“Well, I hope the two of you enjoy your stay and if there’s anything...I mean anything I can do to make your stay more comfortable please don’t hesitate to ask,” she smiled, her cheeks blushing.
“Well, I’m sure we will, and I hope to see you around again,” Carl recountered. He brought her hand up to his lips and placed a delicate kiss on the back of her hand. “I look forward to seeing you again.”
Evelyn blushed. “The same here,” she replied as he released her hand. “I’ll have, Dave, our bellman, show you to your rooms.” Just then, Dave walked over and grabbed their luggage and placed it on a rack. “Please follow me, folks,” he stated as he began to push their luggage towards the hallway. Maggie followed behind, while Carl lingered for another moment before following Dave.
They came to a stop in front of two doors at the end of the hallway. “Your room is on the left, Dr. Vaughn. And yours is on the right, Mr. Vaughn,” Dave informed them.
Dave opened Maggie's door first and she walked in. The room was larger than she had expected. There was a fireplace in front of the king-sized bed and a large, overstuffed chair in the corner. She peaked into the bathroom and saw there was a separate walk-in shower and large soaker tub. Dave brought her bags in and placed them in the closet. “Anything else I can get you for now?” he asked.
“No, thank you,” she replied as she pulled a tip from her pocket. Dave nodded his thank you and left the room.
Maggie walked over to the bed and sat down. The mattress was soft, just how she liked it. It was close to 3 p.m. and the only plan she knew about this weekend was they were going to have dinner at 6 p.m. She figured she had plenty of time then to take a quick cat nap, since Pierre wouldn’t be there until 4 p.m.
Maggie stretched out on the bed and within seconds she was fast asleep. Maggie heard a knock on the door. She got out of the bed and went to answer it. Maggie opened the door and Brad stood on the other side. His face lit up the moment he saw her. He was dressed in a dark pair of jeans that hugged his thighs. He had on a plaid button-down shirt that fitted his torso snuggly. Maggie smiled at him, “What are you doing here? I thought we were meeting at the restaurant?”
“I couldn’t wait that long to see you, so I thought I’d stop here to see what you’re doing and if you had a chance to settle in?” Brad replied. “May I come in?” he asked, not expecting a no.
Maggie could feel the butterflies return as he looked at her with his piercing blue eyes. She opened her mouth to say no, but instead what came out was, “Yes.”
Maggie stepped aside as Brad walked in. His eyes locked on hers the whole time. She could feel his penetrating gaze reach the depths of her soul. Maggie’s back was up against the wall and Brad closed the door. He placed a hand on the wall pinning her in between his arms. Maggie could feel the heat rise from her stomach to her breasts to her face. She bit her lower lip, her cheeks flushed.
Brad pulled his right hand off the wall and placed the tip of his thumb on Maggie’s trembling lower lip. His hand glided from her mouth to the back of her head, his knuckles grazing her soft cheek along the way. Brad pulled her forward, bringing her mouth to his, he placed his lips softly against hers. Brad pulled and sucked on her lower lip as he kissed her with unabandoned passion.
Maggie’s mind went blank, getting lost in the sweet sensation of his lips on hers. She was hesitant at first, but the flame in the pit of her gut built and she found herself kissing him back. Softly at first, then more urgently. Her need matched his as their tongues melded together in a dance.
Brad’s left hand touched the top of her hip. He tugged at the base of her shirt and his hand slowly slipped under, his skin touching hers. A small sigh escaped her lips as his fingers gently touched her smooth stomach. His mouth continued to assault hers, while his hand trailed up to her breast--
A loud bang at the door woke Maggie from her dream. She looked around, she could still feel Brad’s hand on her breast, his lips on hers. It had only been a dream, yet Maggie had secretly wished it hadn’t been. As another loud bang resounded throughout the room, she gathered herself and scrambled off the bed, glancing at the clock. It was 4 p.m. and Pierre was waiting outside her room to get her ready for her big date.
