When it was all said and done, what Meagan hadn’t predicted was the somber mood that would overtake the group as they settled into the house. One of them would be gone in only a few days, eliminated at the first live show.
Prior to rehearsal at the studio, Meagan and Sam had managed a few steamy stares with, frustratingly, no hope of acting on the crackling energy anytime soon.
Per Sam’s instructions, at nearly ten that night, Meagan called him to report their approach to the house. He was determined to greet her, and the contestants, at the house, to personally ensure he prevented any problems for their first night’s stay.
The contestants filed up the stairs, with moans of aching bodies, and a need for bed. “I’m going, too,” Kiki said from the doorway. “I’m dead to the world.”
That left Meagan and Sam in the foyer of the main house, staring at one another. Suddenly, her tired body was alive and alert.
“And here I thought we’d never manage to be alone tonight,” he said, for her ears only.
“If only it were so easy.” She had this bad feeling about combusting into flames from wanting this man so badly. She motioned to their surroundings. “I have this terrible fear that this is an alternate universe, and once we step outside it, the real world will erupt around us.” And just like that—as if she had jinxed them—a female scream came from the top floor.
“You had to say that, didn’t you?” Sam asked, even as they charged toward the girls’ side of the house.
They found Tabitha and her assigned roommate—a redhead named Jenny Michaels—on top of the bed. “Mouse! We have a mouse.”
The hall filled with females, followed by shouts from the guys, who were also charging up the stairs.
Sam used a stern “soldier in charge” voice, and ordered them all to their rooms, and boy, was Meagan glad he did. Truth be told, she didn’t have that kind of energy.
And even if she had Sam alone, tonight was not the night for them. She wanted to be everything she could be, when she was with him again.
After they’d calmed everyone down except for Tabitha and Jenny, who were insisting they move to another room, Sam stopped Meagan in the hallway for a private chat. “You know the best answer to catching a mouse, don’t you?”
“If you mean a cat,” she said. “Samantha’s not quite ready for the job. She’s as small as a large mouse right now.”
“Ah, but we don’t need Samantha,” he said. “I found an adult cat today.”
“Really? Samantha’s mother maybe?”
“Maybe. Anyway, I say we put him to the test.”
“Bring on the mouser, so we can try and get some sleep.”
He motioned to the girls. “I’ll leave you to the...fun, while I fetch Mel to help.”
“Mel?”
“I didn’t have the heart to call him Meagan, despite the fierceness so like your own. But a man—even the tomcat version—can be sensitive about a name. And we need him feeling manly right now.”
She laughed and waved him off. “Go get Mel, then.”
Mel turned out to be a big hit, adored by everyone in the house, and reveling in all the praise. Meagan and Sam promised to adopt a friend for Mel the next day, which Sam vowed he’d name Meg. Eventually, Sam escorted Meagan to the mother-in-law house, where they walked up the wooden steps of the rectangular deck, and were, at least, semi-alone.
“Well,” he said, resting his palm on the doorframe above her head as she rested her back on the door. “I guess this is where I say goodnight.”
“Yeah,” she said. “I guess so.”
“I take it goodnight kisses are off limits.”
She barely quelled the urge to push to her toes and take that goodnight kiss. “Probably not the most discreet thing to do.”
“You do know this is killing me,” he said. “I’ve been thinking about our ‘almost’ phone sex all day.”
She laughed and bit her bottom lip. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” His eyes darkened and he pushed off the door. “I better go before I decide not to. Or do something someone will see, and which you’ll hate me for later. And I’m not calling you when I get to the other place, or I might change my mind and come right back here.”
He stepped away, as if he couldn’t quite get himself to turn. “Night, Meg.”
“Mea...gan.”
“Okay, sweetheart,” he said, his voice low. “Meagan.” And then he turned and walked authoritatively away, all broad-shouldered and muscle-defined, and totally confident. She sighed and entered the house to find Kiki leaning on the kitchen counter, sipping from a coffee cup.
“Oh, hi,” Meagan said. “What’s up?”
Kiki smirked. “Nothing,” she said. “Nothing at all.”
But her look, her tone, didn’t say nothing. It said something.
Knots formed in Meagan’s stomach. Had she just put Sam back on Kiki’s radar? Meagan said a quick goodnight to Kiki, thankful it was an easy escape. How was she supposed to do a good job if she was always so worried about her assistant. If this show had a season two, Meagan was negotiating Kiki out of the contract. That would be a deal breaker. In the meantime, it was critical that Meagan decide how best to protect Sam without destroying what felt like a really good thing.
* * *
OVERNIGHT, MEAGAN REALIZED that Sam would never back away from the potential threat that Kiki might represent. She had to pull away from him again, and she wasn’t sure he’d forgive her for that. Still, she resolved to do what she hadn’t. Take action. She started her search for a new agent immediately. As much as she valued the importance of control, she hadn’t been embracing it at all. Taking action was the only thing that kept her distance from Sam in place.
It was early evening when she arrived at the house for the night. After changing into jeans and a T-shirt, she headed to the contestant’s house, where everyone was having dinner. Meagan made her way to the kitchen to snag a soda right when Sam came in with a small pet carrier, holding a beautiful white cat.
The instant Sam’s eyes met hers, she felt that familiar punch of awareness in her chest. “Hey, sweetheart. How was your day?”
“Productive,” she said, and a torment, she added silently. Staying away from Sam when she didn’t want to was incredibly hard.