Smitten at First Sight: A Contemporary Romance Novel

by Astor, Marie

  About ten minutes later a faint buzzing noise of a helicopter propeller sounded in the air and several moments later a tiny helicopter hovered into view. Taylor picked up his radio and repeated their location to Jim. If it had been anyone else steering the helicopter, Taylor might have been concerned with the narrow space for the landing, but not with Jim in charge.

  Several minutes later, the helicopter landed.

  “There’s our ride – make sure to duck for the propeller.” Taylor opened the door to the helicopter and waited for Maggie and Jeffrey to climb inside. It had been an exhausting day and he felt like he could sleep for a week.

  Chapter 10

  As Jeffrey climbed into the helicopter, he was surprised to see that next to the pilot, whom he did not know, sat Ryan Gibbons – the cameraman for the documentary. Great, thought Jeffrey, now I’ll be the mockery of the entire crew. To Jeffrey’s relief no questions were asked and everyone kept quiet, which was exactly what he wanted – he needed some peace and quiet. He said his hellos and did his best to maintain a calm exterior, but inside he was seething with silent fury – he could not remember the last time he had been embarrassed like this. And the reason he could not remember it was because he had never been embarrassed like this in his entire life. To think that some good for nothing ski bum whom Jeffrey was about to make into a major star showed him up in front of his fiancée made Jeffrey’s insides boil with rage. So, fine, there might have been some danger, thought Jeffrey; still, that did not give Taylor the right to treat him like some blundering school boy, I guess I will need to have a talk with Taylor afterwards just so that there is no confusion about who is the boss.

  But presently these thoughts were the least of Jeffrey’s worries, for he had a much bigger gripe with Taylor, namely the way the obnoxious prick gawked at Maggie. Not that Jeffrey had anything to be concerned about – as if Taylor posed any competition, but still, the mere possibility was vexing, like a buzzing fly that had to be swatted. At first Jeffrey thought he had imagined it: to think that someone like Taylor would even have the audacity, but he caught him staring at Maggie enough times to suspect that something was amiss. And the way that ski bum carried on with Maggie about photography, as if the obnoxious bugger knew anything about the subject. Sure, Maggie liked to fool around with her camera, which was fine with him, but he had no interest in his fiancée pursuing a career in photography. The next thing he knew, she’d be traveling all over the world for photo shoots – he did not need a wife with a busy career. No, what he wanted was someone to come home to, someone who would understand his busy life and cater to his needs. Jeffrey glanced at Maggie and put his arm around her, thinking that she was just the woman for the job. Even now, the way she kept quiet, leaning her head against his shoulder, refraining from questioning him about what happened on the mountain showed that she knew her place, which was an important quality in a woman - at least the kind of woman that Jeffrey wanted to marry. The same kind of woman that his father was married to: Mrs. Preston had been a budding starlet in the late seventies with bit parts in movies that had long since been forgotten when Jeffrey’s father, then a rising network executive, took a fancy to her. The two got married a year later and Jeffrey’s mother’s only role since then was that of a wife and mother.

  Heck, Jeffrey had not wanted to settle down – it was his old man who put the ultimatum, telling him either to clean up his act or be thrown out of the network. And who could blame the old goat? In his wild days accounts of Jeffrey’s escapades could easily be found in four different gossip magazines, not to mention the celebrity gossip Internet sites, within the course of the same week (which was another reason why he hated photographers and would see to it that no wife of his ever became one). To think of all the women he dated: models, actresses – gorgeous stunners with legs that went on forever and breasts that were worthy of Playboy – a different girl every week, sometimes two or three a week… The mere thoughts of his wild past made Jeffrey’s pants feel tighter. Oh well, that’s all in the past, he mused. His old man had made it clear that he wanted him to marry someone presentable – she had to be of ‘good stock,’ as his father liked to put it. Jeffrey knew exactly what his father meant, and as much as he hated to admit it, he had to agree that it made sense. If he wanted to continue moving up at the network, he had to clean up his act: even his father’s pull could not compensate for his exploits indefinitely. When Jeffrey laid his eyes on Maggie at Charlie’s birthday party, he knew that she would fit the bill: she stuck out in the crowd of models and actresses like a sore thumb and not because she was worse looking - in Jeffrey’s mind, she put most of the crowd to shame. But because she carried herself with a lot more dignity and class – the kind of dignity that starlets could not afford – at least not the ones that Jeffrey hired for his shows. It was just that sometimes he still longed for something a bit less classy – well, as long as Maggie did not know, there was no harm in his helping himself to a bit of extra pie on the side.

