Falling Fast (16 page)

Alexa gave Elaine a hug. “Thanks for everything.”

“It was my pleasure, honey. You are welcome back any time. I hope I’ll see you again soon.”

Overwhelmed by emotion, Alexa said, “I just need to visit the restroom before we leave.”

She disappeared down the hall, failing to mask her sniffles.

This time it was Brandon’s turn for a hug. “Thanks, Mom.”

Rocking him back and forth, Elaine said, far too quietly for the cameras to hear, “She’s the one, isn’t she?”

Brandon nodded, grinning from ear to ear. “Yup.”

Elaine simply smiled back and squeezed his hand.

* * *

Out on Elaine’s front porch again, cooled pleasantly by the breeze off of the bay, Alexa felt giddy with joy. She couldn’t bear to keep her feelings hidden any longer. Not after the way he proved himself to her when she stepped out of the limo, and how he spent the entire evening stroking her thigh under the dining table.

“I’m dying to know,” she said playfully, “what’s all this about a note from Joe?”

Brandon guided her over to the love seat and picked up a large pink envelope that had both of their names on it. “I found this earlier tonight.”

“Open it!” she said excitedly, wondering what was in store for them next.

Brandon slid his finger under the flap and pulled out a blank card. Opening it up, he read,

“For your final date, we have provided you a luxurious, penthouse suite at the Fairmont Hotel on Union Square. If you choose to use the room, there will be no cameras on you for the rest of the evening.”

Alexa gasped. “No cameras?”

Brandon smiled. “Looks that way.”

“Well Hallelujah!”

“I take it we’re going?” Brandon said teasingly.

Giving him her sauciest grin while leaning in to kiss his lips, she said, “I can’t believe you even have to ask.”

Grabbing her hand, he pulled her up from the seat. They took the steps two at a time.

Alexa licked her lips in anticipation and ran her thumb over Brandon’s luscious lower lip.

“Get ready for the night of your life,” she murmured in husky undertones, before Brandon's kiss completely robbed her of speech.

Their suite at the penthouse was sumptuous and romantic. Candles covered every available surface, from the side tables to the tiles surrounding the huge whirlpool bathtub.

“It’s so luxurious,” Alexa said as she walked through the huge bedroom to the equally large bathroom. “Are you sure this is the right room?”

“Without a doubt, sweetheart.”

And then he pulled her into his arms and she was lost.

Completely lost in everything he was.

“I love you,” she said softly.

He whispered the words back, the sweetest three words she'd ever heard, and then there were no more words.

Only love.

* * *

The night passed far too quickly for Alexa. She had finally acknowledged that she loved him with all her heart. When morning came, she knew she would have to tell him everything.

But she felt hopeful that after their incredible night together, after all the words of love, Brandon would find it in his heart to forgive her.

Light spilled through the penthouse windows and Alexa stirred in the safety of Brandon’s arms, a fluttering of unease welling up deep within her belly. “Rise and shine, sleepyhead. Time for your date with Brigit.”

Brandon groaned and gathered her up so that she was laying spread across his body, the covers twisted up beneath them. “I’m going to tell Joe that I’ve already found the woman I want.”

Alexa abruptly sat up in the bed. “You need to take her to meet your mother. It’s in the contract.”

Brandon frowned. “Brigit’s a great girl. She’d understand if I told her that you and I were in love, wouldn’t she?”

Warmth rushed through Alexa at his words. She leaned forward and kissed him with abandon before forcing herself to get out of the bed.

“That wouldn’t be fair,” she insisted as she walked around the room picking up her clothes.

Brandon acknowledged her comment with a grim nod, and then changed the subject.

“You don’t have to put back on your clothes from last night, you know.”

Alexa waggled a finger at him playfully. “We don’t have time to, well, um...you know again.” Her face completely red, she added, “Even though I’d sure like to.”

Brandon laughed. “Me too. But I’m talking about the package waiting for you outside the door.”

“What package?” she said, running to open the door like it was Christmas morning. A large pink and blue box waited for her just outside the door. She picked it up and brought it inside, then dropped the package on the ground and threw her arms around him.

