A-List Kiss: A Laugh-Out-Loud Romantic Comedy

by Brenda Lowder

  Gavin’s publicist, Lydia, was passing out eight by ten signed glossies. She tried to hand one to Matthew and then stumbled when he shoved it back at her. I smiled.

  Somehow the crowd parted for Gavin to make his way to my bedside. It did not escape my attention that the cameras were rolling. I was sure it hadn’t escaped Gavin’s attention, either. Once free of the crowd, Gavin hurried to my side, edging Matthew out of the way.

  “Eden! My love!” Gavin called loudly as he stepped closer. Was he wearing makeup? A foundation line appeared to track the side of his jaw. “I made my way here the moment I heard. I made them turn the plane around. I said I had to be by your side at the earliest possible moment.” Gavin glanced at the cameras, smiled, and grabbed my hand. The same hand Matthew had held moments before.

  He sounded as sincere as he had in Elegy in Autumn. But I couldn’t help feeling deflated. There weren’t fireworks anymore like when Matthew touched me. But Gavin’s presence filled the room and commanded attention. He was the most charismatic man I’d ever known. I’d loved him for half my life. But that wasn’t reality. And I didn’t think that anything in Gavin’s life was real besides his commitment to his career and the almost supernatural ability he had to make a success of it.

  “Thank you, Gavin. It’s great to see you.” And it really was. I looked at his dark blond hair, ocean-blue eyes, and chiseled jaw and realized he was as gorgeous as could be. But there was another face I’d rather see.

  “You didn’t have to turn the plane around, though. I’d have taken your call.” I smiled and pulled my hand out of his and started pleating the top of my sheet again.

  “I have to admit that I didn’t come straight here.”

  “Oh?” Had an impromptu autograph signing come up on the way to Vietnam?

  “I had a stop to make. Anthony!” Gavin turned and beckoned to Anthony who hopped forward at once, presenting a box to Gavin. Patricia cut Anthony an evil look. Patricia and Anthony’s grudge war was going live at five. I wondered if Jessica Downing was getting it all.

  Gavin dropped to one knee, and the room exploded with flash photography and an audible hum of expectation. Oh, no.

  “Eden…” Gavin began.

  “Wait!” I yelled. “Gavin, I think we’d better talk later. I suddenly remember that I have a very important meeting that I have to get to.” I pretended to start getting out of bed but winced in pain at even the imitation of movement.

  Gavin laughed. “Oh, Eden, you’re so funny.” He turned and addressed his audience. “That’s one of the many things I love about this woman.”

  “I don’t have any makeup on,” I said in an urgent stage whisper. “Gavin, you can’t see me like this. Go away. I’ll call you later!”

  “You’re even more beautiful without makeup,” Gavin said loudly. Liar. I looked awful without makeup, like normal people do.

  “Eden,” Gavin began again. This time he extended his arms wide in my direction. A Shakespearean actor making a proclamation. Acid rose in the back of my throat. I was going to throw up. This train he was driving was about to wreck, and I didn’t know how to stop it. He lifted the small square box aloft and popped it open with an audible creak.

  “Will you marry me?” Gavin asked.

  A hush fell across the room. All that could be heard were the shutters of the cameras going off. The expectation was palpable. My eyes met Matthew’s. He’d been pushed against the wall by Gavin and his retinue. His head was craned forward and his frown was huge. When he caught me looking, a smile crept into his eyes, and my heart warmed that it was just for me.

  Gavin’s smile wasn’t for me. Instead, when I looked back at Gavin he was smiling and waving at his audience, as if I’d already said yes.

  “No,” I said clearly. “Thank you, though.”

  Pandemonium ensued.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Gavin’s billion-dollar smile faltered. The room erupted in a frenzy of telecommunicating excitement. Pictures were snapped, phones were whipped out, and shouts of disbelief, indignation, and even relief punctuated the air. While the media types were buzzing, my parents were able to push forward in the crowd and make their way to my bedside.

