Cupcakes and Christmas - R.J. Scott Page 0,82
her room, and we hugged goodnight, then I waited until she was inside and shook Ivan’s hand. We exchanged pleasantries and then it was time for me to go back to the room. She was right. I didn’t have to go in and tell him I loved him, or that I was falling in love with him, I could calmly suggest a couple of dates, a catch up, see what this thing we had could be. By the time I’d reached the suite, I’d convinced myself that this was the right course of action, and I let myself in quietly, undressing and going to the bed. Brody hadn’t moved, and he was still smiling, and I wanted to be inside that dream so badly. I needed to wake him up, tell him I wanted a date, and I shook him a little.
He opened his eyes slowly, and the smile remained. “Hey, you okay?” he said sleepily.
How about we date and try this thing out, see where it goes? I was struck dumb, and even though the words were there, they refused to happen.
“Justin?” His smile dropped, and he propped himself up on his elbows. “What’s wrong.”
“I’m falling in love with you,” I blurted without any fancy additional words, and the words hung on the air for a few moments.
He laid down and opened his arms, and I crawled into his embrace. “I love you too,” he whispered and then held me close.
And we slept.
Waking up and being in love was like walking on clouds and not falling through. I couldn’t stop sneaking glances at Brody, and he didn’t stop trying to steal kisses. Neither of us used the L-word, but the touches and the kisses were beautifully perfect, and we hadn’t stopped either since we woke up. Even now, setting up our work areas for the recording of the final we couldn’t stop looking at each other.
“Justin, Brody, can I borrow you for a minute?” Rita called us over.
I gave my work area one last critical look and then followed Brody to where she was standing. She turned and led us to her room and closed the door.
“Sit down.”
I assumed that this was nothing more than a last meeting before the final was filmed, but her expression didn’t look calm or excited, instead she looked worried, and I couldn’t be more wrong about this being a run of the mill discussion.
“Concerns have been raised,” she announced without preamble, but then she paused as if Brody and I were able to fill in the blanks. We exchanged glances, and I’m sure that I looked just as confused as he did.
“About what?” Brody finally said when the pause was uncomfortably long.
She turned her iPad, revealing a photo of me and Brody kissing on the path down by Jeremy. I actually thought it was a very beautiful shot, and it made me happy to see it. Only Rita didn’t seem pleased.
“Accusations have been made that you sabotaged your own refrigerator to have Clare removed from the show and that Brody assisted you because you have coerced him in a, and I quote, lover’s revenge pact.”
“The hell?” My reaction was short.
“The only person that would allege that is Clare,” Brody jumped in.
“Why are you showing us this photo?”
She wouldn’t meet my eyes, and it was easy to put two and two together. “It gives credence to the whole accusation, and we’ve dealt with the accusation, but the optics for viewers isn’t good.”
Brody cursed. “Now hang on a minute—you wanted Justin and me to flirt!”
“All we’re asking is that in the final you cool your flirtation so that the optics for your demographic are stable. There’s no point in a flirtation if you’re in a relationship.”
I was speechless at first but Brody appeared to have a handle on it all. He stood up, tugged me with him, and opened the door.
“Maybe the viewers aren’t as stupid as you think they are,” he suggested dryly and then closed the door behind us. What if she was right though? Brody worked hard to get to this position, and maybe what we had going on would jeopardize his career?
“Maybe we should cool things until this is over if this is going to be a problem—”
He kissed me hard, right in front of everyone, then set me away and patted my shoulder.
“Good luck, Justin.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
It’s all in the wrist action
Brody
I was pissed at Rita, and I needed Justin to focus on me and the competition and not start doubting