InHap*pily Ever After (Incidental Happenstance) (27 page)

            There was one
split second when Tony saw Lexi’s eyes widen in complete surprise; then her
entire face just lit up. As soon as Bo appeared from the side of the stage she
let out an excited squeal and leapt from her seat, rushing to greet him. Tony
turned just in time to see Bo’s realization sink in, and smiled as Bo quickened
his step while a grin split his face. Lexi threw her arms around him and called
out his name. His mic picked up Bo’s hushed whisper, “Hey there beautiful! Now
isn’t this the best surprise!”

            Tony watched
as the big man picked her up and spun her in a slow circle before putting her
down and leading her back to the couch. He stopped for a handshake and man-hug
with Tony before taking his place on the couch beside an obviously flushed and
flustered Lexi Summers. Bo turned to her and flashed his famous smile, wrapping
her hand in his own. Lexi responded by leaning her head on his shoulder and
smiling up at him.

            “Well, that’s
quite the reunion!” Tony smiled.

            “I can’t
believe it!” Lexi exclaimed. “It’s been ages!”

            “It’s great to
see you too, angel,” Bo replied.

            “So, how long
has it been since you’ve seen each other?” Tony asked.

            They looked at
each other. “It was late September, wasn’t it?” Bo asked.

            Lexi nodded.
“It wasn’t too long after Dylan got to New Zealand,” she said to Tony. “Bo was
passing through Chicago and took Tia and me out for dinner.”

             Tony turned
to Bo. “So Bo, Lexi was telling us about how shocked she was when she first
found out about Dylan and Tia.” Bo smiled, remembering. “How did Dylan share
the information with the rest of the band? Was he secretive too?”

            Bo chuckled;
his deep laughter rumbling in his chest. “Oh no, not Dylan,” he said with a
grin. “Quite the opposite, actually. We had a lot to do at the arena that
day…it was our first show in Chicago and we’d gotten some new electronics that
needed to be hooked up, tested, and adjusted, which was going to take some time.
One of the trucks carrying some of the stage equipment had broken down on the
way from Indianapolis, and then Dylan had a couple interviews to do on top of
it all.

            “It was about
9:30, and Dyl’d just finished one of the interviews. He comes practically
dancing
into the room with this pathetic grin on his face—I’m tellin’ you, it was like
that kid in the candy story look, and we all knew something’d gone down. So I
ask him, ‘What’s got you grinnin’ like the Cheshire Cat?’ and he says, ‘you’d
be grinnin’ too, if you met a gorgeous and amazing woman last night like I
did.’

            “I tell you,
all the heads in that room snapped to attention, and all eyes turned to Dylan.
I mean, it’s pretty hard not to notice that most women find him fairly easy on
the eyes, but he’s always seen it as kind of a curse. I mean, the man could
have pretty much any woman he wanted, but he didn’t want any of them because he
couldn’t trust that they would be in it for the right reasons. He’d been burned
more than once, and it had been a long time since I’d seen him smile like that.
But the look on his face that day was like nothing I’d ever seen before, and
I’ve known the man—hell, I’ve lived with the man—for a lot of years. He had it
bad already, and he’s not the kind of guy that falls hard for anything so
easily.”

            “Are you
saying it was love at first sight?” Tony asked.

            Bo pressed his
lips together and nodded his head. “He told me a little bit about what happened
the night before; how they met, and what they did. He said it was like they
went through six months in one night—they’d connected in a way that threw him
for a loop, and he was like a schoolboy with a crush. He pranced around the
whole morning. That grin never left his face, and when we’d tease him about it,
he’d only smile bigger. He kept looking at his watch, and was pretty much
useless as far as the work we needed to get done.

            “When Tia
showed up that afternoon, and I saw them together for the first time, it was
like I could
feel
their connection. I got a good vibe from her right
away, and it was obvious that she was good for Dylan. There was something in
his eyes…and hers too…that spoke volumes.”

                 Lexi
sat upright. “I know what you mean! When I saw them together that first night,
I said the same thing…I told Tia that I could feel the connection between them
like it was a physical thing in the room…”

            “Speaking of
physical things in the room…” Bo began.

            “Penelope
Valentine!” they said together.

