Tingles raced over the surface of her skin. But attraction and sexy times weren’t enough for her. Not anymore. “It was. But it doesn’t change what’s standing in the way of us.”
“I know. And as much as I’d love to kiss you again, properly, without interference from movie stars or potted plants, I’m not going to say that I’ve changed my mind when I haven’t.”
Which left them right back at the beginning. Except Alec still had a problem, Brooklyn had a plausible solution, and maybe this would give her a chance to spend more time with him so she could figure out what exactly it was that was going through that head of his. Alec would make an amazing dad, and he’d always wanted her to get serious. Something wasn’t adding up. But she wasn’t sure what. “Just tell Georgia Carle that we’re a couple. It should be enough to get you out of hot water. And frankly, it’ll make a great excuse for me. My recent foray into dating wasn’t great. And I’m tired of random male attention.”
“How do we explain the fact that you were on a date with Jason?”
“The man ambushed me on national television. There was no way I could say no, and something tells me the network already knows that.”
“Okay. I’ll call her and I’ll let you know what she says.”
“Call me right back.” Brooklyn hung up and wandered into the kitchen to make coffee. While it dripped into the carafe, she watered the plants, if only to remind herself that she was capable of taking care of things. Alec turned up on her Caller ID just as she was pouring her first cup of French roast.
“She wants to see us. Both. Together. First thing after I’m done shootingGood Dayon Monday.”
“She’s basically daring us to show her that it’s real.”
“Right. Which means we need to decide how far we’re willing to go to make it look legit. Holding hands? Pet names?”
“Well, Mr. PDA, I think that if we’re going to put on a show, we should make it a good one.”
“It would be great if you could give me a few parameters.”
“Just pretend like it’s a year and a half ago and we’re still happy.” Sometimes her mouth was like a sieve. She hoped to hell that wasn’t too harsh. Then again, it was the truth, and right now, she didn’t have much patience for anything less.
“You really know how to put a fine point on things, don’t you?”
“Sorry.”
“No. It’s good. It definitely paints a picture for me. I know exactly what happiness with you looks like.”
Part of her wanted to smile and stare off into space with a wistful expression while she relived their former happiness. The rest of her knew that wasn’t going to fix a thing. “So, Monday morning? At the studio?”
“I’ll meet you at security.”
Chapter Sixteen
Monday morning,immediately after Alec finished shootingGood Day USA, it was time to put on a different show. This one was called, “Brooklyn and Alec Are Dating”. Unlike his day job, he had no clue how long the run of this second show would last.
“Hey, Mr. Trakas. Ms. Monroe hasn’t arrived yet,” Maddie noted as Alec came sidling up to the security desk to meet Brooklyn. She leaned in closer to him. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell us you two were an item,” she muttered, punctuating it with a wink.
“Yeah,” Jerome grunted. “That would’ve been good information to have the first time she was on the show.”
“You mean before the betting started?” Alec slid Jerome a look that said he needed to check himself.
Jerome, quick to take a hint but never happy about it, got up from his chair, grumbled, and started off down the hall.
“Just ignore him,” Maddie said. “His wife is three days overdue and he’s super stressed about it.”
Now Alec felt bad. He hadn’t meant to provoke poor Jerome. Also, he couldn’t imagine what it would be like to wait that long for a child to arrive, and then to have to keep waiting. “Will you let me know when they have their baby? I’d like to send them a gift.”
“Sure thing.” Maddie’s eyes lit up. “Ms. Monroe! Good morning.”
Alec whipped around to see Brooklyn, strolling in and looking like a million bucks in a pale pink suit with a fitted jacket, slim trousers, black tank top underneath and black heels. There was a glow in her cheeks, and her hair was shiny and rolling over her shoulders in tempting waves. She’d looked amazing in that cat suit, but she was equally gorgeous in this ensemble. Maybe more so, because he knew that today, they could hold hands. They could kiss. And although it wouldn’t be real, it wouldn’t beentirelyfake. There was genuine affection between them. Sometimes, serious heat.
“Morning, Maddie. And there’s my pooky bear.” Brooklyn’s voice sounded like a Disney princess as she took Alec’s hand and pecked him on the cheek, leaving behind a lipstick print he could feel.
“Hello, darling,” he said loudly, then pulled her closer. “Pooky bear?” he muttered under his breath, right into her neck. The temptation to kiss her there was great. Brooklyn had a magnificent neck.
