The Accidental TV Star (20 page)

“Four years at university sounds like forever, but I want you in my life. However I can get you, friend, chef, chaste girlfriend, not chaste girlfriend.”

Shiver. He was awesome. “I thought I’d lost everything. The job, the chance with you. When you lose something it can show you how much you want it.”

Garrett pulled me to him and the warmth of his tall body took away the chill. “I always knew.” His lips pressed against mine, and my new boyfriend kissed me with certainty, a kiss that tasted like promises and starlight. I reached my arms around his neck, pressing against him until the kiss turned to lightening and firelight.

Garrett tore his lips away. “Responsibility. Up. We have to go up.”

“Okay.”

He leaned down and kissed me again, backing me against the wall. He lightly bit my bottom lip, making me open my mouth more. His lips angled over mine and his tongue touched mine. The sensations made me want to press closer. I tightened my hold on him, silently encouraging. His hands moved to my hips, strong and warm through the insubstantial chiffon. My focus narrowed to him and my brain grew fuzzy, alive only to the tingles radiating from his fingertips every time and everywhere he touched me.

“Garrett, Marissa, hurry!” Garrett’s agent’s voice came from some distance.

I jerked, panting, and turned my head. Garrett kissed my neck and my whole body shook.

His agent came into view at the entrance. Her voice escalated and her hands moved as she spoke. “The premiere did better than ten people.”

“We have to go,” I said.

Garrett stepped away from me, clenching and unclenching his fists, as if he wanted to grab me back to him.

Haven Hills.
The premiere. This was a big night. I closed my eyes so the glint in his gaze wouldn’t distract me and turned to go up the slanted walkway, my eyes on his agent. She had her gaze on the entrance and waved for us to hurry.

Garrett caught my hand.

The tunnel continued to angle upwards and the borrowed shoes pinched, but the happy glow inside me made the discomfort irrelevant. I swung Garrett’s hand, and when I felt the brush of night air, I knew we’d reached the red carpet area. “Do you want to make your entrance solo? For the fans?”

Garrett frowned. “And give some other guy the opportunity to steal you away? No.”

We turned the corner together and the blast of noise reached us. A roped-off crowd of women, thousands, screamed for Garrett. Most wore kilts or movie T-shirts. Most were tweens and their moms. My hand tightened against his. Talk about loyalty. Tween fans rocked.

“Go, do your thing.” I pulled free and encouraged him forward, melting back into the circulating guests who had theater tickets. He joined Max and Sax at the ropes to shake hands and sign autographs.

“Guess you didn’t need
us
here?” A British voice half the female population would recognize came from behind me.

I turned and saw my BFF and her boyfriend. “Caz. Ashley. Thanks for coming.” I gave them each a hug and turned to Ashley. “Thanks for lending me the dress.”

“No problem,” Ashley said. She wore her own chiffon number in pale pink and her hair was pinned up. “You totally saved me from wearing a plaid scarf over my dress in Edinburgh so we’re good.”

I swiveled on my high heels to include Caz. “Thanks for coming home early.”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Caz said.

Behind him, I saw people weaving into a line that headed into the building.

The tweens behind the ropes screamed and I checked to see if they’d caught sight of Caz. They’d begun a wave that included a jump under the guidance of Sax.

“The crowd’s loud enough, they don’t need to see Caz too,” Ashley said.

She was right. Between Garrett, Max, and Sax, they looked ready to tear down the ropes. Security would have to break out the crowd control gear any second, or at least a few water hoses.

“We’ll see you inside,” Ashley said. “Save you seats in the center.” Ashley turned Caz toward the door and leaned back to whisper to me while pointing across the square. “I also wanted to avoid a lecture.” She shoved my shoulder. “Say
hi
to Garrett’s mom for me.”

Garrett’s parents and four brothers headed straight to him, not intimidated by the crowds or noise. They hugged him and the fleeting shocked expression on Garrett’s face was worth a lecture on propriety. I went closer. They’d reached the corner of the square where the reporters sat.

The nearest one, a tall thin man, with a long reach, shoved a microphone toward Garrett. “What do you say to the rumor that you brought Marissa here as a fake studio date?”

I slowed, uncertain what my best move would be. PR hadn’t sent scripts over for dates.