            Tony shrugged
his shoulders and tilted his head, indicating they’d lost him. Then, he sat
back and let things play out. As Bo was describing the look in Dylan’s eyes and
the smile he couldn’t tame when Tia was around, Tony couldn’t help but think he
was witnessing a connection between Bo and Lexi that neither of them realized was
there. Dylan had said that they had an obnoxious and repetitive flirtation that
they all laughed about, but from where Tony was sitting, there was more to it
than that. The body language—the way she leaned against him, the way he held
onto her hand, the way they looked at each other—said that there was more there
than mere flirtation. But who was he to say? God knew he’d been through three
divorces…romance wasn’t exactly his forte. He was willing to bet, however, that
Lexi wouldn’t be taking the flight she’d been planning to jump on shortly after
they finished shooting. Something told him she’d hold off and fly out in the
morning.

            Lexi deferred
to Bo. “That was the first night she came sniffin’ around. She showed up
backstage and started demanding to see Dylan, saying she had something
important that she needed to discuss with him. He’d just finished playing a
song with our opening band, and so we sent out a message that she was on the
prowl. Dyl was so wrapped up in Tia, and so confused by how to reconcile the
fact that he would have to say goodbye to her in just a couple days even though
he was just getting to know her, that they just pretty much hid out in a
different dressing room until it was time for us to take the stage.”

            Beside him,
Lexi started to giggle. Bo took one look at her and his eyes went wide. He
joined in, and pretty soon they were laughing so hard they were practically
keeping each other from falling off the couch. Tony leaned forward, a smile on
his own face. Yup, he’d definitely put down money that she wasn’t flying home
tonight.

            They turned
back. “Tell him,” Lexi prodded, trying to rein in her laughter. “It’s such a
great story!”

            Bo was busting
a gut, and managed to squeak out, “Go ahead…you tell it!”

            “Well,” she
started, “after the show, Penelope came bursting into the common room. The guys
had just left to get cleaned up, and she comes in and confronts Tia,
insinuating that she slept her way into getting a show dedication. She was just
plain rotten; I can’t think of a better way to describe it. Her face was
wrinkled up like there was a bad smell in the room, and she totally looked down
her nose at both of us. Tia told her that the guys had gone to shower up and
she stormed out of there, determined to find Dylan.” She glanced at Bo, and
started giggling again. “Turns out,” she smiled, “the boys had pretty much
anticipated the move, and Bo was actually the one in Dylan’s shower. She walked
right into the bathroom and Bo…” she burst into another fit of giggles, and Bo
took over.

            Tony sat back
in his chair smiled. His guests had effectively taken over his show, and he
couldn’t have been more pleased. They played off each other perfectly,
finishing each other’s sentences, and sharing little bits of stories that
wouldn’t have come out in a standard interview. It was like they were suddenly
the only two people in the room, and it translated perfectly to television. He
could imagine people all over the country feeling as if they were sitting with
them in their living rooms. He made a subtle gesture toward the producer that
said,
Give me another minute…this is too good to pass up.

            “She was just
so
fake,”
Bo continued. “Her voice was so sweet, but there was no sugar
there, ya know? So I yanked open the shower curtain, and watched all the blood
drain out of her face…she was expecting a naked Dylan to be standing there, and
instead,” Bo stood and turned in a slow circle. “…she got me. I don’t have to
tell you that as soon she was able to breathe again, she ran out of there so
fast she was just a blur!”

            Everyone in
the studio joined in the laughter as they imagined the shock that Penelope felt
when she was surprised by Bo. The giggles continued until Bo’s face changed,
and he held up his hand for silence.

            “That part was
funny, but later that night, when we were out celebrating my birthday, she
showed up again, at the club, and that’s where the whole thing started.” Lexi’s
face got serious as well, and she dropped her head. “That woman practically
propositioned Dylan right in front of Tia,” he said, his voice low and steady.
“She basically told Tia that she wasn’t worthy of Dylan—something like, ‘If you
want to have fun tonight, you should take your chances with someone who’s at
your level.’ I watched the doubt fill Tia’s eyes, and saw her face fall. She
was unsure of herself—she was obviously feeling something for Dylan that she
couldn’t come to terms with; especially since she believed that he was leaving
the next night.  Penelope dropped the bomb that she’d be his co-star, and that
she thought they’d have ‘great chemistry’ together. It was like she was already
working on ways to sink her teeth into Dylan even then. Allegedly,” he added.

            Tony took a
sip from his coffee mug and let the two of them chatter on about the trip to
Europe. Lexi bragged that she was the one who told Dylan about Tia’s birthday
and shared the story about the surprise dinner on the Eiffel Tower, and Bo
talked about how anxious Dylan was waiting for Tia to show up after the school
year ended and she first came to Europe. They kept talking during the
commercial breaks—not real breaks as they were filming and not live, but more a
chance to catch their breath and grab a quick drink of water—so all he really
had to do was ask a few unscripted questions and let them run with it. He
hadn’t planned to fill the whole show with the two of them, but they were too
good to pass up. His assistant could reschedule the other guest.

