we’re ready to start shooting,” Willow said from across the room.
“Now that you’ve finished your first date, what do you think of Matchmakers Inc.?” Jack asked.
“They saw what I wanted even though Gail isn’t my normal date,” Russell said. “I think that the matchmaker was very intuitive.”
“And you, Gail?”
“Well, Russell is definitely the last guy in the world I would have expected, so in that respect they found me a man I couldn’t find on my own.”
Jack laughed and then Willow called, “Cut.”
“Jack, we’ll need you to finish shooting the intro. Russell and Gail, you are free to go back to the dining room, where a crew will tape you talking and eating.” The crew started heading back in that direction.
“That should be exciting,” Gail said, turning sharply and walking across the atrium.
“What’s your hurry?” Russell asked.
“I want to talk to Willow before we film any more.”
“Why?” Russell asked.
“I just need to confirm some details with her,” Gail said.
“Are you going to try to back out of this?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Don’t take it personally, but I’m not sure that you are at all the right person for me. I’m sure that this would be interesting viewing—the whole opposites attract thing—but I want more than interesting viewing.”
She started to walk away, and Russell realized anew how hard changing his reputation was going to be. “I’m not doing this for ratings.”
She stopped and glanced back over her shoulder at him.
“Why are you doing it?”
“We all have to grow up, and I’d say it’s definitely my time.”
He saw something change in her eyes and knew he had her. She wanted to see if he really was just the playboy, or if there was something more.
“Fine. I won’t say anything to Willow until after this date. But I’m not going to make it easy on you. Finding a husband is my goal for this year, and I don’t want to waste my time with someone who clearly isn’t marrying material.”
Clearly, this wasn’t going to be as easy as Russell had hoped.
Two
Since the beginning, when Willow had decided to take Gail’s personal life and make it into a reality television show, Gail had had a niggling doubt in the back of her mind that this wasn’t going to work out. But she’d forked out a lot of money to the matchmakers, and she really wanted to find a man to share her life with.
Willow had thought the show would be intriguing because a lot of successful men and women were finding it harder to meet someone. Willow said that with the 24/7 workday, it was inevitable that no one would have time for courtship.
Gail agreed, which was why she’d gone to a matchmaker. But she’d never expected a man like Russell Holloway to need one. He could snap his fingers and have any girl he wanted at his door.
Russell wasn’t the man for her. Of course, he was sexy as hell … but she wasn’t looking for sexy. She was looking for the guy in the Ralph Lauren ad, she thought, the one with perfectly styled hair, wearing those polo shirts and standing in front of a mansion in the Hamptons. She wanted someone who could look the part and give her the fantasy of the perfect life that she’d always craved.
She wanted to relax and enjoy her time with Russell, but she was under the gun, so to speak. Her biological clock wasn’t just ticking, it was winding down faster than most of her peers’. She had to see if Russell was going to be the right man for her. Could he be? Now she was beginning to wonder.
She was seated at a private table, waiting for him. He’d had to take a call before they started shooting. Gail had pulled out her iPhone, but really she’d told her assistant, J.J., to handle all emergencies tonight. She knew she’d never have a chance at making this a success if she was distracted with work…. Her mind began to wander.
Was there more to Russell than met the eye? She knew there had to be, but thanks to years in publicity, she knew that usually what was beneath a shiny surface was less than appealing.
Russell rejoined her, and there was a lot of movement around them as sound techs and makeup people made them both camera ready.
“If my mates saw me with this makeup on, they’d never let me live it down,” he said.
She had to smile. “It’s just part of the package for being on TV, part of the glam life all celebs have to endure.”
“Never thought I’d be part of any ‘glam life,’” he said.
“Why not? You seem very at home in the jet set.” Just this morning, she’d seen a picture of him on a yacht with two Spanish royals on one of the gossip sites she monitored for her clients.
“It’s not really my thing,” he said. “I like to travel and I ski and yacht and go to club openings, but a lot of that is for my business. To keep it in the public eye.”
“Yet you get a lot of newspaper and internet coverage,” she said. She didn’t follow him, so she had no idea when the intense media scrutiny had started, but she’d be willing to bet it had been there since he’d become successful in the hotel world. He had looks that no woman would resist.
“I do, but I really don’t court that,” he said.
Their food was delivered, and Gail found herself unable to stop looking at Russell. She had met so many people who’d needed to have their images cleaned up that she freely admitted she often saw the worst in someone. But she wanted to give Russell a chance, not simply to be fair to him, but also for her own sake. She’d invested a hell of a lot more than money in these dates; she’d kind of thought of them as her last chance.
“You’re staring at me,” he said.
“You are a very pretty-looking man,” she said, being glib because that was easy when she didn’t want to be honest.
“Pretty … isn’t that a word for girls?” he asked.
“No. Boys can be very pretty.” And he was, with that classic jawline and thick brownish-blond hair. But he was also a bit on the rugged side, thanks to that square jaw and a small scar on the bottom of his face. His face had character, but she wasn’t sure if it was good. He had the build of a boxer and carried himself like a man who’d lived life—a very upper-crust one, but still, there was more to him than money.
“Well,” he said, lifting one eyebrow sardonically, “thanks, I guess.”
She smiled at him. He was an easy man to talk to, and though she was giving him the fifth degree in the hope of catching him out in a lie, she liked him. “I keep looking for some indicator that you are being honest with me.”
“And?”
