Falling Fast Page 7

  Clicking the talk button on her cell phone, she was surprised to hear Melanie, her sister.

  “Alexa! We saw you on TV last night!”

  The contestants had been told that the show was practically live. Nonetheless, Alexa was amazed by just how quick the first episode had aired. So much for her undercover story.

  Already, this show was feeling more like a way-too-exposed-all-the-time exposé.

  “I couldn’t believe it when Sophie called me into the living room and said you were one of the Falling For Mr. Right contestants.”

  Alexa grunted. Their mother made them call her Sophie, forbidding them to ever refer to her as mother or mom, especially in public. When she had men over, she always said Mel was her roommate, never her oldest daughter.

  “You are so sly, girl! And all this time we thought you were a dyke, or something, working for that creepy magazine.”

  “The correct term is lesbian,” Alexa scolded her extremely pc-clueless sister.

  “Whatever,” her sister said, ignoring her reprimand. “What did you do to yourself? I hardly recognized you!”

  Alexa tried to act as if her physical transformation had been nothing but a silly afterthought. “It’s the haircut. Does wonders for me.”

  “I’m not buying it,” Mel replied. “You must have had the works done. I’ve never seen you in anything nice enough that the Salvation Army would be willing to sell.”

  “Don’t hold back, Mel,” Alexa muttered, dismayed by just what a low opinion her sister had of her appearance. Not that she cared for Mel’s too-tight, too-short, too-shiny wardrobe, but even so, Alexa was smarting a bit.

  “It’s like a fairy godmother waved her wand and turned you into a frickin’ princess.”

  Alexa smiled, thinking that Mary was indeed a perfect fairy godmother.

  “You gonna let me borrow that dress?” her sister asked her, yanking the smile off of Alexa’s face in no time flat. “I’d be so hot in it. Even Sophie wants to wear it.”

  “Mel, I’ve got to go,” Alexa said, more than ready to end the call. “I’m not even supposed to have a cell phone here.”

  But Mel wasn’t going to be put off. “Not so fast, little sis. First you need to dish out some dirt. Is Brandon as much of hunk in real life as he is on TV? I swear that boy just about melted the glass off of the screen.”

  Alexa grimaced. “Nice image, Mel. But yeah, I guess he’s pretty hot,” she lied. She could never tell her sister the truth, that Brandon was way hotter than anyone could ever possibly imagine. Especially given that she’d hardly been able to think about anything else since grinding the contents of her chili-dog into his shirt.

  Mel wasn’t buying her reticence. “I can tell you’re holding out on me, sis. Weren’t you so freaked out when you tripped? Sophie and I would have been totally railing on you if we weren’t related to you. You looked like a complete idiot!”

  “Goodbye Mel,” Alexa said, hanging up on her sister.

  Just as she had hid her cell phone away again, Brigit peeked her head in the door.

  “Alexa, are you coming outside?”

  Alexa shook her head. “No suit. It’s always so cold here in the summer, I didn’t bother to pack one.”

  “You can borrow one of mine.”

  Alexa raised an eyebrow. “Thanks for the offer, but I’m nearly a foot taller than you, and I don’t think your suit will fit quite right. I’m perfectly happy to sit out the pool party.”

  “No way! And miss out on all the fun?” Brigit exclaimed.

  Alexa thought having her nails plucked out one by one would be more fun, but she kept the thought to herself.

  “Besides,” Brigit added with a giggle, “My little bikini’s not meant to cover up much anyway. And I’m not going to wear it, so I insist.”

  “Then why’d you bring it?” Alexa asked, confused yet again by the workings of the female mind.

  Brigit shrugged. “I’m too shy to wear it around all of the cameras.” Gesturing to the one-piece floral-print suit she was wearing, she said, “I was sort of saving it just in case I got some time alone with Brandon in the hot tub.”

  Alexa held back a laugh. “I hadn’t planned on any hot tub time myself. Big oversight, I guess. Anyway, I don’t want to steal your bikini thunder, Brigit.”

