Falling for You (3 page)

Stop. She’s off limits. Don’t even think about having sex with this woman … Think about something not sexy … Naked fat dudes in a locker room. Naked fat dudes dancing in a locker room.

Better.

He needed to maintain a safe distance from Cassidy — to focus on his work and not get caught up with her. He’d have to ignore the fact that she was beautiful, engaging, and apparently had a sense of humor so often lacking in the girls he’d dated in the past. His body would have to learn to be in the same room as her without getting excited.

His body strongly disagreed with that plan.

Cassidy coughed, forcing him to realize he’d been staring at her like a lion stalking a gazelle. “So, how do you feel about everything?” he asked quickly. “Do you have any questions?”

“Honestly, I’m pretty overwhelmed and nervous about everything. I’ve never been in front of a camera this way before.”

“Well, try not to think about the camera. Imagine it’s you and me in the room, like it is right now, with no one else around. Let the camera be invisible.”

Cassidy giggled. “I’m not making any promises that I won’t say something stupid or act like an idiot but I’ll try not to give you too many blooper reels.”

“Don’t worry. Everyone’s nervous at first.”

“Sure, but is everyone usually clumsy and accident prone, especially when they’re nervous?”

He laughed. She couldn’t be talking about herself. She appeared too graceful and elegant standing there, with legs like a dancer. He couldn’t imagine her being clumsy. “Maybe it’s a good thing I’ll be right behind you — I’ll be there to catch you when you fall.”

“Hmm, knowing you’re behind me will probably make me even more nervous.”

“Nah. In a day or two you won’t even remember I’m in the room.”

“I doubt that,” Cassidy mumbled, wrapping one of the robe ties around her hand. “I think I’ll have trouble forgetting you.” She glanced at Evan, her cheeks turning scarlet. “I mean — what I meant to say is, um, I’ll still see you even if I imagine the camera is invisible.”

Interesting. Nervous about more than the cameras?

“True. You will be seeing a lot of me.” He winked, suddenly eager for filming to start. He motioned toward her enticing robe. “We have a big day tomorrow. I’ll leave you to finish up whatever it was you were doing.”

“Oh, yeah. I should finish unpacking. See you tomorrow.” She smiled and raised her hand in a small wave.

“Goodnight.” He stepped back, taking one last look at the blue robe that he wished would suddenly fall to the floor as she closed the door between them.

• • •

As the door closed with a click, Cassidy turned the deadbolt. She leaned back against the cold wood, taking a deep breath. Her head spun with the influx of oxygen to her brain like she’d been holding it the entire conversation.

Holy, hunky personal cameraman.

She’d closed the door leading directly into the bedroom of the hottest man she’d ever laid eyes on. He made Dr. McDreamy look like Elmer Fudd.

He could probably roll out of bed and still look like a
GQ
model. Cassidy closed her eyes. She could still see his light brown hair, so soft and natural — the kind of hair she wanted to run her fingers through.

Maybe even tug on a little …

He had the most incredible dark blue eyes the color of the Mediterranean Sea. When she’d first seen him by the piano earlier, she’d thought the color was a trick of the lighting. Her breath caught in her throat as the heat from those eyes smoldered deep inside her. No man had ever looked at her that way before.

Evan. That’s a nice name to go with a very nice face.

It wasn’t only his face that had been nice. Cassidy could do little to pull her gaze from his strong, sleek body as he’d leaned so casually against the doorframe. He had broad shoulders and a strong, defined chest filling out his T-shirt so perfectly it was as if the shirt had been tailored just for him. Those arms — they must have been made to build houses, not hold a camera.

And his hands … Wow.

She’d just experienced possibly the world’s most intimate handshake. She’d assumed his hands would be rough, but one soft circle on the back of her hand and her skin tingled. She shivered at the memory. If that was a handshake, what else could those hands do?

Cassidy pulled away from the door and hung her clothes in the closet, careful to shake the wrinkles from them so they would be crisp and ready to wear the next day. She needed to stop thinking about Evan. He was her cameraman. They’d be working very closely together. The last thing she needed was to become a blushing idiot every time he spoke to her, like she’d done earlier.