  “So Jeffrey, looks like you bit off more of a piece than you could chew, huh?” Jim McNulty broke the silence.

  Who made you the court jester? Jeffrey bolted upright at the sound of the annoying wisecrack - if the bigmouth were not piloting the helicopter, he would have surely taken a swipe at him. That was another thing Jeffrey had been known for in his wild days, fighting. Whenever he was around women, he drank and when he drank, he got into fights. Luckily, he was in remission now with Maggie to keep him in check, so the old geezer should be thanking his luck. “You could say that,” Jeffrey conceded – he was not about to lose his cool in front of Maggie. “But then again, I’m new to this whole thing.”

  “All is well that ends well.” Jim chuckled. “Good thing you had Taylor watching out for you.”

  There it was again – praise for the almighty Taylor, as if Jeffrey had not had enough of the pompous buffoon already.

  “I’m Jim by the way, Jim McNulty.” The pilot introduced himself.

  “Nice to meet you, Jim. I’m Jeffrey Preston – I’d offer to shake hands, but I see you got your hands full at the moment.” Jeffrey managed a joke.

  “You got that right.” Jim chuckled.

  “Jim will be the helicopter pilot for the documentary,” Ryan added. “We were just circling around, looking for additional spots to shoot when Taylor called us.”

  Things are getting better by the minute, thought Jeffrey.

  “I look forward to working with you, Jeff,” said Jim.

  “It’s Jeffrey,” Jeffrey corrected him – even in kindergarten he was always called by his full name, and he was not about to change the habit now.

  “Oh, pardon me,” said Jim, and Jeffrey was certain that he detected mockery in his tone.

  It took a major effort of willpower for Jeffrey not to snap; thankfully, he spotted the ski base coming into view – the ride was almost over and so was his association with these roughnecks, at least for today. If it were not for the way he had trumpeted the documentary at the network, he might have cancelled the whole thing on the spot – he’d been known to fire entire casts of actors, but, as things were, he had to rein in his emotions. After months of badgering the senior execs for funding, he could not just up and scrap the whole thing – even his old man would not cover for him for something like that. No, he had to think this one through – maybe it still was not too late to make some last minute changes to the cast after all, but he would have to be smart about it.

  Back in the hotel, Jeffrey threw off his jacket and headed for the shower – a long, hot shower to relax his sore muscles and cool his temper was exactly what he needed at the moment. After that he could think of a few things he wanted to do to Maggie – like have his way with her on the California king bed of their suite. He had been so gung-ho about skiing that he had put sex on the back burner, and he certainly did not want his fiancée to think that he was losing interest. On the contrary, the way Maggie had raced all the way down that incline just because she thought something
was wrong with him, made him aroused – sure it was reckless of her, but it proved to him how much she cared about him.

  Once Maggie heard the shower door close behind Jeffrey, she turned on her laptop and connected her camera to transfer the pictures she had taken over the past few days. Her laptop had taken her through four years of college and was by far not the latest model, but the Photoshop version that she installed on it was topnotch. Not that she was bursting with creativity at the moment, especially not after she heard Jeffrey say that she was ‘dabbling’ in photography.

