Marrying Mister Perfect (12 page)

Lou fidgeted nervously. “I’m not sure I
am
a sex object, Kel. Even in college all my relationships
were pretty tame.”

“Every woman is a sex object with the right
man, Lou-la-belle. We just need to unleash your inner vixen. We’ll
start with wardrobe.” Kelly bounced on the balls of her feet. “I
love a makeover shopping trip!”

Just the thought of the mall made Lou cringe.
“The kids are mayhem in department stores, Kel. We can’t—”

“The kids are in school. No excuses.”

Lou hesitated, drawn in by the idea in spite
of herself. The thought of going shopping without the children was
an aphrodisiac in itself. How long had it been since she went
shopping for herself? Not just grabbing a fresh six-pack of panties
at Target but actual
shopping
. An uninterrupted afternoon at
the mall was a siren call she couldn’t resist.

Especially if it meant she might have a shot
at changing the way Jack looked at her.

“I don’t know, Kel. How much good can a few
clothes and a haircut really do?”

Kelly flashed a feline smile. “Darling, don’t
underestimate the master. You’re going to steal that show and I’m
going to teach you how. By the time I get through with you,
Marrying Mr. Perfect
won’t know what hit them.”

Chapter
Twelve

“Ally’s a great girl. When she told me she
was afraid of heights in the helicopter and took my hand, it really
made me think how important it is to have someone to rely on.
Someone who has your back no matter what. That trust is definitely
a quality I’m looking for in my wife.”

Jack felt like a total jackass as he mumbled
the rehearsed, heart-on-his-sleeve BS for the camera. It was hard
not to be a complete narcissist after ten solid days of the world
spinning around what he thought and felt. But for a world that
catered to his every whim, it was dizzying how out of control he
felt.

Miranda tapped her tablet, bringing him back
to the moment. Cameras. Lights. A confessional sequence to be used
as B-roll during the airing of this morning’s dream date.

If anyone was in control here, it was
Miranda, not him. No matter how obvious her manipulations as she
molded him into the shape of Mister Perfect, they were working.
Even seeing how she pulled every string, he danced. The woman was
good.

“And the kiss?” Miranda prompted. “Would you
say you have chemistry?”

Jack shifted in the leather armchair, trying
not to look as uncomfortable as he felt. He’d never been the type
to brag about girls and it felt even more wrong to do it on
national television—especially knowing that the women themselves
would later have the chance to watch this.

His chemistry with Ally was non-existent—she
just felt so damn
young
. Not so much in years, but in life.
He may only have a few years on her, but it felt like a lifetime of
difference. He couldn’t begin to imagine her as a partner—but she’d
come right out and asked him to kiss her and he hadn’t felt like
there was any other option that wouldn’t embarrass her with the
cameras bearing down on them. It had been tepid at best. And now he
got to relive it for the home viewers. Fantastic.

He didn’t want to hurt Ally any more than he
wanted to lie. Optimistic but honest. That’s what Miranda kept
telling him to be. “Ally is gorgeous. Who wouldn’t want to kiss
her?”

Miranda beamed, her eyes gleaming with
awareness of his careful dodge. “That’s great, Jack. Perfect. We’ll
cut there for the day.”

His shoulders sagged with relief. That was
the last of his
Marrying Mister Perfect
duties before Lou
and the kids were scheduled to arrive. Finally he could get back to
feeling like he was on terra firma. He needed a shot of
normalcy.

Even his sense of time was distorted. They
were ten days in, but they’d already had three Elimination
Ceremonies and were beginning to shoot the dates for the fourth
episode. He was having trouble keeping track of the days of the
week. Without the kids’ visit to look forward to, he didn’t know
how he would have kept himself grounded.

As the camera crew began packing up, Miranda
strolled oh-so-casually over to where he sat and leaned against the
bookcase that had been placed beside him for depth and atmosphere.
She tipped her head to the side and gave him a reassuring
smile.

“You’re doing wonderfully, Jack. Just great.
All the footage is looking positively gorgeous and the PR folks are
reporting great buzz from the marketing campaign to promote you as
Mister Perfect. The network executives are very pleased.”

Anything to please the network execs
.
“I’m glad.”

