Groomless - Part 2 (14 page)

I noticed Luke sitting on the edge of his seat at such an angle that the stage lights illuminated his face. He shot me an adorable look, that smirk I could never resist, and in that moment, I truly felt like the ultimate winner. “Okay,” I finally said. “I’ll play.”

“Great! Here’s how it’s going to work. Take a look at the sexy bachelors in our audience, and choose three who look like they might have what it takes to play the role of your lucky groom.”

“Three? And I can pick anybody?” I asked.

She touched my arm. “Anybody without a ring on his finger is fair game,” she said, drawing applause from the audience.

I looked out over the crowd as many of the attractive men waved their ringless fingers in the air and tried to shout, snap, whistle, and yell for my attention, as if I was some great catch. 

“Go grab yourself three bachelors to play!” Kelly shouted.

The men started to stand and call out my name, and some even flexed their huge biceps. I chose the first two in rather quick fashion, as it was a bit awkward and uneasy. Of course my gaze landed on Luke, and he smirked again. At that moment, I knew that not one of those men in the audience would ever compare to that gorgeous guy standing before me. My gaze lingered on the strong lines of his face, his chiseled features, and his broad shoulders. He had this sexy charisma about him, and I was drawn to him like a moth to flame. The gaze between us seemed to last forever, and somehow, it even seemed real.

Chapter 14

Our eyes locked, and it was suddenly as if the cheering audience disappeared and we were the only two people in the room. He shot me that gleaming smile he was so famous for, the one that had so recently graced the pages of
Forbes
. My heart raced, and my stomach fluttered. Only seconds passed, but it felt like eternity. I loved how he stared so intensely into my eyes. Like it or not, Luke was everything I wanted, everything I craved. We had sparks, chemistry, and fire, and I was surprised that the audience kept screaming for my attention, as if they were oblivious to the eye-popping fireworks exploding between us. The look in his eyes told me he was all mine if I wanted him. I knew I had to be careful because he definitely had the power to ensnare me, body, mind, and soul.

I walked over to him in a blur and held out my hand. “Would you care to play?”

Gazing deeply into my eyes, he gripped my hand as electricity raced through me. “I’d love to,” he said, winking at me.

I gripped his hand and led him back to the stage as the crowd cheered.

“Okay, you’ve just chosen your childhood sweetheart as a contender,” Kelly said. “Boy, look at those blue eyes! No wonder you grabbed him!”

Luke’s blue eyes never left me as he watched me closely.

“You’ve got quite the catch with this one,” Kelly said to me.

“It’s a pleasure to have you on the show,” Michael said.

“It’s my pleasure,” Luke answered, once the audience settled down.

“And may the odds be ever in your favor.”

“Hope so.”

“Well, now that you’ve got your grooms,” Michael said, “we’ve also got some other things in store for you. Besides the wing, the dress, and the honeymoon, we have Anne from Pink Cake Box, ready to provide all the wedding cake you’ll need.” 

At that point, right on cue, several stagehands began rolling out tables loaded with three towering wedding cakes in a variety of designs and colors.

“Pink Cake Box’s cakes have been featured in Modern Bride, InStyle Weddings, Brides Magazine, People Magazine, and countless others. Anne has also made some fresh cookies for the audience. And who doesn’t love cookies?”

The audience cheered.

“Okay, boys,” Michael said, “the rules are simple. Inside one of these cakes is a golden wedding band. Find it, and you’ll be the very lucky groom for this beautiful lady!”

Each bachelor was ushered over to one of the cakes, and Luke was stationed in front of a gorgeous, four-tier one, with champagne-colored roses and trim all around the edges.

“On your mark… Ready, set, go!” Kelly shouted, clapping her hands and jumping up and down.

“May the best man win,” Michael said.

In a flurry of frosting and crumbs, the bachelors began digging through the wedding cakes in merciless fashion, like one-year-olds at a birthday party. 

“Look at these guys,” Kelly said. “They remind me of my kids. Then again, who doesn’t love cake? One of my favorite parts is licking the bowl.”

Michael let out a deep chuckle. “You only lick the bowl while making the cake,” he said. “I’m all about eating it.”

She looked at the audience and pretended to whisper, “Well, we know that.”

“Kelly, sweetie, are you saying I’m fat?” Michael said, patting his solid middle.

“See what I put up with folks?” she said to the audience, drawing more cheers.

“I found it!” one of the other bachelors said.

My heart dropped.

Luke glanced up, disappointment flooding his face. I bit my lip hard. At least he had tried.

“That’s one of the fake ones to throw you off,” Kelly said. “It’s silver. You need a gold ring to win.”

The man frowned. I grinned. Luke still had a fighting chance! He frantically dug right back in and I laughed. He had to win this…
for us
.

A few moments later, Luke shouted in victory. “Yes!”

“Looks like we’ve got a winner, folks!” Michael said. “Come over here and stand next to me, young man.”

Luke smiled and held up his gold treasure in his cake-covered hands, and the audience broke into loud applause.

“Mmm. All this cake is making me hungry,” Kelly said.

At that point, my dad walked over to one of the cakes that was not as demolished as the others and carefully pulled a piece off for her.

“Chocolate!” she said, taking a bite. “My absolute favorite. Thank you, Dean.” She scooped more from my dad’s hands. “Oh, it’s to die for. You’ve gotta try it. Open wide.”

Dad laughed as Kelly Ripa fed him a giant scoop of chocolate cake right off her small hand. 

“Well? How is it?” Kelly asked.

“I can only say I’d rather sit here and eat this chocolate cake than hike down a volcano,” my dad said. “It’s really that good.”