           
When Tony made his final comments and wished the crowd
a Happy New Year, Bo and Lexi wandered through the audience shaking hands and
signing autographs. Lexi was astounded that anyone would actually want her
autograph, but she happily scribbled her name on whatever was handed to her. As
the last of the audience members drifted out the door, Bo draped his arm over
Lexi’s shoulder. On their way to Tony’s lounge for the ‘debriefing,’ he asked,
“How about dinner, beautiful?”

            Lexi was
instantly torn. She’d pretty much promised Ryan that she’d be home tonight, but
she hadn’t seen Bo in months, and it would be great to hang with him for a
while. God, she could use some more of his lightheartedness and his humor right
about now, and if she didn’t take advantage of this opportunity, who knew when
she’d get to see him again? What in the world would she tell Ryan, though? He’d
been pretty pissed off at first when she told him she was coming to LA.
You’re
not the celebrity, Lexi,
he’d said; insinuating that she was enjoying a
ride on Tia’s coattails and looking for attention of her own. And so what if
she was enjoying it? She was entitled to her 15 minutes, right? She looked up
at Bo and smiled. To hell with the consequences, she decided—she needed a
little Bo time. “What do you have in mind, handsome?” she smiled, tucking her
hand into the crook of his arm. 

            His grin widened,
making the corners of his eyes crinkle. “Would you be staying at the Four
Seasons?” he asked. “I’m assuming Tony puts all his guests there.” Lexi nodded.
“There’s a nice little Japanese restaurant just a short walk away—they’ve got
great sushi, and do a real nice leisurely dinner…we could catch up for a while,
then maybe go back to one of our rooms to watch the show?”

            The show! What
an idiot she was! Not once, in all the planning of this whirlwind last minute
trip had she considered that the show would air hours after they taped it—and
that she’d be on a plane when it did. It was the perfect reason for staying
until the next morning…it wasn’t like she’d be able to watch it with Ryan
anyway, so it would be perfect to watch it with Bo. “I always have liked the
way you think,” she said, wrapping her arm around his waist as they entered
Tony’s lounge to say their goodbyes.

            Lexi leaned
back in the comfy leopard print chair in Bo’s suite and watched him fiddle with
the remote control. “Look, I’m camouflaged,” she teased, referring to the
leopard print lounge outfit she’d changed into before heading down to Bo’s room
to watch the show. She’d picked it up in a little boutique during one of her
many shopping escapades over the past couple days, and although she’d cringed
when she saw the price tag, she’d never felt a fabric so luxuriously silky and
simply had to have it. She held the leopard pillow from the chair in front of
her face and said, “Can’t even see me, can you?”

            “Are you even
here?” Bo teased back, his head moving back and forth as he pretended to scan
the room. Lexi stood up and set the pillow down, raising her hands in the air
in a ‘ta da!’ “Oh, there you are,” he grinned, “I was worried for a minute
there that I was just imagining I had a beautiful woman clad in leopard print
hanging out in my room. The good Lord knows I’ve had that fantasy before.”

            Lexi plopped
onto the mustard-colored love seat that faced the television and stretched her
long legs up to rest on the coffee table. “I’d better sit here then—wouldn’t
want you to forget I’m here.”  She took a deep breath and sighed, completely
content after a leisurely and delicious dinner, some great wine, and excellent
company. With Bo, it was so easy to have fun that she’d forgotten to get
nervous about watching her television debut.

             Tony hadn’t
even batted an eye when she told him she’d like to change her departure to
tomorrow morning. “Whenever you want,” he’d said, giving her a business card
with a number on it. “There’s someone on call 24/7, so just text after you’ve
called for the car. They’ll have the plane ready by the time you get there.”
Ryan had been less than excited that she was staying, but he really had no
argument when she told him she wanted to watch the show when it first aired.
She made him promise to wait, though, and watch the recording so they could
both see it at the same time since it would be on later in California than it
would in Chicago.

            “Oh, Mr.
Collins,” she teased as Bo handed her a glass of wine, “you would be a great
catch, you know that?”

            His eyes
widened for just a split second, and then his easy grin slipped over his face.
“Yeah, you think? I’m sure my ex-wives would have somethin’ to say about that,”
he teased back, waiting a couple heartbeats before adding, “What makes you say
that?”

