Blind Love

by SUE FINEMAN

  Tony squeezed her hand. “Are you worried about the show?”

  “You could say that.” Worried was a gross understatement. When she came up with this ridiculous concept for a reality show, she never dreamed she’d end up on the show herself.

  “You haven’t told me much except there will be thirteen women to choose from.”

  “You’re not supposed to know any more until the show begins.”

  Catherine felt like crying. She’d fallen in love with this man. She thought he might love her a little too, but the day they started filming the show, that love could turn to disappointment.

  She was setting him up for something, and Tony had no idea what it was. This was a new show, so it wouldn’t be like The Bachelor or For Love or Money. It was Catherine’s concept.

  “Will I be happy?”

  “I hope so.” She almost whispered the words, and he had a feeling he was in big trouble.

  They stopped in a little town near San Simeon, and Tony followed Nick’s map to a piece of property the development company owned. He stopped to open the padlock on the gate and then drove down a long, tree-lined drive to a structure that looked like it had come out of Gone with the Wind. Huge pillars supported a two-story porch, and the windows were all covered with plywood.

  “Are we in Georgia or on a movie set?” Catherine asked.

  “The previous owner was from the South. Nick said this was an estate sale.”

  “It needs paint.”

  It needed more than a coat of paint, but the place was impressive. If the structure was good, the roof and foundation sound, and the plumbing and wiring in good shape, he could fix the rest.

  They walked around the house first, and Tony checked out the other buildings. There was a four-car garage with stairs up to what must be living quarters over the garage. A traditional red barn looked to be in good shape, although he couldn’t figure why they’d need a barn out here. From the looks of the place, they hadn’t had crops or animals in decades, if ever.

  The stone basement of the house was raised half out of the ground, and stairs led up to the wide verandah and the first level. Nick said the house had been unoccupied for three or four years, until the estate was settled and they found a buyer. “Needs a complete renovation. There’s supposed to be a view of the Pacific, but I don’t see it.”

  “You’ll probably have to have some of the trees topped. It’s very private.”

  “That it is,” said Tony. “What would you do with this property?”

  “Restore it and use it for a small hotel. Maybe build some cottages on the grounds to bring in more income. Add a restaurant.”

  He propped his hands on his hips and cocked his head. “Not homes?”

  “No. We’re near Hearst Castle, which is a tourist attraction. There’s a public beach nearby and a national forest. It’s the perfect spot for a small hotel.”

  “If the house can be restored, what would you call it?”

  “The Plantation, of course. How much land?”

  “Twenty acres, more or less.”

  Tony unlocked the house and they walked through it together. It wasn’t quite as big as her father’s house, but he could see it as a hotel. He’d have to add bathrooms and replace wallpaper, gut the kitchen and replace the sun porch, but it could be a charming place.

  <>

  The day the technicians arrived at Cara’s estate, Mitzi called Catherine. “Gwen, the teacher, has viral pneumonia. Unless we postpone shooting for at least two weeks, we have to replace her. Fawn is the same size, and she can wear Gwen’s clothes. I don’t know what else to do, Cat.”

  Catherine felt a flash of anger tempered with panic. If they put Fawn on the show, what would she tell the other girls? Did Fawn know she worked for the production company? No, probably not. She hadn’t gone through the switchboard when she’d called the office. She’d called the cell phone number.

  “Damn it, Mitzi. If you’d done your job… I hope that’s the only one with a problem.”

  “Actually, there’s one more. Jenny’s baby-sitter cancelled and she has to bring her three-year-old daughter along. Henry said I have to baby-sit, and I will, but I wanted to check with you first to make sure it was all right to bring her to the estate. Jenny said she could come a day early to get her little girl settled.”

  “That should be fine. There’s a big playroom on the attic floor and several more bedrooms. You and the little girl can stay up there while we’re shooting. Jenny can come up to visit when she has time. And speaking of shooting, if anything else happens, you’d better stay out of my sight.”

