Ready for Her Close-up

She smiled at him. “I guess so, but I expected your kiss to be practiced and kind of mechanical.…”

“Glad to disappoint,” he said.

She wrinkled her nose at him and mock-punched him. “I’m not letting my guard down, no matter how charming you act. I’m not sure about you.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to let your guard down. But there is one thing you should know.”

“And that is …?” she asked.

“I don’t lose,” he said with a full-on, smug grin.

She wasn’t too sure she wanted him to look at this as some kind of competition, and it was telling that he had done so. “I don’t want you to lose. In fact, I want us both to get what we want.”

He leaned back against the seat and crossed his arms over his chest, glancing out the window as the chopper pilot made his way back to the helipad on top of the Big Apple Kiwi. “That came out wrong, didn’t it?”

“Only if you think of me as a prize,” she said. “We’re both feeling our way here. I’m not judging you.”

He shook his head and leveled that steady gray gaze of his on her. “I think you are. You’d have to be. Otherwise, how will you be sure I’m not the player you’ve read about.”

That insight was enough for her to continue to relax her guard. He knew that he wasn’t just starting a new relationship and maneuvering through the normal obstacles that most couples experience. They had the added pressure of his being so unlike her Mr. Right.

She knew that she’d designed her list based on a fictional guy. Her father had divorced her mother when Gail was eight, so she only had vague impressions of him at home. Her mother had dated but never remarried, so Gail was pretty much left with movies and books to form her opinions of what she wanted in a man. Well, that and the men she’d dated, who’d left her wanting more.

“I’m aiming for a win-win here,” she said at last, because, if she was honest, she had no idea what else to say.

“Me too,” he said. “Once we land, do we have to do more camera work?”

“I’m not sure. I think they will tell us when we come down. Why?” she asked.

“If not, will you join me for a nightcap?”

She would have said no just twenty minutes ago, but now she wanted to spend more time with him to talk to him, and get to know his point of view. See how he really viewed the world. His public image was different from this private man, and she was determined to find out how much so.

She took a deep breath. It was easy to say she wanted to change and was willing to put herself out there, but the reality was so different. In her fantasy date, the man was everything that Hollywood and romance novels had groomed her to expect. But Russell was a mixture of those fantasies and reality.

She had to decide if she was ready to step out of those expectations and into Russell’s world. She was. She wouldn’t have signed up with a matchmaker otherwise. “Yes.”

“Good. I knew that this was going to be a good thing,” he said.

“Matchmaking?” she asked. “It’s strange. I’m really not sure if it’s going to work out or not. When I saw the ad for the service, it was New Year’s Eve and I’d had a little too much champagne.”

“And a bad date?”

She shook her head. “Nope. I was all alone and I resolved that I wouldn’t be next New Year’s Eve.”

“Well you’ve gone a good route to find a mate. Matchmaking is an old tradition,” he said.

“Even in Australia?” she asked. She wasn’t that well traveled and didn’t know what the customs were in other countries.

“I’m from New Zealand,” he said. “But, yes, even there. Some of the women in my town were mail-order brides.”

“Did you have any doubts about doing this?” she asked. She had been unsure as soon as she’d signed up. Writing the check had been easy, but as soon as she’d walked out the door of Matchmakers Inc., she’d started to feel so vulnerable and scared. At least the fee had been refunded once she’d been selected for the TV show.

“Lots of them, but then I thought, if a woman was brave enough to do this, I could handle it. Having another person pick a date for you isn’t any worse than meeting someone in a bar,” Russell said.

“I’ve never met a guy in a bar. Most of the men I dated were from work or classes.”

“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me,” he said. “You don’t seem like the type of woman who’d allow a man to pick her up in a bar.”

“Why don’t I?” she asked.

“You wouldn’t have time to ask all your questions. Most men are looking for a quick score,” he said.

He looked over at her, and she wondered if she’d revealed something she shouldn’t have. She knew she didn’t always say the right thing with men. But then she took a deep breath as the chopper banked for its landing, and she saw her own reflection in the window. She was on a matchmaking reality television show with a billionaire playboy…. There was nothing familiar about this scenario, and she was going to just let it play out.

“What are you thinking?” he said, his voice intimately deep in her ears, thanks to the headphones.

“Just how unreal this entire thing is,” she said. “Not reality at all.”

He laughed. “I agree. But I don’t mind it. Dating hasn’t worked out for either of us in the real world, so this might actually work.”

She wasn’t betting on it. They landed and took off their headphones, as the pilot turned off the helicopter.

“Do we have to tell them we kissed?”

Russell caressed her arm and linked their fingers together. “That can be our secret.”

With those words, he made them a couple. They had a secret that was just between them and, in a night of showy emotion and put-on romance, it was the first genuine thing to happen.

