Ready for Her Close-up

“Yes,” she said.

“It makes sense,” he said. “And I understand where you are coming from.”

“Do you?” she asked. It was hard for her to believe that she had much in common with this man. Odd to her that the two of them were at the same point in their journeys. But they were here together and, no matter how wrong that felt to her, she decided she’d make the best of it for now.

“Yes, when I was young I knew what I wanted and went after my goals with single-minded intensity. I worked hard and played hard and then one day …”

“You woke up and realized that you had everything?” she asked.

“Yes. But I wasn’t satisfied.”

“Me either,” she said. Maybe she didn’t want to see the man behind the image. Because now that she saw him expressing the same doubts that she had, she was starting to like him.

Like was too tame a word. She was attracted to him and wanted to find something—anything—that would give her a reason to stay on this show with him. The legal reason—the contract she’d signed—wasn’t enough. But hearing him express himself this way … it was appealing.

“You’re staring at me again,” he said. “I’m trying not to let it go to my head, but you’re making me feel irresistible.”

“You’ll have to get used to it, if you keep surprising me.”

“Then I will, because I intend to keep you off balance,” he said.

“Why?”

“That’s the only way I’m going to get to know the real Gail,” he said.

“And that’s important?” she asked. She wasn’t too sure she wanted anyone to know the real woman she was.

“Infinitely,” he said. “I think that is the only way that you are going to let me know you trust me. I mean, really trust me.”

“I don’t trust easily,” she admitted. “I guess that’s another reason I’ve gone to a matchmaker.”

“You’ve been burned by a man before?” he asked, leaning closer.

“Yes,” she said, putting her head down and remembering that past love. Joe hadn’t meant to hurt her—she was still sure of it—but he’d been too much into what Joe wanted to never realize that he was stepping on her dreams to achieve his own.

Russell nodded and took her hand. “I know there isn’t anything I can say right now that you’d believe, but I do want to be very sure you understand I’m not like any other man you’ve had in your life before.”

“I already knew that,” she said with a grin.

“It’s my pretty face, right?” he asked with a sexy smile that sent shivers of awareness down her spine.

“Okay, that’s a wrap on dinner. Let’s get you two up to the rooftop,” the director said. The crew all bustled around them, and Gail realized she’d had enough. This matchmaking thing was going to take some getting used to. Add to that the cameras, and it was her definition of a nightmare.

Jack came back over and spoke to them again about their impressions of the first date. Gail was unsure what to say. She mumbled something and then thankfully was motioned off camera so Jack could talk to Russell. She stood to the side watching Russell and hoping this wasn’t a huge mistake.

Had she really thought she’d find Mr. Right like this? Through a matchmaking service that she’d found off an internet ad? But, really, what had her alternatives been? She’d dated all the guys she knew. Willow and Nichole had even tried fixing her up, but that had led to nothing permanent.

“Are we going to jump?” Gail asked.

“Not a bad idea. I guess that’s how we will get some ratings for the show,” Russell said. “I can see the headlines now. Respectable woman pushes rogue Kiwi playboy off roof in hopes of finding a better match.”

Gail had to laugh. “I won’t push you … yet.”

“I guess I better step it up in the charm department,” he said.

Before she could answer, Kat was back and taking her by the arm. “Chat on camera, guys. We need you on the roof now.”

They were escorted to a private elevator and soon were on the rooftop helipad, where a chopper waited for them. “Is this for us?”

“Surprise,” Russell said. “I thought an evening ride over Manhattan would be nice.”

“I am surprised,” Gail said. “I’ve always wanted to do this.”

“Good. Also, cameras can’t come with us, so we will have some time alone to get to know one another.”

Gail didn’t say anything else as their microphones were removed and they were escorted to the chopper. She saw the cameraman at a distance, no doubt filming them so they’d have something to show later, but she was relieved that they were going to be alone.

Russell gallantly helped her into the chopper and was seated next to her a short time later. He handed her some headphones, which she donned, and then she adjusted her microphone. “I’m sure I look pretty glamorous with these on my head.”

“You look great,” he said.

In a matter of minutes, they were in the air and flying over Manhattan. Russell’s voice was soft and intimate in her ears.

“When I first came to the States, I wanted to make my mark here. We started in Vegas because that suited the Kiwi Klubs’ reputation, but I wanted to own a building in New York City,” he said.

She looked over at him. “How did you get started?”

“With a small run-down hotel in Sydney,” he said. “I won it in a high-stakes poker game.”

“I though you were a New Zealander from the South Island?”

“I am. I left home when I was sixteen and never looked back,” he said.

“I didn’t see any of that on the internet when I was reading up on you,” she said. “I’m embarrassed to say, I only know the gossip I’ve read about you.”

He shrugged. “That’s the easy stuff to know.”

“But is it true?” she asked. “I’ve been in PR long enough to know that sometimes bad publicity can work in your favor.”

“Exactly,” he said. “I’m known for having rich and famous friends and for being a bit of a player, and that is exactly what my clientele wants.”

“So why change now?” she asked. “Is this more than a publicity stunt?”

“Of course it is. I’m not going to get married as a stunt,” he said.

“Many have done it before. Even if they weren’t just for show, marriages of convenience have been around for centuries.”

“I’d find it very convenient to have to look at you at breakfast every day,” he said in that flirty way of his.