She opened the door and saw Pierre standing there. Once again, he had a garment bag with him and his makeup box. He smiled when he saw her. “Maggie, it’s so good to see you again. Are you ready for your big night? I’m going to make you look so gorgeous that Brad will not be able to take his eyes off of you!” he exclaimed as he came rushing into the room.
Maggie stood back, letting him enter. Pierre hung the bag up in the closet and put the makeup box in the bathroom. A few minutes later, there was another knock and the rest of his crew arrived to start to work on her hair. An hour later, she was completely ready for dinner. Pierre turned her around and Maggie could only stare at herself. Once again, she could barely recognize the woman gazing back at her. Her hair was pulled up on top of her head in a high, tight ponytail. Her normally shoulder length hair now reached the middle of her back. Cherry colored shades of eyeshadow highlighted her dark green eye color. Her lips were a soft shade of taupe and her cheeks were painted with a soft pink blush.
“You look gorgeous,” Pierre exclaimed. Maggie was not so sure, she thought she looked more like a tramp. She just smiled back at him and made no comment.
The outfits he had provided this evening were more revealing than what she wore for the contest winner announcement. Maggie pulled and yanked at the dress, trying to make it grow a few inches longer. Everything was tight-fitting and short, and one had a neckline so low it almost reached her belly button. Maggie chose the most modest of the three and it was still overly revealing. At least the front neckline went up to her collarbone, but the back was open to the base of her lower back. It was black and sparkled like a disco ball.
“Ready to go?” Pierre asked.
“We have an hour before dinner yet,” Maggie reminded him. “Plenty of time--”
“If this were the real world, yes, but you need to be there early to go over some plot lines and--” Pierre started to explain.
“Plot lines?” Maggie asked confused, “I thought this was real T.V., like unscripted, in-the-moment real life.”
Pierre snorted loudly. “Are you serious?! You think reality T.V. is real? Everything is planned out...what you’ll talk about, how you’ll look at each other. None of this is real, but we want the viewers to believe it is. Any love connection the public sees is because the production company wants it. If there’s drama, it’s planned...get it?”
Maggie was not sure what to think of everything Pierre was telling her. She tried to think back to the few moments she had had with Brad...now she wondered if any of the looks or touches had been real, or was he playing from a script the whole time and no one had filled her in. “I guess I’m ready then,” she stated.
Pierre led the way to the restaurant. When they arrived, she saw Brad was already there sitting at a table with Todd and others surrounding him. When Maggie approached, Todd got up from his seat and let her take his spot. Pierre walked over and applied a few touch ups to her already flawless makeup. Then some people from lighting and sound came around them, placing their mics on and checking to make sure the light was good from multiple angles.
Maggie sat still and let everyone do what they needed to, Brad had not even glanced over at her, instead he was looking over a sheet of paper in his hands. Maggie attempted to make some small talk. “I hope whatever you are reading is interesting?” she began.
Brad looked up and his face froze, he just stared at her. Maggie shifted in her seat not sure if he was appalled by the way she looked. She felt like she had about an inch worth of makeup applied to her face and she figured this close up she had to look fake. Brad opened his mouth to finally speak, “Hi,” he seemed to compose himself, then in a throaty voice said, “You look beautiful.”
Maggie smiled, “Thanks.” She then nodded to the papers in
his hands as he continued to stare at her.
Brad caught the direction of her gaze and he collected himself. “This,” he held up. “It’s some ideas or plot points for the date.”
Maggie’s eyes widened. So, Pierre was right. “Oh. Well, is there anything I need to know about? I want to make sure that we get this date right for the show. I’d hate to cause a fight if the plan is for us to claim our love for each other already,” Maggie mocked as she tried to see what was written on the paper.
Brad chuckled, “No, just notes for me about the direction to lead the date. You just need to be you and go with the flow. That’ll give it a more natural appearance.”
Maggie raised her eyebrows, “Okay...”
