Finding Mr. Right Now (36 page)

She lost the smile. For a moment, she considered pulling her hand away from his, but it felt like it would take a major effort since he might hang on. “How long ago?”

“How long ago what?” He looked faintly confused.

She kept her gaze resolutely ahead. “How long ago did you date her?”

“A year? Maybe more like eighteen months.” He shrugged. “I didn’t exactly keep track. It wasn’t like we were going steady.”

Monica grimaced. “Hell, no wonder she wanted revenge.”

He shook his head. “Trust me, this had nothing to do with Cathe being jealous. She’s just pissed because I wouldn’t give her any dirt on the show.” He turned down another street, then cut across to the Praeger House drive.

Monica debated some follow-up questions, but decided she really didn’t give a damn. “I’m actually not fired, or at least I haven’t been yet. Although Sid made it pretty clear that I would be as soon as Artie got around to it.”

He grimaced. “Sid
would
.”

“Meaning what?”

“Meaning Sid is the one who released the pictures to
Celebrity News
.”

Monica stopped walking to stare at him. “How do you know that? Are you sure?”

“I know that because he told me he did. He also said to tell you he was sorry, and it wasn’t his idea.”

Monica shook her head. “If it wasn’t his idea, whose idea was it?”

“Glenn’s, as it turns out. He thought it would be a good publicity stunt for the show. Anyway, I’m guessing you might still have a job if you want it.”

They reached the end of the drive, where the carriage lamps cast golden circles of light at the entrance to the hotel. Monica mounted the steps to the front porch. After a moment, Paul followed.

“Well, about that,” she said, coming to a stop near one of the wicker couches they’d used before for far more pleasant purposes. “I mean about the whole job thing. It may not matter whether I have a job with Fairstein or not. I mean, I’ve been thinking I might like to stay around here for a while instead of going back to L.A. anyway.”

“Here?” His forehead furrowed. “You mean Salt Box?”

She nodded. “It’s a nice town. I like it.”

“Yeah, but…” He paused, then began again. “What exactly would you do around here?”

She shrugged. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe the Praeger House needs a new maid. Or I’ll bet Ted could use another waitress at the Blarney Stone.”

“You want to be a hotel maid?” He sank down on the creaking wicker couch, pulling her down beside him. “Have you thought this through? You’re talking about a considerable lifestyle change here.”

“Well, that’s just one employment possibility I’ve been considering. I mean, if I didn’t want to be a maid at the Praeger House, I could always be an assistant to a legendary producer who doesn’t want to have to read scripts or supervise any productions he isn’t personally taken with but who wants to have somebody keep track of all the projects his company is considering.” She gave him a bright smile. “That’s another possibility.”

Paul closed his eyes. “Dick.”

She nodded. “Only he’s not such a dick after all. I think working for him would be a lot more interesting than working for Fairstein, assuming I don’t strangle him during the first week. But I’ve managed to hold off so far so it’s looking good.”

He stared out into the darkness. “Well, what do you know? I guess I didn’t need to come galloping over here to rescue you after all.”

“Not so much.” She leaned against his shoulder, feeling the warmth through the thin sleeve of her T-shirt. “But thanks anyway.”

He reached his arm around her shoulders, pulling her against him so that her head tucked into the curve of his throat. They sat for a moment, listening to the silence around them and the distant sound of music from one of the bars.

“So what happens now?” she asked finally. “Are you heading back to California?”

He was silent for another moment, then sighed. “I’m not sure anymore. I had some plans about the two of us heading back to L.A. together. I figured we’d spend time hanging out. You could check out my place, or I could look at yours. We could think about maybe…being together.”

She sat silent for a long moment.
Being together.
That covered a lot of area, of course. “Well, I’ll have to go back to L.A. sometime to pack up my stuff and bring it back here. But I need to find a place to live in Salt Box first.” She took a deep breath. “Maybe you could help me look.”

He nodded. “Maybe I could. I’ve been around up here before.” He closed his eyes, leaning his head against hers, his body relaxing slowly.

“How many hours did you sleep during the past few days?”

He shook his head. “I’m not sure. I caught a couple of hours on the plane. Before that, not much. I was trying to get everything finished so I could get back to you.”

She sat for a moment longer, cuddled against the warmth of his shoulder. “I don’t suppose you have a room here.”

He shook his head again. “I headed out to look for you first.”

“They may not have one. This is still the high season.”

He groaned. “Okay, I’ll sleep in the rental car.”

“No you won’t.” She stood up, extending her hand to pull him up after her. “I’ve got a queen-size bed in my room. Not all that spacious, but the mattress is good.”

“Fair enough.” He put his arm around her shoulders again, leaning his head against hers. “The thing is…” He paused for so long she turned to look at him.

“The thing is?”

“The thing is I think I’m probably in love with you,” he said quickly. “I mean I know that’s not exactly the most romantic thing I’ve ever said in my life, but I’m pretty much wasted right now. I’ll try saying it again tomorrow when I’m awake. Hold the thought.”

She wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head against his chest for a moment. “That’s okay. I’ll wait for take two.” She started walking again, hanging on as she did. She had a feeling he’d fall asleep on his feet if she let him. “And just for the record, I love you too.”

He half-stumbled, then caught himself, looking down at her again. “You know, El Capitan’s based in San Francisco. They don’t exactly give a crap where I live—they certainly wouldn’t care if I wasn’t in L.A.” He gave another jaw-cracking yawn.

“Really?” She let him lean against her as they stepped inside the door.

“So I could work in Colorado as easily as California. My folks would be really happy about that.”

She nodded slowly. “Right. So you’re thinking Denver? Colorado Springs.”

“Very funny,” he mumbled. “Can we save the witty repartee until I’m awake?”

