Strip Search (Tap That)

Leighton turned to him in amazement. Damn it. She was toast. The man was hot and romantic. It just wasn’t fair. How was she supposed to stay distant and professional when he said things like that?

Maybe he was a phenomenal actor. But he seemed too straightforward of a man to be pulling platitudes out of his ass.

“How about you, Leighton?”

She’d forgotten Jackson and Brad existed. Now she removed her hand from Axl’s knee, where it had mysteriously wound up and turned to the camera, forcing herself to not drop her eyes down. “The most important part of the wedding day is the vows. My parents have been married for thirty years and I want the same thing. A lifetime.”

It was the truth. She wanted all or nothing. No dabbling in marriage. No playing house with a boyfriend. Some people might want to live together indefinitely but that wasn’t for her. She needed a comm

itment.

Ironic then, that Axl had already told her he had commitment issues. Or intended to stay single, anyway.

They were playing a dangerous game here.

She reminded herself what was at stake. Losing her job. Moving back in with her parents. Their disappointment. Her own feeling of failure. She’d never get another job in the industry because she had signed that damn non-compete clause. She could only work for another show if Wedding Crashers went off the air. Even if she was fired.

Fortunately, Jackson seemed to be in a hurry to get through the questions. Since he wasn’t the one who usually asked them, he seemed annoyed by the role. His words were monotone.

“What colors do you want to showcase at your reception?”

“Blush,” she said with zero hesitation.

“I don’t even know what that is.” Axl stretched out his legs and said, “I think blue is a good color. It’s solid.”

She wasn’t sure what made a color “solid” but she was fine with it. “How about teal?”

“Is that blue?”

“Yes.”

“Then sure.”

“Blush and teal go well together.”

“If you say so.”

“I do.” Leighton realized she had said the very thing that a bride was supposed to say at her wedding. She dragged her tongue across her bottom lip, moistening it.

Axl made a sound in the back of his throat.

“Where did you meet?” Jackson said.

“Online,” Axl said.

“Bachelorette party,” she said, at the exact same time.

“Neither one of those is a good answer,” Brad called out, the beer Axl had offered him halfway to his lips.

Leighton was annoyed. When had he switched from soda to beer? And who said his opinion was needed here? “Next question.”

“What’s your favorite vacation?”

“Go first,” she told Axl.

“Since I got back from my deployment in Afghanistan, I love the trees and water. Nothing with sand. So, my favorite vacation would be renting a cabin on the lake for a week. Fishing and boating.”

“Leighton?”