Silence settled over them again. Then he spoke again, his husky low voice making her shiver even under the water. “I’m just unsettled,” he admitted. “The divorce, turning thirty, Preston getting married, it’s all making me ponder what I like and don’t like about my life.”
She sighed dramatically and teased, “It must be tough being so incredibly ancient.”
“Thanks for understanding,” he said, drily. “Now tell me why you’re really awake and I’ll mock you.”
She laughed. “I was just trying to lighten the mood.”
“I’m sure.”
“Okay, okay. I’m up because...” She faded off. She couldn’t tell him he was what had kept her awake. “...your dog nearly ate my poor little puppy.”
“Your half Tasmanian Devil puppy? That one?”
“That’s the one.”
“Yeah, I can see how that would give you nightmares, watching her attack my dog who, up until now, I thought was pretty tough. But your six pounds of crazy scared the heck out of him.”
He was teasing her now, and the warmth in his voice warmed her insides. Or maybe it was the hot tub.
“I hope your dog behaves himself tomorrow. I wouldn’t want a repeat in front of attendees.”
“We’re not bringing our dogs to the conference center. I’ll have someone watch over them again.”
She stared at his muscles. “Maybe one of your bodyguards. I don’t think you really need them. They’re shorter than you by a foot.”
“People laugh, but they can handle anything.” He chuckled. “Except maybe a Tasmanian Devil dog disguised as a pampered puppy.”
His chuckle warmed her insides, making her want things she could never have. She needed to leave now, before she threw herself at her childhood crush. “Well, get some sleep. You need your beauty rest.”
“You don’t,” his low voice said.
“Night, Stinky Butt.”
“Did you just call me that?” He laughed. “ Seriously?”
“That is your nickname, isn’t it?”
“Only you bratty girls called me that.”
She climbed out of the ladder, aware of his eyes on her.
She didn’t look back.
Noah watched Emma casually towel off, wrap the towel around her curves, and walk toward the house.
She was as pretty as his inner child remembered. Prettier, even. Funny. And her eyes were haunted with something he wondered if her jerk ex-husband had put there. Preston had told him only a few details, but they’d both wanted to beat up the dude.
In the past few years, he’d fended off a lot of women. They seemed to think it was okay if they threw themselves at him, often draping themselves against him. It had been flattering and exciting at first, but it had quickly grown old. They didn’t want him. They wanted to touch someone rich and famous. He wanted someone who would stick with him even if he lost his wealth and movie franchise. And that hadn’t been Deena. She’d been a gold-digger and a consummate liar.
Glancing back at the door, he watched as Emma slipped inside, a little regretful to see her go.
Emma was definitely not a gold-digger. She didn’t even want her brother’s help. She had some of that good old Texas can-do attitude. She’d do it herself, thank you very much. He smiled.
And he remembered her again, under that tree house, looking pretty and fierce. As fierce as her dog. Maybe a hundred-and-sixteen pounds of crazy disguised as the prettiest and smartest woman he knew.
Shaking his head, he stood and stepped out of the hot tub. He needed to get a few hours of sleep. They had a lot of people waiting to hear from him and Preston tomorrow.
5
Make That Fourteen Million and One
Conference Day 1
Registration & Welcome
From a room adjacent to the conference room, Noah studied the large room filled with attendees, then turned back to Preston. “How many did you say signed up for this?”
“Five hundred and thirty two. Some people are still in line registering, but we can begin soon.”
“Nice full house.” It was time to channel his famous tough-guy character that he played in their popular movie franchise. Max Booker. Noah might get nervous, but Max never did. He pumped a few breaths in and out.
“You’ll do great.” Preston clapped him on the back. “Remember to mention that someone will win a part.”
“I thought that was part of your introduction.”
“Nope. I’ll just introduce you and then it’s all yours.”
“You’re on,” Noah said.
With a nod, Preston left the room and stepped onto the larger room’s stage. Noah could see him on the security monitor.
Standing in suits, feet apart, hands on hips, earpieces in ears, Quinton and Tony looked the security-guy part. He nodded to them. “Are we ready?”
Quinton nodded. “Any time, boss.” He turned up the sound and Preston’s introduction crackled through mid-sentence: “...one of the most popular actors in the entire world. He’s broken record after record at the box office.”
Noah read along on the printout of Preston’s bullet points for his speech. “We might as well get comfortable. He’ll be fifteen minutes.”
“Have a seat,” Quinton said.
“You know I can’t do that. I’ve gotta Max up.”
“Do your thing.” Tony chuckled. “Kinda like Norma Jean putting on Marilyn Monroe. Hey, can you do Marilyn? She’s prettier than you.”
“What do you mean? I’m the prettiest thing you’ve ever seen.”
Tony laughed. “Yeah, boss. Whatever you say.”
Noah knew he couldn’t concentrate while he was getting into character and he didn’t want to miss his cue, so he said, “Let me know when he starts talking about Min. The next thing will be me going out there.”
Huffing in a few breaths, Noah began pumping his arms, pacing the room. Max Booker was big and tough and the baddest of the bad — in a good, hero-like way.
