Falling Fast Read online

  The invitation in her eyes was painfully clear, and Brandon wanted to wash the feel of her right off of him. As gently as possible, Brandon extricated himself from her grasp and made a quick scan of the room for someone who could provide him with a bit of a breather. His eyes caught on the petite blonde standing near Alexa. Something about the blonde seemed comforting, so he said, “I think I’ll grab a beer.” After he had picked one up from the well stocked wet-bar across the room, he made a beeline for her.

  “Hi again,” he said. He could feel Alexa’s gaze piercing him as he deliberately gave his undivided attention to the blonde. “Tell me your name again.”

  “I’m Brigit,” she said. In her sweet, pretty voice she said, “It must be so hard for you to remember anyone’s name, meeting us all so quickly. This is my friend Alexa,” she added.

  Brandon nodded curtly at Alexa. “You two are friends?”

  Brigit smiled warmly. “We met at the auditions. I was so thrilled when she walked through the door tonight. I have to admit I was sort of nervous at first, but she’s been making me laugh so much I’m starting to have a good time.”

  Thinking she might have said something wrong, the blonde stuttered slightly, turning a fetching shade of pink. “Not that I wasn’t having a good time, but…”

  Alexa put her arm around Brigit and said, “I’m sure he knows how you meant it,” giving Brandon a warning look.

  Trying not to stare at Alexa - she was wearing the most incredibly flattering, low-cut red dress – he turned back to Brigit and confided in a low voice, “I’m sort of nervous too. That’s why I came to find you right away. There’s something about you that I just knew would soothe my nerves.”

  Brigit beamed at Brandon and he worried that he was getting her hopes up. She was incredibly sweet and might have been the perfect wife for him at one time. Now it was Alexa or nobody.

  “I’m glad we got a chance to know each other a little better.”

  Brigit smiled happily. “Me too. But Alexa and I don’t want to monopolize all of your attention,” she added with a slight frown between her eyebrows. “It wouldn’t be fair to the other women here who want to get to know you.”

  “I like a woman who plays fair.” Reaching for Brigit’s hand, he gave it a light kiss. “I look forward to seeing more of you.”

  Turning to Alexa he said, “Oh and you too,” in a curt voice, and then strode off into the crowd of women who were ready to devour him.

  *

  Alexa was irked by Brandon’s complete dismissal of her, so when Brigit dreamily said,

  “Isn’t he sweet?” Alexa was caught completely off guard.

  “Him?” she said. “Sweet?” she snorted.

  Brigit snapped out of her dreamy state and Alexa tried to remove her foot from her mouth. “What I mean is, he’s so, uh, hot, I have a really hard time thinking of him as sweet.”

  Brigit giggled. “You’re so naughty, Alexa!”

  Afraid she was going to keep blowing it with too much small talk, Alexa decided to get down to the business of unearthing the deep, dark secrets of as many of the contestants as possible, as quickly as possible. No matter how guilty she felt about it, Brigit was the best place to start.

  Giggling, thankful that she had practiced making the sound all week so that she wouldn’t sound like she was going into cardiac arrest again, Alexa said, “Oh Brigit, you know me so well already!” Moving in for the kill, she said, “Now that we’ve had our face time with Mr. Right, let’s go get another glass of champagne and have some girl talk.”

  Brigit exclaimed, “Oh what a great idea!”

  Alexa got two full glasses of bubbly from the wet bar and then joined Brigit on one of the plush couches in the huge living room. “I’m just dying to know what your whole story is.”

  Brigit looked confused. “What whole story?”

  Alexa tried to be a little more subtle by sitting back against the cushions and asking, nonchalantly, “You know, why you tried out for the show.”

  Brigit’s eyes dimmed, but the look was gone so quickly Alexa wondered if she had imagined it. Answering Alexa in an overly bright voice, Brigit said, “I’m ready to settle down.”

  Alexa knew there had to be more to the story than that. “What about the boys back home in Oregon?”