Brandon squeezed her tightly, lifting her up into the air. “You haven’t even seen what’s in the box yet,” he said, giving her a pat on her rump.

Alexa scooted over to the large box and pulled off the top. Underneath the mounds of tissue were a red and white flower-print dress, a pair of red sandals, and a red baseball cap.

“Oh, I love everything!” she exclaimed as she immediately stripped out of her yucky old clothes and put on the new duds. As she twirled in front of Brandon she felt a twinge of uneasiness about how effortlessly she had been swayed by a box full of pretty clothes, but she refused to think about that.

That was the old Alexa. This was the new Alexa. She picked out the red baseball cap from the bottom of the box and put it on her head.

Brandon grinned. “Now the look is complete. The saleslady downstairs thought I was nuts when I told her to throw in the cap, but I knew that on you, it would look just right.”

They shared a large breakfast en suite, but Alexa was so overwhelmed by her feelings for Brandon, and so worried about how he was going to react when she told him the truth about her motives behind joining the show, she had to force down each bite.

Thirty minutes later, hand in hand, they left their private heaven and took the elevator down to the elegant lobby. As they waited on the sidewalk for their separate limos – the limos that meant not only the end of their magical, love filled date, but also the return of the cameramen - Alexa took a deep breath and faced Brandon, holding both of his hands in hers.

“Brandon, I need to tell you something really important before the cameras are on us again.”

Her cell phone rang shrilly from inside her leather backpack. She ignored it, tried to continue her painful speech, but it just kept ringing and ringing.

Brandon said, “Sounds like it’s pretty urgent. Maybe you should get that.”

Alexa grimaced, hoping it wasn’t Jane, calling about the story. Her editor was the last person she wanted to talk to right now. She reached into her bag and saw her sister’s number on the LED screen.

“Mel, what’s up? Is something wrong with Mom?”

“Thank god I got you. Sophie’s fine, but there’s something you need to know.”

Alexa folded her arms across her chest. “Now is really not a good time, Mel. I’ll call you back later.”

“Don’t hang up!” her sister said. “Me and Sophie debated telling you this all night, but we think you’d better know the truth before the show goes live on July 1st.”

Alexa sighed loudly and rolled her eyes for Brandon’s benefit. “It’s my sister,” she mouthed to him. “Make it quick. The cameramen will be here any second and I need to tell Brandon something important before they get here.”

Mel’s words all ran together. “We were watching
Falling For Mr. Right
last night—the three of us looked fabulous, by the way, especially you in that slinky little dress.”

“Mel, I don’t have time for this right now!” Alexa hissed into her cell phone.

“Wait a sec, I’m getting to it,” Mel replied breathlessly. “At the end of the show they showed Brandon in the limo with that redheaded bitch.”

“Shelby?” Alexa asked, glancing up at Brandon, who suddenly looked a little pinched around the mouth.

“That’s the one I’m talking about. She was straddling him-“

“Straddling him?”

“With her tongue all the way down his throat.”

“No,” Alexa protested.

“Way down his throat. And, sis, the thing is, he really looked like he was enjoying himself. We’ve got it on tape if you want to see it.”

Alexa was dead silent on the other end of the line. “I’ve gotta go, Mel,” she said, hanging up on her sister. Impossibly heartbroken, she poked a finger hard into Brandon’s chest.

“You lying, cheating, male scum!”

He reached for her shoulders but she was quicker.

“Don’t ever touch me again,” she said, oblivious to the scene she was causing on the sidewalk in front of the most luxurious hotel in San Francisco.

“Tell me what she said.”

“She said you were fooling around with Shelby in the back of the limo.” Alexa was disgusted with herself for ever believing that a man was capable of telling the truth to a woman.

“It’s not true,” he protested hotly.

“The cameras caught everything,” Alexa yelled, “so don’t you dare tell me it’s not true.”

She started running down the sidewalk, wanting to get away from Brandon as fast as she possibly could. He chased her down the street and finally caught up to her at a red light. She thought about darting across the street, but just because her heart had been broken didn’t mean she wanted to be run over by a bus.

“Joe must have edited the footage to make it look like I was kissing her back.”

“Sure, blame everything on Joe,” she said.

