Mr. 365 by Ruth Clampett Page A

house.
    Before I can take more than one step, he grabs hold of my arm. “Come here,” he says softly.
    I step into his embrace, and he holds me tight. “I’m sorry, Sophia. I just got really freaked out.”
    “I know,” I whisper, my lips against his shoulder.
    “I’m falling for you, woman, and I don’t do that easily.”
    “No?” I ask, feeling a mix of haunted and hopeful.
    “But you….You just do something to me.”
    I take his face in my hands. “Will, can’t you see what you do to me? I think I started falling for you from the moment I saw you in the cafe.”
    “Yeah?” A smile breaks across his face as his hands take hold of my hips.
    “Hell, yes! I’m standing in the shrubs… with a client… on a shoot… pouring out my heart… not caring that I may lose this job. You’re making me crazy. Can you please just kiss me so we can forget about everything for a minute?
    His lips are on mine so fast I don’t have time to breathe. It’s an amped-up kiss fueled with unguarded passion and edged with fear. He groans and lifts me up. Then he slowly slides me back down against him.
    I sigh when we part. “Look at what we have. Please, don’t give up on me.”
    He nods looking determined. “I’m gonna try because I want to trust you.”
    We fall into another kiss.
    “Yeow!” I say, jumping back and shaking my leg. “I think this has become a threesome.”
    “Dude! What the fuck. Get off my girl!” He pulls Romeo, who is frantically getting it on with my leg, off me and holds him down while I step away. “How’d you get out, you horny bastard?”
    I glance over my shoulder. “I better get back in there anyway. Let me go in ahead of you. Okay?”
    He doesn’t look completely convinced but still looks me intently. “Yeah, okay.”

    For most of the morning Will stays in the yard, hanging with Romeo. Maybe it’s easier for him to be away from whatever the hell is happening in the house. At ten-thirty, Lindsey calls him into the house to sit for Gia, and I join them.
    He stands next to me and waves his hands as he talks. “I don’t wear makeup, so thanks but no thanks.”
    “It’s not like that, Will,” Gia explains patiently. “I make sure you’ll look like you don’t have makeup on. The thing is, video washes people out and any shine on your face becomes a beam of light. So actually what I’m going to do will make you look natural.”
    “Trust Gia,” I tell him.
    Will raises his eyebrows skeptically. “I’ve got to admit,” he says, “I’ve spent all these years on the lot and didn’t pay attention to the makeup and wardrobe crews. It’s a completely different world than my set and scenic people.”
    “It is.” Gia agrees.
    “So let me get this straight. You put makeup on me to make me look natural on camera?”
    She nods. “That’s right.”
    I smile at him, realizing that he’s coming around.
    “So that’s like how they have a writer write the reality show to make it seem real.”
    She laughs and gives a knowing smile. “You’re better off not having these deep thoughts, Will. This is La-La Land after all.”
    “And I work in the business, but this reality show stuff is new to me,” he says.
    “
Reality
is a concept. It’s open for interpretation, isn’t it?” She challenges.
    I roll my eyes, but the idea stings that reality shows are rarely real regardless of what I hope them to be.

    When Gia’s finished, Will remembers the list he made of the children’s charities and shelters he supports, along with the schools that have visited the house during the holidays. He goes to grab it and returns.
    Lindsey and I are in the hallway going over the schedule. I turn and smile as he approaches.
    He hands a page to each of us once he has our full attention. “So here’s the list of the charities the proceeds from the house tours and benefits go to. Sophia said that they could be listed and mentioned in the special.”
    Lindsey casually accepts the paper and tucks it