  Brigit sighed unhappily. “There was one, but…” She broke off mid-sentence and took a dainty sip of her champagne. “It didn’t work out.”

  Alexa fought against the friendly bond she felt developing between them. Even if Brigit wasn’t a brainless sellout, Alexa firmly reminded herself that she had a job to do.

  *

  Brandon was having a hell of a time concentrating on anything other than Alexa. From the corner of his eye he had been watching her drink champagne on the couch by the fireplace and wished it was him sitting next to her instead of Brigit.

  The next thing he knew, she stood abruptly and tossed back her champagne in one lusty gulp. He couldn’t keep from grinning. Now that was the girl he had fallen for so quickly. If he knew anything about her, she was probably starving right now. Too bad all of this schmoozing had completely destroyed his appetite.

  Not that the women were all bad. One was a physicist from Chicago, another was a pediatrician from Miami, and yet another was a college professor from southern California. A week ago, he would have been salivating over the abundance of choices he had been given.

  But now, all he wanted was one intriguing, unique, and incredibly sexy brunette in a red dress.

  He was about to go check on her when Joe strode arrogantly into the room, announcing to the contestants that he was going to take Brandon into the study to give him some time alone to make his decision. Brandon couldn’t wait to get the night over with.

  Once in the overly masculine room, Joe pounced. “How’s it going out there, buddy? A little overwhelming, isn’t it?”

  Brandon nodded. But far more overwhelming than having to pick ten women out of the bunch, were his feelings for Alexa. Every time he saw her or thought about her he felt like he had been punched straight in the gut.

  Joe cut into his musings. “How about a little inside scoop on this incredible bunch of women? Who has caught your eye already?”

  Brandon rattled off the names of three or four of the more intelligent women. “Oh, and Brigit,” he added with a smile. She was like the sister he never had.

  Giving an inward sigh of relief that he had managed to remember some names, he thought he was off the hook. Unfortunately, the producer refused to make it easy for him. With a cunning look, Joe said, “You left one name off of your list that I expected to hear.”

  “Who’s that?” Brandon asked, rising to the bait, knowing he should have included Alexa onto the list.

  “Alexa. She’s quite a looker, isn’t she?”

  Now was the time for Brandon to pull off his act. “How could I have forgotten her?” he said, pretending to laugh at himself. “With a body like that, of course she’s on the list, Joe.”

  He hoped Alexa never saw this interview aired. If she ever got wind of the garbage he was spouting, he’d be in the doghouse, for sure.

  But the worst was yet to come. Joe motioned for the cameras to be shut off. “Your wild card is Shelby,” he said in a distinctly feral way.

  Brandon couldn’t keep the grimace off of his face. “The frosty redhead?”

  Smirking, Joe added. “That’s right. She’s not getting along very well with some of the other girls — Alexa in particular — which will be extremely good for ratings.”

  “I would never choose her in a million years.”

  “It’s all in the contract, Brandon.” Motioning for the cameramen to start shooting again, Joe smiled falsely. “I wish you the best of luck with your difficult choice tonight.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Alexa was amazed by how nervous she felt as she waited with the other twenty-nine contestants for Brandon’s decision. She told herself it was nothing more than wanting to get to
the next step so that she could write her expose, but somewhere deep within her heart she suspected she might be lying to herself.

  Shelby, the redheaded contestant who had angrily shushed her and Brigit that first day when they were filling out their applications, walked up to her and said, “Nice stunt.”

  Alexa didn’t know what the polished, mean-looking woman was talking about, but she couldn’t miss her menacing, aggressive tone.

  “What stunt?”

  “Oh come on!” Shelby snorted, her face screwed up with jealousy. Gesturing to the women she had been talking to, she said, “We all know you tripped getting out of the limo on purpose.”

  “You think I actually did that on purpose?” Alexa asked, incredulous that anyone would think her idiotic behavior was a ploy to get Brandon’s attention.