A few minutes later, Quinton said, “You’re up next.”
“Thanks. Let’s do it,” Noah replied, striding into the larger room as Max Booker, an arm raised in triumph. The crowd erupted in applause and whistles. Someone started a chant of “Book-ER-Book-ER-Book-ER” and soon the sound filled the room.
He joined his buddy on the stage, who grinned at him and motioned. The mic was all his.
He knew Tony and Quinton were twenty feet behind him, one on each side looking hyper-vigilant, because they always did that. It was part of the star power play.
He looked out at the hundreds of people who were clapping and cheering for him.
Noah grinned at the crowd and pumped his arms in the air and used the deeper voice he’d developed for Max. “Yes!”
As the applause began to die down, Noah told the group, “Thank you. I’m excited to be here this week with you. We have all sorts of entertaining and informative stuff planned for you. And, at the graduation ceremony at the end of the week, five of you will have earned parts as extras in the next Max Booker movie. You’ll be flown to California for a three-day stay.”
He chuckled at the applause. He had to admit there was a positive side to fame, along with the downside.
He held up his hands and the room quieted. “I have even more exciting news. We didn’t announce this earlier, but Preston and I have decided that one of you will have a speaking part in the next Max Booker movie. You will also be flown to California, but for a full week, and you’ll stay in a fancy five-star hotel, all expenses paid.”
This time the applause erupted.
He shot his trademark lop-sided grin and smolder at the crowd.
“So while you’re learning and having fun, you’ll also be auditioning. You never know what part of which activity will get you noticed. Plus we’ll hold official auditions on Saturday morning. Good luck to you all.”
He caught sight of Emma behind one of the cameras, along with the camera crew. His heart warmed at the sight of her unruly cu
rls. She lowered the camera, almost as if she’d forgotten it, and was staring up at him, as if she hadn’t realized what the crowd’s reaction would be.
He grinned at her, and then pulled his attention back to the people who’d paid a lot of money to be there.
“I think you know how Preston and I began Midas Movies. We’ve both been very blessed with the success we have. And now we’re feeling the need to pay it forward ... to you. There’s always an element of luck involved in any endeavor, but as the famous producer Samuel Goldwyn said, ‘The harder I work, the luckier I get,’ and as Thomas Jefferson supposedly said, ‘I am a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.’ So while you’re all waiting for your lucky break, keep working hard. And acting is hard work. So audition. Face and overcome rejection. Keep going for your dream. Just like Preston and I did. Some people are overnight successes, but most success takes a combination of luck and hard work. We got incredibly lucky, but most overnight successes have been working for years before they shoot to stardom.”
He motioned to them all. “You are here to learn how to work smarter, to learn tips on acting from me, and tips on movie making from Preston. We will share all we can this week.”
Preston waved from the sidelines.
“Plus we have world-class Hollywood makeup artists and other professionals here to teach, all for you. But first we’re going to have a little fun. The large price tag you paid to get here — money that is going to help this beautiful island get back on its feet after the cyclone that destroyed much of it — includes a photo op with me. There are over five hundred of you here, so we’ll need to be quick, but I’ll try to get my trademark fun into each photo.”
The picture requests could get tiresome, but he wasn’t about to say no to a fan, so he tried to have fun with it. He’d trade off between hugging a woman while holding her guy off and puckering up and almost kissing single ladies, but his favorites were with kids. With them, he would pose in duels using plastic swords and other weird Max Booker-type weapons. Or put an arm around their shoulder. Whatever they preferred. And some of the adult guys wanted to have battle pics taken with him, too. In those, sometimes they were equal participants, and sometimes he posed with his foot hovering above their chest as if they were vanquished foes. Whatever brought the most smiles and laughter from his fans.
Humor was his secret weapon. Like some of his own favorite actors.
He glanced back at Emma, who was smiling up at him. Deena had always argued with him about taking pictures with fans. She didn’t think he should waste his time, when he knew it was his fans who’d brought him his success.
Emma approached the stage, lifted the camera back up, and knelt in the aisle to get a shot of him. He’d seen some of her work hanging on Preston’s walls. She was good, obviously passionate about her work, so maybe she got what he was saying.
He turned and strode across the stage, relying on his clip-on mic to carry his voice throughout the room. “You can also get pictures with Preston and his lovely bride, Min. We’ll have lines set up in the back. After the photo op, there will be a brief island overview by the resort’s manager, Ms. Vaulina Bari. When you return at five, we’ll have a welcome dinner in this room, which will have been transformed into a fancy restaurant. Be sure to drop your raffle ticket in the box at the entrance for a chance to be seated at our table. The other tables are first come, first serve.”
He strode back the other direction. “Tomorrow we’ll have the intensive acting and movie-making workshops. Wednesday we’ll introduce you to quirky characters and settings. The Zombie Run is Thursday, where beforehand you’ll receive instructions on how to create the perfect zombie makeup and be allowed to create your own. After the run, there will be a bonfire party on the beach. Friday will be morning workshops and then a movie played that evening. And Saturday you can audition or play on the beach all day and then gather here at six for dinner and the graduation ceremony, including the announcements of who will have parts in the next Max Booker movie. Right now, we’ve arranged for our casting director to give you tips on how to ace a casting call. You can listen to her great information until your table is called out into the area set up for taking photos. They’ll be available to you within the next forty-eight hours online.”