  The other shows she’d worked on didn’t have all these problems, but they didn’t have such strict security. They also used some actresses on the other shows, women who wanted the visibility. The only actor on this show was the host, Morgan Summers. Catherine hadn’t met him, but he was Henry’s choice, so he should be fine.

  Everything should be fine.

  Then why was she so apprehensive?

  Catherine reviewed the revised list of contestants.

  Jenny - single mom

  Chelsea - retired model

  Rachel - former Miss Florida

  Lily - grad student

  JoJo - bookkeeper

  Victoria - widow with 2 boys

  DeeNae - paralegal

  Carina - divorced blackjack dealer

  Andrea - hairdresser

  LeeAnn - dental hygienist

  Cookie - unemployed college dropout

  Catherine - reluctant participant

  Fawn - bimbo

  All that work choosing the best candidates for the show, and she ended up with a multi-pierced college dropout, her father’s latest bimbo, and herself.

  With any luck, Tony would get rid of Fawn and Cookie first.

  <>

  Fawn shoplifted several things in a department store. She never used her own money unless absolutely necessary. She was on her way home when her cell phone rang.

  “Fawn, this is Mitzi. One of the girls on the show got sick. Can you fill in?”

  “When does shooting start?”

  “You’re due on location next Monday, but you’ll need to pick up your costume and wardrobe before then.” Mitzi gave her all the information.

  “Are travel expenses covered?”

  “Sure. Just send me the receipts.”

  “Uh…” Maybe she could convince this woman to give her some money now.

  “Is that a problem?”

  “I’m between jobs, Mitzi. I was holding off looking for another job until I knew about the show.”

  “I can give you an advance to cover your expenses until the show starts. Would that help?”

  “Yes, it sure will.”

  “Save your receipts. After the filming starts, you’ll be living with the other contestants at the Andrews Estate.”

  “Wonderful. Thanks, Mitzi.” She lowered her voice. “So tell me, who is the bachelor?”

  Mitzi dropped her voice. “You can’t let on you know.”

  “Okay, sure. What’s the big secret?”

  “I overheard a conversation in my boss’s office. The bachelor’s name is Tony Donatelli, and he’s related to Cara Andrews.”

  Fawn gasped. She’d hit the mother lode this time. Cara Andrews had more money than God. “You’re kidding!”

  “Nope! He’s also the best looking guy I’ve ever met.”

  Forget Walt Timmons. This show could turn out to be her ticket to a life of luxury. After she married this guy, she’d be set for life.

  Chapter Eleven

  The costume was too tight, and the wardrobe lady didn’t have time to alter it. Still, it was the most beautiful dress Fawn had ever seen. The blue satin matched her eyes, and the neckline made her breasts look huge. The implants she’d gotten last year made her more shapely, and the nose job she’d gotten the year before made her face beautiful. Men loved beautiful women with big breasts.

  The other dresses were snug, but not t
oo bad, and the casual clothes fit pretty well. She’d walk away from this experience with some nice clothes, but she wanted more than nice clothes.

  She wanted the bachelor.

  After she picked up her wardrobe, she had her roots done, and she had a manicure and pedicure. Mitzi would pay for it. Fawn was going into this show looking her best, and she fully intended to win the bachelor’s heart.

  She’d been on her own since she was fifteen, after her parents threw her out for getting pregnant. An abortion took care of the unwanted pregnancy, and Spike took her into his stable and taught her the ropes. Everything was going just fine until she refused a trick. Spike beat her, so she planted a knife in his belly, emptied his wallet, and ran away. Since then, everything she did was with the ultimate goal in mind. After what she’d been through, Fawn deserved a man who would take care of her, someone who wouldn’t expect her to sleep with other men or get her hands dirty. She wanted a luxurious lifestyle, enough money to buy anything she ever wanted, and someone to love her.

  The bachelor on this show could give it all to her.

