt. He didn’t bother to hide his surprise.
“I’m sorry to drop over so late, but I wanted to thank you for letting Melody come to the audition,” Kika said a bit nervously.
He pushed open the screen door and gestured for her to step inside. “Cece’s the one you should be thanking. It was her idea.”
“Melody did very well. She wasn’t the least bit shy,” Kika said, a smile spreading across her face at the memory.
“She likes being with you.”
The disappointment in his voice chased her smile away. Kika tried not to be offended, but his attitude only added to her feelings of inadequacy concerning the toddler. Did he dislike her that much or did he just think she would be a bad influence on a child?
“Well, you don’t need to worry about it. If she’s anything like her father, she’ll forget about me in a few days,” she said flippantly.
His eyes darkened. “I haven’t forgotten about you, Kika.”
The desire on his face told her he wasn’t lying. She wanted to say something, anything, but her mouth had gone dry.
She licked her lips, not thinking of the provocative message it sent. “I—I’d better go. It’s late and—”
She didn’t get to finish. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her with a hunger that echoed what she had seen on his face. Her lips parted under his, inviting intimacy.
“I’m not a fickle man, Kika,” he said when he finally lifted his mouth from hers. “I’ve wanted you since the moment I saw you at the airport, and that hasn’t changed.” His eyes held hers. “I’m not sure it ever will.”
“And is that bad?” she asked with a wanton smile, her hands moving up inside his T-shirt. Before he could answer, she kissed him, a slow, drugging kiss that unleashed a passion in both of them.
His fingers found the buttons on her shirt, then the front clasp of her bra. Kika sighed with delight as a cool hand cupped her warm flesh.
“I like it when you touch me, Nick,” she said in a throaty whisper. “Do you like it when I touch you?” Her hands traveled the length of his back until they reached the waistband of his shorts. There they parted. One slipped a finger through a belt loop, the other slid around to the front and palmed his fly.
Nick shuddered and closed his eyes.
He was so still Kika thought she had done something wrong. “Do you want me to go?”
He opened his eyes then, and what Kika saw made her tremble.
“No, I don’t want you to go,” he said, his breath hot against her face. “I want you
to stay so I can show you that I know how to have fun.”
“And how do you plan to do that?” she asked with a provocative push of her hips against his.
For an answer he lifted her in his arms. He carried her to a room Kika had discovered when she’d been searching for the laundry. It was a bedroom, but except for a small nightstand and a bed with a green-and-blue-plaid comforter, there was no other furniture.
By the light of a small ginger-jar lamp, he slowly undressed her. After dropping each article of clothing, he planted a kiss—on her mouth, on her neck, on her breast, on her thigh.
While his lips made every tender spot on her body tingle with anticipation, Kika thought she would die with longing. He must have been thinking along the same lines. Before she knew it, his naked body was beside hers on the bed, pulling her to him with an intensity of emotion that was both exciting and frightening.
She forgot all the reasons she wasn’t supposed to get involved with him. He wasn’t the father of three children. He wasn’t a mechanical engineer who lived in Wisconsin. He was simply the man she wanted to feel inside her. The man she needed to make love with. The man who could take away the terrible ache that made nothing seem important except being loved by him.
Kika had often heard from friends that it was possible to want nothing from a man but sex. Until she met Nick, she hadn’t believed it. Now she wasn’t so sure. With an abandonment totally unfamiliar to her, she responded to his touch, matching kiss for kiss, lifting her hips to coincide with the rhythm of his body.
He filled her senses completely, giving her a pleasure she had never known before. Every helpless sound he emitted had her pulling him closer to her until she felt as if they were one. Nothing could stop their passion. As she savored every moment of ecstasy, her only wish was that it would never end.
With an incredible joy it did end. They lay side by side, basking in the afterglow of their passion, and Kika realized that never before had she felt so alive, so cherished or so satiated.
She looked at the man responsible for her euphoria and said, “I can’t believe I ever accused you of not knowing how to have fun.”
Nick propped himself up on one elbow and stared down into her eyes. “That wasn’t fun, Kika.”
The glow began to fade. When she would have turned her head away from him, he placed a hand along her jaw.
“That was uncontrollable desire,” he told her, his eyes brimming with emotion. He placed butterfly kisses on her forehead, her nose and her mouth. Then, with slow deliberation, he began to caress her swollen breasts.
“Fun is what comes next,” he said with a devilish grin.
* * *
KIKA AWOKE THE following morning to find herself alone in the double bed. The only clothes on the floor were hers. Hearing sounds in other parts of the house, she quickly scrambled out of bed and dressed.
As she crossed the hallway to the bathroom, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee teased her nostrils. She could hear dishes clanging and children’s voices.
What time had Nick left her bed? She warmed at the memory of the night they had spent together. It had been so wonderful falling asleep in his arms. She only wished that she could have found him beside her when she awakened.
When she had finished washing up, she did her best to comb her hair and fix her face. Using her finger, she applied toothpaste to her teeth and scrubbed as best she could. As she stared in the mirror she expected to look different than she had yesterday. Last night had changed her.
When she opened the bathroom door, Melody was standing outside, a pink-and-white sunsuit covering her satiny smooth skin. On her feet were a pair of white sandals. Seeing Kika, she grinned.
