Insert Groom Here

by K. M. Jackson

  “Glad to see you’re making yourself at home,” she said, not hiding her sarcasm, and his lips spread wider, showing his gorgeous white teeth in a way that made her stomach do a little flip.

  “Don’t mind if I do. Hey, when we’re working, things get pretty close. Of course, we try to be as inconspicuous as possible, but the crew does turn into a bit of a family. We like to keep it casual. You going to be all right with that, princess?”

  Again with the princess. Eva knew that he knew it raked on her, but she wouldn’t bite. Not today. Today was first-date day, and she had to keep her cool. Had to keep her game face on. This was the beginning of the start of her new image rebuild, and she was ready for it.

  She’d felt remarkably better after she got off the phone with Cori last night. Talking with her friend put things in perspective, and she even felt that this crazy plan had a shot at working and could get her back on track to the start of a new life. She’d carry out her plans as originally stated—go on the few required dates, find her so-called prince charming, have the on-air wedding, and hopefully be a forgotten blip in the television radar by mid-fall. So what if the original rollout with Kev was a thing of the past. It would all work out.

  It was a foolproof plan, and if it was executed properly, both she and her groom could come out on top. It was a win-win all around. She only had to keep her cool, and there was no way she would let another man get her to step out of character. Kevin had done it once; she would not be tripped up again.

  Eva smiled. “I thought we were on a first-name basis, with me being Eva and you being Aidan, but if Eva doesn’t work for you, and you keep up the ‘princess’ bull,” Eva raised her own brow, “I could have you calling me Miss B in no time.”

  With satisfaction, she watched as his expression changed from one of smug assurance to one of pained remembrance of the knee to the balls. She grinned. It was low, but she would not let him keep at her with silly names. “Walker or Aidan will do nicely, thanks, and I’ll go with Eva. The B hits a little too low below the belt for my taste.”

  “Fine, as long as you don’t forget it.” She looked over to the floor-to-ceiling windows, taking in the now high-rising sun before turning back to Aidan and breaking the uncomfortable quiet that had engulfed them both. “So don’t keep me waiting. Tell me, what have you got planned for my first date?” She gave a little twirl, her skirt floating gently over her thighs.

  When she stilled, he stared just a tad too gleefully, as if there was some sort of joke and she was the punch line.

  “Nah, I think me telling you will ruin the surprise. I’ll just say this: I don’t think those little kitten heels are going to be the shoes for you today.”

  She felt her face drop and the knot begin to tighten in the pit of her belly. Smug bastard. She’d give him a kitten heel all right. One right square up his—

  Thankfully the buzzer rang before she could give voice to her emotions.

  “I’ll get it, hon,” Walker said in a ridiculous, sitcom-y style as he once again made himself too at home and went to answer her downstairs bell with an overly familiar, “What’s up, C?” indicating he’d indeed gotten chummy enough with her doorman in two days to be on a first-initial basis.

  Eva took the moment to silently scream out her frustration behind his back.

  Chapter 10

  Okay, now she really was going to scream.

  Eva looked down from her current perch, twenty feet up in the air, her feet barely making contact with the little notched-out grooves of the rock-climbing wall, her sweaty fingers aching in pain as she held on for dear life. Her oh-so-not-perfect date for the day was about ten feet above her to the left and was currently offering supportive barks of encouragement like, “No pain, no gain!” and “You can rest when you’re dead!” to the top of her head.

  She ignored the shouting caveman and told herself to focus on her breathing. It would all be fine if she could remember what the instructor, who she hoped had secured her properly into the god-awful, strappy thigh and booty grabber, told her about leaning back and relaxing, releasing some tension, and gliding back down. Down. How was she going to get down when she could barely summon the strength to look down?

  “Come on, Eva, just grab the red hold on your right! Not that right, your other right!”

  Eva looked up, wishing more than anything that she could sprint up the wall and grab hold of Trey Stone and knock him loose for barking his stupid, useless orders at her. Better yet, she’d rather get down off this blasted wall and grab a hold of Aidan and shake him for getting her into this date. Fun her ass.