  Before she left LA, she spent an hour on the computer at the library, researching Cara Andrews and her family. Cara was married to Nick Donatelli, an Italian from Gig Harbor, Washington, and although she lived in Gig Harbor now, she still owned the estate near San Francisco. Since Cara had outlived everyone in her family, the bachelor on the show must be related to her husband. Mitzi said his name was Tony Donatelli.

  She couldn’t wait to meet him.

  <>

  Over the next two days, Catherine tried to keep her distance from Tony. It wasn’t easy, but it was necessary if she was to pull this off. She already had an unfair advantage over the other girls, but that couldn’t be helped. If she’d known she’d end up on the show, she wouldn’t have slept with him in the first place.

  Of course she would have slept with him. She was head over heels in love with the guy.

  Tony asked, “Are you angry with me?”

  “No, I have PMS and I’m swamped with work.” It wasn’t exactly a lie. But PMS wouldn’t have kept her away from Tony, and she wasn’t working all day and all night. She could easily have made time for him, and she felt so guilty about deceiving him. The wonderful relationship they’d started would go up in smoke when the show began. She wouldn’t have to worry about having a costume for the party, because he’d get rid of her first. He’d be too angry to keep her around.

  She cried herself to sleep the first night and then resolved to stop wallowing in self-pity and make the best of the situation. If she wanted Tony, she’d have to fight for him, and she wanted him so much it was tearing her apart.

  She’d fight for him, and somehow, she’d show him how much she loved him. It wouldn’t be easy competing against so many beautiful blondes, but she’d do whatever it took to get him to pick her in the end.

  <>

  Henry arrived at the estate with the technical crew and Catherine briefed him on what she’d done, what she expected to happen, and what she wanted to capture on camera. “I spoke with Nick and Cara, and they’ve agreed to let Tony use the yacht for the last two dates.”

  Henry nodded. “We’ve made a few small changes to the content, but you don’t need to know what they are. You’re a contestant the same as the other girls on the show, Cat. If we want to get a reaction from you on camera, some of this will have to come as a surprise.”

  “You don’t play fair,” she told him.

  “You’ll have nothing more to do with the production of the show, and stay away from Tony until the show begins, and then you’ll be with him only as much as the other girls.”

  “Okay, I’ll behave myself. When is the hair stylist coming?”

  “Not until the day of the costume party.”

  Catherine groaned. She needed to do something with her hair before the shooting began.

  She closed herself in her room and called Cara. “Who cuts your hair?”

  “Angelo. He and Vinnie and Al should be there day after tomorrow. They’re singing in the opening.”

  After a long explanation of the things that had happened, Catherine said, “So I’ll be one of the girls vying for Tony’s affections on the show. I can’t believe I got myself into this, but I can’t back out now or Henry’s production company will lose credibility in the business. The only good thing about this is that Mitzi will be out of a job when it’s over.”

  Cara couldn’t respond for laughing so hard.

  “It’s not that funny!”

  “Oh, yes it is.”

  “I hope I brought enough clothes.”

  “Feel free to raid my closet. What are you wearing to the costume party?”

  “Promise not to laugh?”

  “Sure. What are you wearing?”

  Catherine told her and Cara let out a squeal of laughter.

  “Well, I can’t compete with women with legs longer than my whole body, and my hair is the wrong color, and I’m not—”

  “You’re everything you need to be, and Tony will be blown away. I’ll tell Angelo to make you beautiful. I wouldn’t let anyone else cut my hair. He’s an artist.”

  “I hope so.” He’d have to be an artist to make her beautiful.

  <>

  Fawn followed Mitzi’s directions and drove to the Andrews Estate. Mitzi would’ve paid for a plane ticket, but Fawn didn’t want to leave her SUV parked at the airport. She had some jewelry hidden in the spare tire, things she hadn’t had time to pawn.

  The house looked like a luxury resort, only better. It was a mission-style stucco mansion with a red tiled roof, and the property went right down to the ocean. Black iron balconies draped in beautiful blossoms softened the look of the structure, and there were people in uniform outside working on the grounds, which were magnificent, like the house.