  “You were making it easy for him to cop a feel. But he’ll see right through your little trick. He’s going to choose a classy girl like me to be his wife, so you had better stop trying to lay it on so thick.”

  Shelby stalked back to her clique and Alexa shook her head, realizing with equal parts amusement and trepidation, that some of the other contestants were actually jealous of her clumsy mistakes.

  “I believe you didn’t trip on purpose, Alexa,” Brigit said. “I know you would never do something like that to try and get a leg up on the competition, or whatever some of the girls have been accusing you of.”

  “Thanks,” Alexa said, glad to have Brigit’s support, feeling guiltier by the second. Sure, she hadn’t jumped into Brandon’s arms on purpose, but she was on the show under false pretenses. The closer she got to Brigit, the more hurt her new friend would be when Alexa told all in her story.

  Alexa never realized that undercover journalists would have qualms about hurting the people they were investigating, even when they had a really good reason to write their articles.

  She did have a good reason to write this story, didn’t she? After all, weren’t shows like Falling For Mr. Right portraying women as desperate and subservient?

  Although, thus far, if anything she was surprised by just how forceful and determined these women were. Heck, she was even a little afraid of a few of them.

  The cameraman pulled her aside to get her take on Brandon, so she mustered up her most vacuous smile. “I’d definitely say he’s Mr. Right. What a hunk! I thought I’d die when I tripped getting out of the limo. Although,” she added with a wicked upturn of her lips, “it sure felt good falling into his arms. And although I certainly didn’t plan for him to hold me so close, so fast, I can’t say I’m sorry it happened.”

  After they moved on to interview another contestant, Alexa realized with dismay that she really hadn’t been lying during the short interview. The muscles in Brandon’s biceps and forearms had rippled wonderfully beneath her fingertips and he smelled clean and fresh and entirely male. A shiver passed through her as she remembered the feel of his breath by her ear.

  I am behaving like a complete nit wit, she lectured herself silently. So what if Brandon had a good body and smelled nice? Who else but a misogynistic head-case would actually think that he could find a soul mate on a TV show in front of millions of strangers? No matter what her hormones were screaming, she could never respect a man who would participate in something like this.

  The object of her disdainful thoughts stepped through the doors and into the living room.

  He looked so glum, she actually felt a little sorry for him.

  The producer began his canned speech. “Ladies, before we begin the “heart” selection ceremony tonight, I hope you enjoyed getting to know our very own Mr. Right tonight, because I know he enjoyed getting to know each and every one of you.” He paused for the requisite titters and giggles. “Brandon has made the very difficult decision about which ten of you will be receiving a See’s Candies chocolate heart and moving into the Falling For Mr. Right mansion in Pacific Heights tomorrow. Brandon, why don’t you take it from here?”

  Brandon cleared his throat. “Before I say anything else, I want to thank you all for being here tonight. I don’t know whether I have lived up to your expectations, but I want you to know that you have exceeded each and every one of mine.”

  Several of the women sighed and said, “Aww, he’s so sweet,” which made Alexa faintly ill, although she had to admit that he did sound sincere. Letting the murmurs subside, he said, “I don’t want to drag this out any longer than it has to be, so here we go.”

  He called out the first woman’s name and gave her the chocolate heart wrapped in a gold box with a red bow. Alexa was happy to see that Brigit was the second woman he chose, and she noted that Brigit was thrilled as well. As he made his way closer to the ten woman cut-off, Alexa’s nerves went into overdrive.

  Brandon called out Shelby’s name and Alexa started in surprise. He was picking that cold bimbo? His poor choice confirmed all of her negative thoughts about him. Only someone shallow, perverted, or completely blind would keep the nasty redhead around. She wondered which of the three best fit Brandon.

  Turning her thoughts back to her current predicament, Alexa fought the urge to bite her nails out of sheer nervousness. If she didn’t make the first cut, Jane was going to kill her. After they went to all the trouble of buying her clothes and getting her fixed up, if she had blown it by not being more outgoing this evening and really trying to make her mark with Brandon, she wouldn’t be surprised if Jane sacked her altogether. Down the drain with her cover story would go any chance she had of making a difference in the world working for ROAR.

