InHap*pily Ever After (Incidental Happenstance)

by DeSalvo, Kim

  Everyone in the studio joined in the laughter as they imagined the shock that Penelope felt when she was surprised by Bo. The giggles continued until Bo’s face changed, and he held up his hand for silence.

  “That part was funny, but later that night, when we were out celebrating my birthday, she showed up again, at the club, and that’s where the whole thing started.” Lexi’s face got serious as well, and she dropped her head. “That woman practically propositioned Dylan right in front of Tia,” he said, his voice low and steady. “She basically told Tia that she wasn’t worthy of Dylan—something like, ‘If you want to have fun tonight, you should take your chances with someone who’s at your level.’ I watched the doubt fill Tia’s eyes, and saw her face fall. She was unsure of herself—she was obviously feeling something for Dylan that she couldn’t come to terms with; especially since she believed that he was leaving the next night. Penelope dropped the bomb that she’d be his co-star, and that she thought they’d have ‘great chemistry’ together. It was like she was already working on ways to sink her teeth into Dylan even then. Allegedly,” he added.

  Tony took a sip from his coffee mug and let the two of them chatter on about the trip to Europe. Lexi bragged that she was the one who told Dylan about Tia’s birthday and shared the story about the surprise dinner on the Eiffel Tower, and Bo talked about how anxious Dylan was waiting for Tia to show up after the school year ended and she first came to Europe. They kept talking during the commercial breaks—not real breaks as they were filming and not live, but more a chance to catch their breath and grab a quick drink of water—so all he really had to do was ask a few unscripted questions and let them run with it. He hadn’t planned to fill the whole show with the two of them, but they were too good to pass up. His assistant could reschedule the other guest.

  When Tony made his final comments and wished the crowd a Happy New Year, Bo and Lexi wandered through the audience shaking hands and signing autographs. Lexi was astounded that anyone would actually want her autograph, but she happily scribbled her name on whatever was handed to her. As the last of the audience members drifted out the door, Bo draped his arm over Lexi’s shoulder. On their way to Tony’s lounge for the ‘debriefing,’ he asked, “How about dinner, beautiful?”

  Lexi was instantly torn. She’d pretty much promised Ryan that she’d be home tonight, but she hadn’t seen Bo in months, and it would be great to hang with him for a while. God, she could use some more of his lightheartedness and his humor right about now, and if she didn’t take advantage of this opportunity, who knew when she’d get to see him again? What in the world would she tell Ryan, though? He’d been pretty pissed off at first when she told him she was coming to LA. You’re not the celebrity, Lexi, he’d said; insinuating that she was enjoying a ride on Tia’s coattails and looking for attention of her own. And so what if she was enjoying it? She was entitled to her 15 minutes, right? She looked up at Bo and smiled. To hell with the consequences, she decided—she needed a little Bo time. “What do you have in mind, handsome?” she smiled, tucking her hand into the crook of his arm.

  His grin widened, making the corners of his eyes crinkle. “Would you be staying at the Four Seasons?” he asked. “I’m assuming Tony puts all his guests there.” Lexi nodded. “There’s a nice little Japanese restaurant just a short walk away—they’ve got great sushi, and do a real nice leisurely dinner…we could catch up for a while, then maybe go back to one of our rooms to watch the show?”

  The show! What an idiot she was! Not once, in all the planning of this whirlwind last minute trip had she considered that the show would air hours after they taped it—and that she’d be on a plane when it did. It was the perfect reason for staying until the next morning…it wasn’t like she’d be able to watch it with Ryan anyway, so it would be perfect to watch it with Bo. “I always have liked the way you think,” she said, wrapping her arm around his waist as they entered Tony’s lounge to say their goodbyes.

  Chapter 17

  Lexi leaned back in the comfy leopard print chair in Bo’s suite and watched him fiddle with the remote control. “Look, I’m camouflaged,” she teased, referring to the leopard print lounge outfit she’d changed into before heading down to Bo’s room to watch the show. She’d picked it up in a little boutique during one of her many shopping escapades over the past couple days, and although she’d cringed when she saw the price tag, she’d never felt a fabric so luxuriously silky and simply had to have it. She held the leopard pillow from the chair in front of her face and said, “Can’t even see me, can you?”

