Here Comes The Bride

“Even Aunt Lilian knew I wouldn’t stay with acting, but I’m so glad I was given the opportunity to work with her. Thank you for that, Phyllis.”

“You’re welcome, darling. You’re a natural. If you ever decide to come back, we’ll always be here.”

“Thank you. Thanks, everybody. Be assured that when I’m home studying, my TV set will be permanently turned on to Laguna Nights. Among other things, I have to watch Melissa’s reaction when she finds out I disappeared in the jungle.”

Another lie. Reese had no intention of ever watching the soap again. It would be too painful, but the cast members didn’t need to know it. They laughed and cheered.

“In fact I can’t wait to learn what horrible scheme she has in mind for the next man unlucky enough to be her obsession. Do we know who that is yet, Stan?”

The head writer nodded.

“Obviously you’re not going to give out any secrets today.” She would have to wait two months to find out if Alex had been teasing her about the new storyline or not.

“Sorry.”

“That’s all right. Now that I’m out of the loop, I’ll just have to be patient like our fans.” She flicked her gaze to the attractive man she wouldn’t be seeing again.

“Alex? I couldn’t leave without letting you know it has been a great thrill for me to be cast opposite you. I’m the envy of every woman with a television set.”

All the women cheered loudly.

“Ladies? I’ll let you in on a little secret. Leah? Are you listening?”

“Yes,” her friend said with a broad smile.

“I cannot tell a lie. He could heat it up all right. I’ve been in meltdown the entire year.”

“I knew it!”

The place went wild. There was more cheering and clapping and good-natured funning as everyone teased her and Alex.

“From now on the guys I date are going to have to pass the Alex Kieris test or they’re out of the running.”

There was an enigmatic smile on Alex’s face as he approached her and grabbed the mike. “Unlike my costar here, I’ll never kiss and tell. But I will say that playing opposite Reese has been an unforgettable experience. One I wouldn’t have missed.

“Between her and Lilian, I was able to get my feet wet in this business without completely floundering.” He turned to Reese. “I’m going to miss you, Carly Andretti.”

A strange glint in his eye made her suddenly nervous.

“I hope I can be forgiven for doing something that hasn’t been scripted. You guys are getting a preview of our off-the-set honeymoon. After all, she is my wife now!”

In front of everyone, he pulled her into his arms and gave her the kind of passionate kiss for which Fabio Andretti was famous. It went on and on until there was thunderous applause and wolf calls.

Since he was hamming it up, she decided to let herself go this once and really kiss him back. No one would know this farewell kiss was for Alex, not Fabio.

“Go, Carly!” some of the cast chanted.

When it appeared Alex was enjoying her abandoned response and had no intention of ending it, Reese had to be the one to break it off.

“Whew!” She turned a flushed, smiling countenance to the audience and fanned herself. “In your face, Melissa!”

The cast roared with laughter.

At this point Leah took over the mike. “Don’t anyone leave until we raise our glasses to Reese in a toast.”

To Reese’s dismay, she’d left hers behind on the table. Maybe it was just as well. She would have choked on her champagne.

“To Reese. Health, happiness and a long life wherever your road takes you.”

While the others clicked glasses and finished off their drinks, Alex made another surprise move by sipping his champagne, then putting the glass to Reese’s lips. She had no choice but to drink a little of it from the same place on the glass where his lips had been.

Her legs wobbled like jelly.

“Hey, Reese?” Brad called to her. “I need to talk to you for a minute.”

For once she was thankful the show’s publicist never gave up. “Coming!”

Without daring another glance at Alex, she handed back the empty glass to him and followed Brad into the hall. But once she’d moved past the doors, instead of stopping to chat, she kept on walking down the hall toward the front entrance of the building.

While she made her escape, Brad had to run to keep up with her. “Where’s the fire?”

“To be honest, I don’t have time for an interview right now. I’m sorry.” She wiped her eyes so he wouldn’t see the tears.

“I know it’s tough to leave. Just give me a few words while I walk you to your car.”

She whipped out of the front door and kept up her fast pace clear across the parking lot.

“Where will you be going to school? I need a little information for the show’s Web site. The word’s going to leak out that you’re no longer a cast member. Soap Craze will start hounding me. You know how that goes. I’m going to be besieged with questions.”

“I’d rather not say. The sooner I’m anonymous, the better.”

“Winter semester won’t start for another week. What’ll you do in the meantime?”

“Volunteer work.”

“What kind?”

“Hospitals. Kids.”

“Who’s the latest man in your life?”

She climbed in her car. “I don’t have one, Brad. If you value your job, don’t quote me wrong.”

“Would I do that?”

“Yes. That’s what you’re paid to do. Go pick on Alex. Maybe you can find out the name of the secret woman in his life.”

His brows lifted. “Oh, yeah? You know something I don’t?”

“No. That’s your department. I’m out of here.” Flashing him a bright smile, she shut the door, turned on the ignition and started to back up.

Brad shouted something to her but she kept on going. Right into another car.

“Oh, no!” she cried as she heard the clank of metal against metal. For once in her life she’d forgotten to look first.

With her adrenalin surging, she jumped out of the car to see how much damage she’d done and ran straight into Alex. He steadied her with his hands. What was he doing out here?

“I hit you?” She half gasped the question.

His lips twitched. “Let’s just say you caught the rear bumper of my truck.”

“I’m so sorry-” She tore her eyes from his and moved away from him to see how bad it was.

She couldn’t find anything but a scrape mark on his fender, but the back left door of her car had a good-sized dent.

“It’s my fault,” she moaned. “For once I didn’t look where I was going.”

“It’s both our faults,” he muttered. “I wanted to block you off before you got away.”

With those words Alex had her full attention. Her heart started to race. She turned toward him. “Why would you want to do that?”

He eyed her intently for a moment. “After you call your insurance company, I’ll tell you. But first we need to get our vehicles out of the way. Why don’t you park yours? Then I’ll join you.”

Without waiting for her response, he got in his truck and moved it to the nearest parking space while Reese moved her car back where she’d parked it before. In another minute he’d climbed into her passenger seat.

She’d already pulled out the insurance card she carried in her wallet and had started to make the call. Soon she was able to give out the details. “Yes. It was my fault. I forgot to look.”

The man on the phone asked for her opinion of the damage to Alex’s truck. Reese bit her lip before looking at