  But Brigit had already gone next door and grabbed the suit out of her closet. She handed it to Alexa. “See you in a few minutes.”

  Alexa held up the pathetic excuse for a suit. “She expects me to wear this? Strippers get to wear more at all-nude clubs!”

  At the same time, Brigit was right. Alexa had to get out there and start gossiping with the other women. She’d never learn anything for her story if she stayed inside like a hermit all day.

  Five minutes later Alexa emerged in the itsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny bikini. Determined to fit in, she plopped down onto a lounge chair and started slathering on the suntan lotion, catching snippets of conversations.

  “And then I walked in on our anniversary and caught him in bed with my best friend!”

  confessed an attractive, petite brunette.

  The women all gasped. “How awful,” Alexa said, meaning it. Realizing now was the perfect time to do some sleuthing she said, “Is that why you’re here?”

  The brunette chewed on her lower lip. “Sort of. I wanted my ex to see me on TV so he would realize just how badly he screwed up.”

  Shelby, the calculating redhead, piped in before Alexa could ask any more questions.

  “I’ll tell you why I’m here,” she said, looking around at the other women as if she had already sized each of them up and found them all lacking. “I heard Mr. Right was going to be filthy, stinking rich.”

  The girls gasped in unison again.

  Alexa couldn’t help herself. “Don’t you think that’s a little shallow?”

  Shelby turned to Alexa and smiled a smile that was completely devoid of any warm feelings. Alexa got the feeling Shelby would scratch her eyes out if the cameras weren’t on them every minute of every day. “What, like you’ve got a better reason?” she taunted Alexa. “You’re so damn curious about why the rest of us are here. I think it’s time for you to ante up with an answer.” She let the challenge linger in the air.

  Alexa schooled her face into an expression of sincerity. “It’s pretty straightforward, Shelby. I’m twenty-two years old and I’m ready to fall for a great guy. And you know what?”

  she said, turning to the other contestants with an open smile on her face. “I sincerely hope he turns out to be Mr. Right for one us. It’s about time for someone to find true love, don’t ya’ll think?”

  All of the women gave Alexa a high five, except for Shelby, who muttered, “Yeah right.”

  Yet again, Alexa was amazed by her acting ability. Even more than that, though, she was disturbed by how much she empathized with where the other women were coming from. They’d been hurt by past loves, and they wanted to find something real and lasting.

  How could she blame them for that?

  *

  Amazingly, Alexa quickly grew comfortable wearing her little borrowed bikini. For once, sun was peaking through the clouds and she enjoyed letting the sun warm her skin.

  Feeling restless and confused, she dove into the pool and swam back and forth until she was too exhausted to think anymore. Since Jane had given her this assignment, her brain had been running a mile a minute.

  After a hundred or more laps, Alexa swam over to the steps, grabbed the rails and slowly emerged from the water. She picked up a towel from the nearest chaise lounge and dried herself off.

  It took a few moments for Alexa to remember that she was being filmed. For a few blessed minutes the vigorous swim had cleared her mind and she had forgotten that she was on the awful reality show. Embarrassed that she had been walking around practically naked, she wrapped the oversize towel around her tightly, so that it covered from the top of her breasts to her kneecaps.

  One of the contestants squealed,
“Brandon!” Within seconds, all of the women, save Alexa, swarmed him.

  Alexa was pleased that, for once, all of the cameras were turned away from her.

  Welcoming the chance to watch the proceedings from the background, she snuck up behind the cameramen and noted the way the woman alternately flattered and flirted with Brandon.

  And she tried not to care one way or another when he flirted back.

  *

  Just minutes before, Brandon had been informed about the first competition Joe had set up for the ten women. “You’re going to love watching the girls jumping up and down in their bikinis,” Joe said to Brandon with a slimy sneer. “Nothing like young bouncing breasts to keep our viewers happy.”

  Brandon forced himself to nod. “Every guy’s fantasy,” he said, and hated the part he was playing even more. He should have guessed that the reality TV show was going to exploit the women’s bodies for ratings.

