The Accidental TV Star (13 page)

“I choose all of them.”

I glanced at the wedding cake: vanilla covered in white frosting with a honey pattern drizzled over it. Next, I looked at the steam rising off the hot tea and the sugar cubes on the saucer beside it, last the amber whiskey. “I’m feeling generous and since this is our first and last date, I’ll teach you two of them.”

“Aye. Two then four.”

“You’re greedy. I like that.”

His fingers tightened on my waist.

“We’ll do texture and temperature.”

“Aye.”

“I didn’t think Scottish people answered questions with yes or no responses. I read that somewhere.”

“Marissa, you’re hinting at a kiss. My mind has emptied and one word is all that remains.”

“Aye,” I teased him. I reached for the sugar cube, dipped it in the tea so I could crumble it. It broke apart and I rubbed the sugary granules between my thumb and index finger. Next, I traced across the center of his bottom lip with the sugar. Warm. Soft. “Feel each granule as it rolls across you?”

Garrett licked his lips and his eyes followed my movements.

I dipped my finger into the white icing and fluffed it across his bottom lip. “And the softness of the creamy icing.”

Garrett licked his lips again.

I lifted the whiskey glass next and swirled my finger inside. “The burn’s important too.” I was going to trace his lips again, but Garrett opened his mouth and I slid my finger inside. He sucked on it. The motion made my thighs tighten and my eyes lower. Ah.

I withdrew my hand. I had one more trick to show him. I ran my index finger lightly over the drizzled honey and tapped it against his mouth. “Feel the sticky pull? Variety’s important. Kissing’s an art. It can’t be all velvety smooth.” My voice deepened. “Add the rough. Add the layers.”

Garrett grabbed my wrist and guided my finger into his mouth, licking the honey off with one stroke.

Wow. I leaned toward him and reached for his mouth. I had one focus in the whole world. To kiss Garrett. Here. Now. In this magical place. My eyes closed and the darkness aided in the sensations. Heat. Consuming, building heat. His mouth moved over mine, his lips parted, pressing. He trailed the kiss over my mouth, my jaw, and down to my neck. Then I felt his tongue. Oh. I sucked in a breath, but instead of being fortified by the oxygen, my limbs trembled as if weakened. I tightened my grip on his shoulders.

He whispered my name on a groan, half in question, half in demand. “Marissa.”

Garrett kissed slowly, like he talked. The same way he rolled out his words and flipped consonants. That’s how he kissed.

A bell rang, calling the guests back for toasts. I don’t know how long we’d been there, kissing—a second, a minute, a century? It wasn’t long enough.

***

The champagne-cider made me giggle almost as much as Ashley’s impressions of London. While the other guests were dragging themselves off to their rooms, drooping, it felt like I was finally waking up. Jetlag was a crazy phenomenon. I was reluctant to leave the ruins, but we were the last two couples outside so it was time to take the stone path back to the house.

“You’ve got the best backyard, Garrett,” Ashley said, staring around the ruins.

“I thought you liked your buildings intact,” Caz said.

“Think about it. These walls have lasted so long.”

Caz draped his arm around Ashley’s shoulders. “We’ll visit more ruins if you like.”

“Cool.”

Caz touched Ashley’s face with the tips of his fingers, looking transfixed for a moment; then he turned to Garrett. “Be a good host and show Marissa to my half of your rooms. She’s switching with me. I’ll share with Ashley.”

Ashley blushed.

I twined my arm through Garrett’s. “Fake boyfriend, it looks like you’re playing my date a little longer than midnight.”

***

Garrett’s rooms were the size of the upstairs of his home in LA. My overall impressions were dark wood, navy, and grey. He led me through the bedroom into a type of library study with a big couch. It had been made up with sheets, pillows, and a comforter. I sank to the center and my gown fluffed around me. Nice. “I may be a little tipsy.”

Garrett’s own face was flushed. He’d been drinking and toasting along with the rest of us, but he took the evening more in his stride than I would have thought. I imagined fists breaking out over the Hollywood jabs. And when his brother Neil quoted Karla Quintos, I knew there’d be a cage match, or whatever the Scottish equivalent of a backyard brawl was. But no, Garrett just became more evasive and his stories got longer. Eventually his brothers laughed and gave up. I defended the acting profession on his behalf, but my new TV status took away some of my credibility.