  Deep in her worried fog, Alexa was startled when Brigit elbowed her in the rubs. Alexa looked first at Brigit, who was pointing to Brandon, and then at Brandon, who said, “That’s right. I was talking to you, Alexa.”

  Alexa smoothed a hand over her hair and planted a wide smile on her face to buy some time. But as she took a deep breath, she realized her smile was a genuine one. She decided it had nothing to do with getting to spend more time with Brandon, and everything to do with the immense relief she felt at making the cut-off by the skin of her teeth.

  Slowly, she rose from the couch. Fortunately, her high heel walking skills had improved during the past two hours, so she didn’t have to watch her feet with every step.

  Alexa felt more than a little singed by his gaze. Had he looked this warmly at the other women? Standing no more than a foot in front of him, his sensuality enveloped her like a warm blanket.

  “Alexa,” he said, his voice slightly husky, “will you accept this heart from me?”

  She paused, and licked her lips, knowing she needed to play this moment for all it was worth. Cocking her head to one side, she looked him up and down, pretending she needed to evaluate him a little longer before making her decision. Finally, after she felt that she had tortured him long enough she leaned close to his ear and whispered, “I will.”

  She delicately took the gold box from his fingers and turned back towards her seat, her head high and her eyes twinkling. She hoped no one could see her heart pounding, or her hands shaking slightly. She wasn’t sure if she had gone a little overboard with her acceptance, but she had wanted to stand out from all of the contestants who had squealed, “Oh thank you Brandon!”

  As she sat down and arranged the folds of her silk skirt around her, Joe said, “Wow. I definitely feel like some hearts were laid on the line during our selection ceremony.” Joe chuckled at his pun.

  The women who weren’t holding chocolates looked terribly dejected. Alexa felt sorry for them and wondered why they were willing to subject themselves to this kind of emotional torture. Did women only think of themselves as worthy if they won some silly competition?

  These questions had plagued Alexa for years as she watched her mother and sister go through the pain and suffering of rejection and self-hatred. She had always thought she was immune to such feelings, but she knew damn well if she hadn’t been among the fortunate final ten tonight, she would have gone home feeling that somehow, in
some way, she didn’t measure up as a woman.

  So many unanswered questions further fueled her fire to write this expose. Maybe she could even parlay the article into an entire book about the many ways society set women up against each other in a futile search for happiness.

  But as she watched Brandon say his goodbyes, she noticed how gentle he was. “Brigit,”

  she said quietly to her new friend, “He’s sure being nice to the women he didn’t pick, don’t you think?

  Brigit gave her an odd look. “Of course he is. Why wouldn’t he be nice to them? He’s such a great guy.”

  Alexa nodded, acting like she was in complete agreement, before grabbing her chocolate out of the box and taking a large, extremely necessary bite.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Two days later, Alexa had settled into the huge mansion at the top of Pacific Heights with the rest of the remaining contestants, who were out by the swimming pool, sunning themselves.

  Or trying to, in any case. Having grown up in the infamous San Francisco summer fog, Alexa knew everyone was shivering, yet willing to risk hypothermia in the off chance that Brandon stopped by and saw them in their bikinis.

  Alexa didn’t have any intention of putting on a bathing suit in front of the cameras, so she hid in her room. She pulled out her duffel bag from the floor and unzipped the secret inside pocket to reach for her notebook, when she felt the telltale vibrations of her cell phone.

  It was probably Jane, she figured, wanting to get an update on how her story was progressing. Alexa wished she had some dirt to share. As it was, she was on the verge of saying something like, “Actually, they’re all nice women, except for one, and I like them, and I’m feeling really bad about betraying them all this way, so could I write a different story for the cover?”

  Alexa snorted. That was a sure fire way to lose her big chance at journalistic distinction.