For the next twenty minutes they sat in silence while Brad talked to different people on set. Maggie people-watched and noticed that many of the patrons in the restaurant seemed unimpressed with the fact that a big movie star was there tonight. Then she started to wonder if even the audience was staged. None of them glanced over or even acted like something unusual was happening despite the cameras and lighting. Then she saw her dad walk in. He walked over to the host and was escorted to a table in the corner. Seeing her dad helped calm her nerves, even if she couldn’t talk with him.
Maggie watched as he sat down and looked to order something to drink. Then out of the corner of her eye, Maggie saw Evelyn approach her dad’s table. Carl got up and greeted her and placed a peck on her cheek. He pulled out the seat across the table from him and Evelyn proceeded to sit down, smiling at Carl the whole time. Maggie smiled to herself. Moving fast, Dad. Maggie had had seen the way Evelyn had looked at her father this afternoon and she had secretly hoped he had noticed too.
Turning her attention back to Brad, she saw that everyone had finally left them alone. “Okay,” he smiled at her, “showtime. Just remember, smile, look happy, and follow my lead. And, oh, you’ll do great!”
Maggie’s stomach churned, her nerves kicking in as she saw the cameras come closer and the producer called out ‘action’. For the next hour, Brad was attentive, smiling and laughing at everything she said.
By the end of the date, Maggie knew the audience would see a couple who was starting to “unexpectedly” fall in love and women everywhere would be able to put themselves in Maggie’s shoes. Brad played his part well and for a second Maggie almost thought he had turned over a new leaf. She had to remind herself multiple times that none of this was real and that he was only acting, but damn he was good...and sexy.
They had just finished dessert, when the producer yelled ‘cut’ and called it a wrap. Just as quickly as it had started it was done. Maggie was not sure if she should stay or leave. For this being a date, none of it felt really date-like. There was no leaving the restaurant together, no ride home alone, and no jitters if there was to be a first kiss goodnight. Maggie had forgotten how all that had felt and thought she was fine with it, until she sat across the table from Brad not sure what to do next.
Maggie was about to ask him a question, when Brad stood up and someone walked over and took the mic from him. He walked away, shaking hands with the crew and headed out of the restaurant. Maggie was lost in her own thoughts, so she didn’t even notice someone come over and remove her mic. She sat at the table while people moved all around her cleaning up the area. Maggie glanced over and noticed her dad and Evelyn were still sitting at the table in the corner, lost in deep conversation. She smiled inwardly as she saw the sweet way, he touched her hand that lay on the table or laughed at something she said.
Maggie got up from the table and left. She headed back to her room to wipe the makeup off her face and get into some comfortable clothing. Though it was still early she had no desire to be around anyone. She wanted to retreat to her room and be alone.
When she got back, she pulled out an old pair of jeans and a large blue, woven sweater. She pulled her hair out of the ponytail removing the long extensions and rubbed her scalp to ease the pain from having her hair pulled so tight. She took off all her makeup and looked at herself in the mirror. There you are. Maggie smiled at her reflection, happy to feel like herself again and not some image the contest wanted her to portray.
Maggie walked over to the large chair and stared out the window. It had started to snow. Maggie was mesmerized by the large flakes as they fell softly to the ground. She had only seen snow a few times in her life and the sight of it tonight was almost magical. Feeling wide awake, Maggie decided to go outside and take a walk. She wanted to feel the cold on her face and hear the crunch of the snow under her feet. Feeling giddy, she pulled on her snow boots, grabbed her hat and gloves and threw on her winter coat.
Maggie opened the door to the hallway and ran straight into Brad who was standing there about to knock on her door. “Going somewhere?” Brad asked, a mischievous look on his face.
“Yeah, I was about to go outside. Did you need something?” Maggie asked
“Actually, I was coming here to see if you wanted to join me on a walk outside. It’s snowing out and I don’t usually get to see this in L.A,” he stated, looking down sheepishly.
“Sure,” Maggie replied. Not sure if this was a good idea or not, but she figured it would be nice to have some company.
“Well then, my lady, let’s go,” Brad bowed and held out his hand for her to take. He winked at her and Maggie placed her hand in his. They walked out of the resort hand in hand. Maggie figured that Brad had done that for show. He knew guests would be watching them leave and this would be a great story for the tabloids to help his image even more.