If this was the kind of man they had behind the scenes, what would the guy in front of the camera be like? She wasn’t prepared to enter heartthrob country, but it seemed like she was there, passport in hand.

Cassidy was sure of one thing — men like Evan were always off limits. Either they had wives or girlfriends waiting for them at home, or they had the maturity of a twelve-year-old. Guys who were that smooth and charming without even trying didn’t come without strings.

She needed to remember she was here for the bachelor, not the cameraman. Evan might be easy on the eyes, but she was going to have to try harder not to get lost in his. Suddenly, she understood why they’d made her sign the no fraternizing clause — because of crewmembers like Evan.

Grabbing her makeup bag, she went into the bathroom to arrange everything on the vanity so it would be organized for the next day. An envelope sat waiting on the counter as she came in. Chip had told them to expect a packet of information, but she hadn’t bothered opening it yet.

She sat on the edge of the bathtub and turned on the faucet. As the tub began to fill with hot water, she flipped open the envelope and pulled out a note.

Welcome to
The One.

As you know, you have signed consent forms that allow us to film you for the show and promotional purposes. This filming will take place twenty-four hours a day. Please be aware that we have outfitted all rooms with wall-mounted cameras. We are aware of your privacy needs, so there are no cameras in any restrooms or in your walk-in closet/dressing area. In all other areas, you’re under constant surveillance.

Also, you’re required to have your mic pack on and a cameraman with you at all times when you are out of your personal room. Your door has been equipped with a chime to let your cameraman know if you enter or leave your room. However, it is always preferable to let your cameraman know in advance of leaving your room.

We hope you enjoy your experience on
The One.

Chip Cormack, Producer

“Oh my God.” Cassidy’s head felt hazy. She surveyed the walls of the bathroom, but found no evidence of cameras or areas where a camera could be hidden. She poked her head out of the bathroom and scanned the room. Sure enough, small black cameras were in every corner. She counted four cameras pointing in toward the middle of the room, and another pointed toward the door. All of them had tiny microphones attached to the tops.

“Well, that’s just great.” She pulled her robe tighter around her naked body, suddenly grateful that she’d changed into her robe in the bathroom.

Note to self, always read production letters immediately.

At least she could take a bath in privacy. She chose one of the fancy purple bottles of bubble bath provided and poured a generous dollop into the running water. Cassidy took a deep breath, inhaling the delicious scent of chocolate and strawberries filling the steamy air. Climbing into the deep tub, her worries and nervousness washed away.

Tomorrow she would be on TV, and who knew what chaos that would bring. For now, she would enjoy the quiet and calm of the bath.

Cassidy forced the show from her mind and instead pictured herself floating on a raft gently drifting with the current of a calm sea. She imagined the heat of the sun on her face and body, melting away her anxiety about the show, the dark blue water lapping beneath her.

Her skin grew hot, almost feeling feverish. Suddenly, she wasn’t peering into the deep blue sea anymore. She stared directly into the smoldering heat of Evan’s blue eyes.

She splashed water on her face trying to erase Evan from her mind, but every time she closed her eyes, Evan stared back at her with those piercing eyes.

Oh crap. This is bad. Very, very bad.

Evan glanced up from the clipboard on the table in the interview room when he heard a gentle knock. Cassidy poked her head inside the door, offering him a quick smile.

“Am I early?”

“Nope, right on time. Have a seat,” Evan said, motioning toward the small couch set along one wall. “I need another minute to finish setting up, then I’ll be ready to roll.”

He watched out of the corner of his eye as she settled herself on the couch, crossing her legs then uncrossing them again. She glanced up at him as she folded her hands in her lap for a moment before apparently changing her mind and placing them at her side.

“Try to relax. It’s really not as scary as it seems.” Evan tried to lighten the anxiety he could feel radiating from her.

“It’s that obvious, huh?”