  “Are you even here?” Bo teased back, his head moving back and forth as he pretended to scan the room. Lexi stood up and set the pillow down, raising her hands in the air in a ‘ta da!’ “Oh, there you are,” he grinned, “I was worried for a minute there that I was just imagining I had a beautiful woman clad in leopard print hanging out in my room. The good Lord knows I’ve had that fantasy before.”

  Lexi plopped onto the mustard-colored love seat that faced the television and stretched her long legs up to rest on the coffee table. “I’d better sit here then—wouldn’t want you to forget I’m here.” She took a deep breath and sighed, completely content after a leisurely and delicious dinner, some great wine, and excellent company. With Bo, it was so easy to have fun that she’d forgotten to get nervous about watching her television debut.

  Tony hadn’t even batted an eye when she told him she’d like to change her departure to tomorrow morning. “Whenever you want,” he’d said, giving her a business card with a number on it. “There’s someone on call 24/7, so just text after you’ve called for the car. They’ll have the plane ready by the time you get there.” Ryan had been less than excited that she was staying, but he really had no argument when she told him she wanted to watch the show when it first aired. She made him promise to wait, though, and watch the recording so they could both see it at the same time since it would be on later in California than it would in Chicago.

  “Oh, Mr. Collins,” she teased as Bo handed her a glass of wine, “you would be a great catch, you know that?”

  His eyes widened for just a split second, and then his easy grin slipped over his face. “Yeah, you think? I’m sure my ex-wives would have somethin’ to say about that,” he teased back, waiting a couple heartbeats before adding, “What makes you say that?”

  “Well,” Lexi started, sitting up straighter and raising her fingers to count up the ways, “first off, you’re such a gentleman…you really know how to make a lady feel special.” She lifted another finger. “Second, you have a great sense of humor. Third, you’re one of the easiest people in the world to talk to—people just feel good around you!”

  “Don’t forget, ‘devastatingly handsome,’” he joked. “Most people notice that one first off.”

  “There is that,” she agreed, tipping her wine glass in his direction in a toast. “Seriously, though, Bo—how is it that you’re not taken?”

  His grin wavered, and his eyes darkened for just the briefest moment, but it was enough to make Lexi wonder what was behind the shadow. Had he been hurt by someone? Bo recovered quickly, though, and tapped his wine glass against hers.

  “I guess it’s because you’re not available, my little princess,” he smiled. “Who could hold a candle to you?”

  Lexi felt a flush burn her cheeks and lost her breath for just the slightest moment before returning Bo’s grin. “Well, we’ll always have London,” she said, her voice sounding a bit hoarse. The wine was apparently going to her head.

  “Indeed we will,” Bo answered. Just then, the opening theme song for After Dark filled the room. Lexi patted the spot next to her and Bo folded himself onto the love seat and turned up the volume. He turned to her with his glass raised for another toast; a more serious look on his face. “To your TV debut—I’m so glad I could share it with you.”

  Lexi tapped the rim of her glass against his. “Can’t think of a better person to share it with,” she said, setting down her
glass and settling in. “This is so exciting! I might even be more nervous now than I was walking out onto the stage.” Her heartbeat quickened, and she fanned her face with her hand as she watched Tony’s monologue and waited anxiously for him to call her name.

  She held her breath as she watched herself walk out onto the stage, then let out a little squeak of excitement. It was really strange seeing herself on television; almost like being in a dream. “Damn this is cool!” she exclaimed, wiggling in her seat. They watched her segment excitedly, chatting about how the cameras zoomed in on her best angles and how one seemed to hover a bit too long over the low neckline of her dress. “Well it is fantastic cleavage, right?” Lexi asked, puffing out her chest in an exaggerated motion. “The best,” Bo replied gruffly, diverting his eyes back to the television.

