Excerpt from Chapter Four
“Lose your groom?”
Turning around, she saw Cliff and the camera closing in on her. “Uh, looks that way,” she said.
“How do you feel?” Cliff asked, gesturing at her to sit down from behind the camera.
Backing up toward the cushioned wicker couch, she looked down and then spread her hands on her dress without sitting. “The dress… can I crease the dress?”
“Are you going to stand all night?” Cliff asked. “You’ll have to sit down for dinner.”
“True,” she said. “If there’s a seamstress around, some of the layers are detachable.”
“Continuity,” Cliff said.
Damn that word. She exhaled and sank down, but lost most of herself in the skirt. Shoving it down, she stretched out her legs to point her toes, but it didn’t matter to the camera because the operator crouched to film up at her.
“Are you trying to get a shot of my underwear?” she asked, pushing the air out of her skirt.
“Looks like you’re sitting on a cloud,” Cliff said, glancing at the image on the top of the camera. “So forgetting the production stuff, how do you think the day went?”
“Oh God,” she said. “Like a comedy of errors.”
Cliff smiled. “Can you remember to repeat the question in your answer and… you know… try to stay positive, you just got married. Smile.”
Sick of hearing that word, she was tempted to sink back, but still felt the bulk of the dress getting in her way. “I think the day went well,” she said, wondering when she’d become such a convincing liar.
“And your groom, what do you think of him?”
Trailing her eyes toward the courtyard and then the other way to the building, that was attached to this room by a set of open double doors, she wondered where he’d gotten off to and what she could say about him that was positive. “I think my groom is… funny.”
Yeah, he was funny, great at cracking jokes, not so great at being where he was supposed to be. “And what do you think he thinks of you?”
Of her? How was she supposed to answer that question when they’d exchanged so few words? “He thinks her feet hurt.”
The camera turned as they all did toward the double internal doors, Trick emerged from the dimly-lit bar beyond carrying two glasses of what had to be some kind of dark liquor. Sauntering over, Lyla expected him to offer her one of the glasses. But he didn’t. He tossed one measure into his throat quickly followed by the other.
Crouching, he shoved the empty glasses onto an end table then dropped to his knees beside her and tucked a hand under the end of her dress to circle her ankle with his hand. Relief made her exhale when he pulled off her shoe. Her head fell back when he slid the other off.
“Way into a woman’s panties, start by taking off the shoes,” Trick said.
Horror made her head snap back up, but he was talking into the camera, not to her. His hand slid up the front of her leg as he rose to slide onto the couch beside her. Leaning over her, Trick let her skirt gather against his arm as his hand slid up over her knee.
“What are you doing?” she asked, her lungs getting tighter.
“Getting to know you,” he murmured and leaned in.
Planting her hands on his chest, Lyla gave him a hard shove and put space between them. Glancing at the camera before she looked back at her groom, she tried not to freak out. “I don’t think that’s what they meant.”
“They meant whatever we want them to mean,” he said and tried to kiss her again.
“I’m not ready to… I can’t kiss you,” she said, her eyes popping toward the camera and the other silent men in the room.
“Just ignore them, babe, you focus on me.”
His hand went higher when he tried once again to kiss her, but she wasn’t giving in. “Our families are right out there,” she said. In a glass room with other men was one thing, but outside the glass were their families and colleagues who would be making their way up to the hotel for dinner soon.
Trick sniggered, his eyes heavy as he focused on her lips. “I wasn’t gonna take you all the way right here… But if that’s what you want, Mrs. Strickland, that dress will give us all the cover we’ll need… you slide on over into your old man’s lap.”
Sitting back, he slouched and patted his thighs with both hands, which gave her the ability to sit up and try to regain some composure as she straightened out her dress. “I think, Mr. Strickland, you need to hold your horses and think about bringing a girl a drink before you put your hand up her dress.”
“Liquor!” Trick announced, slapping his knees and sitting up straight. “My second favorite thing to do with a girl. We’re not so opposite after all, are we, sweetheart?”
He leaned in and kissed her cheek so fast that she didn’t even realize it was happening. And she was still gaping at Trick when Cliff spoke. “Ok,” the assistant director said on a laugh. “We’ll cut it there. You guys have five minutes before we’re coming to get you… enjoy it.”