Take Two (25 page)

“
It’s true
! I thin
k my appointments alone pay
my dentist’s
mortgage
.”

“I bet,” I calmed down. “What’s your favorite
real
food?”

“Pizza I guess
.”

WHAT?

“Not chicken parmesan,
crème brûlée
,
lobster?”

“I’ve eaten all
those
, but pizza’s
way
better.
And
I’m talking about the pizza that takes real time and thought to make, none of that chain pizza crap.”

That’s
different…

I noticed her plate was empty.
“
You want d
essert?
The sorbet should be ready by
now.
”

“I don’t think I can
eat anymore
.”

“Okay. Can we talk somewhere else?
In another room
?”

She hoppe
d off her stool and led me into a
small
room with dark brown sofas
.
I assumed it was her living room.

“
Oh, there’s actually furniture in here,” I laughed. “Take your shoes off.”

“Why?”

“So it’ll be harder for you to run away.”

She rolled her eyes and slipped out of her flats. I
patte
d the couch cushion next to me but she sat on the other end.

“Nice try,” I moved down the couch.

“What did you want to talk about
, Matt
?
How
detailed
you want me to write the art
icle for
your wedding
?”

So much for beating around the bush first…

“Selena and I aren’t really together
,
Melody. We’re in a staged for the cameras relationship.”

She blinked a couple times and said nothing. She looked around the room
,
as if she was
searching for
her next words.

She shook her head.
“I don’t believe you.”

“But you
’ll
believe
whatever
TMZ
says
?”

“Are you planning to let them in on
this
?”

“No, t
hat’s not how these things
usually
work.
”

“How
do
the
y work
?”

“It’s a m
utually beneficial relationship,” I tried to gauge her facial expressions. “
Two people who both need attention
for their upcoming projects
get together, thereby creating more attention and more press
for their work
.”

“An
d you consciously seek out actresses to do this with you
?”

“No. Selena and I were already dating, but then it turned into what it is now. Nothing.”

She sat silent again, not making eye contact.
“But
at one point you two actually did like each other?”

“Yes.”

“But you don’t like her anymore? You’re just pretending for the paparazzi?”

“Yes,
”
I
put my arm around her shoulder
s
.

“What about the baby? Is it true
you guys
are
using a surrogate?”

“Where’d you read that?”

“Perez
Hilton
’s website
.
”

I laughed. “T
here’s no surrogate
or
a baby. She’s wearing a
prosthetic
baby bump.”

“You’re kidding!
That’s crazy
!
Why would—”

“Don’t ask. Everything
used to make sense to me, but the further I distanc
e myself from it I see
how crazy it is.”

She looked up at me.
“Did you ever cheat on her
with
groupies?”

Whoa. Where’s that
coming from?

“
No
.
I didn’t. I’m monogamous when I’m in a relationship.
”

“W
hat
happened
when you
two
stopped liking each other?
Did you still have sex?
”

“Yes
, until I told her I didn’t want to do that anymore
either
.”

“
Have you ever
been with someone
that wasn’t a celebrity
?”

“My former publicist.”

And hopefully you…

“Okay.”

I wished I could read her mind. I could tell she was thinking about something
and I wanted to know
exactly
what it was.

“Okay?
” I pressed. “
That’s all you have to say?”

“What type of response
were you expecting
?”

“Something like,
‘
Matt I’m so sorry I ran away from you all those times. If only I had listened.
’ Something along those lines.
”

She pursed her lips. “That’s not what I was thinking at all.”

“What were you thinking?”

“I don’t know. It seems unreal, especially since you two are
actually
having a wedding
.
I guess
I don’t
completely
believe you.”

I don’t care.

I
pull
ed her close
and kissed her
, running my fingers through her hair
.
I felt her kissing me back but
she
slowly pulled away.

I sighed.
“I hope you’ll believe me eventually. I’
m not lying
.
By the way, can I have your phone number?
”

“My realtor didn’t already give that to you?”

“No
.
I did ask
her for it
though.”

