Reality of Love Boxed Set: Books 1-3

by Marika Ray

  My change in perspective had nothing whatsoever to do with his award-winning hugs.

  “We need you on set in ten!” A crew member stuck her head in the door just long enough to bark her orders, then vanished to go harass someone else.

  “Hold on. Just one last...” The makeup artist bit the tip of her tongue while she dusted more highlighter on my face. “That should do it.” She leaned back, assessed, and smiled.

  “Thank you. I know I was a challenge today.” I smiled weakly at her, hoping she wouldn’t get friendly and ask what had me stressed. “Off to go get my dress!” I hopped up and escaped to my dressing room quickly, finding the outfit I’d already selected for the day; a long bandage skirt in a deep purple shade, paired with a matching lace fitted top. I wiggled my way into it and paired it with nude stilettos.

  I waddled my way to the studio, the tight skirt and the stilettos impeding me. I may have looked a million bucks in this outfit, but I couldn’t walk for shit. This was part of why I loathed what my mother did as a fashion model. Fashion designers sold society the lie that this outfit was beautiful, but women couldn’t even walk in it, let alone escape if they were attacked. That was a favorite feminist conversation of mine for another time. Right now I had a competition to judge.

  My phone pinged in my hand as I sank into the chair behind the judges’ table. Looking down, I could see it was my mother trying to get ahold of me again. After last night’s conversation, I had no intention of calling her back anytime soon. Once again, she was sticking her nose where it didn’t belong.

  “Elle, how did your day in Napa go?” Michael sat down next to me, his cologne taking a seat with him. Normally, his presence would irritate me, but today I was thankful for the distraction from my mother, even if it came in the form of a sleazy male. Funny how Austin had actually seen me in a state of undress, and Michael certainly hadn’t, yet Michael looked at me with an intensity that made me want to cover myself.

  “It went well, as you’ll see in just a while. My contestant is going to kill it today.” I smiled like a Cheshire cat, playing my part in intimidating the competition.

  He guffawed, but didn’t comment as Bertrand took the seat on the other side of me. Tom entered the studio and started barking orders through his bullhorn. The contestants filed into the studio next and I was pleased to see Austin in another button-down shirt. Not the one I gave him, but a charcoal gray version that gave him a more professional edge. His hair was carefully gelled today, unlike the messy do he’d sported yesterday when I’d wanted to run my fingers through it to get it to stay put.

  When he reached his station, he squinted through the bright lights and sought me out. When he found me, he gave a warm smile and wink before focusing back on the instructions Tom was giving for today’s taping. That look, just for me, sent my stomach spiralling. A warmth seeped into my limbs and spread through my body, like an internal blanket, keeping me snugly without anyone able to see what was going on.

  “Okay, places, everyone! Five, four, three.” Tom counted off two and one silently, and then pointed at Lindsey, who began her introduction for today’s challenge. I kept my eyes on her, no matter how much I wanted to veer away and stare at Austin. This was my job. I was on camera. I had to focus.

  “So, Elle Fierro. You took Austin to Napa, California. Any secrets from the trip you can tell me?” Lindsey was looking at me like she knew something. The lights were glaring and I felt put on the spot. My mind scrambled, but for the life of me I couldn’t figure out what she was asking. All that came to mind was Austin’s ripped chest in my little rental car and that fantastic hug. And I’d rather strip down to my La Perla underwear in front of the whole studio than share that.

  “Um...”

  “Cut!” Tom shouted and Lindsey’s broad smile dropped immediately.

  “Elle, you have to have a snappier comeback.” Tom stalked over to our table, his displeasure with my non-answer clear by the way he was frowning at me. “Lindsey is going to ask you three judges questions about your trip and you need to have something sensational to say. Got it?”

  I nodded numbly, not appreciating being reprimanded in front of the whole cast and crew. My face felt like it was on fire.

  “Just make something up, darling,” Bertrand whispered once Tom walked back behind the cameras.