  Lexi jumped up and refilled their wine glasses during one of the commercial breaks, and checked her phone. She’d missed a text from Ryan wishing her good luck, and saw a second one that read, “U look fantastic! Gr8 job!” She shot him a quick thank you, and heard the theme music starting up from the other room. She fell back onto the couch and said excitedly “Oh, here you come, Bo.”

  Bo froze as he watched himself walk out onto the set. He was certainly aware that he was a big guy, but seeing how tiny Lexi looked in his arms really took him aback. “Who the hell is that guy?” he asked. “Damn, do I really look like that?”

  “What do you mean?”

  No wonder people thought of him as loveable old Bo, he thought to himself. He looked like the life of the party, the funny clown who got all the laughs but never the ladies. He patted his stomach and laughed it off, but inside, he couldn’t find any humor in it. “I think I need to call Jenny Craig,” he said wryly.

  “They say the camera adds ten pounds, you know.”

  “Yeah? It didn’t add ten pounds to you—oh wait, I know…maybe it accidentally added your ten pounds onto me; that must be it. It looked like I was going to break you in half when I picked you up—you really did disappear.”

  Lexi laced her fingers through his and leaned against him. “You’re still devastatingly handsome,” she purred, her voice vibrating against him as she spoke.

  He looked down at her, cuddled up innocently against him, the swell of her ‘fantastic cleavage’ seeming to taunt him and it was as if an alien life force took over his body. His vision went cloudy, and he could actually see himself reaching over and lifting Lexi’s chin, running his fingers along the curve of her neck, and bringing his lips down to meet hers. He shook his head slightly to toss the image from his mind and stiffened; his hand actually raised as if to truly make the move and then…holy shit, he stiffened.

  He felt his eyes widen, and held his breath. Dead puppies, dead puppies, he thought over and over in an attempt to stop the stirring; but she was still pressed against him; the silk of her goddamned-soft wild cat outfit brushing against his arms and her hand wrapped tightly in his. Dead kittens, dead kittens, he changed his chant, but it did nothing to slow the flow of blood and he felt a full-blown hard-on coming and coming fast.

  Bo nearly jerked his fingers from hers, catching a taunting spark from the diamond that glittered on her left hand. He stood up and turned away from her, grabbing the only thing in the room he could use to effectively hide his embarrassment—the leopard print pillow from the matching chair. Shit, he thought. This is not good.

  Lexi’s head tilted and her eyes narrowed in confusion at his sudden move and obvious discomfort. “What’s wrong, Bo?” she asked.

  “Nothing,” he nearly snarled, the words stuck in his throat. He had no idea what to say to her—no excuse for why he’d leapt from her side like she had leprosy instead of looking really sexy in a leopard print outfit. He was saved from saying anything else by the chirp of her phone signaling an incoming text message. She frowned at him once more and rose, walking into the little kitchen area of the suite to to check the message.

  “What the hell is up bw u n the drmmr?” the message said. Lexi stared at it for a minute, wondering the same thing, before texting back, “NOTHING—RELAX.”

  Bo fell onto the chair and took some deep, calming breaths, putting the pillow in his lap and folding his hands to rest on top of it. Yeah, he needed a little prayer right now. Lexi returned just as the last commercial break ended; a question in her eyes as she took in his new seating arrangement, and returned to the couch, folding her legs under her and crossing her arms over her chest. He forced his best smile, made some lame joke about the way Tony stopped interviewing them and just let them talk, and tried to keep the conversation light; tried to turn on his usual charm; but even he wasn’t buying it.

  It was impossible not to notice the shift. Bo smiled and joked through the rest of the show, but the atmosphere in the room had changed, and Lexi couldn’t help but wonder why. At first she thought it was the weight thing; he was obviously bothered by the way he looked on TV; but she loved him just the way he was and couldn’t see why he’d be so flustered by it. He was bulky, built like a linebacker, sure, but not overly heavy. Would he be embarrassed enough by that little thing to physically move away from her? Bo Collins exuded confidence…she couldn’t imagine him being that hard on himself.

