Blind Love (19 page)

Henry nodded. “We’ve made a few small changes to the content, but you don’t need to know what they are. You’re a contestant the same as the other girls on the show, Cat. If we want to get a reaction from you on camera, some of this will have to come as a surprise.”

“You don’t play fair,” she told him.

“You’ll have nothing more to do with the production of the show, and stay away from Tony until the show begins, and then you’ll be with him only as much as the other girls.”

“Okay, I’ll behave myself. When is the hair stylist coming?”

“Not until the day of the costume party.”

Catherine groaned. She needed to do something with her hair before the shooting began.

She closed herself in her room and called Cara. “Who cuts your hair?”

“Angelo. He and Vinnie and Al should be there day after tomorrow. They’re singing in the opening.”

After a long explanation of the things that had happened, Catherine said, “So I’ll be one of the girls vying for Tony’s affections on the show. I can’t believe I got myself into this, but I can’t back out now or Henry’s production company will lose credibility in the business. The only good thing about this is that Mitzi will be out of a job when it’s over.”

Cara couldn’t respond for laughing so hard.

“It’s not that funny!”

“Oh, yes it is.”

“I hope I brought enough clothes.”

“Feel free to raid my closet. What are you wearing to the costume party?”

“Promise not to laugh?”

“Sure. What are you wearing?”

Catherine told her and Cara let out a squeal of laughter.

“Well, I can’t compete with women with legs longer than my whole body, and my hair is the wrong color, and I’m not—”

“You’re everything you need to be, and Tony will be blown away. I’ll tell Angelo to make you beautiful. I wouldn’t let anyone else cut my hair. He’s an artist.”

“I hope so.” He’d have to be an artist to make her beautiful.

<>

Fawn followed Mitzi’s directions and drove to the Andrews Estate. Mitzi would’ve paid for a plane ticket, but Fawn didn’t want to leave her SUV parked at the airport. She had some jewelry hidden in the spare tire, things she hadn’t had time to pawn.

The house looked like a luxury resort, only better. It was a mission-style stucco mansion with a red tiled roof, and the property went right down to the ocean. Black iron balconies draped in beautiful blossoms softened the look of the structure, and there were people in uniform outside working on the grounds, which were magnificent, like the house.

Walt Timmons’ house on the hill overlooking Santa Barbara couldn’t compare with this place. What would it be like to live in a house like this, to have everything she’d ever wanted, to have people waiting on her day and night for the rest of her life?

A guard stopped her at the gate and asked her name.

“Fawn Bailey,” she replied, using the name she’d given Mitzi. “I’m here for the television show.” Fawn had a police record under the name Fawn Daley, and if the producers discovered that, she would have been rejected for sure.

The guard checked her name off his list and pointed to the house. “Drive around the loop in front and park by the door while the staff unloads your bags. Leave your keys in the car.”

Leave them her keys? She didn’t like that, but she didn’t dare complain or they’d wonder why. They’d probably just park it somewhere until the show was over. It wasn’t as if someone was going to steal her car from the Andrews Estate, and the jewelry was safer in the car than with her in the house, where someone could find it.

Mitzi had told her that after they dressed for the opening scene, all the girls would be brought to the door by limo, so they could get a shot of them arriving. Then they’d be taken out on the balcony to be serenaded by the bachelor and his brothers.

“Have the other girls arrived?”

“Some of them have. Others should be arriving within the hour. The limo has gone to the airport to pick them up.”

Did Cara Andrews have her own limo? Of course she did. The woman was filthy rich.

Fawn pulled around the loop and stopped by the door. Two men in uniform came outside to carry in her luggage. Contestants were only allowed to bring two dress bags and one suitcase with them, and they had to be tagged with their first names.

She walked inside with the butler. As he walked upstairs with her, he told her that the contestants would be expected to share rooms. She didn’t like sharing a room, but Mitzi said to expect it.

The butler tapped on a door and a girl chewing gum opened it. “Hi, I’m Cookie,” she said. The girl had black and white spiked hair, a deep tan, and her ears were pierced multiple times. She also had rings in her eyebrows and one in her navel.

The bathroom was huge, but there was only one. There were two sinks, a big bathtub, a separate shower, and the toilet and bidet were in a separate little room. The other room off the bathroom was a big walk-in closet.

“Ladies, you have two hours to prepare for your photographs,” said the butler. “The opening scene will follow. Your luggage will be brought up shortly. Please unpack only what you need for tonight. Rooms have not yet been assigned.”

“I’ll leave you to get acquainted,” he said, and then he left the room.

Two women in uniforms pushed in carts loaded with sandwiches, fruit, and other goodies. One of the women pushed a button and a wall opened in the sitting room, revealing a fully equipped bar.
Oh, yeah!
She could live in a place like this. At this point, she didn’t even care what the bachelor looked like.
She wanted him.

DeeNae introduced herself, and so did Andrea, and then other girls came in until there were twelve girls in the suite. Most of these shows had twenty-some girls, but Mitzi said this one only had thirteen.
Interesting.
Where was the thirteenth contestant?

Someone pointed to the painting over the sofa. “Oh, my God. Is that—”

“It’s a copy,” a short brunette said. “Mr. Pettibone said all the original artwork was in the museum.”

“Who?” said Fawn.

“Mr. Pettibone is the butler,” said DeeNae, a blonde with a Southern accent.

The noise level in the room rose as the luggage was brought up and piled in the sitting room. Girls dug for their dress bags and began getting ready.