  “Let’s try this again,” Tom shouted to the studio, then counted in the cameras.

  Lindsey started with her question for me, her smile looking a little more forced this time. Thankfully, my brain kicked in and I had an answer I was sure Tom would love.

  “Well, let’s just say we fully explored the fine wine Napa has to offer. As for specifics, you’ll have to see what Austin comes up with.” I waggled my eyebrows and went for the smolder.

  “Oh my...” Bertrand interjected salaciously. Bless him for helping me out.

  Lindsey giggled and kept going, the other judges chiming in with their contestants’ progress over the last two days. I finally chanced a glance over at Austin, only to see him looking right at me. I widened my eyes comically, trying to communicate that he needed to look away. The cameras would be wondering why he was staring at me so intently.

  And why was he staring? His blue eyes were making me feel like the top of my head was floating away. It wasn’t a feeling I remembered ever feeling before, nor did I particularly care for it.

  “On your marks, get set, GO!” Lindsey’s raised voice brought me back to the present, seeing the contestants flying into action creating their dishes while I was off daydreaming like a woman whose entire future didn’t rest on her performance on camera.

  I needed to get my head back in the game immediately.

  Brandy was rolling out some sort of dough already while a pan simmered on the stove. Dale was preparing a fish, which was expected since he’d been in Seattle. I hoped he had some special twist to wow us, otherwise I’d be fairly bored with a simple fish dish. Too expected. Jason had a huge pot on the stove and he was dumping all kinds of things in there, making me think he was making a variety of soup.

  And then there was Austin. He was smiling as he worked, several lamb chops already seasoned and currently being seared in a hot pan. Another small pan was on the back burner, and I knew it held the secret from our Napa trip I should have immediately thought of when Lindsey asked for details: the winning wine reduction sauce.

  Celadon had offered us two bottles of wine from their favorite vineyard, which wasn’t that remarkable until you looked them up online and saw they retailed for over three hundred dollars per bottle. If that didn’t make for a wine reduction sauce that would blow the competition away, then we were screwed.

  All four contestants worked diligently while the timer counted down. The other two judges and I were pulled aside for short interviews and opinions on their cooking methods. Lindsey circled the contestants, adding comments for the camera that increased the drama and freaked out the contestants even more.

  I tried to stay neutral, but I couldn’t help notice that Austin had an interesting way of cooking that drew the eye. The man was positively giddy while he cooked, even when Lindsey was circling his station. That smile of his never left his face and he even cracked a few jokes to break the tension on the set. Being the class clown wouldn’t win him this competition, but it would win him friends and even the hearts of the viewers once it aired.

  “And time!” Lindsey shouted right as the timer buzzed and the chefs stepped back from their plated dishes.

  The butterflies filled my stomach for the first time, the first doubts in Austin’s dish piercing my usual calm. I was invested in him, because he was on my team on this challenge and because he’d come to mean something to me on a personal level.

  His hugs were powerful.

  The first round of plates was brought in front of us. The fish dish from Dale turned out to be a sesame-crusted ahi tuna with shiitake mushrooms, bok choy, and a sriracha aioli sauce. The flavors burst in my mouth and the nerves in my stoma
ch exploded tenfold for Austin. This fish was fabulous and I gave my honest review.

  Next up was Jason with his clam chowder. His unique twist was finely chopped bacon—which was a bit of a copycat from Austin’s biscuits last challenge if you asked me—smoked clams, and a splash of red wine vinegar. It was quite tasty, but it didn’t knock my socks off. The other judges agreed with me, which settled my nerves a bit.

  Austin was next, his dish looking gorgeous on the plate. We all dug in and I was beyond pleased to note he’d gotten the reduction down perfectly.

  “Oh, now that’s good.” Bertrand brought his hand up to his mouth in surprise, uncharacteristically crass, by talking around his mouthful. “What is this sauce?”

  “It’s a fine wine reduction from a tiny vineyard in Napa called Fire Horse,” Austin answered, looking as relieved as I felt.