“Since Monday I’m back at work and must keep my hands off you, I want a kiss goodnight,” I said.

Garrett stopped and turned back to me. “Aye.” He bent down and kissed me on the mouth, light, sweet, apple cider, and moonlight. Then he lifted away.

I shook my head. “Less nice. Not so sweet. It’s our last kiss. I want one to remember.”

Garrett held out his hand and pulled me to my feet. I grinned. Better. He swung me into his arms and carried me back to his room.

I giggled as I landed on his navy satin comforter, loving the drama. The wreath poked into the back of my skull and I took it off, flinging it aside. “Such an actor, setting the scene.”

Garrett put his hands on either side of my head, leaned down and kissed me, slow, just our lips touching. I tugged on his arms, pulling so I could feel his weight for a moment. I wanted the full body experience.

Garrett rolled to his back and pulled me on top of him. His hands slid to my waist and he tightened his grip on the silk. “Marissa.” His voice was husky and he rolled all the letters. I closed my eyes, enjoying the sound in the dark. I was torn between wanting his lips on mine and wanting to hear him. “Tell me more stuff,” I whispered and kissed his jaw and down to his neck. He stilled beneath me and didn’t say anything. “Garrett?” I mumbled against his skin then lifted my lips.

“I can’t think when you do that.” His voice sounded deep.

I kissed his neck again in reward and he groaned.

“Recite something then, I love your voice.” I toyed with the top button on his shirt. “And I really love your voice in the dark. Something about depriving all your senses of stimulation so you can only focus on the moment.” I shivered.

Garrett ran his hands up and down my back. The feeling of his fingers on the bare skin of my shoulders made me tremble. He recited a love sonnet. Until this moment, I’d never gotten the appeal of poetry. Now I was hooked.

He rolled me back over and kissed my mouth with deep drugging kisses. He lifted to talk or recite again. I shook my head and kissed him, pulling him back down. His heavy weight sank into me. My nails bit into his shoulders and I tore my mouth away to groan. Garrett kissed his way down my neck to my collarbone.

A knock sounded against the door, sharp and urgent.

Grr. “What’s that?”

“They’ll go away,” Garrett said, rolling to his side and kissing me.

Caz pounded on the door. “Your mum’s moving the girls to a different room.”

Garrett cursed and pulled off. He strode across the room and jerked open the door. “What?”

Caz slipped inside. “Something about the air-conditioning, I don’t know. I told her I was saying good night to Ashley and you were saying goodnight to Marissa.” He stopped talking and stared at me; then frowned. “Jesus, Garrett, fix her.”

Garrett stared at me. Caz grabbed a throw off a chair and tossed it at Garrett. He draped it over my shoulders. The warmth of the blanket shook me out of the trance and I climbed off the bed, straightening my hair. I didn’t look for the wreath.

“Garrett’s mom is on the way up,” Caz said slowly in his crisp British voice.

A soft tap sounded on the door. Caz shook his head and opened it. No expression on his face. A flushed-faced Ashley stood outside with Garrett’s mom. His mom still wore her evening gown and she appeared tired. “You girls are going to be so happy. Since Aunt Millicent didn’t come with her grandchildren, a much better room opened up for you.”

I didn’t look at any of them. I scurried into the hall to take my place of shame in the corridor beside Ashley. If I looked at Ashley, I’d laugh; if I looked at Garrett, I didn’t know what I’d do.

“Goodnight, boys,” Mrs. Campbell said, and shut the door with a firm click. We followed her down the hall. “This room is off my chamber.” She turned the knob on a new door. “See, two singles so you won’t have to share.”

We went in and each took a twin. Unfortunately, Mrs. Campbell didn’t leave. She leaned against the doorjamb. “I like you two. That’s the only reason I’ll say this. Boys as good-looking as Caspian and Garrett, well, women aren’t hard for them to get. Be different.” She shut the door.

Ashley covered her face and rolled onto her side. “I’m so embarrassed.”

“Please. The whole world has seen you and Caz rolling around on a bed when you played Aurora. It’s not like she had a video camera and was going to play the scene at the box office.”

Ashley dropped her hands. “Strangers call me
Aurora
sometimes, in the street. How crazy is that?”

“Totally.”

Ashley stared at me and curled up to sit cross-legged. “Your lipstick’s gone. Did you kiss Garrett?”