“I know
!
Anne, the wonderful woman who made these, will be delighted to hear that, and I’m definitely going to order one of these for my son’s birthday next week. Pink Cake Box is just the best.”

My dad gave Michael some, then handed me a bite too.

“Mmm,” I said. It tasted like a slice of heaven, and it was the moistest cake I’d ever had.

Michael looked over at Luke, who was messy from head to toe. “Well, don’t just stand there, Luke. Go on and give your bride a
sweet
hug.”

My dad chuckled again as Luke shook my hand, then offered me a shy half-hug, getting cake and frosting all over me too. 

“What’s a little cake between friends?” Luke said as I wiped the mess off my dress, laughing all the while. He then raised his hands in victory, and the audience went wild when he gave me a kiss on the cheek.

I was so glad he won! 

Kelly smiled at the other two bachelors, one of whom actually had cake in his eyebrows. “Julia,” she said, “I’d like to introduce you to Dr. Michael Panel, a renown pediatrician, and Howard Sashoon, owner of Marquee, one of the hottest nightclubs in New York City.”

“Thanks for, uh…playing,” I said, then shook their cakey hands before they walked offstage to get cleaned up.

Kelly smiled at Luke and me. “You know what? This takes the cake!” she said, then turned back to the camera. “When we come back, the very talented Ian Somerhalder from
Lost
and
The Vampire Diaries
will be here.”

Applause broke out again, and several women in the audience actually screamed like teenagers at a rock concert. 

“Also still ahead on
Live
, a performance by
Elementary
star Jonny Lee Miller,” the announcer said. “Coming up next, Ian Somerhalder.”

As the show went to break, Kelly looked at Luke. “You kind of resemble Ian Somerhalder. Has anyone ever told you that? Are you sure you’re not his little brother?”

Blushing, he smiled. “Thank you. I have to take that as a major compliment.”

“You should,” Michael chimed in. “The girls have been lined up outside the studio for hours just to get a peek at him. Some even set up sleeping bags and tents for an all-nighter yesterday afternoon.”

“We could put the two of them up here together side by side,” Kelly suggested. “We can tell Ian he has his very own doppelganger, like Elena’s Catherine on the show.”

“Wow. Fan-girl much?” Michael teased. “Quite the cougar, aren’t you, Ms. Ripa?”

“Hey! He’s only, uh…” She stopped and pretended to do math on her fingers. “He’s not even ten years younger than me! Besides, he’s the nicest guy ever,” Kelly argued. “He’s been on the show before, and he’s the biggest sweetheart. I don’t think America can get enough of the hunky vampire.”

“Did you say ‘hunky’?” Brian asked.

“Yeah. Why?”

“Who says ‘hunky’ anymore?”

She playfully smacked him. “I’m
only
forty-four,” she said, then smacked him again.

We chitchatted for a little while before the “on air” came back on. 

“Welcome back, everybody,” Kelly said, right on cue. “On tomorrow’s show, James Spader will talk to us about his new movie,
Avengers
.”

Everyone clapped.

“Congratulations again to you, Luke. It sounds like Julia’s reception is going to be  quite the party.”

“Thanks,” Luke said, smiling at me and my dad.

“Of course she went after Mr. Blue Eyes,” Kelly said.

“Ian’s doppelganger,” Michael said.

“He does look like me!” Ian Somerhalder said as he stepped out on the stage, staring at the crumb-covered version of himself.

The audience went wild, and Luke grinned from ear to ear.

Ian looked at the audience. “This guy stole my face, right?” Then, as quickly a he’d come onstage, Ian exited stage left.

Kelly smiled and shrugged. “And that, folks, was an unscheduled surprise visit from Ian. As for the segment at hand…” She glanced over at me. “Our show has put love together and I can’t wait to hear all about the reception.”

“Thank you for finding my potential groom,” I said with a chuckle. “It’s been a blast.”

“Well, if you ever need another groom, we’re here for you.”

“Hmm. Is Mr. Somerhalder available?” I asked, smirking.

“Not with Kelly the cougar around, he’s not,” Michael joked.

The audience laughed at their banter as Kelly again slapped her co-host and reminded him that she was a happily married woman.

Kelly and Brian repeated the prizes we won and congratulated us, then wished all the other contestants well and gave them parting gifts. Just like that, I had my groom and every possible thing I needed for a wedding and reception. The only thing I didn’t have was the true love to go along with it.

Chapter 15

After the show, we found a quaint little restaurant and had lunch on the terrace. My dad left to use the restroom.

Luke’s eyes burned into mine. “How was it?”

“The show went well,” I said. “I had a lot of fun.”

“That’s great. But I was talking about our kiss.”

I stared deeply into his twinkling eyes.

“A lady never kisses and tells,” I said. As soon as the memory of those kisses flooded my mind, I wanted nothing more than to pull him closer by his collar and kiss him ever so passionately.
I bet he still tastes like frosting,
I thought, then immediately blinked the thought out of my head.

“You’re smiling. What are you thinking about?”

“Cake.”

“Liar. You’re thinking about our long, slow kiss, aren’t you? It’s okay. I can’t get it out of my mind either.”

“Are we talking about the one before the show or the one in the rain?”

He smirked. “Every time it rains now, I think of you.”

“I think shrinks call that an associative disorder.”

“I don’t think there’s anything disorderly about it,” he retorted.

I shot him a seductive look. “Actually, I was thinking about future ones.”

A light of hope sparked in his eyes, but before he could say another word about it, my dad came back to the table. There was something sizzling between Luke and me and I was powerless to stop it.

Suddenly, I jumped when a spider appeared out of nowhere.

“Honey, what’s wrong?” my dad asked.

“Spider!” I squealed.

Luke killed it, then grinned at me as if he’d singlehandedly saved the world.