Insert Groom Here

by K. M. Jackson

  Eva felt the hairs on the back of her neck go up, and she blinked. She was getting into dangerous mind territory. Better to stop this before it went any further.

  She swept her gaze up from his most gazeable lips and back up to his dark chocolate eyes. Eva was taken aback by the underlying smolder there. She reached up and snatched the coffee from his outstretched hand. “Can you put your arms down? You look ridiculous.”

  “Sure, princess. I was giving you time to finish your, uh, assessment.”

  “Oh, trust me, my assessment is done. And you can drop the princ—,”

  Her words were cut off midstream as his free arm slipped around her waist, and before she could get her protest out, his lips—those same lips that she had stared at for just a little too long moments ago—were now on hers again. But this time there was no shock, at least not on his part. And in spite of herself, she leaned in toward him and gave just as she got. Her body folded toward his, head tilting, lips molding easily, maybe a little too naturally, conforming to his plump fullness. Instantly, shockingly, surprisingly she was aroused, her whole body now as warm as the cup of coffee she was having trouble balancing in her hand. She let out a soft moan as his tongue gently swept over the crease of her lips, and they parted in silent response.

  But just that quickly he pulled back, holding her by an elbow with one hand as he softly retrieved the takeout coffee cup with the other. “Hey there, watch it. You don’t want to spill this on your nice rug, do you?”

  Her lashes fluttered, or maybe she blinked. Fluttering seemed such a silly thing to do and something she’d have neither the time nor the patience for. Either way, she opened her eyes and looked up, the world slowly coming back into focus. Walker smiled smugly down at her. Once again he’d caught her off balance and at her worst.

  The bastard. She swallowed.

  “What the hell was that all about?” she asked, hoping her voice held the appropriate appalled tone.

  He grinned wide. “That was me evening the score. And after our meeting with the crew and then in my office, I got to thinking, you need to get your mind in the game. I figure we’re good now. You kissed me, I kissed you. No biggie. Though I’m going to give you a pass on the balls kick because, one, it would lead to rightful assault charges, and two, I don’t hurt women. It’s not my thing. Also, three, I probably deserved something close to that for filming you without your knowledge. That will never happen again. So with this kiss, I figure now we’re square. You can stop giving me wondering looks about where we stand after our first encounter. We stand where we stand. You snuck me one, now I’ve gotten you back. We’re both on the up-and-up, and now we can get to work. Cool?”

  He let her hand go and pressed the coffee cup firmly into it. It took all she had to stay steady, but Eva refused to give him the satisfaction of swaying.

  “Perfect.” He stood to his full height and looked down at her, his gaze more assessing than anything else. “Now that that’s out of the way, I suggest you drink up and throw on some casual, Saturday, single-girl-about-town clothes, because in about fifteen minutes it’s going to get pretty crowded in here.”

  All Eva could do was watch as he sailed right on by her, as if he hadn’t just knocked her nonexistent socks off. In a few quick strides from the foyer, he was clear across her living room, and a few steps after that he made short work of her open-concept kitchen of her small apartment. One turn to the right and he would be at her bedroom door. Eva put her coffee cup on the kitchen island and ran to step in front of him.

  “That space is off limits.”

  He raised a brow. “I hate to tell you, princess, but you signed an agreement that says otherwise.”

  She felt her face begin to heat. She knew what she had signed, but still, she didn’t want all of America seeing her private space, as she knew her unmentionables didn’t quite make it to the clothes hamper most days. Or was it the fact that he would know? Embarrassingly, it was the latter that caused her the most unease.

  She crossed her arms and pulled herself up to her full height, raising her chin. “I know what I signed, and my private spaces are off limits . . . without mutual agreement, of course, and right now I’m not mutually agreeing.” Her words sounded hollow even to her own ears, but she hoped she could fudge it. “I won’t be embarrassed. You know as well as I do that the network can’t afford any bad publicity out of this deal. The bedroom is out, at least until I straighten it up.”

