Falling Fast (17 page)

Nothing was going to go wrong today. Everything was going to be perfect.

Joe entered the room, the cameras dogging his heels. “Brandon,” he said, “It’s the big day. Are you ready?”

Brandon shook Joe’s hand and grinned, thrilled that he was officially off the show after today. He’d had enough of TV cameras for one lifetime. “I sure am.”

Joe mugged for the cameras. “How about we head out to the stage so you can get a glimpse at the two incredibly lovely ladies who are waiting for you?”

Brandon took a deep breath. “Let’s do it,” he said, following behind Joe with great anticipation.

Joe led them out to the middle of the stage. It took Brandon a few moments to adjust to the bright lights, but once he did, what he saw took his breath away.

He couldn’t keep his eyes off of Alexa, who was wearing a magnificent white, sequined gown. He wanted to run over to her to fall down on one knee. He looked into Alexa’s eyes with a silent “I love you,” but she was staring just past his shoulder.
Probably can’t see because of
the bright lights in her eyes
, he told himself quickly, to quell the panic that leapt inside of him.

Not wanting Brigit to feel bad, he turned to her with a friendly smile. She looked pretty as well in a white long-sleeved, flowing gown. Nonetheless, she was impossible to compare to Alexa, who after all, he thought, was incomparable. Although Brigit would go home the loser today, Brandon wanted nothing but the best for her. He honestly hoped the three of them would remain friends after the show had run its course.

Brigit smiled back at him, having no trouble with the lights blocking her vision. Brandon looked back at Alexa. Her eyes were bleak, her rosy lips pressed in a grim line. Brandon wished Alexa would look at him so that he could ease her fears, but Joe had begun his final spiel.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you are as pleased as I am to be here tonight.” The studio audience cheered loudly. When the hoots and hollers died down, Joe said, “For the past two weeks, the entire nation has been enthralled by the romantic bonds between Brandon Philips, our very own Mr. Right-”

Joe was momentarily drowned out by the audience cheering at the mere mention of Brandon’s name. “As I was saying, we have been privileged to watch the emotional development between Brandon and the beautiful women who agreed to be a part of his search for a wife. Tonight we will find out who is going to become Mrs. Brandon Philips. It’s been a pleasure, Brandon. Good luck.”

Brandon shook Joe’s hand absently. He had the prickly sensation that everything was about to go terribly wrong, but he didn’t know how to stop it.

He cleared his throat and said, “I have enjoyed every moment I’ve spent with each of you. And although I am in love with only one of you, I would be honored to remain friends with the woman who I can’t propose to tonight.”

Taking a moment to steady himself, Brandon turned to Alexa. Walking slowly towards her, he bent down on one knee and then smiled up at her, hoping desperately that she would smile back at him, and everything would go back to how it should be.

But Alexa’s stony expression didn’t crack as she stared bleakly over his right shoulder.

“Honey,” he whispered, “Please look at me.”

Not knowing what else to do with the agonizing silence, Brandon laid his heart on the line. “Alexa, from the moment I first saw you, I knew that you were the woman I wanted to be with for the rest of my life. Every minute I spent with you only confirmed to me that love at first sight is real. Sweetheart,” he said, reaching for her shaking hands, “I fell so fast my head – and heart – are still spinning. But I'm more glad than I could ever say that they are, because I love you more than I thought it was possible to love anyone. Will you-?”

Suddenly there was a scream from the audience.

The word, “No!” reverberated through the studio, the voice high pitched and familiar. It was a voice that Brandon had hoped to never hear again.

Everyone turned at once to watch Shelby return to the show as if from the dead. She ran through the studio audience in her stiletto heels and too-tight gold spandex dress, right past the row of cameramen, who had now trained their glass eyes to her as she leapt onto the sound stage.

Shelby was waving a magazine in her hand, but Brandon couldn’t make out the name of it. He could, unfortunately, clearly make out the triumphant look on her overly made up face.

The sinking feeling in his stomach became a burning pit of alarm.

“You are so screwed,” she hissed at Alexa as she ran by. All of the remaining color dropped off of Alexa’s face.

“Joe,” Shelby said, her voice syrupy sweet, “I just knew you would want to know what I found about one of your contestants before you let this sham of a marriage take place.”