Garrett’s mom stepped forward. “Oh no. They’re a couple. Garrett even brought Marissa over for my niece’s wedding.” She held up her phone and swiped the screen. “See. Here’s a shot of them.” The camera zoomed in on the photo. Plaid shined out.

I wasn’t sure how much the reporter understood of her accent, especially when she went on and on about the LA sunshine, but he got a close-up of the photo.

From the theater entryway, a bell chimed, indicating it was time to take our seats. Garrett urged his family toward the doors. They saw me and the hugs and greetings delayed the move further.

As they went in, I hung back and squeezed Garrett’s arm. “Caz and Ashley are saving us seats.”

He grinned big and gave me a quick kiss. The crowd behind us screamed, almost drowning out his next words. “Go in with everyone. I want to shake some more hands. Thank more people for coming. I saw Kursten and Candace.”

“No way.”

“Aye, and one of them was wearing a
Scoop Out
shirt.”

“Awesome.” I looked at the sea of screaming faces. Many had mascara-laden tears streaming down their cheeks and when they caught sight of me, their gazes weren’t full of adoration. Envy warred with possession in their eyes. I didn’t want to get daggered. “Okay, I’ll see you inside.”

Garrett kissed the back of my hand and let me go. Not a move he would have made if he’d known the crowd would scream again. I slipped behind him and headed toward the building.

The red carpet had mostly cleared and I saw Sax leave his spot at the ropes and go for the doors. I had to get one thing from him. Heat flushed my face. I was so embarrassed, but I’d almost gone home without doing this and my younger brothers wouldn’t forgive me. I hurried toward the entrance and caught up to the teen rock god. “Sax, got a second?”

Sax slowed and looked me up and down with his electric blue contacts. “Looking hot, Marissa. What d’ya need?”

I closed my eyes briefly, as the answer pained me. “Your autograph. For my younger brothers.”

Sax whipped out a sharpie. “No prob. Got a camera?”

“Yeah.” I held up my phone.

Sax scribbled
Hey Bros
on his palm, held it up by his face, and smiled.

Okay, that was cool. I officially liked the kid now. I snapped the photo with my phone and sent it to my mom so she could get it to the boys. “Thanks. You—”

A man in a suit walked up and interrupted us. He touched his finger to an earpiece. “Sorry, sir. There’s been a problem with your ticket. You’ll have to come with me.”

“No way, dude. I’m not missing the opening of my bro’s film.”

The guy grabbed Sax’s arm. “I’m afraid I’ll have to insist.”

I didn’t like the guy’s attitude. I stepped between them and put my hand on the guard’s arm. “There’s no problem with Sax’s ticket. He’s invited. If he’s not, he can come in with me on mine.” The guy pushed my hand off, his touch rough.

“Hey.”

Sax twisted his arm and tried to break the guy’s grip. “Lay off, man.”

The guy pulled and I knew something weird was going down. “Garrett!” I screamed, my plea drowned out by the shouts from the fans. I kicked the back of the guy’s knee, my one defensive move. The guy stumbled and Sax broke free.

Another man in a suit appeared behind him. “Come with me, sir. I’ll get you away.”

“You’re not on my security team.” Sax sounded pissed now. The guy, bigger, brawnier, took both his arms and half drug him. Sax threw a fist.

I ran at them, but the first guy grabbed me. I wobbled on my uber high heels and tried to stab him with a stiletto, but he stayed clear.

Garrett reached us and broke the guy’s grip with a straight punch to the face.

I backed away, looking for a cop.

Max ran up. I’d thought he’d gone in. He must’ve hung back. I went for the cop guarding the crowd.

“Those guys are trying to kidnap Sax.” I gasped out the incredible words. I looked back and saw Max and Garrett, fighting in their formal clothes. I feared the cop would call it a Hollywood game or publicity stunt because it looked so surreal, their martial arts moves on a red carpet. The cop didn’t hesitate. He radioed in for help and ran to the guys. Garrett and Max had them on the ground by the time he got there and pulled out his handcuffs.

The crowd behind me clapped. Some of them whistled. All of them had camera phones out. They thought it was part of the show.

Garrett came straight to me and took my arm. His light green eyes searched mine. “You okay?”

I threw myself against him. “Yeah.” I pulled back and checked him over. “You?”