  He looked down at her for a long moment, his eyes completely unreadable. Eva stared back. Unblinking. Trying her best to give as good as she got, when really she couldn’t believe how he could be so cool after the kiss they just shared. The man was some sort of machine. Either that or she had no effect on him at all. She frowned. It was probably the latter, which really was for the best, no matter the blow to her ego.

  The buzzer rang, causing her to jump at the sharp sound breaking the silence.

  “Looks like your time is up,” Walker said with a raised brow. “I’ll give in for now. You go and get dressed. Clear out whatever it is . . .” Aidan paused. “Wait, it is an ‘it’ and not a ‘who,’ yes? I don’t want to assume.”

  Eva crossed her arms. “Don’t be an ass, Mr. Walker.”

  “Fine. Sorry, just making sure. And please, call me Aidan.”

  “Well then, don’t be an ass, Aidan.”

  He grinned. “That’s better, princess. And a word of advice. This will be a long eight weeks if you take everything so seriously. If I were you, I’d lighten up a bit and thaw the icy rod you’ve got for a spine. With it as frozen as it is, it’s liable to break at the lightest tap.”

  Eva fumed as thoughts of Kevin and accusations of him calling her frigid came to mind. “I’ll have you know, I’m no princess, and I’m far from frigid.”

  Once again, he laughed. This time he looked down at her lips in such a way that her nipples hardened way too much for her to be comfortable in her T-shirt. Still, she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of fidgeting. His eyes met hers again. “No, princess. I’m starting to believe I can take your word on that.” The buzzer rang again, leaving Eva no time to contemplate the meaning of his last comment.

  “Okay, pri—,”

  She raised a brow.

  “I’m sorry, Miss Ward.” He gave her a quick once-over. “As lovely as you are in your morning attire, how about you go get dressed.” He took a step back and grabbed the cup of coffee, handing it back to her. “Sip some of this while you’re at it. I’ll handle the crew for now.”

  Eva took a sip of the perfect cup of coffee and gave him a wide-eyed look. He grinned. “You’re not the only one who does research.”

  Chapter 8

  Aidan stood in the far corner of Eva’s bedroom and gave himself a mental ass kicking as he replayed the kiss over and over in his mind. He didn’t know what had gotten into him, but he knew for damn well he needed it or her to get out.

  Shit. He was a total idiot going off and kissing her like he did and then coming up with that lame excuse about making them even. He was sure she didn’t believe it for one moment. But like him, he was also sure she was telling herself the same lie or some such thing in order to get through the day, to keep things professional and on the up-and-up.

  He shook his head. Dammit. He had almost ruined this job even before it got started, leaning down and kissing her like he did. And the worst part of it was he didn’t regret it half as much as he should have. For all his talk about life and work lessons and being smart, he was acting like he’d learned nothing from his years of experience. One glimpse of a surprisingly cute-in-the-morning ice princess and he was tripping over his dick to get his hands on her again.

  Aidan frowned—over his poor judgment, and when he thought about it, even more over the fact that it could possibly be more than just hormones when it came to her. With Eva it was the whole package. Yes, she was adorable in her wrinkled tee and shorts and her hair all tousled. But it was something else. Once again it was that hidde
n spark that pulled him in. That fire in her eyes that had him taking a job that was clearly not his taste or something he could say he believed in. That spark that had him showing up to woo her with coffee in the early-dawn hours as if she were an informant he had to win over with cash and promises. It was ridiculous and he knew it. And the most terrible part was that he knew it was a waste of his time since when this was done she’d have her groom and he’d be onto his next assignment.

  So what was it all for?

  Aidan shook his head in silent answer to himself. Enough of this. He needed to get his head in the game and focus on the task at hand. He looked down and tried to objectively study the image projected on the monitor before him, fighting to keep his expression emotionless.