  “Aha! So, you did have a secret from Napa,” Lindsey joked, standing a little closer to Austin than was necessary.

  “Well, that winery is no longer a secret. This is incredible. Well done, you two.” Michael gave his stamp of approval and my smile grew.

  Brandy was last today with her stacked green enchiladas. That dough she was frying up earlier had been handmade fry bread she’d layered with refried black beans and cheese, topped with a roasted green chile sauce and a fried egg to give it that Southwestern flair New Mexico was known for.

  We all loved her dish, finding it bursting with flavor, spice, and originality. The nerves were back as I realized she was stacking up to be a contender for Austin.

  The contestants were all asked to wait in a soundproof room so we could deliberate and decide who was going home. It didn’t take us long to know, but Tom asked us to amp up the drama, so we bantered back and forth to give him the soundbites he wanted.

  After getting all the scenes he needed, we called the four back in and Tom had them line up in front of our table. Austin’s gaze instantly found mine and while I wanted to give him reassurance that he wouldn’t be the one leaving, I knew I couldn’t compromise my position like that. I settled for a smile and hoped he knew I’d never smile at him if he was the one leaving. I’d stoically look away and disassociate. But did Austin really know me well enough to read my signals? I doubted it. I’d been pushing him away at every turn. Except that hug.

  “Austin?” Lindsey called his name once the cameras were rolling. His head snapped to her and for the first time that day I saw some anxiety in his face.

  “You’re safe!” Lindsey shouted dramatically.

  Austin smiled and nodded, looking a hundred times more relaxed, like his true self.

  “Dale?” Lindsey was having too much fun with this. “You’re safe!”

  I rolled my eyes and hoped the cameras didn’t catch it. This was getting silly. Just tell the man he was going home. No need to drag it out artificially like this. I felt bad for him. Both Brandy and Jason stood there looking like they might pass out from the wait.

  “Jason?” Lindsey called out again. Then her voice and expression changed. “I’m sorry, but you’ve been voted to go home.”

  Brandy nearly fell with relief and I saw Austin pull her into a hug. Damn, he gave those away a lot, I guess. It was hard to smile sympathetically at Jason as he said his goodbyes when I wanted to rip Austin’s arm off Brandy’s shoulders. Was it too much to ask for a monogamous hugger?

  The cameras finally quit rolling and everyone disbersed after Tom gave us instructions to take tomorrow off, get rested, and then return the following day for a dessert challenge like we’d never seen.

  I was exhausted from travel the day before and the long day of filming. There were four missed calls from my mother on my cell phone, which didn’t bode well for my night. I wasn’t looking forward to trying to walk back to my dressing room with my stilettos knifing into my feet, nor the drive back to the hotel. Tomorrow’s rest day couldn’t come soon enough.

  Five weeble-wobble steps into my walk of fashion shame to the dressing room and Austin was by my side.

  “Why don’t you just take them off?” He scratched at his growing beard.

  “What’s that?” How could he know what I was thinking?

  He gestured toward my feet. “Take the heels off. The cameras are gone and no one’s looking. No need to keep up the appearance.”

  I glanced around and only saw a few crew members darting back and forth cleaning up. Advertising my short stature wasn’t something I normally did, but he was right, no one was around to see. I stopped hobbling and put a hand on his arm to steady myself while I bent to take the first one off, then the second.

  Instant relief flooded up my legs. I think I might have even moaned because Austin leaned in closer, his eyes darkening in color. “See? Told ya,” he whispered. His raspy voice reminded me of the way he sounded during our hug last night. Which of course reminded my breasts how it felt to be pressed up against that wall of muscle he called a chest. The nerves in my stomach from earlier turned to butterflies, threatening to flap around forever unless they got another one of those hugs.

  I stepped back and told my butterflies to settle down. Austin and I weren’t a team anymore. The second challenge was over. I started walking to my dressing room again, Austin following beside me.