“I swear, Alexa. I was heading back to my hotel after dinner when she threw herself at me. I pushed her off of me and made her get out of the limo.”

“Yeah right. Tell it to the millions of people who saw you two making out last night.”

“Hey – aren’t you the guy on that TV show?” one of the people standing on the curb asked Brandon.

Brandon pulled Alexa up against the wall next to the Macy’s shoe display. “I love you, Alexa. I swear I never broke my promise to you. I never kissed anyone but you.”

Out of the corner of her eyes Alexa saw both of their limos barreling down the street.

She wasn’t going to let Brandon get away with lying to her. For too long men had been taking advantage of her mother, her sister, her friends, and now her.

Alexa no longer had time for a silly emotion like love.

She smiled tremulously up at Brandon, reassuming the sex-kitten persona she thought she had dropped forever at his mother’s house. Placing one finger in the center of his lips, she said,

“I understand, Brandon. Don’t say another word.”

* * *

Alexa used every trick in the book to convince her driver to take her to her mother’s house instead of the contestant’s mansion. She needed to see Brandon’s perfidy for herself.

Sophie gave her a lingering hug, accompanied by the sniffles, saying, “We really thought he was the one, honey.” Mel held her hand on the couch as they watched the tapes, murmuring,

“That rat,” over and over.

Alexa watched all of the episodes from within a deep fog. She couldn’t connect the man she knew so intimately, the one who she loved with all of her heart, to the man who said awful things like,
“I’ve definitely got my eye on several of these hot ladies waiting for me in the living
room,”
and
“With a body like that, of course she’s on the list Joe.”

Worst of all, was the final scene when Brandon told Shelby,
“I had a great time tonight,”

and then they did a lap dance together in the back seat of the limo. She kept hearing his lie:
“I’m
not going to fool around with any other contestants. Just you.”

She clicked off the VCR and stood up. “I’ve got to go,” she said, heading for the front door, a determined look in her eyes.

“There’s other fish in the sea, honey,” her mother called out to her as she walked out the front door.

“Not for me,” Alexa said. “Not for me.”

July 1st dawned bright and sunny, but Alexa was anything but cheerful. Brigit had returned from Elaine’s house at 10pm, which meant that she and Brandon had forgone the suite at the Fairmont, but Alexa pushed away her delight at this one small sign of Brandon’s fidelity.

She knew the truth about his behavior with Shelby, and nothing he did at this point was going to make a difference.

With trembling hands, she applied her makeup and brushed her hair until it shone. She reached into her closet for one final dress. Taking it off the hanger, she repeated, “I’m doing the right thing. I’m doing the right thing,” as she slipped the dress on over her head.

She slipped on the silver, strappy sandals that came with the dress and stepped back from the bed. Looking at herself in the mirror, she fought the overwhelming urge to cry. The white, full length, strapless, sequined gown that had arrived that morning in a Nordstrom’s box with Alexa’s name on it was, without a doubt, the most beautiful thing she would ever wear.

Alexa had been stunned when she read the note:

My darling Alexa, these past weeks on the TV I have had the pleasure of watching you be
beautiful, charming, funny and sexy. Something deep within my heart tells me that July 1st will
be a very important day for you. I couldn’t help but imagine you in this glorious dress. I hope
you will accept it as a gift from me. With respect and love, your friend Mary.

Alexa was overwhelmed by Mary’s generosity. Staring into the mirror, she was overcome by the unavoidable sense that she was about to betray absolutely everyone that mattered to her. Shaking her head, she straightened her shoulders, gave herself one last glance to make sure everything was in order with her appearance, and headed outside.

She had devised a plan and she was sticking with it. No matter what.

* * *

Waiting on the sound stage for Joe to give him the thumbs up, Brandon was more nervous and excited than he had ever been before.

He couldn’t wait to spend the rest of his life with Alexa – his one true love.

The only obstruction to his happiness was the memory of how angry she had been when her sister called to tell her that Shelby had kissed him. Thank god she had understood and accepted his explanation. Sure, her parting kiss lacked a little spark, but that was no reason for him to worry. And although he wondered what it was Alexa had been about to tell him, he figured they would be able to work anything out once they were together and away from the cameras.