  Brandon had always been in charge of the direction of his life. He knew he could build a business from the ground up by using his brain. He could run a marathon by pushing his body to the limit. He could even rebuild the engine of a car and frame a house. But ever since he had signed the Marring Mr. Right contract he’d felt like he was on a train that was about to slam into a brick wall. No matter how much he wanted to, he couldn’t get off. Especially if Alexa was the grand prize.

  Joe ushered Brandon into the contestant’s mansion just in time to witness Alexa rising up out of the pool in a barely-legal bikini. She was tanned and glistening, her long limbs, tight waist, and full breasts displayed erotically for the world to see.

  It was an incredibly sensual performance, and for a minute, Brandon wondered if he was wrong about her. Maybe she did know the effect she had on men, and was using her sexuality to play with his feelings on national television?

  But he had no further time to ponder this disturbing thought, because as soon as the other nine women saw him they swarmed around him greedily, vying for his attention.

  Joe gave him a few minutes to chat with the contestants, who, he had noticed, were trying to set themselves off to the best visual advantage. One of the women looked like she was posing for a swimwear catalog. Brandon was pretty sure her back was going to hurt something fierce when she straightened up.

  Shelby was wearing a bikini that rivaled Alexa’s in skimpiness. But while Brandon couldn’t help but be turned on by Alexa’s glistening olive skin – which she had unfortunately covered up with a huge beach towel – he was completely turned off by Shelby’s picture perfect body. Everything about her turned him off. Particularly as she was running one of her blood red fingernails up his chest in an effort to turn him on.

  Thankfully, Joe got things in motion. “Ladies, I’m glad to see all of you enjoying yourselves by the swimming pool. It’s time for a fun contest on the beach.” He paused to deliver the punch line. “The woman who wins will be going on a private date tonight in the Napa Valley with our very own Mr. Right.”

  Several of the contestants gasped with pleasure.

  Everyone squeezed into a large, plush van for the several block drive to the beach.

  Brandon was amused by how Alexa refused to drop her towel the slightest bit, even though the other women were doing their darndest to show off as much skin as possible while in his company.

  Maybe she wasn’t the exhibitionist she briefly appeared to be when getting out of the pool. He shook his head, confused by the mixed messages he was getting from her.

  Once at the beach, Brandon assisted each of the women in getting out of the limo. Most giggled, and all graced him with smiles. All except Alexa, who said, “I can get out of the limo on my own, thanks,” and walked past him in a huff.

  Had he said something to one of the other women that had made Alexa angry? Jealous, perhaps? He groaned inwardly. This whole process was impossible. He wanted nothing more than for it to be over so that he could come clean with Alexa and tell her how he felt about her.

  And, just as importantly, to find out if she felt the same way about him.

  Joe’s booming voice pulled Brandon from his dejected thoughts. “Ladies, Brandon told us he wanted an athletic, healthy woman to be his wife, so we decided an obstacle course on the sand is the best way to let him see if you have what he wants.”

  Brandon stifled a groan. Joe was making him sound like the world’s biggest macho jerk, especially since it was perfectly clear that the only reason they were doing the obstacle course was so that he, and the American public, could ogle the women.

  And if the murderous expression on Alexa’s face was anything to go by, this little contest hadn’t endeared him to her one bit.

  *

  Alexa was so angry she was surprised she didn’t explode right then and there on the beach. All thoughts of not writing the story, of keeping the confidences of her fellow contestants, disappeared. Now more than ever she wanted to write her story, infuriated at how Joe was reducing them to nothing more than ten pairs of jiggling butt cheeks.

  On top of everything else, she couldn’t believe how they were dangling the carrot of a solo date with Brandon as the “prize” for winning the belittling contest.

  She glared at Brandon. He was probably the one who thought up this contest in the first place, she thought angrily. Ruthlessly, she ignored the voice in her head that said, If you win, you’ll get to be with him. Alone.

  Alexa shook her head. I couldn’t care less if I ever talk to him again, she insisted silently.