“Sure.” She guided him toward the elevator. “The room is up in the eaves, by the way. Just don’t sit up fast tomorrow.”

“I don’t intend to.”

The elevator door opened and he stumbled inside, smiling down at her a little groggily. “You realize this place is going to be under three feet of snow in a couple of months.”

She shrugged. “So? I figure you know how to build a fire. You look like a former Boy Scout to me.”

The elevator door slid closed and he stared down at her. “Lady, I think it’s safe to say I’ve never felt less like a Boy Scout in my life.”

“Good.” She stood on her tiptoes, clasping her hands behind his neck to pull his mouth down to hers. “I’ve never been less in need of one.”

The elevator crept slowly upward, but Monica didn’t care. She figured they’d make good use of their time. And at least sometime tomorrow morning, he’d be wide awake.

Epilogue

The coffee shop was almost as crowded as it had been on Paul’s last visit, which was a little surprising since they were at least two hours later than he had been last time. In L.A. it would be time for brunch. In Salt Box it was time for the twenty-four-hour restaurant.

Dick was coming out as they reached the door—he gave Paul a long look. “Sticking around?”

“Thought I might.” He smiled more easily than he felt, but he was damned if he’d let Dick Sonnenfeld oversee his love life.

Dick’s gray eyebrows arched up. He didn’t smile back. “Looking for a job?”

“Got one.” He kept his smile in place.

Dick nodded slowly. “El Capitan. I heard.”

Paul glanced down at Monica, then back again. He could have sworn she hadn’t had time to tell Dick anything.

Dick’s lips moved into a faintly smug grin. “I own twenty percent of El Capitan. Good investment, or it was up to now.” He narrowed his eyes. “Don’t screw up.”

“I don’t intend to,” Paul said between his teeth.

Dick gave them both a faint nod, then headed back up the street with his coffee in one hand and a lunch sack in the other.

“Gee,” Monica murmured, “we’re both working for the same guy again. Fancy that.”

“Yeah, fancy.” He headed inside toward the line with the pre-made sandwiches. BLT seemed appropriate for either breakfast or lunch, whichever they decided this was.

Monica picked up a yogurt parfait and followed him onto the deck. “So do we look for houses today or screw around?” Her lips curved up. “So to speak.”

“I vote for number two, but I’m easy.” He gave her an answering smile. “As you know only too well.”

He found an umbrella table at the side, overlooking the tumbling river. “What are you looking for—apartment, condo, cabin? You can probably find any or all of those around here.”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. I’m sort of new at this. I’ve never lived in the mountains before.”

“Main thing is to be somewhere where they’ll plow the roads regularly. Mountaintop aeries are really great in theory, but they’re hell to get out of after a few feet of snow.”

“Right.” She glanced down the street. “Is that Faisal?”

Paul stared back down the street himself. Faisal was standing a few feet up the block, his camera trained on the mountainside as several paragliders floated lazily toward the bottom.

“Faisal?” Monica called.

He lowered his camera, squinting in their general direction, then gave her a tentative smile. “Hey, Monica. I didn’t know you were still around here.”

“I’m going to be in Salt Box for a while, as it turns out. I’ve got a new job here.” She gave him a quick grin. “Get some lunch and grab a chair.”

He disappeared inside for a few minutes, then walked out on the deck, pulling a folding chair over to the table across from them. “I thought everybody on the crew was heading back to L.A. today.”

Monica frowned. “How can everybody else be leaving today? Don’t you have to film the finale? I figured you’d all be up at the resort until next week.”

Faisal’s grin broadened. “Oh man, you missed the final blow-up didn’t you? I forgot you didn’t go back. We already shot the finale. Last night.”

She shook her head. “What final blow-up?”

“Ronnie.” Faisal leaned back in his chair, savoring the story. “She decided she didn’t want either of them.”

Monica’s jaw dropped. “Ronnie turned down Mr. Right?”

Faisal nodded. “Yep. She said Billy Joe was too in love with himself to love her and Brendan was sweet but he made her feel like she was stuck on a pedestal and she was afraid of heights. Claimed she was headed down to town to find herself someone she really could live with for the rest of her life. So we shot a bunch of interviews and she headed off to Salt Box with one of the makeup girls. Of course, given their combined lack of survival skills, it’s an open question whether they made it or not. You may run into them.”

Paul rolled his eyes. “Not if I see them first.”

“And Brendan?”

“Drove off with the wardrobe girls, last I heard. They were going to get him drunk and then pour him onto a plane with Billy Joe.”

Paul winced. “Ouch.”

Monica shook her head. “Poor guy. He must be devastated. He was nuts about Ronnie.”

Faisal shrugged. “Not so much, as it turns out. Ronnie’s been snarling at him for a few days, and he told me he wasn’t sure he wanted to be with her happily ever after. Besides, he’s got a fallback.”

Paul raised an eyebrow. “A fallback? What kind of fallback does he have?”

Faisal grinned widely. “What do you think? He’s the next bachelor on
Finding Miss Right
.”

“Of course he is.” Paul sighed.

Monica gathered up the remains of her lunch, separating the trash into recyclables and non. “And that,” she said, “is definitely that.”

“Damn straight.” Paul pushed himself to his feet, extending his hand to Faisal. “Pleasure working with you, man. Hope we do it again sometime.”

Faisal shrugged. “Always possible. Mention me at El Capitan if you get the chance, okay?”

“Will do.” He glanced down at Monica, sliding his arm around her waist as they walked back toward Main. “Ready for a change?”

“More than.” She grinned up at him. “At least the show wasn’t a complete loss.”

“Indeed it wasn’t. I would definitely say I found Miss Right. Even if it was in spite of the show rather than because of it.”