by Raine Thomas
Over the past couple of days, Regina had been trying to determine the best angle to take to get Suddenly Something featured more prominently on House of Archer. She had figured that confrontations between Brandon and Archer would be the natural way to go. Long must have felt the same way since he arranged for Brandon and Archer to be seated together at dinner and had cameras filming throughout the evening. For some reason, though, neither guy was rising to the bait. Regina had observed the painfully frigid silence between them and knew it wouldn’t result in any compelling footage.
The idea of taking Brandon aside to convince him to stir things up had crossed her mind. If he had been a better actor, she would have. But she knew acting wasn’t one of his talents. Anything he attempted due to her prompting was bound to come off unnatural or rehearsed.
That was when she decided to take matters into her own hands. As they waited for their entrees, she turned her full attention to Long. She might be nearing fifty, but she kept herself well-maintained and knew how to turn on the charm. The producer was easy pickings.
She was careful with Donahue sitting at the table, of course. She kept the conversation topics neutral and pretended to find Long’s dialogue stimulating. It was quite the feat, especially when he got started on his last golf outing. Even Donahue gave up at that point, bringing out his cell phone to check his messages. Regina envied him. She nearly cheered when the disruption started downstairs.
She noted Long’s reaction when Lily’s mother started shouting. He immediately flagged the camera crew and pulled out his own small camcorder. It didn’t surprise her that drama caught the producer’s attention. What surprised her was that the drama surrounded Lily Montgomery, not a member of The Void or any of the other groups on the tour.
Did Long know about the budding romance between Archer and his long-time friend? Was that why he immediately started filming? Or was he just trying to capture anything of interest in hopes it made the show more appealing to viewers?
Regina had to figure out what content Long was looking for if she wanted to get Suddenly Something more airtime. With that in mind, she used the opportunity when Donahue left the table to invite the producer to join her for a nightcap at the hotel bar. He had eagerly accepted.
In hopes of getting an inside-scoop before then, Regina had ridden back to the hotel with Brandon and his date. She wanted to know if there had been any interesting bits of conversation during their dinner.
Brandon’s shrug hadn’t helped her at all. Heather, on the other hand, had been all too happy to chat.
“Lily’s The Void’s new social media manager,” she had revealed.
“When did that happen?” Regina wanted to know.
“I think it’s new. Lily only mentioned having made a few posts so far.”
Maybe that was why Long was interested in content featuring Lily. She was technically part of The Void’s entourage now. Between that and whatever seemed to be happening romantically between her and Archer, Lily was drawing more attention than Regina liked.
Well, Regina was no stranger to doing things she found unpalatable. She decided that if using Lily would get her what she wanted, that was just what she’d do.
Now here she was, doubting her own sanity as Long started discussing gardening of all things. Like she had a garden.
“I suppose filming a reality show is something like gardening,” she interrupted as he began listing the types of citrus fruit trees he had planted in his backyard.
He blinked at that. Either the rather clumsy subject change jarred him or his brain was fuzzy from the four glasses of scotch he’d had between dinner and now. Maybe both. Regina gave him a smile and deliberately touched his hand to distract him.
“I mean,” she continued, “you plant seeds for the show and hope they bear fruit, right? Isn’t that one of the ways to get great footage?”
“Sure, sure,” he said, nodding and lifting his empty glass in a broad gesture. “Most of the stuff you see on TV doesn’t just drop in your lap, you know.”
“I can imagine. Scenes like what happened this evening must feel like television gold to you.”
He paused to process what she said and then nodded again. “Sure, sure. Where’s the waitress?”
Regina barely stopped herself from hissing at him in impatience. “I think she’s heading our way,” she said through clenched teeth. “So did you get anything of interest for the show today then?”
“Oh, yeah,” he replied with a sloppy grin. “Lily’s mother popped her big time right across the face. Smack!”
He demonstrated by slapping the air and guffawing. Regina didn’t immediately reply as their waitress finally brought their drinks. It certainly made sense that such a spectacle had captured the producer’s attention, but she wasn’t sure how she could use that to help Suddenly Something.
“Made Archer all hot ‘n bothered,” Long continued as he took a sip of his fresh drink. “Wish we could have gotten more footage of them together. They left too soon. Stupid goons watching over them every minute.”
Her gaze narrowed in consideration. “You want footage of Archer and Lily together?”
“Sure, sure. Sex sells, right?”
Regina thought about the footage she had captured of Archer making out with Lily in the back of the SUV. It wasn’t very clear thanks to the tint on the SUV’s windows and the fact that the vehicles were moving, but there were enough glimpses of both Archer and Lily to identify who they were and what they were doing. Based on what Long had just said, maybe she could use the footage as a bargaining chip to get more coverage of Suddenly Something.
“What the hell?” Long said before she could broach the subject.
He shoved himself to his feet and fumbled for the small camera he had placed on the table. Regina looked where he was aiming the camera when he swung it up to record. She also rose from her seat when she saw Lily Montgomery standing in the lobby in front of a blond man kneeling at her feet. It was only too obvious what was happening.