  She was over this date almost before it started; the climb up the wall of doom was just the icing on the cake. After Aidan’s ominous pronouncement about her heels not being appropriate, the rest of the crew arrived to a flurry of activity. Mitzi gave her a good once-over, along with high marks for the color in her flirty skirt. She then promptly sized her up for a gym ensemble, which she threw into a corporate-sponsored bag, and quick as a whip, they were on their way to awkwardly, oh just so casually meeting up with her prince charming at a waterside fitness club. The whole blasted crew of them.

  An avid sportsman and fitness entrepreneur, Trey Stone was co-owner of CroxTrec, one of the hottest and most lucrative new gym chains in the country since cross fit had become all the rage.

  When they arrived, Eva was pleased to see that Trey was indeed good-looking, no photoshop trickery, and had a physique that lived up to his vocation, so check and check again. He was muscular, as his photo indicated, but not overly so. Taller than her at a little over six feet in his running shoes. And she saw as she checked out his casual track suit that he didn’t dress to make any sort of fancy first-date impression. That was fine. Not off-putting, she told herself as she went to change, but refreshing. Eva would keep an open mind. This isn’t forever, she told herself as she looked into his cool, icy-blue eyes. Or maybe it was. She was there to have fun. Who knew? This could work out. Besides, the new Eva wasn’t stuck on things like fashion and labels. It was the inside that counted. Image wasn’t everything, except when it came to rebranding and rebuilding hers. And she was there to try something new and keep an open mind. She had to remember that.

  That Kumbaya feeling of live and let live lasted all of five minutes once she walked past the locker room to the medicine ball tosses, where Trey told her his vision for living a paleo lifestyle. It only got worse during the pull-up session, when he went on about his win in an Ironman competition. The topper came, as he spotted her in a dead lift, when he invited her to his cabin upstate, where he explained he could make her over from the inside out. She didn’t want to ask for clarification on what inside out really meant, but she sincerely hoped he was talking food and not something else entirely.

  Now, as Eva gazed down in utter horror from this ridiculous rock wall, already down two broken fingernails, her head spun out of control while this dude above her yelled nonsense. She reached out, stretching wide to get another hold, as once again Trey yelled, “That’s it, girl, slay that beast! Go for it! Kill that dragon!”

  At the mention of dragons, her foot slipped, and she scrambled to get back to the wall. So this was what torture felt like. At least now she knew where and what her rock bottom was. It was being yelled at by a maniac while your ass is in the most unflattering position possible and having it filmed for public consumption. Yep, and now she was done. Over it.

  She was ready to get down. Get down and get away from his obnoxious barking and everything to do with this gym hopped up on oversized Flintstone vitamins. If she didn’t, she would lose all control, and the point of this deal was not to lose control.

  With shaky arms, Eva carefully took one hand and shifted it to a lower point on the rock wall; then with the other arm shaking like a pulled wire, she moved it slightly to the right and got a hold, letting out a much-needed sigh. Now for the legs. But of course they wouldn’t move. It was as if her legs had decided, Well, you’ve got us into this mess,
so now we’re going to live here forever.

  Eva looked up, and there was Trey, looking back down with his arm outstretched to pull her up. But there was not a hint of warmth in his cold eyes. She’d recoil if she could. But being stuck, all she could do was nothing. Eva swallowed and looked down. Her eyes zoomed onto Aidan. As he had been for most of the day, he silently stared. Just looking and nothing more—arms crossed, legs widespread, expressionless, as he checked out the action unfolding on the monitor in front of him.

  She could just imagine what was going through that head of his as he took in all of her uncomfortable moments, her every emotion played out for the camera, capturing her every fear. The image of him with that camera in the greenroom popped into her head, and with it, that same unforgettable rage bubbled up again. Eva sucked in a life-giving breath and, with all she had, used her knees to push away from the wall, at the same time letting loose of the line and rappelling herself down.

  She heard Trey’s voice from above, and looking up briefly, Eva gave him a small wave and a smaller grin, leaving him no choice but to either stay where he was or follow her. She didn’t care—either way, as long as she was on the ground.