Joe was having a fit of apoplexy, his face twice as red as a beet. He didn’t even bother to be polite. “Get off the stage. Now!”

“No!” she cried as he tried to drag her off stage.

Feeling like a statue, still on bended knee in front of Alexa, Brandon had no idea what was about to go down, but he knew it wasn’t good.

“She,” Shelby said, pointing one of her blood-red nails at Alexa, “is a fraud.”

The audience gasped and Shelby added, “And, she’s not even pretty. Look at this yearbook picture I found of her.”

The camera’s zoomed in on a younger Alexa, with glasses and a ponytail. The audience started to chatter wildly. Brandon saw the picture blown up on the monitor screens behind Alexa’s head, but he didn’t see what the big deal was.

So she had gotten contacts and done something with her hair. She was still the beautiful, funny, warm-hearted woman he was in love with. Some makeup and fashion styling didn’t change any of that.

“She’s also a liar!” Shelby screeched, her eyes wild and scary. “She didn’t come on this show to meet Mr. Right and get married.” The studio went quiet, awaiting her next words.

“Alexa is an undercover reporter from this magazine!

Shelby held up a copy of
ROAR
magazine.

Brandon tuned out the gasps and whispered speculation of the hundred plus people in the room and turned to Alexa. “What is going on Alexa?” he asked, a muscle in his jaw pulsing.

Just then Jared emerged from the audience and jumped up on stage, obviously coming to Alexa’s rescue. “I need to handle this on my own,” she said softly, then turned back to Brandon.

Her eyes met his and her face crumpled. Even though he was more confused than he had ever been, Brandon reached up to wipe her tears away. As his fingers brushed across her soft skin she whispered, “I’m a liar, Brandon.”

Brandon wanted to wrap her in his arms. He wanted her to know that he would love her wholly and completely until the day he died. Instead, Brandon felt his world continue to fall off of its axis as one thick tear landed on his shoe.

“Shelby’s right. I didn’t sign up to be a contestant on this show because I wanted to get married.”

Suddenly Brandon knew with his whole soul that none of the how’s or why’s mattered.

Lord knew that if they did he’d be in a hell of hot water too.

“Alexa,” he said, gently but firmly, “I don’t care how or why you came on the show, I only care that you’re here with me now. That we fell in love. Nothing else matters.”

Alexa sniffled loudly. “Yes it does. I’m a writer for a feminist magazine. I was supposed to write an exposé about you. About the contestants.” She motioned to Brigit and Shelby with one hand. “To prove how this show destroys everything feminists have fought for.”

Alexa continued in a rush, her sobs mixing with her words. “And I was planning on getting my revenge with you today for kissing Shelby. But I’ve fallen in love with you and became friends with the other girls, well most of them anyway.”

She wiped her eyes again with the back of her hands. “You must hate me. I knew you would.”

Before Brandon could get his brain to start working again, before he could figure out what had just happened, Alexa ripped the platinum heart pendant from her neck, threw it to the ground and ran out of the studio. Brandon was still on one knee. He felt as if he’d been clubbed by a large hammer.

Her words swam in his head as Joe helped him stand up, whispering in his ear. “Don’t forget our contract.”

Brandon gaped at the producer, realizing that Joe actually expected him to propose to Brigit. Brandon looked helplessly at Brigit, all hope for the future gone.

Brigit looked from Brandon to Jared to Joe and then back to Jared, who was smiling at her in a rather possessive way. Brigit smiled back at Brandon and nodded her head once, obviously having made up her mind about something.

“Brandon,” she said, “you have to go after her! Right away! If you love her as much as she loves you, then what she did doesn’t matter.”

Without a doubt, Brigit was right. Brandon wasn’t going to let Alexa get away just because she felt duty bound to cover a story for a magazine. Heck, he’d kiss her editor a thousand times once this was all over for pushing them together.

Brandon gave Brigit a hug. “I owe you big for this,” he said, before running off the stage and through the doors, in hot pursuit of the woman he loved.

Back in the studio, Brigit and Jared walked slowly towards each other and the studio audience got to see the kiss that they had been dying for.

“Follow him!” Joe shouted to the cameramen.

Outside the studio, one limo was already gone. Brandon leapt into the remaining limo.