  But the truth was, every time she got within five feet of Brandon every part of her body heated up. And if she made the mistake of touching him, every inch of her skin became hypersensitive.

  Which was why she hadn’t let him take her hand when she got out of the limo. Being near Brandon was just too damn dangerous. With nothing more than an innocent touch he set her libido to a fire pitch.

  If she wasn’t careful, her new found sex drive would ruin all of her career plans.

  As Joe droned on with his quasi-pep-talk, Alexa decided to lose the contest in order to spend more time with the other contestants back in the mansion to scrounge up dirt for her article. She might even utilize her new femme fatale persona to charm insider information from the cameramen.

  Joe appeared at her side. “Alexa, why don’t you go stand at the far end of the yellow rope and then the rest of the girls can line up next to you?”

  Clutching her towel tightly to her, she started for the rope. Joe stopped her with a greasy hand on her shoulder.

  “You probably will want to take off your towel so it doesn’t slow you down,” he said, his beady eyes blinking impatiently.

  Alexa stared at him for a few seconds in a battle of wills. But then she remembered the part she was playing, so she adopted a luscious smile.

  “Whatever was I thinking?” she said playfully, then sashayed into place behind the yellow rope. One by one, the other women lined up next to Alexa. Some looked nervous, while others looked fairly confident. Shelby, Alexa noted, looked downright smug.

  Catching Alexa’s eye Shelby announced, “I do Tae Bo every evening. I’m so glad they’ve given me a chance to show off my athleticism.” Giving Alexa a malicious once over she said, “Too bad you can’t say the same thing, isn’t it?”

  Brigit touched Alexa’s arm and stood on her tiptoes to whisper into her ear, “Don’t let her make you feel bad. She’s just jealous. You’ll do just fine.”

  Alexa forced herself to smile. Joe shot off the starting gun, so Alexa turned her concentration to hopping through the dozens of tires in front of her. She had never been particularly athletic, but every time she saw Shelby about to shoot ahead of her, Alexa mustered up the will to stay just slightly in the lead. She forced herself to ignore how her breasts were bouncing freely in her skimpy bikini top and focus on not giving Shelby any leeway.

  She made it through the tires without tripping like several of the contestants had and then got down on her belly to scramble under the netting
that had been staked above the hot sand.

  Neck and neck with Shelby in the sand, she forgot all about throwing the contest.

  Letting Shelby win would be like letting a boa constrictor wind its way around her body and crush the breath out of her without a fight.

  Crawling out from beneath the netting, she clamored back onto her feet and sprinted to the finish line, several hundred yards away. She hardly noticed the cheering from the onlookers that had gathered to watch the gorgeous girls in bikinis prance around on the sand. She didn’t see Brandon jump to his feet. She wasn’t aware of how the cameramen followed her every move or Joe’s wide smile as he calculated profits and ratings points.

  All she knew was that she had to beat Shelby.

  Dipping into a well of athleticism that must have been hiding right next to her feminine wiles all these years, she picked up her pace and beat Shelby by a hair. Joe yelled out, “Alexa has won the first solo date with Mr. Right!”

  Alexa would have insisted that Brigit should go in her place, but she could hardly breathe, let alone talk. She bent over at the waist and panted until her heart stopped racing. And when she stood back up, she was disconcerted to find Brandon next to her, reaching for her hand.

  “Would you do me the honor of joining me in Napa Valley tonight?” he asked.

  Alexa was tempted to refuse, but when she caught Shelby’s vicious glare, she took Brandon’s outstretched hand in hers, smiled sensually, and said, “There’s nothing I would like more.”

  She silently cursed herself for not being able to hold her temper. Now, she was not only unable to do much needed research for her story, but she was about to spend an entire evening with the one person she needed to avoid.

  No doubt about it, she thought as a rivulet of sweat dripped between her breasts, Brandon Philips definitely got her all hot and bothered.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Sitting in the back of the limo with Brandon, for the first time, Alexa was actually happy about being perpetually filmed.

  Otherwise she just might make a complete fool of herself by throwing herself at him.