  Once there, she quickly started to unclasp herself but got tangled in all the lines. In her frustration, she made a mistake of looking over and catching Aidan’s eye. There was that sparkle. Damn him, he enjoyed this. Though he tried to appear serious, she could still see the hidden glee in that hint of spark that he just couldn’t be decent enough to hide. She felt her own eyes narrow as her brows rose.

  “Are you happy, fearless leader? Did you get all you need for the day, or would you like me to do a few cartwheels to round out your footage?”

  “What are you talking about? It’s not li—”

  Eva threw up a hand. She didn’t need or want an answer from him. She was sure her fear had given them enough fodder to fill the time slot. Besides, Aidan’s darkening gaze was answer enough for her.

  She was fully unhooked just as Trey appeared by her side. “What happened to you up there? I thought you were doing great?”

  She turned to look up at him. “Really, didn’t look to me like I was doing so great. What gave you the clue, my shaking arms or my trembling legs?”

  Trey gave her a once-over. “Your legs look fine to me—as a matter of fact, mighty fine. Now what are we going to hit next? We’ve got the jungle gym or, if you’re really feeling adventurous, we can hit the tires.”

  Eva felt her eyes go wide as she wondered if this was indeed some sort of joke. This couldn’t be his idea for a fun date. Could it? Did this ever work on any other women? But looking into his eyes, she could see he was serious. This nice-looking, in-shape, and if his numbers were correct, very-well-off guy was serious. And he really didn’t have a clue that he came off like a total jerk—this was, no doubt, the reason he was still single.

  She looked around his wacky gym, done up like a Gymboree for adults, and though it was not her thing, it was packed. On paper, you couldn’t deny that he was successful. Eva looked around at the gym again, with her professional hat on this time. Despite all the crazy devices of torture, the gym did have one good thing going for it: a bar, and not one of those annoying water, juice, or air bars, but a full-on, drink-like-an-adult whiskey bar. Whoever thought of that little area had been a marketing genius. Eva turned back to Trey, who was looking at her expectantly, and came up with an idea. “So, Trey, how about I buy you a drink?”

  * * *

  Aidan sat behind the monitor staring at Eva’s image while she sat on her couch and answered Louisa’s questions during her first after-date confessional. Though she tried to hide it with extra powder from the makeup crew and wide arm movements, he could tell the day had worn on her.

  “So,” Lou started, “how do you think your first date went?”

  Eva cleared her throat, and he could tell she was calculating how to best answer the question. The exertion of the day slipped into her expression as her eyes narrowed and her lips drew tight. She looked down, taking in a breath, and when she looked back up, her eyes were brighter, her expression now softer. “It was nice. Strange getting out into the dating world and trying to interact with someone new. After being with one person for so long . . .” She paused and took a moment, looking a little wistful, and then her gaze came back to the camera over Lou’s shoulder. She was so polished and natural, it was as if she was talking to an old friend. “I’ll admit, I’m a little rusty, and this was quite the, um, physical experience. But Trey was nice. It was good to get out there again.”

  “But?” Lou prompted.

  Eva smiled. It was a sweet smile. Warm and friendly and—somehow he could tell—well-practiced as it never reached her eyes. “But based on one date it’s hard to tell. Though I can say, I would think that from his side, he may enjoy a woman who is a bit more physically adventurous than I am.” She stopped and seemed to blush at this. “At least when it comes to exercise. I’m more of a regimented, class-taking type of girl. I’m not really one for rock climbing.” She tilted her head coyly. “Too much of a city slicker, I guess.”

  Aidan leaned in. She was good. The ending smile she gave the camera was perfectly endearing without being too put on. She’d made it clear that the muscle dude wasn’t for her without tearing him down. The woman knew how to play the game. She even pulled out the sympathy card with her comment about being rusty. She was smooth. He’d give her that.