“A little, but don’t worry. Everyone feels naked their first time in front of the camera. It’s completely normal and expected.”

“Naked, huh?” Cassidy giggled and smoothed her hands over her blouse, tugging on the material between the buttons as if to make sure there was no gaping — not that he would mind a little peek. “I’m not sure I’m ready to be naked around you just yet.”

“It’s a figure of speech not to be taken literally, of course.” That sounded natural, right? The fact that she was nearly naked in front of him last night should be of little concern to him …

He fought the vision invading his brain of her standing in her robe again.
Naked would be good.

“Here, use this to get yourself more comfortable.” He placed a decorative pillow beside her, swallowing hard as the back of his hand brushed against her thigh. His eyes flickered to hers to see if she’d noticed.

If the pink hue of her cheeks was any indication, she had. He would need to be more careful of his appendages if he was going to get through this interview without acting like a teenager crushing on the cute new girl at school.

He settled himself behind his camera, and placed the clipboard of interview questions to his side. “Ready?”

“As I’m gonna be.”

“Okay, these are all pretty straightforward, so they shouldn’t be too hard to answer,” he said, referring to the clipboard again. “Chip was pretty adamant that we don’t interact too much during the interview process. I’m simply supposed to ask the questions he provided, and you’re supposed to answer them in a compelling but honest way. Don’t forget to rephrase the question in your answer so the editor can use your snippet.”

“Got it.” Cassidy’s eyes jumped between the camera, the questions, and the door.

“Take a deep breath, Cassidy. You’ll do great. Let’s get started.” He ran his finger along the camera and clicked the record button on, then scanned the page for his first question. “Can you tell me your name, age, and where you’re from?” he asked.

“My name is Cassidy. I’m twenty-eight and I’m a New Yorker. I mean, I’m from New York City.” Her answer sounded stiff.

Loosen up.

“What do you do?” He cleared his throat. “I guess I should say, what’s your career?” Maybe he was nervous and needed to relax, too.

“I’m the banquet manager at an upscale boutique hotel in New York City. I help people plan all their special events. Weddings, retirements, sweet sixteen birthdays — I’ve done them all.”

“Has anything interesting ever happened at one of your banquets?”

“We’ve had a few interesting moments.” Cassidy smiled at the camera as though she was finished answering the question.

Did she really think that counted as compelling? He stuck his head out from behind the camera, and mouthed “more” to her while pulling his hands apart like he was pulling saltwater taffy in a shop window on an ocean-side boardwalk.

“Ah, my — my favorite moment was a fiftieth anniversary party. At one point, the husband sang one of those beautiful old love songs to his wife. He wasn’t the world’s greatest singer, I don’t even think he was good by karaoke standards, but at that moment he sounded like Sinatra. I think the whole place was in tears by the time he finished. I can only hope to have a love like that someday.”

There was a time when Evan had wished for a love like that, too.

Those days were long gone.

“Why did you decide to be a part of
The One
?”

“I decided to come on
The One
because I wanted a little adventure. I needed to do something different and unexpected, and I really didn’t want to go on a cruise, although
everyone
told me I should. Why does everyone always tell me to go on a cruise? Is there a pyramid scheme people are getting rich with by recommending cruises to other people, like some Amway of cruise lines or something?”

He laughed at her reference to the cruise industry. He had always wondered about the appeal of “cruising,” too.

“Anyway, my sister is actually to blame for my being here. She thought it would be funny to apply for the show on my behalf, and then I got accepted. So, here I am.”

“Are you expecting to find love while you’re here?” He refocused on the questions, trying his best not to get distracted by her.

“Oh, um, well. I don’t know if I’m
expecting
to find love.” She stammered over her words, wringing her hands together in her lap. “But I suppose there’s always a
chance
someone will find real true love on a reality show. Why not me, right?”

“Aside from possibly finding love, what do you hope to get out of this experience?”

“I’m hoping to meet some new friends, to try some new things I normally wouldn’t do, and to have fun. And I pray I don’t make a complete fool out of myself on TV.”