  The photos uploaded on the screen, and Maggie surveyed the images of the breathtaking Eagleville mountains that she had taken earlier in the day. She had seen similar photographs in National Geographic, but could she ever hope to see her own work there? Ever since she held her first camera in her hands, she knew that photography was her true calling. As a kid she used to look at photos in magazines and dream that someday her credits would be listed inside the cover. She took photography classes in college and received praise from her professors; some of her work had even been published in local newspapers – that might not be much, but it certainly proved that she had some claim to her dream. Why then did she balk when Taylor asked her if she were a photographer and let Jeffrey insult her by saying that she was an amateur to boot?

  The group photo that Maggie had taken during lunch came up on the screen. Taylor stood in the middle, flanked by Hannah and Shawn, and Jeffrey stood over to the left next to Charlie and Bethany. Normally, Jeffrey had a perfect poker face, but in this case he had either decided not to bother or was too irked to conjure one up. Both men had giant egos and neither one would yield; as a result, the tension between the two mavericks culminated and almost ended in an accident. Maggie admitted that as Jeffrey’s fiancée, she should unquestionably take his side, but she found it difficult to do so, remembering Jeffrey’s recklessness: he had endangered himself and the guides. She could still see the look of shock on Hannah’s and Shawn’s faces as they watched Taylor plunging down the incline after Jeffrey. It was scary to think of the terrible way the day could have ended had it not been for Taylor’s quick thinking. At the time, Maggie could not think straight herself, so she had rushed right after Taylor: at that moment, she had been equally worried about both men.

  Well, there was no confusion in Maggie’s mind now: she went down that incline because her fiancé was in trouble and she wanted to help. She had more than enough skill to ski that route, but apparently, Taylor disagreed and felt himself entitled to admonish her, as if she were a schoolgirl.

  Chapter 11

  Jeffrey got out of the shower - he was feeling much better now. His earlier anger abated, and all he could think of was his powerful desire to kiss Maggie’s lips and run his hands over her body. He wrapped the towel around his waist and headed into the living room where he could see Maggie fussing with her computer. Whatever was she doing? As he approached her, he got his answer – the girl was messing around with her damn photos again. Well, as long as she understood that this nonsense should never go beyond a hobby, he was fine with it. Then Jeffrey saw something on the laptop screen that made him stop dead in his tracks. He had twenty / twenty vision, but he squinted just to make sure as he leaned over Maggie’s shoulder.

  “Jeffrey! You scared me…”

  “Why would that be?” Jeffrey kept his voice calm. “Is that Taylor’s picture?” He pointed to the image of a skier flying down an almost vertical cliff. The question was rhetorical since Jeffrey already knew the answer, but he liked to play a game of cat and mouse.

  “Yes. I took it during our first day here when you went to ski with Charlie. I was on the lift and I saw a skier go down this really steep run, so I thought it’d be a great shot and took the photos. Imagine my surprise when I learned that he was the star of your documentary.”

  “It’s a really good shot.” Jeffrey studied Maggie’s face for clues - her expression was that of perfect innocence. However, he still was not convinced, but he’d deal with that later. Right now all he wanted was to erase all thought of that roughneck Taylor from her mind. Jeffrey ran his hands through Maggie’s hair, nuzzling her neck. “How about a little break from photography?” he murmured.

  “Jeffrey?”

  “Mmm…”

  “I was wondering… Do you think I could do some of the photos for the documentary? I could shoot the proofs for the DVD cover - I am not asking for any special treatment – just a fair chance to have my work considered.”

  There it was again – the damn nonsense about photography. One compliment from a know-it-all ski bum and his fiancée now thought that she had what it took to do a DVD cover. It did not matter to Jeffrey how good Maggie’s photographs were – he did not want her involved in his work projects. Work and pleasure did not mix - more often than not the combination led to disaster. But he could not just tell that to her outright – he had to be nice about it, come up with some suave sugar coating. “Maggie, I am sorry, but a photographer has already been selected for the cover and for all the promotional photos. I thought you were happy to just keep doing this as a hobby,” Jeffrey added.

  “Why? You don’t think I’m good enough to ever become a professional?”