  She’d made it a point to not say anything else to him after coming down from the rock wall this afternoon, and honestly, he couldn’t blame her. Just as she was angry with him, he was at war with himself. Maybe he should have given her a heads-up about what today’s date would entail, let her know that it would probably be less of a love connection and more of a physical sparring match with Mr. Olympian. But if he’d done that, it probably would have dampened the spontaneity the segments called for. First and foremost, he was there to do a job—and the fact that he’d remembered that would be sure to make his father proud. This was not the time for his headstrong emotions to send him down the wrong path. Still, though, he couldn’t help but be annoyed by her attack on him when she’d come down from the wall. He wasn’t smirking over the fact that she was struggling; as a matter of fact, he thought she’d handled herself beautifully on that wall. Her coming down showed true courage on her part. But she wasn’t ready to hear that from him and was quick to think he was happy over her being put in a fearsome situation.

  Aidan ran a hand across his jaw and continued to watch her on the screen as his mind worked over his dueling emotions. For the life of him, he didn’t know why he’d insisted on making this his project. Well, of course, he knew why. It was the damned challenge of it. The challenge of her. It was that kiss. She’d pulled him in, and despite the fact that she was right there in front of him and on the show to find her perfect groom, more than anything he wanted to get under her skin. Hell, under her. But it was wrong. It was wrong, and it was dangerous. Her outburst at the gym earlier showed just how volatile she was with him and how at odds they were. But still, here he was—torn, but somehow pulled as if by some invisible force to see it through.

  Which brought back his original problem. If he wasn’t there to see it through, the show would still go on. Carter wasn’t letting this go. Aidan’s position as the head boss’s son mattered not in this instance. This was out there, and like it or not, Eva’s original declaration of intent to find a replacement groom was made on live TV, and that was the shot heard round the world. As Carter said, the public loved Eva Ward, and worse yet, if the numbers were right, the public loved seeing Eva riled up almost as much as he did. Oddly, just as he was turned on, so were they. Still, he had to admit he didn’t enjoy putting her in a position where she felt any type of real fear. That crossed the line. It put him over into a sleazy category he wasn’t comfortable hanging in. Leave that for the Rick Lancers of the industry. He’d made the decision years ago after doing a story on a hot pop star of the
moment, ignoring signs that he should have seen as obvious, and unwittingly ending up filming what would be her final on-air moments. After that he was done, at least with any sort of fluff pieces. But here he was, inexplicably drawn to this woman who’d somehow pulled him back to the world and the memories he’d spent years trying to escape . . .

  Not that she noticed, knew, or cared. But just when he was ready to pull her aside in the gym and offer up an apology to smooth things over and give her a chance to end the date, she’d turned the tables on him and literally flipped the script the writers had so carefully worked out. Pulling gym rat Trey aside and drinking with him. The woman was a true PR playa.

  “No,” Aidan listened, as Eva continued with Lou, “I don’t think I’m the sporty type of woman that would be right for Trey, but I’m sure he will be perfect for someone else, and who’s to say never? Not me, that’s for sure.”

  Aidan frowned at her perfect response. Clearly, there was no love connection between her and T-Rex Stone. After all the physical exertion, she’d led him over to the hipster gym’s whiskey bar area and let him down easy, all the while subtly explaining that expecting a woman to flip a truck tire or hang from a rock wall may not be the best way to make a first-date impression.

  She was so smooth about it, the pumped-up fool didn’t even get that he was getting the heave-ho before he’d gotten started. But here she was, doing her thing and doing it well. The viewers would love her. Clearly, she knew all the right PR tricks.

  Aidan frowned, recalling her charming tactics. How she had touched Stone’s shoulder, leaning in close enough for Stone to reach out and whisper something in her ear the mics couldn’t quite catch. How she blushed under his flattery, and then how he’d slid his pull-up-callused hands around her trim waist just at the point where her workout pants started and her tank top ended.

  Aidan didn’t know why he got so angry. She was perfect. More than perfect, really. She was doing her job and more than fulfilling her end of the contract. The footage was exactly what they needed. He guessed he was really mad at himself for getting riled over it. So what if he’d shared a kiss—well, two kisses—with her?