She watched the others as they scrambled around, fighting over the bathroom, getting dressed, or eating a snack.

After eating some fruit, Fawn changed in the sitting room and tucked her travel clothes in the bag. When she could get near the bathroom, she refreshed her makeup, brushed her long blonde hair to a shine, and she was good to go.

She took one last look in the mirror and smiled. She was the best looking girl there. Once the bachelor saw her, the others might as well pack up and leave.

This bachelor belonged to her.

<>

Catherine had disappeared. Tony couldn’t find her anywhere, and her boss, Henry Wallace, was running the show. What in the hell was going on?

Angelo and Vinnie arrived, and while they waited for Al to drive in from Stanford, Angelo excused himself to go cut someone’s hair. Tony didn’t ask who. Every time he came here, Angelo cut someone’s hair.

An hour later, after Al arrived, the four brothers practiced together until they sounded okay. At least Tony didn’t have to sing a solo part on television. Angelo would do that part.

His brothers teased him about all his women, and Tony shrugged it off. They had no idea how nervous he was about this show. Bad enough to get shot down in private, but this was national television. He wasn’t an actor, and he wasn’t accustomed to being in front of a camera. If he blew it, his brothers would never let him live it down.

Where in the hell was Catherine? Shooting started soon, and he hadn’t seen her all day. Didn’t she know how worried he was about this?

The four brothers dressed in their custom-tailored tuxes and white pleated shirts with the black studs, then they warmed up a little. After practicing the song a couple times, the director and a camera guy led them through the garden and told them what to do.

They stood below the balcony off the living room and, on cue, began to sing
Let Me Call You Sweetheart
. The women walked out onto the balcony, and as he sang, Tony counted twelve. There were several blondes in the mix, and two were stunning. One woman with long light brown hair and another with black hair caught his eye.
Oh, yeah!

He spotted the thirteenth woman partially hidden behind the others. The director off camera motioned her forward, and Tony was so surprised, he hit a sour note.
It was Catherine.
She’d had her hair cut in a short, sassy style, and he knew Angelo had cut it. Why didn’t Angelo tell him? Catherine wore a slinky black dress with straps that wouldn’t hold anything up. She winked, and he smiled, nearly missing another note.

What in the hell was that little minx up to? She didn’t say she was going to be on the show. Was that why she’d been avoiding him?

They finished the song and Tony introduced his brothers, as instructed. “This is my oldest brother, Vinnie.” Vinnie waved and walked down the garden path. “Angelo, the only one of us who can sing.” The girls laughed while Angelo waved and followed Vinnie. “Alessandro, the youngest in the family.” Al waved and followed the others. “And I’m Tony.”

The most gorgeous blonde he’d ever seen blew him a kiss, and the others all waved or called, “Hi, Tony.” Some were so-so, some were cute, and others were drop-dead gorgeous.

“I look forward to spending time with each one of you,” he said, and followed his brothers down the garden path.

Tony was told to go to the library and speak with the host of the show, Morgan Summers. Tony walked in, shook Morgan’s hand, and sat in one of the wingback chairs beside Morgan. There were thirteen portraits on the wall across from them. One was Catherine, as he’d seen her tonight, wearing that black slinky dress, with her hair cut short.

“Tony, these are the women who will be competing for your attention.” Morgan waved at the portraits on the wall. “Every one of these women is looking for a man to love, and I have to say that you and your brothers made an excellent first impression on them.”

“I guess they didn’t hear that sour note.”

Morgan smiled. “I don’t think anyone heard it.” His smile disappeared and he described the concept of the show. “You have thirteen beautiful ladies to choose from, but you will notice that we haven’t put any names on their portraits. There’s a reason for that, Tony. The name of the show is
Blind Love
. Over the next few days, you will interview each one of these women, but you will be wearing a blindfold. You’ll make the first few cuts based on personality and compatibility alone.”

Tony was too stunned to speak.
This
was Catherine’s concept? Was she out of her ever-loving mind? How could he choose a woman without seeing her?

“You’ll start the interview process tomorrow. I’ll leave you to your thoughts.”

Morgan left the room. The camera guy stayed, and Tony was expected to express his thoughts out loud. He couldn’t say anything about Catherine, so he talked about the concept of the show, which came as a total surprise.

“I never expected this. When I’m checking out a woman, I always look at the package first. If she looks good, I get to know her. This is backwards.” He rubbed his forehead. “How will I know who I’m sending away?”

He walked to the portrait wall to examine each one closer. “Seven blondes, five brunettes, and one redhead, and they’re all good looking. How can I go wrong?” He couldn’t take his eyes off Catherine’s portrait. She was stunning with her curly mop tamed and her long, slender neck exposed.

He could strangle that pretty neck.

<>

Catherine stood on the balcony with the other girls while Morgan told them the concept of the show. “Six of you will be going home before Tony can put your face and name together, and then the real competition will begin.” There were gasps all around her as the pretty girls realized they couldn’t use their looks to snag the handsome bachelor.

Then Morgan threw out what Catherine knew would be a source of conflict. “Two of you have met each other before, and one of you has met Tony before.”

The girls looked around, examining the faces of the others.

“Good luck to all of you,” said Morgan, and he walked away.

The camera was still on when Rachel started laughing. “I’d like to meet the person with the warped mind who thought this up. He must be crazy.”

“Probably married,” said Fawn. “I don’t care. I don’t intend to get eliminated.”