  Jeffrey swore he could see her eyes welling up. Jeez, he’d had no idea the girl was this crazy about the whole thing; it was high time to turn on Mr. Sensitive. “Maggie, no, why would you think that? Did I ever say anything like that to you?”

  “No, but it’s the only reasonable assumption.”

  “Well don’t assume things that aren’t there! I think your photos are great – I just didn’t think you’d want to deal with all the hassle and politics involved. Photography is a highly competitive field, and things often get cutthroat – it’s no walk in the park.” Jeffrey hoped to God his speech was working – he was running out of clichés.

  “And you don’t think I have what it takes to make it?”

  “Did I ever say anything like that?” Jeffrey willed his facial muscles into what he hoped would pass as a look of sympathy – the conversation was starting to run in circles, and he was close to losing his temper.

  “No, you didn’t.”

  “So why would you assume something like that? Look, if it makes you feel better, I’ll see if I can get you in on the next project.”

  “Okay.” Maggie’s face brightened. “But in the meantime, I’ll try submitting to magazines. I’ve had some publications before – they were all local newspapers, but that’s a start, right?”

  “Let’s talk about that later.” Jeffrey stroked Maggie’s silky hair – he liked the way it sifted through his hands. He swung around the chair she was sitting on and scooped her into her arms.

  “Jeffrey!” Maggie shrieked. “I was working…”

  But by the way she giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck, he could tell that she did not really object to the interruption. “Well, you’re allowed to have some fun on vacation,” he murmured as he kissed her neck.

  Later that night, getting dressed for dinner, Maggie was in much brighter spirits. Jeffrey seemed to be in a better mood, and she looked forward to spending more time with him during the rest of the vacation. Perhaps tomorrow they could take a scenic walk together or maybe do something fun and touristy, like dog sledding. She had had enough skiing for at least a couple of days, and probably, so had Jeffrey. This was their engagement trip and it was high time for them to do something romantic together.

  She was glad that she had broached the subject of photography with Jeffrey. True, he was not exactly ecstatic about the idea, but he was not vehemently opposed to it either – at least not from what he told her earlier in the day. The fact of the matter was that it was not up to him - she did not need Jeffrey’s pull to succeed – sure, it would be an icing on the cake, but an independent success would make the victory all that much sweeter. Already she had developed a plan: she would build her portfolio during the trip; then, she would reach out to her former college prof
essors to see what advice they might have for her and start submitting to magazines. And she would try to get an apprenticeship in a magazine or a photo studio. Maggie suspected that her plan had gaps in it, but she would fill in the details along the way.

  With her mind at ease, came an explanation why she had been so smitten by Taylor. What attracted her in Taylor was his passion about skiing, which reminded Maggie of the way she felt about photography, but she needn’t confuse it with infatuation. She was in love with Jeffrey Preston, the man she was to marry a year from now.

  Maggie surveyed her reflection in the mirror: she was wearing her favorite cocktail dress and high-heeled leather boots – not the most appropriate attire for a ski resort, but they were going out tonight and she wanted to look her best for Jeffrey, which she had accomplished as he had remarked about the ‘hotness’ of her outfit.

  “Maggie, you go on ahead – I just need to make a few calls,” said Jeffrey.

  “All right, I’ll see you there.”

  Maggie made her way into the downstairs lounge where Bethany and Charlie were supposed to meet her and Jeffrey for drinks. Tonight, they were to dine at the French Bistro – the hot new restaurant at the resort.

  “Over here!” Bethany waved from a barstool.

  “Where is Charlie?” asked Maggie after she made her way through the bar. It was a little after seven, and the evening crowd was beginning to gather.

  “Oh, he’s talking to Jeffrey about some legal stuff for the documentary - something about last minute changes to the contract. Didn’t Jeffrey tell you?”

  “He said he needed to make some calls…” Maggie did not want Bethany to think that Jeffrey kept things from her. Not that he was keeping anything from her: this was work stuff and he never liked to go into details when things were not running smoothly, and if Jeffrey had to talk business this late in the evening, it was clear that things were not going smoothly.