  “I’m really sorry about this,” I said to Gavin. “You’ve been so wonderful to me. And I’ve loved spending time with you. You’re an amazing man.”

  Six months ago if you’d told me I’d be delivering a break-up speech to Gavin Braddock and trying to let him down easy, I’d have laughed so hard I would have had a pain in my side as bad as, well, the pain in my side. And yet here I was.

  But oddly, I knew what I wanted for my life. Or at least, what I didn’t want.

  Gavin closed the jewelry box, but not before I’d glimpsed the enormous, orgasm-inducing whopper of a diamond engagement ring. Too bad I’d made my decision now and not after a few months of wearing that thing around. Oh, well. It probably would have given me carpal tunnel or a wrist fracture or something.

  “This is such a surprise.” Gavin, still on bended knee, searched my face for answers. For a moment I pitied him. He was probably as shocked at my refusal as I was by his proposal.

  “I’m sorry,” I said again. “You are so wonderful. And so incredibly sexy.”

  Gavin smiled a genuine smile there, and Matthew, lounging against the wall with his arms crossed in front of his chest, cleared his throat and nodded his head toward my parents. I stifled a laugh. Like they didn’t already know I thought Gavin was sexy. Puh-lease.

  “But I know we don’t make sense. Together. As a couple. And you know that too.” I looked at Gavin, wondering how much he’d hate me after this.

  Gavin winced. A sliver of guilt pierced me for causing him pain. After a moment, his movie-star features smoothed back into their model symmetry. He sighed and squeezed my hand. “You’re really great, you know?”

  I smiled. “If you say so.”

  Gavin gently put his arms around me and kissed my cheek. I knew he’d be okay. There were still about fifty million women who’d be happy to take my place. None would be as wonderful as I was, but he’d find someone eventually. After a suitable grieving period. In time, after a long struggle with depression, isolation, and the abuse of alcohol and other substances to dull the pain I caused by leaving, Gavin would seek solace from one of those fifty million women and move on with his life. Either that or he’d find a suitable replacement for me in the hallway. But this was the right decision.

  “You crazy idiot!” Maggie exploded through the crowd and launched herself over Gavin and onto my bed. She landed across my feet.

  “Ow!” I yelped as the aftershock from her assault shook me and my injuries.

  “You deserve it for being such a stupid idiot!” she yelled.

  Gavin stood from his crouch and surveyed Maggie with disdain. “I think I’ve spoken to you before about how you talk to your sister,” he told her. “It’s rude. And uncalled for. You need to apologize.”

  “What do you care?” Maggie sneered. “She just dumped you. You’re not her boyfriend anymore—if you ever really were.”

  “Maybe not, but I consider myself her friend, and you offend me.” Gavin stared at Maggie with his intense, gorgeous eyes until she muttered an apology to both Gavin and to me. I couldn’t help smiling. Gavin really was amazing. Too bad I didn’t love him. And too bad he’d never love anyone as much as he loved his career. It was the altar at which he worshipped. Nothing else would ever come close.

  “If this was real, then you’re dumb for not marrying him,” Maggie said to me petulantly. “You’re giving up millions.”

  “And yet she’s not giving up her integrity or grace, but you wouldn’t know about those,” Gavin cut in. “I’m sorry, Eden, I have to go. I still have a movie to make.” He turned to the cameras which were still rolling. “Blinking at the Sun, out next summer.”

  “Thank you so much for coming. I’ll miss you, Gavin.” Gavin blew me a kiss and left the room, trailing dozens of reporters and paparaz
zi. My public story was over, thank goodness.

  Matthew closed the door behind the retreating circus, leaving just my parents, Maggie, Matthew, and me still in the room.

  Maggie approached my bedside. She looked down and bit her lip, and it occurred to me that I hadn’t seen her this lost since we were little and actually were lost at the mall.

  “Eden, I’m sorry.” She hugged me and I took it, resisting the urge to yelp at the strain it put on my side.

  “I love you, Maggie.”

  “I love you too.”