“555-0967
.
”

“
Thanks,” I saved it to my phone.
“
When’s the next night you’re free?”

“Umm Friday?”

“C
an I come over then
? Or would you like
t
o go out
somewhere? We can go
anywhere you want to go.”

I don’t want you thinking I’m scared to be in public with you…

“Here would probably be better. I’m not a fan of being mauled by paparazzi. Plus, you should probably keep up your
fake
image of being with Selena.”

I
leaned over
and
kissed her again
, pulling her closer every time she tried to move away
. “It is fake
, Melody
.
I’m only interested in
you
.
”

She was speechless again.

“Since we’re staying in Friday,” I stood up. “
Your
realtor mentioned
you had
a lake inspired spa?”

Melody

My heart was beating so loud
ly
last night
I was shocked he
didn’t
hear it. Or maybe he did hear it and didn’t mention it.
Either way, I was
shocked I didn’t
pass out right in front of him
.

I really wanted to believe what he said about him and Selena was true, bu
t they were the talk of the country
. Everyone had something to say about their wedding and how cute of a couple they were.

I wondered how people wou
ld feel if it really was a hoax,
and
if there were other celebrities in similar situations. What about
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie
? Kim Kardashian and Kanye? Beyoncé and Jay-Z?
What if they were all just illusions for the public?

I vowed not to mention Matt’s “confessio
n” to anyone, not even Jen
. I needed time to process it myself.

There was a knock on my door. “Come in Sophie!”

“Just a couple
things Miss Carter,” she s
tepped
inside. “Mr. Maxwell is
working from home
today and h
e wants you to l
ead the
three o’ clock
floor meeting. Adam Sandler is upset about your re-revie
w of his film and
his agent will be calling you later
. Selena Ross and Matt Sterling picked the Lighthouse at Chelsea
Piers
for the
ir
wedding. Mr. Maxwell
wants you to
s
et up a private vi
ewing in a couple weeks
. He wants you
to get a real feel for the space.
”

I need to cancel that
Friday date with Matt.
Fake wedding or not, it’s a REAL
marriage…

“Thank you
Sophie. Is that all?”

“
Rece
ption downstairs
called
to
say you have a package. The guy won’t leave un
til
you personally sign for it.”

“Where
’s
my signature stamp?” I opened my drawer.

“He said
he
need
s to see your ID.”

“Is he serious? Doe
s
he not know how office building
s
work?” I stood up and put on my blazer. “Have Peter Travers on the phone when I get back please.”

I follow
ed her out of my office and waited for
the service elevator.

Is this how Matt got up to my office the fir
st time? Don’t think about him.
Don’t think about him
…

I walked to the main floor a
nd spotted a man holding a
flat
box against the reception desk.

“Did you just get hired yesterday?”
I handed him my ID. “I think our
receptionist has more than enough brains to accept packages for everyone that works here.”

He held the ID to the light and handed it back to me. “I was given specific instructions, Miss Carter. Could you sign here please?”

He held out
a clipboard and I pressed my signature onto the paper. He handed me the box and
tipped his hat as he walked away.

There was no return address on the package, only a
n
“URGENT” label across the front. I shook it, but the contents didn’t make a sound. I tried prying it open with my nails but the tape was too thick.

I locked the door to my office and attacked the box with scissors.

Inside was a
handwritten note
:
“Dear Melody, I can’t wait to see you
this
Friday. We can take things as slow
as
you like.
Hope this will last a lot
longer than my last gift to you.
–Your favorite actor, Matt Sterling.”

I peeled away layers of cooking sheet paper to get to the gift:
A candy pizza
. The
“
crust
”
was a
light
chocolate chip cookie, t
he “cheese” was sweet dough, and the “toppings” were M&Ms, candy corn, and
caramel coated peanuts.

I can’t believe this…

My
cell
phone rang. “
Hello?
”

“Did you open the box yet?” he sounded even sexier over the phone.

“
I just opened it.
Thank you,
this was really sweet. No pun intended.”