Her thoughts echoed Long’s exclamation. What the hell?
“Who is that?” she asked.
“Must be her fiancé,” Long said with obvious excitement. “Archer said she was ending things with him. Doesn’t look like Blondie there is aware of it.”
“Lily’s engaged?” Regina asked. “But it looks like he’s proposing right now. How can that be?”
“Dunno.”
They both watched as Lily said something to the blond man and he got to his feet. Regina couldn’t tell from either of their expressions what was happening.
“I’m not a crowd person...sorry,” Regina heard Lily explain to the people surrounding them.
“Tell me about it,” Long mumbled.
Regina’s attention shifted back to him. “What do you mean?”
“Look at her go,” he said as he moved away from the table to film Lily and the blond male getting onto the elevator. “Just when things get interesting, she disappears.”
Regina waited until the producer stopped filming and they both sat back down at the table before asking, “Is Lily not interested in helping the show succeed?”
“Well if she was, she would sign the release to participate, wouldn’t she?”
“You mean...she hasn’t agreed to allow you to release her image?”
“Nope.” Long slurped his drink and wiped his gleaming brow with a cocktail napkin. “I can only hope Archer will convince her to change her mind. With this expedited format, we go to air in a few weeks...hell, I need some solid teasers within the next couple days. The best footage we’ve got so far has Lily Montgomery in it. Can’t use it if she doesn’t sign.”
“Why won’t she?”
Long shrugged. “Damned if I know. Even her mother signed when my assistant chased after her earlier.”
“Lily’s mother knows about the show?”
“Don’t think so. My assistant just told her we were doing some filming and needed her okay to air it. She didn’t even ask wha
t for after we told her we’d pay her a hundred bucks if she signed.”
Regina sipped her martini as she pondered this. Lily’s mother had charged into a public place, screamed her head off, and physically attacked her own daughter. Judging by Lily’s reaction to the whole thing, this wasn’t the first time she had dealt with something like this. That seemed reason enough for Lily not to sign a release. Most people wouldn’t want their dirty laundry aired. Regina was also aware of Lily’s protectiveness when it came to Archer and The Void. She would see her family drama as a detriment to them.
“Well if you’re not getting the footage you need from that end,” Regina said with another smile, “why don’t we discuss how Suddenly Something can help the show?”
He made a buzzing sound with his lips that had Regina’s temper flaring. “The show is called House of Archer,” he pointed out. “Archer’s the draw and Lily Montgomery is at the heart of bringing the show to life. Trust me on that.”
Regina’s hand had tightened into a fist on her lap but she wasn’t so naïve as to think the producer was wrong. That meant she had to play upon what Long wanted.
Carefully uncurling her fingers, she said, “What if I could give you some compelling content to air while you’re waiting for Lily to come to her senses?”
His hand paused halfway to his mouth with his glass. “What kind of content?”
“Archer and Lily in what we’ll say is a compromising position.”
“Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack.”
A wide smile spread across his face. “You do that, we’ll be talking about how to build House of Archer into a spin-off featuring Suddenly Something.”
“Then start thinking of show titles, Mr. Long. I’m about to make your dreams come true.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
It was an interesting position to be in, Archer thought the next morning, having to convince a woman that he was worthy of her. He had never had to chase females before, something Lily had never let him forget in their years as friends. There had to be some irony in that Lily herself was the one he ultimately chose to pursue.
Rather than aggravate him, Lily’s ultimatum the night before had charged him up. He had lain awake half the night thinking of the many ways he could fulfill her demand to convince her she was making the right choice. He figured it was a bonus that he knew her better than anyone.
His plan that morning was to finish getting ready after his post-workout shower and get some chai tea and breakfast for Lily. The bands on the tour had a day of rest ahead of them. Everyone but Genevieve Shaw had agreed weeks ago to buy out California’s Great America theme park that day so they could unwind outside of the public eye. Archer intended to use this opportunity to give Lily his full attention.
There was a knock on his door as he finished up a phone conversation with Christopher about their travel arrangements for the day. He listened to his phone with half an ear as Trey looked through the peephole and then opened the door to allow Lily to enter.
She looked surprisingly perky considering the hour. He had figured he’d have to drag her out of bed. Instead she looked ready to head out in a pair of white shorts that showed a lot of her toned legs, a navy blue cotton top with short, ruffled sleeves, and her favorite pair of sandals. He was pleased to see that there was no obvious swelling where her mother had hit her and that her makeup did a good job of covering the bruising. She was obviously wearing her contacts since she had her non-prescription sunglasses pushed up on her head. Her hair was swept up in a ponytail and the light scent of sunscreen reached him from where she paused to give him a once-over.
When her gaze dropped to his chest and stayed there, he realized he was still holding his T-shirt. A grin tugged at the corners of his mouth when he noticed the effect his bare upper-body was having on her.
“Hello?”
Christopher’s voice in Archer’s ear made him realize he had been just as struck by Lily as she was by him. “Sorry, gotta go,” he told his manager.
