Page 14 of House of Desire

“Thank you. I worked hard chiseling it,” I joke.

She snorts as she gets down to work. We have five minutes before I’m needed in front of the camera, but she moves like Quicksilver and I know it’ll be no problem.

Jacob Jacobson leaves the tent as I stand, straightening my suit in the mirror. As I push through the flap, I notice the rain has let up, leaving the world clean and sparkling.

Unlike my time on Deceit, there are cameras and crew all over the set. Lights shine down where Jacob stands in front of the mansion, waiting for me. Sitting around the monitors, the show runner, Jane, sits with a gaggle of her helpers.

A production assistant walks up to me.

“The first limo is about to arrive. The women inside are Mary Ella, Persephone, Drew, Carmen, and Anastasia,” he tells me before quickly stepping out of frame. I try to hold the names in my mind, but they are like water through a sieve.

I stand on my mark, having been walked through what would happen tonight earlier in the day, as the first limo pulls up. My heart starts racing, nerves taking control. Until this very moment, I was unflappable. With the grind of getting Mitchel an assistant squared away to manage without me, filming the various promos, and fittings for wardrobe, I didn’t have time to really think about what I was doing. Now, weeks of preparation have given way.

But it’s too late to bow out now.

A member of production counts us down and Jacob Jacobson is cued in.

“Hello, everyone. Welcome to the first night of House of Desire where Parker will be looking for the woman who lights the flame of his desire.” He turns toward me, his smile welcoming and warm. “How are you feeling?”

“Nervous,” I tell him honestly, “but also excited. I could be meeting the woman of my dreams.” I make sure to hit the last point as I was directed, knowing they will extend the moment in post-production with prerecorded snippets of my background and what I’m looking for in a partner.

“Well, here comes the first group of women. Let’s see if one of these ladies is the one.”

He steps away from me as the limo comes creeping over the cobblestones, parking at a strategic angle. The driver gets out of the limo and moves to open the door for the first woman.

A tan, slender leg appears from the dark depths. The light catches the glittery red heel. It looks like Dorothy’s red slipper if it was a high heel. The woman emerges in a white dress that hugs every curve, the hem falling to the ground as she stands. Mary Ella sees me and the demure smile on her face turns into a giant grin.

Shock takes over before a smile lights on my face, matching hers.

“Parker!” she exclaims, her southern drawl pulling me back to the House of Deceit mansion and another first night of filming. Walking far quicker than I believe possible over the cobblestoned drive, before I can say a word, she’s in my arms, kissing my cheek with red lips that match her red shoes.

“Mary Ella, stunning, as always. Congratulations on being Miss Alabama,” I say, nodding to the sash running diagonally over her dress. “Charlie and I watched the pageant.”

“That’s so sweet of you to say! I’m so surprised to see you standing here. How have you been?” she asks, her sweet earnestness pulling at my heartstrings. The girl I knew three years ago has grown into a beautiful young woman.

I see the signal from the producer to wrap it up, but I take a moment more.

“We’ll catch up later, I promise. But it’s so good to see you. It looks like third time’s the charm, yeah?” I say, hinting at her multiple attempts to get on the show.

“It seems so. I’ll see you inside.” She hugs me again before striding into the mansion.

We take a moment to reset and the limo door is opened again.

The next woman looks like a twin of Gemma Chan from Crazy Rich Asians, a movie night favorite of mine and Charlie’s.

She moves toward me with sure steps. How these women move in these high heels will never cease to surprise me, while I’m simultaneously glad society has not deemed them a requirement for men.

I lean in to give her a quick hug, brushing a kiss on her cheek as I introduce myself.

“Hello, I’m Parker. Thank you for joining me on this journey.” The crew really emphasized the use of ‘journey’ instead of ‘show’ or ‘game’.

“Parker, it’s a pleasure.” Her posh English accent makes me want to listen to her talk all evening. Ever since I was a kid watching any Julie Andrews movie with my mom, I've been obsessed with the accent. “My name is Carmen.”

“The pleasure is all mine,” I say, but then my mind goes black. I have two minutes with each woman as they come out of the limo. I didn’t expect this to be a difficult amount of time to fill, but here I am letting the silence stretch between us. “Tell me about yourself.”

The second the statement leaves my mouth, I want to kick my own ass. But like an angel, Carmen saves me.

“I’m a nurse at a hospital made specifically for children with cancer. It’s a cause that’s been very dear to my heart since my childhood best friend passed away from Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.”

---