  The camera loved her. One thing both he and Carter could agree on was that she really was intriguing when she had her dander up. And right now, her dander was definitely up. Try as he might, it was difficult not to smile as he watched her squirm over the horror of having two cameramen, a sound engineer, a boom operator, the show’s stylist, and herself all crammed into her walk-in closet. It was like a magic clown car, only better. And that didn’t count the rest of the set people rigging up her small living room for after-date diary confessions. He was starting to think maybe they should have rented an apartment to double as her home. This was all around too tight.

  But, surprisingly, Eva took it in stride. She teetered only a bit when Steve, the second cameraman, tripped over a pair of her strappy Jimmy Choos, crushing the dainty crystal heels under his steel-toed work boots. She didn’t blow the expected gasket, but instead only let off a little silent steam, acutely aware now that there were cameras and mics trained on her every move and word. And at that moment, they captured the full awkward exchange in her closet between her and the station’s quirky stylist, Mitzi Ackerman.

  “I mean, come on, Eva, dear. Surely, you want to show your adventurous side to your dates now, don’t you? Let a bit of that wild animal out now that you’re on the market again?” Mitzi said, with an exaggerated shoulder shimmy for the cameras.

  Eva looked at Mitzi, and her eyes shifted from Mitzi’s bright, frizzed, tangerine hair to her cheetah top and her leatherette leggings, all the way down to her polka-dotted platform heels. To her credit, though she was clearly out of her depth, she kept up appearances. “I like to keep things pretty low-key,” she said. “Let’s just say I keep my adventures to myself.”

  There was an awkward pause, and her eyes went wide as she realized how what she’d just said might be construed and Aidan could see the embarrassment bloom under her golden hued skin.

  Mitzi gave a chuckle and then a nudge and a wink. “I’ll be the judge of that. Now let’s go through this closet.”

  It was forty minutes later, and poor Mitzi was at a loss. She looked to the cameras and gave a weak grin. Aidan stood back. He suspected it was not often that Mitzi was lost for words. “Really, I don’t know how a person can have thirty matching twinsets in her wardrobe. It’s inconceivable. And silk. That much silk. Your dry-cleaning bill must be astronomical.” She pulled out her phone and seemed to hit SPEED DIAL. As she put the phone to her ear, she reached out and lightly touched Eva’s pearls. “Charming. Pearls on a Saturday. You are original.” Luckily, Eva’s raised brow was caught on camera. And the simmering anger seemed to leap through the lens and grab him.

  Mitzi’s voice rang throughout the bedroom. “Hello, Carlo. Yes, darling, this is an emergency. Size six, bring it all. We’re talking type A, to the max.” She swiped at her phone and let out a dramatic sigh. “Not to worry,” she announced to the room as a whole. “I have some things coming from the office. We’ll get you going with hair and makeup, and you’ll be fine.”

  Eva’s eyes went wide. “Hair and makeup? Just how much hair and makeup? I thought this was supposed to be me going on dates, not some facsimile of me. I’m not going to be getting done up like a Bachelorette contestant and traipsing out of a car in an updo and an old prom dress.”

  She stormed out of the closet as Aidan moved forward. But Louisa, the segment’s assistant director, got to her first, and Aidan stepped back. It was for the best. He had screwed up enough for one morning. It was better to let Lou take the lead here. So he hung back and observed Louisa’s no-nonsense style.

  One of the few women on the shoot, Lou wore multi-pocketed cargo pants, which no doubt held one of anything and everything that might be needed, and a simple black tank top. “Of course we’re not going to do you up like that, Eva. But we also want to distance you a bit from the Eva you were when it was the couple’s competition with you and Kevin. This time it’s all about you. Your solo act. Now, I know it sucks and it’s a total intrusion on your being, but can you bend a little and trust us to do our job?”

  Aidan held his breath. He wanted so much to speak up but didn’t dare. No need to spook her and send her running off. Besides, Lou had the right of it. Any words from him now wouldn’t be wanted or received well.

  He had pushed his luck far enough with that kiss, and he was damned lucky they were all even standing in her apartment after that stupid stunt. Sure, he played it off and acted like it was no big deal, just payback for what she had done, but in reality it was huge, way bigger than what was safe, he needed to pull back and seriously consider if staying on here was a good idea.