“Oh, yeah.”

Her light blue eyes grew big. “And?”

I paused a moment at the memory. “Evan’s kisses were like a slow burn. Garrett’s kisses are like continents shifting.”

“Ooh.”

“Yeah.” I poked at the threads on the sheet and shook my head. “I’m not going out with him though. Things are going too well for me to screw them up now.” Working for Garrett represented my lodging, my salary, and my access to
Scoop Out
. His kisses were tempting enough to almost make me not care.

Ashley opened her mouth to say something, then shut it.

“Exactly. I was fired from the Fry Hut. You were fired from the studio. Neither of us wants to ever feel that again. And I just got dumped by one unreliable guy who couldn’t last the summer.” I waved it off. “Tell me about Caz.”

Ashley grinned and flushed. “Garrett’s mom really didn’t walk in on anything critical.
Unfortunately
. I’d just gotten a kiss.” She shoved the pillows to the top of the bed and leaned against them. “With all his film commitments, I’ve barely seen him.”

I opened my mouth and Ashley shook her head. “Skype doesn’t count.”

I laughed and shoved my own pillows into a comfortable position. “Tell me more about the intern competition you’re in. And I’ll tell you all about my summer. Video included.”

“I’ll spill. But if things get too weird at Garrett’s, just move into our house. You know the code. We’ll be back by August. Mom and I want you to move in then anyway.”

“I’ll think about it. Thanks.”

***

Breakfast was served buffet style and only half as many guests showed up for it as compared to lunch yesterday. Ashley and I had talked all night and she appeared ready to fall asleep in her porridge, which was oatmeal. I wanted to make a Goldilocks joke, but she appeared too tired to appreciate it. Garrett had made short work of his and was going around the table, making the rounds to say goodbye to his family.

I’d gone with buttered toast and fruit. I couldn’t stomach the thought of a full Scottish breakfast at this hour. When we finished, Garrett’s parents walked us out. Caz and a drooping Ashley got into a town car with promises to be in touch soon. After the dark town car drove them away, Garrett’s mom said to Garrett, “I wish you’d stay longer.”

“I have work.”

I wiped my hand over my face and tried not to yawn.

“And you, dear.”

I blinked and faced them. “Thanks for having me, it was a beautiful wedding.”

They hugged each of us. As Garrett stood talking to his dad, his mom pulled me aside. “I hope I didn’t overstep last night. Sometimes I forget the boys aren’t children anymore.”

I shook my head and hugged her. “No, thanks for looking out for us.”

She nodded and I climbed into the car, sinking into the leather. Garrett got in and nodded to the driver. He raised the privacy screen. “What did Mum want?”

“She said not to give away the milk for free.”

“You’re not livestock. Go out with me?”

“Not two sentences I’ve ever heard used together before.” Refusing him was much harder after I kissed him. His green eyes tempted me in whole new ways. I lowered my voice so the driver wouldn’t hear. “Garrett our first kiss was Scottish ruins, twinkle lights, and romance. Our second one nearly took my head off. So, I’m not going there. I know how this ends and it’s not good for me. Getting
fired
is not in my future.” I didn’t go into the eight other reasons not to date him or that I’d already been fired once this summer.

“I wouldn’t.”

“And again, Caz didn’t fire Ashley.” I raised my hands. “I need this job through the summer. And you know you can’t tell me you want a live-in girlfriend?”

“Nooo, but you’re different.”

I nodded. “Yep. Good.” I scooted further away. “Settled. Friends it is.” I don’t really know how Garrett reacted to that, because I leaned against the door and fell asleep. He must’ve carried me on the plane because I didn’t wake up until we were nearing LA.

***

The director looked at the clock and sighed. “Any word on Sara’s whereabouts, Hannah?”

Hannah crossed her arms over her waist. “No. I’m sorry.”

“Fine. I’ll give the intro and cut in Sara during the edit.” The director motioned to us. “Meet your new final four contestants: Cajun Cal, Grandma Gert, Willful Will, and Star Stalker Marissa.”

“Wait.” Hannah glanced at her phone and the door, then bit her lip. “I have a backup plan.”

As if on cue, the door opened and Garrett pushed through. “I hear I have a fan in the
Scoop Out
kitchen?” The camera swung to him.

Hannah relaxed while I gaped. The camera wheeled forward to get a good shot of my open mouth.