            “Well,” Lexi
started, sitting up straighter and raising her fingers to count up the ways,
“first off, you’re such a gentleman…you really know how to make a lady feel
special.” She lifted another finger. “Second, you have a great sense of humor.
Third, you’re one of the easiest people in the world to talk to—people just
feel good around you!”

            “Don’t forget,
‘devastatingly handsome,’” he joked. “Most people notice that one first off.”

            “There is
that,” she agreed, tipping her wine glass in his direction in a toast.
“Seriously, though, Bo—how is it that you’re not taken?”

            His grin
wavered, and his eyes darkened for just the briefest moment, but it was enough
to make Lexi wonder what was behind the shadow. Had he been hurt by someone? Bo
recovered quickly, though, and tapped his wine glass against hers.

            “I guess it’s
because you’re not available, my little princess,” he smiled. “Who could hold a
candle to you?”

            Lexi felt a
flush burn her cheeks and lost her breath for just the slightest moment before
returning Bo’s grin. “Well, we’ll always have London,” she said, her voice
sounding a bit hoarse. The wine was apparently going to her head.

            “Indeed we
will,” Bo answered.  Just then, the opening theme song for
After Dark
filled the room. Lexi patted the spot next to her and Bo folded himself onto
the love seat and turned up the volume. He turned to her with his glass raised
for another toast; a more serious look on his face. “To your TV debut—I’m so
glad I could share it with you.”

            Lexi tapped
the rim of her glass against his. “Can’t think of a better person to share it
with,” she said, setting down her glass and settling in. “This is so exciting!
I might even be more nervous now than I was walking out onto the stage.” Her
heartbeat quickened, and she fanned her face with her hand as she watched
Tony’s monologue and waited anxiously for him to call her name.

            She held her
breath as she watched herself walk out onto the stage, then let out a little
squeak of excitement. It was really strange seeing herself on television;
almost like being in a dream. “Damn this is cool!” she exclaimed, wiggling in
her seat. They watched her segment excitedly, chatting about how the cameras
zoomed in on her best angles and how one seemed to hover a bit too long over
the low neckline of her dress. “Well it is fantastic cleavage, right?” Lexi
asked, puffing out her chest in an exaggerated motion. “The best,” Bo replied
gruffly, diverting his eyes back to the television.

            Lexi jumped up
and refilled their wine glasses during one of the commercial breaks, and
checked her phone. She’d missed a text from Ryan wishing her good luck, and saw
a second one that read, “U look fantastic! Gr8 job!” She shot him a quick thank
you, and heard the theme music starting up from the other room. She fell back
onto the couch and said excitedly “Oh, here you come, Bo.”

            Bo froze as he
watched himself walk out onto the set. He was certainly aware that he was a big
guy, but seeing how tiny Lexi looked in his arms really took him aback. “Who
the hell is that guy?” he asked. “Damn, do I really look like that?”

            “What do you
mean?”

            No wonder
people thought of him as loveable old Bo, he thought to himself. He looked like
the life of the party, the funny clown who got all the laughs but never the
ladies. He patted his stomach and laughed it off, but inside, he couldn’t find
any humor in it. “I think I need to call Jenny Craig,” he said wryly.

             “They say the
camera adds ten pounds, you know.”

            “Yeah? It didn’t
add ten pounds to you—oh wait, I know…maybe it accidentally added your ten
pounds onto me; that must be it. It looked like I was going to break you in
half when I picked you up—you really did disappear.”

            Lexi laced her
fingers through his and leaned against him. “You’re still devastatingly
handsome,” she purred, her voice vibrating against him as she spoke.

            He looked down
at her, cuddled up innocently against him, the swell of her ‘fantastic
cleavage’ seeming to taunt him and it was as if an alien life force took over
his body. His vision went cloudy, and he could actually see himself reaching
over and lifting Lexi’s chin, running his fingers along the curve of her neck,
and bringing his lips down to meet hers. He shook his head slightly to toss the
image from his mind and stiffened; his hand actually raised as if to truly make
the move and then…holy shit, he
stiffened.

           
He felt his eyes widen, and held his breath.
Dead
puppies, dead puppies,
he thought over and over in an attempt to stop the
stirring; but she was still pressed against him; the silk of her goddamned-soft
wild cat outfit brushing against his arms and her hand wrapped tightly in his.
Dead kittens, dead kittens,
he changed his chant, but it did nothing to
slow the flow of blood and he felt a full-blown hard-on coming and coming fast.

            Bo nearly
jerked his fingers from hers, catching a taunting spark from the diamond that
glittered on her left hand. He stood up and turned away from her, grabbing the
only thing in the room he could use to effectively hide his embarrassment—the
leopard print pillow from the matching chair.
Shit
, he thought.
This
is not good.