  My parents beamed their happiness until my mother couldn’t wait another second and replaced Maggie at my side. “Finally, I get to talk to my baby!” Mom threw her arms around me and hugged me close. The familiar scents of lavender and baby powder made me feel safe and protected. I hugged her back. “How are you feeling, sweetie?”

  “Fine.”

  “You scared us, sweet pea,” my dad said, standing behind my mom. He’d never been as physically demonstrative as my mom, but I could see the worry lines around his eyes. He loved me just as much.

  “Sorry. I’m fine, though. Have you guys met Matthew?” I took a drink from the glass of water next to my bed.

  “Oh, we all know Matthew.” My mother giggled like she couldn’t hold it in any longer. “And we’re very happy with your decision to dump Gavin and marry Matthew instead.”

  I did an actual spit-take, but my mom barreled on. “He’ll take good care of you. We won’t have to worry so much.”

  “He’s much more the man I envisioned for you, sweet pea,” my dad seconded.

  “What?” I wiped the water I’d spewed from my much-pleated hospital sheet. Matthew chuckled. I looked at him accusingly. “We haven’t even gone on a date yet!”

  “I notice you said ‘yet.’” Matthew leaned over me with a smile so sexy my heart jumped. “What are you doing tomorrow night?” I looked into his sparkling dark blue eyes.

  “As it happens, I’m free.”

  Epilogue

  One year later…

  “Can I get makeup over here, please?” Claudia, my director, yelled to Tina to come powder my nose. It was difficult getting my makeup to stay on with the steam rising from the boiling pasta I was making. Despite having a few finished dishes to present later in the show, I was also really cooking the pasta to demonstrate how it looked at each stage. Tina was making it work, though. I looked great—much better than when I did my makeup myself—which I guess is why she had the job.

  I was shooting the first episode of my new cooking show for the Good Food Network called Dinner and a Date. It turns out that Gavin raved about my cooking to the right person. The Good Food Network called and offered me my own show. I’d achieved some notoriety, ahem, for my relationship with Gavin which somehow translated into a little reflected fame for myself and a social media following in the stratosphere. Some of the general public were interested in seeing me on television more, which made me marketable.

  I had a half-hour show where I demonstrated how to make home versions of five-star restaurant meals while hosting celebrities and celebrity chefs. Sophie was beside herself with excitement—it was our game come to life!—and insisted on working as a production assistant just so she could hobnob with the top stars of the food world. When she had the time, of course, since her new restaurant was really taking off. Soon I’d be inviting her on as a celebrity chef to interview.

  Gavin was my first guest, and ratings expectations were high. People anticipated some sort of fight between us or maybe for the sparks to fly, sexual tension-wise.

  “Beautiful!” Gavin said, taking his seat at the end of the counter.

  “Me or the pasta?” I asked before sucking my cheeks in as Tina patted my face with powder.

  “Both. Definitely.” He beamed his trademark smile at me.

  “You should grab my ass!” I told him.

  “What?” Gavin choked on the piece of pasta he’d thrown into his mouth. Tina dropped the powder puff.

  “On camera. It would be great for ratings! What?” I asked, when the expressions on their faces said I was entering Crazy Town. “It’s no big deal.” I rolled my eyes and stage whispered to Gavin, “I’m not hitting on you!”

  Matthew came up behind me and hugged me around the waist. “You’d better not be,” he growled. I felt his smile on my neck as he nuzzled me. He knew he didn’t have anything to worry about. He was my man. He was everything I’d ever wanted and more. He was the real thing, and the beautiful thing was that I was the real thing for him too. I snuggled him back, though I tried not to mess up my hair.

  Claudia called for everyone to clear the set. Gavin got up to take his place backstage but whispered to me that he was not going to grab my ass because he was sort of attached to the arm Matthew would break if he tried it.

  A few months ago, I went to see Blinking at the Sun by myself the day it came out. It was a really good movie. Gavin had given the best performance of his career. Although he’d enjoyed huge box office success for the last ten years, an academy award had eluded him. But the people who know were saying this was the year he’d win one. He had my vote.

