“Hey, lovah,” she answered.
“Where are you?”
“In Lorelei’s dressing room, getting our hair done. Where are you?”
“In Colton’s dressing room, making sure he doesn’t produce a flask.” He grinned at Wendy’s musical laughter.
Colton scowled across the room at him, and not because he’d heard Daniel’s low words. More likely, he was confused that Daniel was laughing. Daniel was confused, too. Confused and happy. He stepped into the bustling corridor.
“When’s your flight to L.A.?” Wendy asked.
“Tomorrow afternoon. How about your flight to New York?” He didn’t cross his fingers, but he wanted to.
“Same time,” she said. “So, what’s on your schedule after this show?”
The loaded tone of her voice made his groin tighten. He said, “A honeymoon.”
“I can’t wait,” she whispered.
After they hung up, he called for reservations at the nicest restaurant he could think of. It was a huge struggle, possibly the single hardest thing he’d done on this trip, to wipe the smile off his face before he reentered Colton’s dressing room.
Hours later, as the awards show drew to a close, he stood at the back of the packed theater, watching Colton announce the last number from Lorelei and her band. As soon as the most anticipated award was announced and the credits rolled, Colton and Lorelei would be hustled by security into the waiting limo and hurried out of town. With only five minutes of air time left for the stars to screw up, Daniel started to relax. His job here was done.
A movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. Wendy had the same idea he’d had. On the other side of the theater, she came in through another back door and leaned against the wall, watching Lorelei’s band start playing in a cloud of dry-ice fog. Then Wendy saw Daniel and smiled. They walked toward each other and met in the middle.
For the rest of the song, they stood next to each other. He didn’t want her to catch him staring at her, but he took surreptitious glances. She wore a stylish gray suit with a deep blue blouse that made her eyes stand out, as blue as the Vegas sky. She’d caught her hair back in a long, loose ponytail.
Gorgeous as she was, though, the prettiest thing about her was her smile. Seeming to forget he stood beside her, she gazed at Lorelei onstage like a proud sister. He was glad this job had finally worked out for her. She deserved this moment.
The song ended. The applause was thunderous. Lorelei bowed for the standing ovation long after the on-air lights had blinked off and the show had cut to the last commercial. When the crowd finally died down to the point that they could hear each other, Daniel leaned over and said in Wendy’s ear, “Wow.”
Wendy beamed. “Isn’t she great?”
“She is,” Daniel said. “Her concert tour is definitely saved.”
“And Colton has been riveting and charming!” Wendy sounded exactly as astonished by this as Daniel felt.
He laughed. “You told me a couple of days ago that everyone famous has some talent. I’m beginning to see your point. Colton has been totally unlike himself tonight. He’s a terrific actor.”
“See?” Wendy’s smile faded as she asked, “Have you noticed he and Lorelei aren’t as into each other as they were when we caught them macking on the couch? I think they had a fight.”
“He hasn’t mentioned it to me,” Daniel said, “but yeah, I think they’ve cooled off. I hope it won’t be a problem. I’ve been thinking a lot about something else you said, that we need to make sure our solutions for the stars are what’s good for them long-term. I’ve tried to impress on him that even if he and Lorelei break up for good, he can’t attack her again, publicly or otherwise. That’s not how adults operate, even famous ones.”
“Unless he gets a reality show.”
Daniel almost didn’t say it because he didn’t want to jinx it. But he was becoming accustomed to sharing everything with Wendy, and he couldn’t keep this in. “Talks are going well. I think we’ll get him a movie. A big one.”
Wendy nodded and grinned. “After his performance tonight, I’d say it’s a sure thing.” She held out her arms.
Daniel walked into her hug. His whole body woke up when she whispered in his ear, “Congratulations.” As the on-air lights blinked and the audience obediently applauded for Colton’s last stage entrance and the last award, Daniel and Wendy gave each other one last squeeze and backed away. He noticed she still wore the diamond ring.
* * *
“You really know how to take a girl to dinner,” Wendy said.
They sat at a terrace table for two, with tourists strolling the Strip below them, palm trees and strings of lights above them, and a gentle breeze fingering Daniel’s hair. She hadn’t seen service like this since a stop at Commander’s Palace on a mission to New Orleans last year. The food was delicious, plentiful, and not too eccentric, just the way this West Virginia girl liked it. And after her half of a bottle of wine, she’d lost most of her worries over where the night was leading them.
Maybe the wine was tricking her, but she thought he was enjoying himself as much as she was, even though he hadn’t said so. She teased him, “You’re being awfully quiet, even for a quiet person. What’s wrong? Having second thoughts?”
“Actually, yes.”
She kept smiling. There was no reason to be angry with him about this. He’d said from the outset that this wedding, though real, wasn’t serious. If she’d fallen for him in the meantime and was beginning to be sorry the marriage meant nothing, that was her own fault.
He said, “I wanted us to get married because it solved a problem. That’s what I do.”
“Right,” she said sharply, wishing her tone would cut him off.
No such luck. “You told me you didn’t want to do it, and I bullied you into it.”
“Oh.” This wasn’t what she’d expected him to say. “Well,” she began again in a softer tone, “you made a logical argument and I agreed with you. I wouldn’t say you bullied me.”
“I know women take weddings very seriously,” he said. “There are so many reality shows about weddings and cakes and dresses. People have subscriptions to whole magazines about this, and they keep the subscriptions even when they’re not getting married. Women pick out their wedding dresses when they’re eight years old.”