“I need to catch up with the other limo. And fast.”

The driver sped off down the road with a loud squeal from the tires. Joe and the camera crew clamored into a cab, but Brandon couldn’t have cared less whether the cameras were filming him anymore. All he cared about was finding Alexa and convincing her that he loved her and wanted to marry her no matter what she had or hadn’t done.

He caught sight of the limo at the bottom of the next hill. Alexa flew out and with a panicked glance behind her, she ran down the alley, her sequined skirts flying wildly behind her.

“Pull over,” Brandon said and in seconds he was out on the street, chasing after her.

“Alexa,” he called.

Realizing that she had turned down a dead end, Alexa whipped her head around, like a caged animal desperate for a way to escape.

“Leave me alone,” she said as he reached out for her. She slapped his hands off, but her skirts had gotten caught up in her legs, and she inadvertently fell into his arms.

“I can’t leave you alone,” he said. “I love you. I will always love you. Please, give me another chance, sweetheart.” Brandon got down on one knee in his tuxedo. He didn’t notice he was kneeling in something sticky. He didn’t notice the cameras behind him catching every action, every word.

“You may find this hard to believe, but I love you even more for going undercover to write this story.”

“You do?” she asked, her voice slightly off pitch with a mixture of doubt and hope.

“Oh yes, sweetheart. I love you for being you. And this,” he gestured to the alley, and the cameras, and the utter disarray of their clothes, “is what it’s like to love you. Messy, and crazy, and totally, completely worth every second.”

Alexa sank down on her knees in front of him, her once perfect dress sloshing in the muddy puddle, and captured Brandon’s lips in a sensuous, ardent kiss.

“I love you,” she said, but Brandon put his finger over her lips.

“I know you do, honey, but you’ll just have to let me finish what I’ve come here to say.”

Alexa’s eyes regained their usual shine and she graced him with a lopsided smile.

“You’ve got my full attention.”

“Good,” he said and leaned over for another kiss. “You’re not the only one who signed up for the show for all the wrong reasons. The day I met you in front of the chili-dog vendor-“

“Yum,” Alexa said, running her tongue over her lips. “OK, OK,” she said laughing at his faux expression of exasperation. “I’ll stop teasing you. No more interruptions. I’m listening.”

Brushing the hair away from her eyes, Brandon continued, saying, “I didn’t know what I was looking for in a wife. But now I do.”

“You do?” Alexa said, her expression serious.

“A woman with integrity. A woman who sticks by her ideals, no matter what. A woman who makes my heart leap out of my chest every time I see her. Every time I kiss her.” Pausing to softly rub his hand across her cheek, he said, “I was looking for you, sweetheart.”

Stunned by his heartfelt words, Alexa lowered her eyes to the ground. “I never knew about love before you.” Brandon put a finger under her chin and lifted her eyes to his. “I should have given up the story once I realized how much you meant to me. You always told me the truth, while I was the dishonest one. I was so afraid to admit everything to you. So afraid you’d hate me.” A lone tear fell down her cheek. Putting her palm on his rugged cheek, she said, “I love you so much, Brandon. I hope you can forgive me.”

Wiping away her tear, Brandon said, “You can write a thousand articles about me for your magazine. But first, you have to answer one very important question.”

“Anything,” Alexa said, the love in her eyes mirroring Brandon’s expression.

“Will you go on a date with me? A date that has nothing to do with this show?”

“Yes,” Alexa whispered against his lips, loving him even more for not asking her to marry him. Not yet, anyway. Not until they knew each other better. Not until they'd had a chance to date like normal people who weren't being followed around by cameras twenty-four-seven.

“Yes I will.”

* * *

FROM THE PAGES OF
ROAR
MAGAZINE

When my editor asked me to write an expose of
Falling For Mr. Right,
to be perfectly honest, her request filled me with dread. Not because I was afraid to go undercover. Not because I didn't think I was a good enough writer. And it wasn’t that I objected to having cameramen film my every move—although, to be honest, that was pretty awful and if I never see another camera again it will be too soon.

No, my fear went far deeper than that.

Imagine being forced to submit to endless rounds of waxing, nail-polishing, hair styling, makeup lessons and fashion advice? In my mind—and most of you would agree, I’m sure—hell had nothing on this assignment.