  The show ended, the final credits scrolling over the three of them moving into the crowd to shake hands with members of the audience. Bo clapped his hands in a round of applause and smiled at her. “Congratulations, beautiful—you absolutely stole the show.”

  “Thanks, handsome,” she smirked. “You were pretty fantastic too. It wouldn’t have been nearly as much fun without you. Having you there was the best surprise.”

  “It was my pleasure.” Damn, just thinking the word pleasure increased the hum between his legs and he stretched out his arms and yawned, taking an exaggerated glance at his watch. It wasn’t that he wanted Lexi to go, not at all, but he felt like a complete ass sitting there trying to hide an erection that wouldn’t quit; and probably wouldn’t until she was out of his field of vision. Or smell, or hearing, or anything else for that matter.

  Lexi was confused, but she was no idiot. It was obvious that Bo wanted her to go. She took the hint, and gathered up her things. “Well, I’ve got an early flight set up, so I probably should try and get a few hours of sleep. I won’t see you before I leave—but I hope I’ll see you soon.” She walked over to give him a hug, but he didn’t get out of the chair…just leaned toward her a bit and gave her back a friendly pat.

  “I hope so too,” he said, and watched her walk out.

  Lexi opened the door and sat on the zebra striped chair that adorned her own room, trying to figure out a cause for the complete 360-degree turn the night had taken. She and Bo had a great dinner, lots of laughs, and for the first three-quarters of the show, were getting on as well as ever. Even if he did get a sudden case of self-consciousness after seeing himself on the television set, it still didn’t explain why he’d just all of a sudden purposely put distance between them…it just didn’t make sense.

  Then another thought hit her as she replayed the events in her mind. Right after his uneasiness, she’d grabbed onto his hand and practically laid on him, telling him he was ‘devastatingly handsome.’

  Oh God…it was the first time they’d ever been really alone; and in a hotel room no less; and she’d practically pushed her breasts in his face and asked him if he liked her cleavage…holy shit, did he think she was hitting on him? Is that why he moved as far away from her as he could and put a pillow down as a barrier—so she couldn’t get that close again? Just the thought that he might have gotten that impression made the sushi she’d eaten earlier feel as if it had suddenly started swimming around in her gut.

  She loved her relationship with Bo, and thinking that she’d done something to screw that up made her heart skip a beat. Should she say something? What if she was completely wrong, and ended up creating a problem that wasn’t even there? Would mentioning it only make things more uncomfortable? She wrung her hands in her la
p, remembering the look on Bo’s face when he wouldn’t even hug her goodbye. Uncomfortable was an understatement, and she got up and started pacing the room. Shit, she thought. This is not good.

  Ryan plopped on the couch and pulled up the menu on the TV. At first he’d been kind of pissed that Lexi was staying an extra night in LA, but if he were in her shoes, he probably would’ve stayed too. In the end, Lexi had been right about the bragging rights he got out of her personal invitation from Tony Granger—there were enough of the ‘living dead,’ as Lexi so affectionately coined them, at his parents’ dinner party who didn’t know anything about the story. A good number of them had no idea who Dylan Miller was, but they sure as hell perked up when they heard the name Tony Granger. Ryan had been the center of attention for a good chunk of the night, and for the first time that he could remember; he came away from that dinner with a good taste in his mouth. It was holiday vacation, it was nearly New Year’s Eve, and his girl was on television. Life was good.

  The theme music started up, and Granger walked to center stage. Must be nice to be that dude, he thought. The guy had more money than the Pope, and all he had to do was walk out every night, tell a few jokes, and then sit down with the rich and famous and let them brag about themselves. Tough life.

  He listened attentively to the monologue in case he mentioned Lexi, laughed at a couple of halfway decent jokes about failed New Year’s resolutions, and leaned forward in anticipation when Tony announced who his first guest would be. Ryan hadn’t thought to ask if she knew who else would be on the show with her…but he selfishly hoped it would be someone way more famous than Miller had recently become.