“Okay,” she said. “I like the idea of that.”

“Good. I like the idea of you and me,” he said.

She did too. But why? She wanted to figure out what it was about Russell that drew her in so deeply, but she had a feeling that the emotions he brought to the fore in her weren’t going to be logical.

“Ready to face the cameras again?”

“Yes,” she said. And she was definitely ready to get to know this man better, once filming stopped for the night and they were on their own.

She really liked Russell when they were alone.

Russell listened to the producer talking to Gail, and every once in a while, he heard her laugh. The sound was full of joy, and he could tell that she was enjoying whatever they were talking about. She was relaxed with Willow and her guard was down. Russell realized he still had a long way to go to get to know the real Gail Little.

“How’s matchmaking going for you so far?” Conner MacAfee asked as he came up beside him.

“Not bad,” he said.

“Good,” Conner said. “You know Matchmakers Inc. has a one hundred percent success rate, right?”

“Do you?”

“Yes, we do.”

“Did you do anything differently for us because of the TV show?”

Conner shook his head. “No way. We can’t compromise our policies, even for a show. I’m hoping to get some business out of this, and I can’t if we don’t do what we normally do for our clients.”

“Point taken. Do you know anything about Gail?” he asked Conner. He figured it was a fair enough question, given that she had heard of him.

“No. I really don’t get involved in the matching. I just run the company,” he said. He straightened his tie and glanced around the room. “I have to use my MBA from Harvard somehow.”

“Don’t brag,” Russell said with a grin.

“What’s the use in having one if you can’t tell people about it?” Conner said.

“Why do you own a matchmaking company?” Russell asked. His friend was one of the smartest business minds he’d ever encountered. Russell had always thought it was an odd thing for Conner.

“It was my grandmother’s business and I inherited it. I figured it wouldn’t make money and I could take it as a tax loss, but in fact the opposite was the case,” Conner said.

“The market can be unexpected. I’m trying to diversify now to make sure we have more of a toehold in other segments,” Russell said. That had been one of the reasons why he’d agreed to be on the show. He needed potential investors to see that he was a changed man.

“No kidding. We added an exclusive wife-finder for some of our more eccentric customers,” Conner said.

“What does that mean?” Russell asked.

“We vet the woman and send her to the client, and he approves her and marries her without any dating. It’s a very new service and a niche market. But a very profitable one.”

“That’s interesting,” Russell said. He guessed that everyone was scrambling in this new economy to figure out ways to stay ahead.

“Do you need anything from me?” Conner asked.

“No. I’m good. Poker on Thursday night?”

“Definitely. I want a chance to win back some of my money.”

“Good luck with that. The cards favor me and always have.”

“I know. I remember when we first met and you’d win enough money at the tables in Monaco to make your payroll.”

“Those days are long behind me,” Russell said. “But my ability at the poker table hasn’t diminished.”

“It might have. I feel the need to remind you whose country you are in,” Conner said.

“I haven’t lost yet,” Russell said.

“That only means you are due for a fall,” Conner said as he walked away. Russell watched his friend leave and took a deep breath. The air was chilly this evening but not cold. He suddenly felt a sense of peace he hadn’t felt in a long time.

The production crew left the rooftop as a group. He and Conner made their way toward the elevators, with Gail and Willow following them. They were still talking.

“I got a call from a friend of yours,” Conner said, turning to the women.

“Mine?” Willow asked.

“Yes, Nichole … I can’t remember her last name. She wants to interview me about Matchmaker Inc.”

“She works for America Today so she’s legit,” Willow said.

The elevator arrived.

“Do you want to chat about it quickly?” Willow asked.

“I’d like that,” Conner said. “See ya later, Russell.”

Russell waved goodbye to his friend as the doors opened. Dylan, his executive assistant, was on the elevator, a concerned look on his face.

“Hiya, boss. We have a situation,” Dylan said, stepping out of the elevator.

“I’ll leave you to it,” Gail said, backing away from the two men.

“Wait, Gail. Are we still on for that nightcap?” he asked.

“Yes. The lobby bar?”

“Sounds good. Twenty minutes?”

“Yes,” she said, getting on the elevator.

Russell waited until the doors closed before asking Dylan, “What is so important it needs my attention?”

“Penny Thomson is in the lobby demanding to see you. I tried to get her to wait in my office, but she wouldn’t.”

Great. Not what he needed this night, but he’d handle it. “Please make sure that Gail is taken care of until I’m done with Penny.”

“I’m happy to, boss,” Dylan said.

“Never mind, I’ll talk to her. You tell Penny I’m on my way, but I will only meet with her in the office, not in the lobby,” Russell said.