  Matthew and I were ridiculously happy. He was just as fiery in bed as Sophie predicted, and he was equally compelling outside of it. We’d talk for hours about everything and nothing at all. He also didn’t get up at five o’clock every morning to exercise. Most mornings we’d snuggle down into our big bed and dare each other to get up first and then end up making love and, well, you get the picture. We decided not to mind being a few minutes late for work…a few times a week.

  Speaking of work, that all turned out great. Matthew got an award for breaking up the industrial espionage ring. And here I was living my dream with a brand-new cooking show of my very own. I didn’t have to worry about Gavin not grabbing my ass for the ratings. In a few weeks, Matthew and I were getting married. The show was going to spotlight the food we’d be serving at the reception, especially since there’d be some celebrities in attendance. Not that it mattered. Fame wasn’t real. It was love that made Matthew my real A-list kiss.

  Thank you so much for spending time with Eden, Matthew, and Gavin! I hope you enjoyed their story as much as I loved writing it.

  If you liked A-List Kiss, you might also like my romantic comedy novel, Kittenfish.

  When Marissa Ryan’s fiancé dumps her the night before her wedding, Marissa decides to get even. Not with her ex-fiancé—who’s obviously a hapless pawn—but with her greatest nemesis, Tarek Oliver. He’s the bane of her existence, the scourge of her city, the pee in the dating pool—and the very man who used both hands to shove her fiancé out of her life.

  Marissa is determined that Tarek—the slick player who claims to have no feelings—will discover what it is to truly love and then suffer the blistering pain of loss. She’ll tear the love of Tarek’s life away from him just like he did to her. She just needs to create his true love first.

  Sign up for my newsletter at brendalowder.com for news about my upcoming books and exclusive content! Join my Facebook reader group at https://www.facebook.com/BrendaLowderAuthor. And read on for a sneak peek at Kittenfish!

  by Brenda Lowder

  Chapter One

  Please, God. Anything but a strip club.

  “What?” My mother squeals through the phone at my ear. “Liam’s going to a strip club for his bachelor party tonight?”

  “What? No. Of course not.” I lean my back against the front door. New rule for Marissa Ryan’s Guide to Life: Keep all internal fears just that—internal. “Liam’s friends are taking him to Topgolf to whack golf balls off the side of half a building tonight.”

  I have zero worries that Liam would go to a strip club. He’s as committed and fulfilled in our relationship as I am. He wouldn’t dream of going. Viewing other women half-naked or fully naked would bore him to tears. He always told me that once he met me there wasn’t another woman in the world who’d hold his interest. He said I was his everything bage
l—managing to work a reference to our shared love of deli foods and the place we met into the same romantic sentiment. And of course he’s my everything bagel too. Although secretly I call him my asiago bagel because I like those more, but I just don’t tell him. He’s a little too attached to his metaphor.

  It’s me I’m worrying about going to a strip club. Kya and Blaire had better not spring one on me. I’m not willing to see any naked chests that don’t belong to Liam. And he just has the one.

  “So what’s this about a strip club?”

  “Oh, nothing. Just a joke Blaire made. You know how she is. But I convinced her to keep the bachelorette party to something I want to do. We’re going to a Sip ’n Paint place to create drunk masterpieces.”

  “That sounds like fun, sweetheart.” Despite her words, I can hear the frown in my mother’s voice. She’s silently objecting to the drunk part. “Although not really advisable for the night before the wedding.”

  A trail of rising bubbles floats through me. I’m getting married tomorrow. To the man I love. Forever. My joy is so big it will pop free of my body, and I’ll be able to dance around the room with it.

  There’s a shuffle on the front path, and I spin around to peer out the peephole. Liam’s brown loafers step into view.

  “Mom, I’ve gotta go. Liam’s here.” Even after three years, saying his name makes my heart fly.

  “Have fun at the Sip ’n Paint!”

  “I will!”

  “And don’t worry about any of the wedding details. It’ll all go perfectly.”

  With my mom running the show, it was sure to. “Thanks, Mom. Bye.”