“Hi, Melody.” Kika returned the smile. The toddler followed her into the kitchen.
There Kika found Nick, dressed in a white shirt and a dark patterned tie, dress slacks and black leather shoes. He was setting a box of cereal and two bowls on the table. On the stove was a frying pan with a half-cooked piece of French toast in it.
When he saw Kika, his eyes darkened. She wanted him to give her a kiss and a smile. He didn’t. He simply said, “There’s fresh coffee over there.” He used the pancake turner to gesture toward the coffee maker on the countertop.
Uncomfortably aware of the fact that she was wearing yesterday’s blouse with a spaghetti stain on the sleeve, Kika muttered, “Thanks,” and went to pour herself a cup. She wished he would say something about last night.
Just then Patrick and Zachary breezed into the kitchen.
“Hi, Kika! Dad says you slept over last night but we can’t tell Grandma,” Patrick said.
Kika shot Nick an inquisitive glance.
He quickly looked away, as if embarrassed. Kika wondered if he was already regretting what had happened between them.
“Boys, just sit down and eat your cereal or you’re going to make us all late.” Nick flipped the French toast, then put Melody in her high chair.
“How come you slept overnight?” Patrick asked, which prompted his brother to elbow him.
“You’re not supposed to ask questions, remember?” Zachary reprimanded him.
“No, it’s all right,” Kika answered, sitting down at the table next to the boys. She ignored the warning she saw in Nick’s eyes. “You see, I came to see your dad last night because I wanted to talk to him about Melody’s interview. I had worked a really long day and I was too tired to drive all the way back to the lodge, so your dad let me use the guest bedroom,” she explained.
She heard Nick breathe a sigh of relief.
“Oh,” Patrick replied. “Can you sleep over again tonight? Then you can play games with us. Tonight is game night.”
“I’m afraid I have to go back to Minneapolis this afternoon.”
“You’re leaving today?” Nick looked surprised.
She nodded. “My work here is finished. I have to go back and show the tapes to Mr. Fancy.” She glanced at the clock and realized that Wendy was probably wondering where she was. “I didn’t realize it was so late. Could I use your phone?”
Nick nodded. “Be my guest.”
She dialed the lodge and asked for Wendy’s room, but there was no answer. “I hope she’s not worried about me,” Kika commented as she put the phone back on the hook. “I should have called and told her I wouldn’t be back last night.”
Again Nick shot her an uneasy look.
“I’d better go,” she said uneasily.
“Aren’t you going to eat any breakfast?” Patrick asked as she headed toward the back door.
“I can’t right now.” How could she stay when Nick was treating her as if she were an embarrassment? All she could think about was getting away. “You boys will have to eat my share,” she said, then hurried off.
Nick made no attempt to stop her. There was a sound of protest, however, as she disappeared out the door.
“No!”
It came from Melody’s lips. Her father and brothers stopped and stared at her.
“Did she say no?” Nick asked his sons.
“I think she did, Dad,” Zachary answered.
“Melody, do you want Kika to go home?” Nick asked.
“No.” It was only one word, and then her lips were shut again.
“Hey, Mel, do you want some peas?” Zachary asked.
“No.”
“What about spinach?” Patrick added.
“No.”
Nick flipped a piece of French toast onto her plate. “How about some French toast?”
She nodded and the boys sighed.
* * *
“HERE’S THE LIST.” Kika handed her assistant a sheet of paper.
“You’re calling back five for Fancy’s Baby?” Wendy looked at her skeptically. “I thought you only wanted the Miller kid.”
“I do, but there’s no guarantee we’re going to get her. Any one of those five would work.”
“I can’t believe you’re saying that.” Wendy stared at her boss in disbelief. “What hap
pened to ‘If I don’t get the perfect baby my career is over’?”
“It’s just another job, Wendy. And I really do believe any of those five would work.”
“What does Fancy think?”
“I’m not showing him the tapes until we’ve done the callbacks.” Kika shuffled some papers on her desk and changed the subject, not wanting to admit that she was afraid Melody wouldn’t be the baby Fancy would choose. “Call all the parents except Melody’s. I’ll take care of her.”
“I don’t suppose that would have anything to do with the fact that she has a hunk for a father?” Wendy teased.
Kika hadn’t brought her sense of humor to work. “Wendy, my private life is my own business,” she snapped, then turned her attention to her PC.
“Sorry,” Wendy retorted in an offended tone.
Kika rubbed her temples. “No, I’m the one who’s sorry. This assignment has stressed me to the max. I feel like I don’t know what I’m doing, that my judgment is totally off center.”
“It’s been a busy summer. Starsky called to say he needs those extras for that hockey movie by next Monday.”
Kika wrinkled her face. “Just what I need—to work three days straight without sleep.”
“Hey, it’s a feature film. You’re the one always says the feature is everything.”
“I know. I guess I’m just tired.” Kika got up from her desk and walked over to the window. Through the tinted glass she could see Lake Calhoun. It always amazed her that no matter what the time of day, there was always activity surrounding the city lake. Joggers, walkers, bicyclists and in-line skaters competed for space on the pavement, while sunbathers and swimmers vied for spots on the sand.
At the sight of a mother pushing a stroller, Kika’s heart skipped a beat. She watched as the woman spread a blanket on the ground, then released her little girl from the stroller and set her down to play in the sand.