at this very moment, you are going to be ruined for life.”
This was the last thing that I wanted. Wait till I got my hands on my sister—gah! “There is a very reasonable explanation for it.”
“You have a new gig as a cross-dresser?” Jake asked with a smirk.
“Funny, no, that’s Joe’s other job.”
“Hey, I only did that twice. It was fun, and man, the tips were damn good.”
“So, what’s with the makeup?” Jake approached me and ran his gaze over my face after he grabbed hold of my chin. “Your eyes are so pretty.”
I slapped his hand away and growled, “Get your hands off me, you ass.”
“You know, I might be new to this group, but I don’t think you’re going to live this down until you explain,” Maggie said softly beside me and handed me a hoagie.
“What’s this?”
“Had it made especially for you. Whole wheat with turkey and loaded with veggies, dry.”
I leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “You are the best. When you get tired of Blaire, you let me know.”
She laughed as Greg yelled from the table that he heard that. I added a little fruit salad to my plate and a couple of pretzels, grabbed a bottle of green tea, and went to take a seat.
“Nope, you can’t sit here until you explain about the makeup,” Drake said and then studied me carefully. “Your eyes really do stand out more now, though.”
“Jesus, guys, I’m on a television show, alright? It’s no big deal; I’m just helping my sister out last minute, and they wanted my skin even and to make my eyes pop. We were running late, and I forgot to remove it. Okay? Everyone understands now, right?”
People were looking at one another, and then Greg leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms as he smirked. “Depends on what show it is that you are on.”
Ah, shit! I wanted to hang my head, but I didn’t.
Greg continued. “See, because I know for a fact that your sister is working on a new television show about finding love while dancing.”
“Wait! Who is your sister?” Maggie asked quickly, her eyes wide and excited.
There was no out here—none, zip, zilch, zero. “Holly Melton, the producer.”
Maggie giggled. “Oh, I love Holly! I interviewed her for my romance column. I thought the idea of that show was fantastic! That’s so funny; I was just talking to Greg about it the other day.” She turned to Greg. “Why didn’t you tell me that he was her brother?”
Greg began to laugh, and then he was laughing so hard he was crying. His actions started everyone else laughing just because Greg was making such an ass of himself. I sat down and proceeded to eat, pretending like nothing was wrong.
“Your—” He kept on cackling. “Dancing!” He swiped at his eye, his hand on his stomach like it was trying to keep it from bursting. “Oh, my god! You’re dancing for love!” He howled, and that just got everyone else going harder. Before I knew it, I was chuckling, and then as the jokes began to explode around the room, I sat there and laughed till I cried. Maggie handed me a napkin to wipe the makeup off my cheeks, and that just got everyone laughing more.
By the time we got settled down, my stomach was cramping from laughter, and my cheeks ached from smiling. I hadn’t laughed this damn hard in so long, and god, after last night, I needed it, too.
Maggie sat down next to me. “So, you’re a contestant?”
“I’m a stand-in.”
She frowned. “So you aren’t competing for a second date?”
I shook my head. “No, Holly said I wasn’t this girl’s type. I only did it to help my sister. She was in a bind because one of the guys broke his leg water-skiing.”
“But what if you do it and find out that you like the girl? Are you going to do a second dance?”
I shrugged. “I have no clue. Until eight this morning, I didn’t know I was doing this one.”
Most everyone started asking questions about it, and after the first few, Maggie began answering them. I did not miss the fact that this woman knew a hell of a lot more about what I was getting myself into, and I listened intently.
“What’s the dance look like?” Joe asked.
“Why? You want to be my partner?”
“Well, you do look awful sexy with that smeared makeup on. Let me take your picture.”
“Don’t you dare.” I reached for his phone, and he jumped back.
“Alright,