He had a bruise forming high on his left cheekbone and his eyes flashed. “Unbelievable. Sax always has rabid fans, but this is something else.” He shook his head. “The police want us inside to take our statements.”

***

Tween In’s
new feature reporter, Macey Garcia, did the story. “While rave reviews pour in for the movie,
Haven Hill,
the real excitement came during the premiere.” The clip played. “Looks like Garrett and Max
have
been going to their martial arts training.” She waved. “I’m Macey Garcia, on air and in the know. I’ll be filling in while Karla Quintos is on an extended vacation. Keep those comments coming.”

Watching that segment prior to going in for the
Scoop Out
reunion episode put me in the best mood. I went in the door with a smile, ready to be a gracious runner up and greet my old friends.

“Hey.” Hannah gave me a hug. “Hair and makeup first.”

That was new. She took me back out into the corridor and into a small room with a vanity and a rack of clothes. They put me in a solid green blouse. The makeup artist did my makeup while a hairstylist straightened my hair. Unlike show days, they wanted it loose and flowing.

“Patterns do funky things on the camera,” Hannah explained, hanging my blouse on a coat hanger. She stayed and chatted while the professionals got me ready in under fifteen minutes. I didn’t ask why Hannah didn’t go in and take care of her other duties. She must still be angry at
Scoop Out
or her mother or Grandma Gert or maybe all three.

We went in together. The other weird thing about today was the set. It no longer smelled like food. I walked over to a set of bleachers and took the empty seat in the middle of the front row. Will sat to my right and Cal to my left. I said, “Hi,” and shook hands with the six contestants I knew, and waved at the others.

“Places, everyone,” the director said. She came forward, made an adjustment to Cal’s cap, and then tilted my hand on my knee so the bandage wouldn’t show. The costume designer had removed the wrap bandage and applied smaller adhesive bandages, but still, this was supposedly some time later, so my wound would have healed and the stitches would have been taken out. This was it. My last time in Studio Three. Excitement warred with sadness.

Sara gave some minor questions to the early contestants, the ones I hadn’t met. When she got down to the final six, she started with Grandma Gert. Sara’s mouth tightened and she moved in with the microphone. “How have the fans responded to your outrageous behavior?”

Grandma Gert made a heart shape with her hands and extended it toward the camera. “I’ve never felt such an outpouring of love and sympathy as I’ve had from my fans, when they learned that I needed a mood-altering, prescription medication. Why, their support has flowed nonstop.”

Sara smiled a fake smile and moved onto Cal. “Cal, I hear you’re going to do a reality show.”

Cal saluted off Gator’s snout. The beady eyes judged me as he spoke. “Yes, ma’am. Me and Gator here are going to race it to win it.”

Sara smiled. “I’ll be pulling for you. And I hear you’re not the only one I need to root for next season.” She moved the microphone over to Kate.

Kate said, “I’ll be joining the cast of
Inspection Kitchen
. Again, thanks to the incredible fans of this show. They understand that spiders have no place in food preparation areas. I’ll be traveling around America performing surprise inspections.” She held up a white rag. “Watch out, cooks, here I come.”

“I’ll be sure to look for that in the fall.” Sara held the microphone up to the row behind me. “And you, Spice King?”

“I don’t know yet, but I can say this, I do know how to make a curry dish.” Spice King kicked the back of my chair and left his foot there.

I scooted back so I hit the front of his knees. He grunted and shifted off.

“And that leads us to our runner up, Marissa.”

I smiled, this time prepared to say my gracious ‘thank you for the opportunity’ speech.

Sara motioned for Hannah and she carried over a big fake check. “Marissa, you’ve been voted this year’s fan favorite.”

Hannah thrust the huge white check into my hands. I looked down at the $10,000 in the amount box. I’d never seen so many zeroes. My eyebrows rose, my hands shook, and my throat closed up. I heard half-disappointed claps and half-sincere claps from my fellow contestants, but I didn’t look up from the check.

“What will you do with the money?”

Wow. I touched the number and said my dreams. “Eat at your restaurant. College. Help my mom.”

Sara stared at me, blinked, and turned to the camera. “And that’s not all. I’m proud to announce that Marissa’s going to co-host with me next season, giving me time to get back to cooking, which I love.” She gave me a one-armed hug over the top of the check.