He took the elevator to the lobby and, once there, noticed that Willow had rejoined Gail and the two were talking.

“I’ll try.”

Dylan walked away, and Russell made his way to Gail. “I’m sorry, but I think my situation might take a little longer than anticipated. Can we meet in forty-five minutes instead?”

She flushed and looked at Willow. “We’re having a drink. Is that okay?”

“Yes, that’s fine. We want to capture the phases of your relationship, not every second. Enjoy yourselves.”

Gail turned back to him with a slight smile on her face. “I’ll be down there in forty-five minutes, then.”

“Good.”

Russell left the women and headed down to the lobby and the office behind the check-in desk. Dylan was standing outside of it when Russell approached.

“I always thought Penny would be nicer in person,” Dylan said. “Sorry about that, sir. I should have kept that to myself.”

“You probably should have, but I happen to agree that she can be a bit of a bitch.”

Dylan nodded and then walked away.

Russell opened the door and saw Penny sitting on the edge of the desk. She had her iPhone in one hand and was delicately tapping out a message with the tip of one French-manicured fingernail.

“It’s about time you got here. I’ve been tweeting about the inconvenience of waiting on a former lover.”

“Nice. Good to see you too, Penny.”

“Yeah, right. You made it clear you didn’t want to see me again,” she said.

She was a Hollywood starlet so beautiful that she’d floored Russell the first time he saw her. It had been impossible to think of anything but sex. But, after spending two days in bed with her, Russell knew it had been a mistake. Penny was vapid and so self-absorbed, it was impossible for her to be aware of anyone else.

“Stop tweeting. You always get yourself in trouble with that.”

“Well, this time, Russell, you’re the one who’s going to be in trouble.”

“Why, exactly? I thought we ended things amiably.”

“Sure we did. But it turns out we have a few unresolved issues.”

Russell realized as she talked that he couldn’t wait to get away from her and back to Gail. He liked Gail’s freshness and the way natural sensuality imbued her every movement, as opposed to Penny’s in-your-face sexuality.

“Like what?”

“I’m pregnant,” she said.

Russell shook his head. He’d settled a paternity suit when he was twenty-four and, ever since then, every time a past lover became pregnant he’d had to deal with this. “I’m not the father.”

“I’m not so sure about that, Russell, and I’m going to be tweeting about it unless you do what you should,” Penny said.

Penny’s timing couldn’t be worse. This was exactly what he didn’t want to deal with today. He wanted to get back to Gail and continue courting her and wooing her. But instead … “I’m going to need to see proof you’re pregnant, and then we need to do a paternity test.”

“I don’t know why. The baby is yours, and if you don’t cooperate, I’m going to make life very difficult for you,” she said.

He knew she meant it. He had to handle this delicately, because Gail was his chance at the future he wanted to have, and Penny was part of a past he was trying very hard to distance himself from.

Gail waited in the lobby bar for Russell, feeling just a little self-conscious that she was by herself. Honestly, she’d thought she’d mastered sitting alone in public a long time ago, but the truth was she hadn’t. She didn’t like it.

She felt someone watching her and glanced up to see Russell leaving the back office with his hand on the shoulder of a woman who looked familiar. Gail leaned forward and recognized her as Penny Thomson, rising Hollywood star and Russell’s ex. Gail watched them for a minute before deciding that he wasn’t the kind of guy she wanted to get to know better.

She knew any guy she dated would have an ex, but with another man, she wouldn’t be competing against someone like Penny. This was a mistake, she thought. Her gut had said so from the moment she’d recognized Russell, but the romantic in her had been wooed during that chopper ride over Manhattan. Just because he had money and knew how to make the right reservations, it didn’t mean he was capable of being the man she needed in her life. And Gail was on a tight timetable. She had these few months to find a man if she wanted to execute her “family” plan, including husband and, eventually, children.

Gail lifted the glass of soda water that she’d ordered and took a sip, trying to be disinterested. But she couldn’t be. Russell and Penny looked perfect together. That would make great TV, she thought. The pretty blonde starlet and the ruggedly handsome man. Not at all like her and Russell.

She’d had enough of this. She was going home and she’d figure out a new plan in the morning. For tonight, she needed to get away from the Kiwi Big Apple and the man who’d almost made her … what? For a little while, she’d forgotten that she was really just a plain Jane. For a little while, she’d forgotten her common sense. Forgotten what was painfully obvious right now—that there was no way Russell would be interested in her, because he was used to a class of women that was out of her league.

She wasn’t putting herself down, but was being realistic. She was never going to dress that overtly sexually or spend as much time on hair and makeup as Penny did. She was a normal woman with a job and a life. Not a sexual plaything whose sole purpose was to be seen on Russell’s arm.

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