            Lexi’s head
tilted and her eyes narrowed in confusion at his sudden move and obvious
discomfort. “What’s wrong, Bo?” she asked.

            “Nothing,” he
nearly snarled, the words stuck in his throat. He had no idea what to say to
her—no excuse for why he’d leapt from her side like she had leprosy instead of
looking really sexy in a leopard print outfit. He was saved from saying
anything else by the chirp of her phone signaling an incoming text message. She
frowned at him once more and rose, walking into the little kitchen area of the
suite to to check the message.

            “What the hell
is up bw u n the drmmr?” the message said. Lexi stared at it for a minute,
wondering the same thing, before texting back, “NOTHING—RELAX.”

            Bo fell onto
the chair and took some deep, calming breaths, putting the pillow in his lap
and folding his hands to rest on top of it. Yeah, he needed a little prayer
right now. Lexi returned just as the last commercial break ended; a question in
her eyes as she took in his new seating arrangement, and returned to the couch,
folding her legs under her and crossing her arms over her chest. He forced his
best smile, made some lame joke about the way Tony stopped interviewing them
and just let them talk, and tried to keep the conversation light; tried to turn
on his usual charm; but even he wasn’t buying it.

           
It was impossible not to notice the shift. Bo smiled
and joked through the rest of the show, but the atmosphere in the room had
changed, and Lexi couldn’t help but wonder why. At first she thought it was the
weight thing; he was obviously bothered by the way he looked on TV; but she
loved him just the way he was and couldn’t see why he’d be so flustered by it.
He was
bulky,
built like a linebacker, sure, but not overly
heavy.
Would he be embarrassed enough by that little thing to physically move away
from her? Bo Collins exuded confidence…she couldn’t imagine him being that hard
on himself.

            The show
ended, the final credits scrolling over the three of them moving into the crowd
to shake hands with members of the audience. Bo clapped his hands in a round of
applause and smiled at her. “Congratulations, beautiful—you absolutely stole
the show.”

            “Thanks,
handsome,” she smirked. “You were pretty fantastic too. It wouldn’t have been
nearly as much fun without you. Having you there was the best surprise.”

            “It was my
pleasure.” Damn, just thinking the word
pleasure
increased the hum
between his legs and he stretched out his arms and yawned, taking an
exaggerated glance at his watch. It wasn’t that he wanted Lexi to go, not at
all, but he felt like a complete ass sitting there trying to hide an erection
that wouldn’t quit; and probably wouldn’t until she was out of his field of
vision. Or smell, or hearing, or anything else for that matter.

            Lexi was
confused, but she was no idiot. It was obvious that Bo wanted her to go. She
took the hint, and gathered up her things. “Well, I’ve got an early flight set
up, so I probably should try and get a few hours of sleep. I won’t see you
before I leave—but I hope I’ll see you soon.”  She walked over to give him a
hug, but he didn’t get out of the chair…just leaned toward her a bit and gave
her back a friendly pat.

            “I hope so
too,” he said, and watched her walk out.

            Lexi opened
the door and sat on the zebra striped chair that adorned her own room, trying
to figure out a cause for the complete 360-degree turn the night had taken. She
and Bo had a great dinner, lots of laughs, and for the first three-quarters of
the show, were getting on as well as ever. Even if he did get a sudden case of
self-consciousness after seeing himself on the television set, it still didn’t
explain why he’d just all of a sudden purposely put distance between them…it
just didn’t make sense.

             Then another
thought hit her as she replayed the events in her mind. Right after his
uneasiness, she’d grabbed onto his hand and practically laid on him, telling
him he was ‘devastatingly handsome.’
 Oh God…it was the first time they’d ever been really alone; and in a hotel
room no less; and she’d practically pushed her breasts in his face and asked
him if he liked her cleavage…holy shit, did he think she was hitting on him? Is
that why he moved as far away from her as he could and put a pillow down as a
barrier—so she couldn’t get that close again? Just the thought that he might
have gotten that impression made the sushi she’d eaten earlier feel as if it
had suddenly started swimming around in her gut.

            She loved her
relationship with Bo, and thinking that she’d done something to screw that up
made her heart skip a beat. Should she say something? What if she was
completely wrong, and ended up creating a problem that wasn’t even there? Would
mentioning it only make things more uncomfortable? She wrung her hands in her
lap, remembering the look on Bo’s face when he wouldn’t even hug her goodbye.
Uncomfortable was an understatement, and she got up and started pacing the
room.
Shit,
she thought.
This is not good.