Once they were outside, she pulled her hand away and Brad said nothing. It was well lit, and they walked in silence for the first few minutes until Brad broke the ice.
“Nice job tonight. You know, if you ever decide to quit your job as a vet, you could have one in show business,” he joked with her.
Maggie laughed, “Me, in show business? No thank you. I’ll keep the job I have. Plus, I get to work with the best clients in the world and none of them talk back or complain. And they are always happy to see me.”
Brad nodded. “It must be nice to have a job like that. Sometimes I wonder what I would do if I stopped acting.”
“And?” Maggie asked, rather curious to hear his answer.
“When I was in high school, I loved math and science and I wanted to be a chemistry teacher,” Brad replied, giving her a side glance to see her reaction.
Maggie held herself back from laughing. But Brad caught the twitch of her lips. “I get it. Doesn’t really fit the image of a movie star, right? I had actually applied to go to college for it, but when I started working the summer before a talent scout spotted me. Well, I never did end up going, but sometimes I wonder what my life would have been like and maybe...maybe I would’ve been happy.” Brad stopped walking, “I know what people think of me, and some days I wish I could just hide away and go somewhere where no one knows who I am.”
Maggie stopped and turned around to face him. “So, you’d give up all the fame and money?”
“In the beginning, no, but these last few years...I’m not sure it’s all worth it anymore,” Brad stated as he stepped closer to Maggie.
Maggie could feel the butterflies return in the pit of her stomach. She quickly glanced around to see if someone was watching and this was still part of the act; that Brad was still putting on a show for the viewers. Seeing no one around and only the snow-covered trees surrounding them, Maggie stared back into Brad’s eyes. She could feel herself getting lost in their depths as he moved in closer.
“For what it’s worth, you look even more beautiful without all the makeup on,” he said in a husky, deep voice.
Maggie could hear her heart pounding in her ears. She felt a sense of panic overcome her. She hadn’t been kissed in years and Brad’s mouth was so close to hers she could feel his warm breath brush her cheek. Maggie closed her eyes and Brad leaned in, his mouth touching hers. The kiss was soft, almost like a feather brushed over her lip
s. Maggie felt her knees tremble, her body warmed by the sensation of his lips on hers. When it clicked that he was kissing her, her mind started to scream NO. She was not ready for this. She had closed off that part of her, the part that would ever love someone again and she wasn’t going to let this man in. She wouldn’t allow him to crush her. None of this was even real!
Maggie pulled back, and without a word she ran off, heading back to the resort. Brad stood in the snow, the flakes falling around him, confused by what had just happened.
Maggie made it back to her room and pulled off her jacket, boots, mittens, and hat. She flopped into the chair trying to calm down her beating heart. Still thinking of Brad’s lips on hers, she touched them lightly. She had not wanted to like it, she had wanted to hate it and hoped that maybe kissing him would get him out of her thoughts. But it had done exactly the opposite and that scared her. She didn’t want to fall for this sexy, arrogant man. Yet here she was and all she wanted to do was kiss him again!
********
Brad had no idea what had just happened. One moment he had the urge to kiss Maggie and then he was, and he hadn’t wanted to stop. He hadn’t been ready for her reaction though. Never in his life had a woman run away from him during a kiss, until tonight. Always a first for everything he thought. He wasn’t sure if he should be hurt or if he should take this as a sign that falling for a woman again was stupid.
He had closed off his heart and had meant to keep things that way. This contest was supposed to help him clean up his image and then he could move on with his life. And now he wasn’t so sure it would be so easy.
Chapter 9
The next morning, Maggie woke up to a knock at the door. Assuming it was her dad stopping over to tell her about Evelyn, she immediately opened it, not caring she was still in her pajamas. Maggie was surprised to see Todd standing on the other side. She quickly hid herself behind the door, embarrassed about how she was dressed.
A Date for Christmas Page 8