  Walt Timmons’ house on the hill overlooking Santa Barbara couldn’t compare with this place. What would it be like to live in a house like this, to have everything she’d ever wanted, to have people waiting on her day and night for the rest of her life?

  A guard stopped her at the gate and asked her name.

  “Fawn Bailey,” she replied, using the name she’d given Mitzi. “I’m here for the television show.” Fawn had a police record under the name Fawn Daley, and if the producers discovered that, she would have been rejected for sure.

  The guard checked her name off his list and pointed to the house. “Drive around the loop in front and park by the door while the staff unloads your bags. Leave your keys in the car.”

  Leave them her keys? She didn’t like that, but she didn’t dare complain or they’d wonder why. They’d probably just park it somewhere until the show was over. It wasn’t as if someone was going to steal her car from the Andrews Estate, and the jewelry was safer in the car than with her in the house, where someone could find it.

  Mitzi had told her that after they dressed for the opening scene, all the girls would be brought to the door by limo, so they could get a shot of them arriving. Then they’d be taken out on the balcony to be serenaded by the bachelor and his brothers.

  “Have the other girls arrived?”

  “Some of them have. Others should be arriving within the hour. The limo has gone to the airport to pick them up.”

  Did Cara Andrews have her own limo? Of course she did. The woman was filthy rich.

  Fawn pulled around the loop and stopped by the door. Two men in uniform came outside to carry in her luggage. Contestants were only allowed to bring two dress bags and one suitcase with them, and they had to be tagged with their first names.

  She walked inside with the butler. As he walked upstairs with her, he told her that the contestants would be expected to share rooms. She didn’t like sharing a room, but Mitzi said to expect it.

  The butler tapped on a door and a girl chewing gum opened it. “Hi, I’m Cookie,” she said. The girl had black and white spiked hair, a deep tan, and her ears were pierced multiple times. She also had rings in
her eyebrows and one in her navel.

  The bathroom was huge, but there was only one. There were two sinks, a big bathtub, a separate shower, and the toilet and bidet were in a separate little room. The other room off the bathroom was a big walk-in closet.

  “Ladies, you have two hours to prepare for your photographs,” said the butler. “The opening scene will follow. Your luggage will be brought up shortly. Please unpack only what you need for tonight. Rooms have not yet been assigned.”

  “I’ll leave you to get acquainted,” he said, and then he left the room.

  Two women in uniforms pushed in carts loaded with sandwiches, fruit, and other goodies. One of the women pushed a button and a wall opened in the sitting room, revealing a fully equipped bar. Oh, yeah! She could live in a place like this. At this point, she didn’t even care what the bachelor looked like. She wanted him.

  DeeNae introduced herself, and so did Andrea, and then other girls came in until there were twelve girls in the suite. Most of these shows had twenty-some girls, but Mitzi said this one only had thirteen. Interesting. Where was the thirteenth contestant?

  Someone pointed to the painting over the sofa. “Oh, my God. Is that—”

  “It’s a copy,” a short brunette said. “Mr. Pettibone said all the original artwork was in the museum.”

  “Who?” said Fawn.

  “Mr. Pettibone is the butler,” said DeeNae, a blonde with a Southern accent.

  The noise level in the room rose as the luggage was brought up and piled in the sitting room. Girls dug for their dress bags and began getting ready.

  She watched the others as they scrambled around, fighting over the bathroom, getting dressed, or eating a snack.

  After eating some fruit, Fawn changed in the sitting room and tucked her travel clothes in the bag. When she could get near the bathroom, she refreshed her makeup, brushed her long blonde hair to a shine, and she was good to go.

  She took one last look in the mirror and smiled. She was the best looking girl there. Once the bachelor saw her, the others might as well pack up and leave.

  This bachelor belonged to her.

  <>

  Catherine had disappeared. Tony couldn’t find her anywhere, and her boss, Henry Wallace, was running the show. What in the hell was going on?