“We do have one teensy little concern,
though. Just a tiny question and I want you to know that you can
answer me with absolute honesty. Whatever you’re feeling, we want
authenticity on this show above all else.”

Jack eyed Miranda as he disentangled himself
from the mic pack and handed it to the sound guy, wondering where
the hell she was going with this. “Are you saying I’m not
authentic?”

“Oh, honey, no.” She laughed, as if the idea
of him being fake was beyond ridiculous—which he supposed should be
flattering. “No one could accuse you of that. It’s just that you
seem a bit… how shall I put this? Emotionally constipated.”

He choked.

Miranda smiled soothingly. “We’re concerned
that you might not be entering this process with your whole heart
open.”

“My whole heart?” What did that even mean?
“Look, if you need me to do something else…”

“It isn’t about what you’re doing, Jack.
You’re doing beautifully. It’s about what you’re
feeling
. Or
rather, what you don’t appear to be feeling.”

“I’m not following you.” What was he supposed
to be feeling? Confused? Awkward? If so, he was doing a bang up
job. All other emotions were eluding him.

“Jack.” Miranda crouched down beside his
chair, though she didn’t touch him—not the touchy-feely sort,
Miranda. “I’m going to ask you a question and I want you to answer
truthfully. Even if you think the answer might be something I don’t
want to hear.”

“Okay.”

“Are you still pining for your dead
wife?”

“What?” The cameras should have been rolling.
They would have caught a comic-book look of surprise flashing
across his face. “You think I’m pining?”

Miranda patted the armchair—as if the
upholstery needed consoling. “I know it’s hard for you to imagine
anyone ever replacing her, but we need you to open your heart to
this experience, Jack. You’re holding yourself back. I can tell.
And what’s more,
America
will be able to tell.” She patted
the chair again. “Open your heart, Jack. Really embrace this
experience and be ready to let love in.”

“I barely know these girls,” he
protested.

“I know,” Miranda quickly assured him. “And
we aren’t asking you to love them now. Don’t get ahead of your
emotions, Jack. I just want you to be open to this adventure. Be
open, Jack.”

Jack nodded warily, ready to say just about
anything to get Miranda away from him. “I’ll be open.”

“Excellent.” Miranda beamed at her star pupil
and gave the armchair one last congratulatory pat. “America will
love you, Jack. Just remember, it takes a real man to own up to his
emotions.” She popped to her feet, and her smile turned fierce. “Be
a man, Jack.”

Jack watched Miranda stalk out of the room.
Tension knotted every muscle in his body. He needed a dose of
normalcy so badly he ached.

Lou couldn’t get here fast enough.

#

Lou fidgeted in the back of the limo, running
her fingers through her newly layered and highlighted hair for the
seven millionth time. Emma and TJ bounced on the seat beside her,
as excited by their first ever limo ride as they were by the
thought of seeing their father again in just a few minutes.

Lou would have been excited by the thought of
seeing Jack too, if she weren’t three-quarters of the way to a
nervous breakdown. She couldn’t believe she’d let Kelly talk her
into this outfit.

The stretchy fabric of the sundress had
survived the four hour plane trip miraculously unwrinkled—and had
earned her more than one speculative once-over from the businessmen
in first class, even with two noisy kids in tow. It was snug and
low cut without being indecent and the flared skirt swished
flirtily around her thighs as she walked. Kelly had described it as
“versatile enough for a date when you don’t know where you’ll be
jet-setting off to and eye-catching enough to stand out in a group
date.”

Since Lou wasn’t actually going to be on the
TV show, she didn’t see how any of that mattered, but Kelly
insisted it was all about measuring up against her competition.

Lou hated the idea that she was competing for
Jack. She’d had him all to herself for so long, but now it seemed
like she was destined to be just one of a throng of women
professing to love him. But at least she had Kelly’s advice to
guide her. The woman was downright Machiavellian when it came to
romance.

The limo rolled to a stop in the driveway of
a jaw-dropping mansion. The kind of place she’d always pictured
movie stars living in. And a man with movie star good looks was
jogging down the front steps toward them, a broad grin on his face.
Lou’s heart lurched. Damn, the man was something else. The kids
dove for the doors as soon as the car stopped. “Dad!” they shouted
as they leapt out of the vehicle and charged him.