Emma was still stunned at the adulation the large crowd lavished on Noah Sullivan.
The same boy next door who’d barred her from tree houses and run around with her pesky older brother. Only he wasn’t the same. Now he was this huge movie star. She’d known on an intellectual level that he was popular, but until she’d seen these people admiring him, looking starstruck and grateful to have him take a picture with them, she hadn’t experienced it emotionally.
It was like a punch to the gut.
He looked like Noah Sullivan, but he sounded tougher, and yet still funny. He had that same playful side that had vaulted other action stars to the top. Big strong handsome guys with a fun side. What woman could resist? Every woman wanted to be with him. Every man wanted to be him.
And yet here he was, paying it forward. Helping up-and-coming actors. She couldn’t help but be impressed with Noah and her brother, both. They’d really done it. Their movies were wildly successful.
She snapped another photo, this one of Noah in a posed battle with two guys in their twenties, a third guy lying on the ground as though dead.
Three of the camera crew were scattered around taking photos, but she’d been assigned to Noah, along with the fourth camera crew member, Jennifer.
A light buzzer sounded and Noah’s tough-guy persona faded into his playful smile. He reached a hand down to the guy on the ground and pulled him up.
They thanked him profusely and a couple moved up. He asked her if she wanted a hug or if they wanted a battle pose. The woman immediately lit up and said, “A hug.” The guy with her laughed, and Noah hugged her and instructed him to put out his arms as though to grab her back, while Noah held out his arm, placing his hand on the guy’s forehead. The guy hammed it up, folding his arms and putting a what-the-heck look on his face.
She snapped several photos, which she’d be uploading to the conference website over the next few days.
She’d have a busy evening uploading photos to several websites — the resort, Midas Movies, and Noah’s and Preston’s professional sites. She’d promised Preston she’d do the social media for the event, and that would mean several hours this evening. She might even skip the formal dinner with the attendees. She was feeling a little claustrophobic with all these people. It would be nice to have some time with her little dog.
That made her wonder how Xena and Chief were getting along. Kyle Hernandez, who seemed to love animals, was taking care of them while everyone was at the convention center.
The buzzer sounded again, and the couple thanked him. Noah patted the guy on his shoulder and said, “You’re a lucky guy.”
She marveled at how he always left his fans feeling better about themselves. She couldn’t help but notice and admire that about this older version of her childhood nemesis.
Why couldn’t she have dated Noah instead of Trevor? Trevor had always left her feeling worse about herself.
As four single ladies giggled their way toward him, he grinned and opened his arms — and jealousy sliced through her. She pushed it down immediately. She couldn’t feel jealousy for all the fourteen million women who wanted Noah Sullivan.
She snapped the pictures. The buzzer sounded. New people moved in. She snapped more pictures. Ad nauseum. Ad jealouseum.
Then, with a brief break between tables, Noah caught her eye. He smiled and waved her over. Unsure, she approached.
He asked Wayne, one of the camera guys, if he’d hold Emma’s camera, then he motioned to Jennifer. When she was in position holding her camera, Noah wrapped his arms around Emma and looked down at her. “I want a picture with you. Put your arms around me.”
She obeyed and looked up into those blue eyes that sent
shivers through her. A slow smile spread across her face in response to his.
When he released her, slowly, maybe even reluctantly, he told Jennifer, “I’d like a copy of that.”
Wow. Noah’s arms were just as strong as they looked.
Her heart hammered.
She for sure was not going to the dinner tonight. She’d ask Preston to bring her a plate back. Apparently she couldn’t be around Noah and stay cool and collected.
Make that fourteen million and one women.
6
Kind of Like Your Innocent-Looking Princess Devil Dog
“I expect you to attend this dinner,” Preston said, frowning down at her. “You’re getting paid for attending all of the events.”
“Dinner is not an event,” Emma protested, holding her bedroom door half closed so he had to stand out in the hall. She was already in her sweat pants, but didn’t want him to know that.
“Emma,” he said, lowering his voice, “please come. I’ve seated you next to Noah for the dinner and we can’t have a conspicuous hole like that.”
“Any of the women attendees would fill that seat. Any of the men, too, for that matter.”
Preston sighed. “The van will be here for us in five minutes. Please go change and go with us.”
It was the please that did her in.
“I don’t want to, Preston,” she said, but it was half-hearted. She wasn’t going to let him down, and he knew it.
“Please,” he repeated. “Remember that expensive lens you want.”
She sighed deeply. “Fine.”
“Hurry.”
She closed the door and turbo-started into fast mode, kicking off her sweat pants and tossing them on the bed, yanking open the closet and pulling out a comfortable but fancy sundress with big yellow flowers on it.
NOAH: A Childhood Nemesis Sweet Romantic Comedy (Waco Wranglers Reid Brothers Book 2) Page 4