  “I was hoping you’d have some advice for me on the dessert challenge. You know, since we killed it together on this last challenge.”

  I halted, needing him to understand where I stood. Maybe if he took his ready-at-all-times hugs somewhere else, I could focus on what was important. This time, though, I tried to put some warmth in my voice so he wouldn’t think I was being unnecessarily cruel.

  “Listen, Austin. We’re not a team any longer. If I gave you advice now it might be construed as favoritism.”

  He pulled his head back and seemed to mull that over. “Boy, I don’t know, Elle. I bet every contestant left in this thing is talking to their judge right now. I’m not asking you to cook the dessert for me or even give me recipes. I’m only asking for help strategizing.”

  I put my hand on his strong forearm one last time. “I’m sorry, Austin.”

  Then I stepped back, ripped my gaze away from his sad, puppy dog eyes, and hightailed it back to my dressing room like the coward I was.

  8

  Austin

  I was finding out that with Elle, it was always one step forward, two steps back. Her smile when the cameras were rolling, the way her gaze tracked me as I prepared the lamb chops we’d perfected in Napa, and especially the length of time she’d stayed in my arms last night seemed to all add up to one thing: Elle Fierro liked me. She’d fallen under the spell of my panty-dropping biscuits and gravy.

  Okay, fine, she hadn’t exactly dropped her panties, but she’d dropped her guard enough to let me in. And something told me she didn’t do that with very many people. The fact she felt as soft and cuddly as a plank of wood when I first hugged her kind of gave her away.

  But then she’d leaned on me to take off her heels and let out the hottest moan from those red lips and I couldn’t help myself. I had to press for more. I guessed we were to the “two steps back” portion of this dance because she’d turned my request for help down flat, saying we weren’t a team anymore.

  Fuck that. Team Eltin all the way. No, that didn’t sound right at all. We weren’t your traditional Hollywood couple—and no, it didn’t escape my attention we weren’t a couple at all—the first name blend wouldn’t work for us. We’d go with a last name blend.

  Team FieryCox.

  Now that’s a portmanteau to end all portmanteaus.

  All cocks aside, my point was, we were a team, dammit. And she needed to acknowledge that. Yes, that particular challenge was over, but the real challenge was just beginning. I had every intention of getting closer to Elle Fierro and finding out everything there was to know about her. I wanted to know what brand of shampoo she used, who her third grade teacher was, and why she made rules all the damn time to keep people at arm’s distance.

&n
bsp; So, it made perfect sense to text her as soon as I got back to my hotel room after the taping. We had a day off tomorrow and we’d be spending it together. She just didn’t know it yet.

  Austin: Brandy’s having breakfast with Bertrand tomorrow and Dale is having lunch with Michael. I say we blow the other teams out of the water and spend all day together.

  Elle: How did you get my number?

  Austin: Really? I held your phone for hours directing you around L.A. and Napa. Of course I stole your number.

  Elle: That’s quite industrious of you. Are you serious about the others?

  Austin: As a heart attack. Save me, teammate.

  No responding text came through for several minutes.

  “Come on...” I mumbled as I paced my room. She wanted to spend the day with me, I could feel it. Question is, would she let herself?

  Elle: Fine. Meet me in the lobby at ten tomorrow. I have an old work associate at The Pie Hole. He said he’ll work with us for a few hours.

  Austin: Yes! Team FieryCox for the win!

  Elle: Oh, hell no. Rule number six: never say that again.

  Austin: *sigh* fine, but I’ll be thinking it...

  I tossed my phone on the bed and smiled up at the ceiling, barely restraining myself from throwing a fist in the air in victory. Another day with Elle, another chance to figure her out and get her sold on Team FieryCox.

  “Rrroll the dough a lee-tle bit thinner thees time, Mr. Cox.”

  This chef was going to drive me batty before the day was up. I appreciated Elle bringing me here and everything I was learning about pies. Historically, I was more of a cookie and brownie man, so learning the ins and outs of a new type of dessert was invaluable.