  But what was the alternative? Step back and let Rick Lancer come in and take over? No way. With Rick, silly-looking dresses would be the least of her problems. Morning-show viewing be damned, Rick would have her visiting an underground sex den and dabbling in bondage by way of a first-date ice breaker. Not to mention how he’d probably come on to her. But shit, he was the one who’d kissed her. So how was he any better? With that thought, Aidan’s brain threatened to overload. What was she doing to him? No matter, there was no way he was turning this over to Rick Lancer. That was not going to happen.

  Besides, though he was sure to not pursue it any further, he could admit she rattled him. She rattled him and he enjoyed rattling her. That kiss she had planted on him after her meltdown was hard to shake, just as it was hard to shake how ridiculously alluring she was when knocked a little off her game. It was a turn-on. And it had been way too long since he had been that turned on by any woman. For so long he’d been out with what could only be considered cookie-cutter, model-esque, outdoorsy-adventure types. But this seemingly straitlaced city girl had him on his toes.

  He liked seeing her a little off guard, slightly disheveled and not her usual perfect self. He loved it when her hair was down and not in that tight twist thing she preferred. And he could admit she was super-hot when she was in a bit of a temper and had a blush of color flaring on her cheeks.

  “We’ll start with cutting your hair,” Mitzi declared.

  “No,” Aidan said.

  “No,” Eva echoed, but stopped short and looked at Aidan wide-eyed.

  The three women stared at him, and Aidan realized he’d spoken out loud and probably a little more forcefully than he should have.

  He coughed, then turned to Mitzi. “You’ll do the makeover, but nothing too drastic. Social media is telling us that the public likes Eva as she is, so don’t waver too far from her current image. Make the changes minimal and subliminal.” He turned and stared at Eva, giving her what he hoped was a critical eye. It was hard to keep his composure and not crack a smile, because the look she gave him back was full of challenge and sass, and it took all his strength not to give some of that challenge right back. That, or lean back in and kiss those sweet, pouty lips again.

  Damn. What was it about this woman? Why did she distract him so? Aidan let out a breath and began to speak over his shoulder, directing his words at Mitzi and Louisa, knowing all the while that it would send Eva into a further state. No matter, she was the talent, and it was high time both of them learned it.

  “A few highlights, maybe some curls now and again.” His gaze went south to her tailored trousers, and he shook his head. “Some decent
jeans, please, and some heels. Guys love that on dates, plus flirty skirts.” Traveling north again, his eyes settled on the shell-pink twinset that skimmed her waist and hugged her full breasts perfectly. What a lucky sweater. “And for God’s sake, lose the twinsets.” He saw her swallow and knew she was tamping down her anger. The pearls at the hollow of her throat shifted ever so slightly, and he had the urge to lean in and lick, see what that beautiful throat tasted like. He let out a breath and continued. “She can keep the pearls, though. It will be her signature.”

  Catching the flame in her deep honey eyes, he practically had to step back so as not to get burned. So why was it part of him wanted to step in closer to her?

  “Are you done?” Eva’s sharp tone snapped him back to awareness.

  He looked her over quickly, though it was more of a chance to get his response in line. “I think I am, thank you, Miss Ward.”

  The look she gave him was as frosty as a snow cone and as beautiful as anything he’d ever seen. But it was enough. She was dangerous, and his reactions to her had to stop. He was there for a job, and nothing more. Eva Ward was his subject, and in a little more than a handful of weeks he’d see her married on the air, and then his obligation to his father would be fulfilled. After that, hopefully the old man would be once again off his back and he’d be free, back out on the road and able to live his life and work as he chose.

  Chapter 9

  Eva had been plucked, pulled, dyed, and fried, and at that moment she was about at the end of her rope. She thought she’d never be free of the pack of wildings set loose on her life, but at last she was. She finally had her apartment to herself once again.