know your name,” he said
But the smile playing along his lips so mesmerized Alexa, she was barely able to remember her own name. “Um, I’m, uh, Alexa,” she said finally, blushing furiously.
She realized she was making a complete ass of herself — not just with Brandon, but on national television to boot! Regaining her composure, she said, “I’m really sorry about tripping and falling on you. I can’t believe I was so clumsy.”
“Believe me,” Brandon said somewhat hoarsely, “It was no problem at all.”
Alexa forgot her self-control and was drawn into his deep brown eyes. I could stare into them forever , she thought and then caught herself. I could stare into them forever? She was in dire straits if she was having such stupid thoughts.
Taking a step back to put some distance between them, she reminded herself that she had an undercover reporting job to do, and she adopted the guise of oozing femininity by fluttering her eyelashes.
“I can’t wait to find out more about you tonight,” she said, then concentrated on negotiating the flight of steps in her heels.
Thank god I didn’t brag to him about my big cover story at Murphy’s , she thought with relieved hindsight, or I would have blown the whole thing before even making it to the starting gate.
But when she opened up the front door to the mansion to let herself in, and she saw the group of women that faced her expectantly, she wasn’t sure it even mattered. How am I ever going to compete with these women? She was going to have to do a much better job of captivating Brandon during the next couple of hours than she did by falling all over him when she got out of the limo.
Hopefully her new found acting skills hadn’t disappeared.
* * *
As Alexa walked away and Brandon tried to deal with the shock of seeing her again, Joe walked back in front of the camera and turned to Brandon with a greasy smile. “It certainly looks like some of these fine ladies have caught your eye. Are you ready to head into your mansion to get to know them a little better?”
Brandon forced a smile on his face. Being a part of this show was going to be far harder than he thought. Not only did he have to joke with the smarmy producer and deal with thirty women who wanted nothing more than a ring on their finger, but he had to pretend he didn’t already have strong feelings for Alexa.
Assuming the role of a cocky bachelor on the prowl, he grinned enthusiastically and said,
“You betcha, Joe. I’ve definitely got my eye on several of these hot ladies waiting for me in the living room.”
He knew he had hit his mark with the disgustingly macho statement, but as the cameras followed him up the stairs and into the house, he was disgusted with himself. You betcha? He had never used such a lame phrase before. And any guy who referred to a group of women as
“hot ladies” sounded like a complete jerk.
Praying Alexa would be able to see through his machinations, he opened the door and said, “Welcome!” in greeting to the contestants.
The redhead who had arrived first slinked up to him and put her arm through his. “Come in and join the party,” she said in what was supposed to be a sultry voice, but instead made him want to shake her arm off of his. “We couldn’t wait for you to join us.”
The invitation in her eyes was painfully clear, and Brandon wanted to wash the feel of her right off of him. As gently as possible, Brandon extricated himself from her grasp and made a quick scan of the room for someone who could provide him with a bit of a breather. His eyes caught on the petite blonde standing near Alexa. Something about the blonde seemed comforting, so he said, “I think I’ll grab a beer.” After he had picked one up from the well stocked wet-bar across the room, he made a beeline for her.
“Hi again,” he said. He could feel Alexa’s gaze piercing him as he deliberately gave his undivided attention to the blonde. “Tell me your name
But the smile playing along his lips so mesmerized Alexa, she was barely able to remember her own name. “Um, I’m, uh, Alexa,” she said finally, blushing furiously.
She realized she was making a complete ass of herself — not just with Brandon, but on national television to boot! Regaining her composure, she said, “I’m really sorry about tripping and falling on you. I can’t believe I was so clumsy.”
“Believe me,” Brandon said somewhat hoarsely, “It was no problem at all.”
Alexa forgot her self-control and was drawn into his deep brown eyes. I could stare into them forever , she thought and then caught herself. I could stare into them forever? She was in dire straits if she was having such stupid thoughts.
Taking a step back to put some distance between them, she reminded herself that she had an undercover reporting job to do, and she adopted the guise of oozing femininity by fluttering her eyelashes.
“I can’t wait to find out more about you tonight,” she said, then concentrated on negotiating the flight of steps in her heels.
Thank god I didn’t brag to him about my big cover story at Murphy’s , she thought with relieved hindsight, or I would have blown the whole thing before even making it to the starting gate.
But when she opened up the front door to the mansion to let herself in, and she saw the group of women that faced her expectantly, she wasn’t sure it even mattered. How am I ever going to compete with these women? She was going to have to do a much better job of captivating Brandon during the next couple of hours than she did by falling all over him when she got out of the limo.
Hopefully her new found acting skills hadn’t disappeared.
* * *
As Alexa walked away and Brandon tried to deal with the shock of seeing her again, Joe walked back in front of the camera and turned to Brandon with a greasy smile. “It certainly looks like some of these fine ladies have caught your eye. Are you ready to head into your mansion to get to know them a little better?”
Brandon forced a smile on his face. Being a part of this show was going to be far harder than he thought. Not only did he have to joke with the smarmy producer and deal with thirty women who wanted nothing more than a ring on their finger, but he had to pretend he didn’t already have strong feelings for Alexa.
Assuming the role of a cocky bachelor on the prowl, he grinned enthusiastically and said,
“You betcha, Joe. I’ve definitely got my eye on several of these hot ladies waiting for me in the living room.”
He knew he had hit his mark with the disgustingly macho statement, but as the cameras followed him up the stairs and into the house, he was disgusted with himself. You betcha? He had never used such a lame phrase before. And any guy who referred to a group of women as
“hot ladies” sounded like a complete jerk.
Praying Alexa would be able to see through his machinations, he opened the door and said, “Welcome!” in greeting to the contestants.
The redhead who had arrived first slinked up to him and put her arm through his. “Come in and join the party,” she said in what was supposed to be a sultry voice, but instead made him want to shake her arm off of his. “We couldn’t wait for you to join us.”
The invitation in her eyes was painfully clear, and Brandon wanted to wash the feel of her right off of him. As gently as possible, Brandon extricated himself from her grasp and made a quick scan of the room for someone who could provide him with a bit of a breather. His eyes caught on the petite blonde standing near Alexa. Something about the blonde seemed comforting, so he said, “I think I’ll grab a beer.” After he had picked one up from the well stocked wet-bar across the room, he made a beeline for her.
“Hi again,” he said. He could feel Alexa’s gaze piercing him as he deliberately gave his undivided attention to the blonde. “Tell me your name
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