Lou followed more slowly, taking time to
smooth her skirt, peek in the mirror to check her make-up, and
fluff her hair one last time. This would be the first time Jack
laid eyes on The New Lou and she felt as nervous as if she were
arriving for a blind date.

Lou stepped out of the limo, looked up, and
there he was. Sweeping Emma and TJ up, one in each arm. The
exhaustion from a four hour plane ride with two rambunctious
children fell away like water sloughing off. The tension she’d
built up, wondering how he was going to react to her new look,
melted away after one look at him.

Jack.

She loved him in jeans or his scrubs, but the
man was flat out devastating in a suit. Dark jacket, no tie, with
the collar of his crisp white dress shirt open to the second
button—he looked like he’d just come home from the Oscars and only
bothered to tug off his bowtie. His brilliant eyes shone sapphire
bright as he laughed with the kids, tucking Emma under one arm and
dangling TJ over his other shoulder until he shrieked.

Lou hovered, holding herself back. Kelly had
given her strict instructions
not
to fall prostrate at his
feet and profess her undying love. The Plan involved luring him
into pursuing her and making him think the entire thing was his
idea
before
any declaration of feelings. Seduction first,
happily ever after later. Lou had doubted her ability to lure Jack
into seducing her, but she hadn’t realized keeping her feelings to
herself was going to be so hard. She was far too tempted to tell
him everything.

Then he looked up, seeming to realize she
wasn’t there with the kids, crawling all over him. His gaze found
her, lingering nervously by the limousine. Lou looked into that
heart-stoppingly familiar blue gaze and, before she could remind
herself of Kelly’s flirt-with-your-eyes-and-look-mysterious
instructions, a wide smile broke across her face.

#

For a fraction of a second, when Jack saw the
woman standing by the limousine, he thought one of the Suitorettes
had snuck over from the mansion next door to sneak a peek at his
kids. Then she smiled and realization slammed into him.

“Lou,” he gasped.

“Hello, Jack.” She strode toward him. The
skirt of her leave-no-curve-unhugged dress shifted sensuously
against her thighs as she walked.

Jack’s mouth went dry. He may not be the most
observant guy, but something was definitely different.

Normally he would have hauled her into a hug
and they would have all tripped into the house, an easy laughing
reunion, but something about Lou stopped him. He hesitated, nervous
around her for some inexplicable reason. As the kids slid down to
the ground to hang off his arms, swinging on them like gates in a
breeze, Jack stood awkwardly and studied Lou from head to toe.

“New dress?”

Lou smiled again, smoothing a hand over the
fabric on her hip. “Kelly and I went shopping. Do you like it?”

Like
wasn’t exactly the word he would
have used. He wasn’t sure there was a word for what he thought when
he saw her in that figure-painting outfit. It sure as hell wasn’t
her usual jeans. And he didn’t think her outfit was the only thing
that was different. Everything seemed different.
She
seemed
different.

“You’re wearing your hair down.” She must be
using a new shampoo or something. Her hair looked lighter, her eyes
brighter.

She fingered the blondish strands falling
over her shoulders. “I wanted a change.”

“Change is good,” he muttered, and then
couldn’t think of a single word to say.

All week he’d been a pro, charming the
Suitorettes on cue, but now he was tongue-tied and tripping over
himself. What was wrong with him?

“Shall we go inside?” she asked, her words as
hesitant as he felt. “Or do we need to grab the bags?”

The normalcy of the comment about luggage
finally snapped him out of his stupor. “No. No, they’ve got people
to get the bags. Let’s go on in.”

Emma and TJ cheered and dropped his arms to
race toward the front door. Lou followed more slowly and Jack fell
into step beside her, periodically glancing over at her, just
checking to make sure nothing else had changed when he wasn’t
looking.

He was reminded, as they toured the house, of
how he’d felt last week on the night when he first met the
women—alert and intrigued. Which, considering it was Lou walking
beside him, seemed a contradiction. She wasn’t intriguing. She was
familiar. That was what made being with her so wonderful. They were
easy together. He wasn’t supposed to be feeling this awkward
awareness.