He tapped the button to end the call and then stuck his phone in his shorts’ pocket as he strolled across the room until he stood in front of Lily. “Good morning, Sunshine. I had planned on coming to get you.”
She finally looked up from his chest. He enjoyed the way her pupils were slightly dilated and her eye color had deepened. He wondered how much more purple they would get when he finally got to touch her like he wanted. Just the thought of that had him adjusting his stance.
“I’m good,” she said. Then, apparently realizing he hadn’t asked how she was doing, she clarified, “I mean, good morning.”
He loved how flustered she looked. “You want to touch me, don’t you?”
Her eyes widened and she glanced at Trey, who was standing on the other side of the room watching something on TV. “Dane.”
He reached up and touched her face so she returned her attention to him. “It’s okay. I want to touch you, too. Do you want me to detail how?”
Now she tilted her head and crossed her arms over her chest. “Really? Is this how you think you’ll convince me?”
Smiling, he stepped closer to her and pulled her against him. She gasped and uncrossed her arms to brace herself against him. He took the opportunity to sweep down and kiss her deeply, rubbing his tongue against hers until she sank bonelessly against him. Only then did he pull away.
“Is it working?” he asked roughly.
“No,” she said, her breasts rising and falling as she fought for breath. Her grin told him she was lying.
“Guess I’ll have to take another approach then. How does breakfast sound?”
“Delicious.”
The way she said the word as she stared at his mouth had him wanting to drag her into the bedroom. Instead, he put some space between them and pulled on his T-shirt to try and get himself back under control.
“We’ll have to eat on the way to the park,” he said. “Apparently everyone is eager to get going.”
“Yeah,” Lily said. “Aria and Sydney are already in the lobby. They were the ones who shoved me out of bed.”
“And they’re still alive?”
“Ha ha. But true.”
Archer put on his watch and turned to Trey. “We’ll see you when we get back from the park. Enjoy your afternoon off.”
“Thank you, sir,” Trey responded in his deep, even tone. “I won’t know what to do with myself.”
Archer grinned. “I’m sure you’ll come up with something.”
Lily smiled at Trey and followed Archer to the door. As they stepped into the hallway, Archer took her hand and brought it to his lips. She gave him a warning look and pulled her hand away.
“I thought we discussed this before I left last night,” she said in a quiet voice. “No PDA yet.”
One of Lily’s conditions of agreeing to start a romantic relationship with him was that they keep it private for a while. She felt it wouldn’t reflect well on either of them if it got out that she was seeing him right after breaking off her engagement to Johnathan. Archer supposed there was some truth in that.
She was also still hung up on the idea of getting her career going on her own, something he didn’t think he’d ever understand. In his world, you took advantage of your connections if you wanted to advance your career.
Regardless, Archer had conceded to her wishes, even contacting the band members after she left his room the night before and explaining Lily’s conditions. None of them seemed inclined to go against what she wanted, nor had he expected them to.
That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to skirt around her rules, though.
“Do you see anyone around?” he asked now, throwing his arm over her shoulders.
She gave him another arch look. “There are peepholes on all of these doors we’re passing, aren’t there?”
“Are you telling me that you stand in your hotel room and stare out the peephole in case something interesting happens in the hallway?”
“What?
No! I mean that...well, some people...just shut up.”
He smiled and considered it a victory that she allowed him to keep his arm around her while they waited for the elevator. “Did you tell Aria and Sydney about last night?” he asked as they got into the elevator.
“Yeah. Aria was thrilled. She never really liked Johnathan and said she just wants me to be happy.”
“Not a ringing endorsement for me, I guess, but I’ll take it. And Sydney?”
Lily kept her gaze on the dwindling floor numbers displayed on the elevator panel as they descended. “Sydney insisted on reminding me why I hadn’t ever considered a relationship with you before. Namely, me being in the limelight when I hate it and risking people not taking me seriously as a writer because I’m with you.”
Neither of those reasons was news to him, but knowing one of Lily’s closest friends was hyping her doubts bothered him. He had enough of a challenge on his hands as it was. Clearly he had to convince more than just Lily that he was the guy for her.
“Ray is beside himself,” Lily continued. “You’d think I won the lottery.”
His smile returned as the elevators opened on the lobby level. “Told Uncle Ray, did you? How’s he doing?”
Lily stepped out first and he allowed his arm to drop from her shoulders before anyone saw them. “He’s good,” she responded. “Still your biggest fan.”
“Yeah?”
“Mmhmm. I believe his exact words last night were, ‘It’s about damn time.’”
“About damn time is right,” Xander said, overhearing her as they joined him and the others on the left side of the lobby. “Why’re we always waitin’ on you for these things, Lilliputian?”
“Because I have to make an entrance,” she replied. Then, planting her hands on her hips and looking around, she added, “What, no drumroll or trumpet trills for me?”
Without a pause, Noelle started drumming on the nearest flat surface and Sage tapped his phone a couple of times until a trumpet call erupted from the speaker. Lily laughed and shoved appreciatively at Noelle’s shoulder.
