Page 8 of The Love Raffle

Amber’s chest tightened. She glanced at her competition to see if anyone else was getting that sense of pressure, but the three girls were smiling. They looked excited.I’m probably the greenest here.Or the biggest coward. She needed to play her cards right.

“No problem, sir. I can assure you that I will give you a show to remember.” Patricia wore a winning smile. She crossed her legs and clasped her hands on her knee. “Who did you say was the celebrity guest for this week’s episode?”

The woman rolled her eyes. “Of course. How could we forget?” She flipped to the back of her pages. “Um, the celebrity you’ll be vying to date is none other than…” She shook her head. “How’d we get him for this?”

“It’s a big show and he’s on break between movies,” the balding man said. “It’s Levi Marks.”

A collective gasp rose from the three girls beside Amber. “Levi Marks?!” they said together.

Amber heard their poorly contained fangirling. Kate’s energy especially had spiked. The girl’s legs were shaking, and her smile widened. She squealed quietly to herself, but everyone heard.

Wow,Amber thought. What were the odds that the man she’d danced with was the very guy she’d be competing for? And Levi Markswasa big deal. His latest film was the highest-grossing movie of the year. He had to be the biggest name they had brought on yet. Amber wasn’t an avid watcher of this series, but she knew the genre of celebrity they tended to have. Young comedians, TikTok stars, sitcom actors, and musicians. Not huge musicians, though. And they never brought anyone who was already married.Obviously.

The woman raised her hands to calm them. The men at her sides used their papers to cover their mouths. From the look in their eyes, Amber was certain they were laughing.

“Better not have a conniption when he comes out on the big day. Wouldn’t want to freak him out,” said the quietest producer. He wore a gray T-shirt. His outfit was the least formal.

Amber smiled to herself while Kate fought to keep her elation under wraps. She understood her reaction. It wasn’t every day that someone heard they would be working with an actor of Levi Marks’ caliber and success. He was Hollywood’s “It boy” right now. Amber wasn’t really into superhero movies and evensheknew about him. She also knew how his hand felt in hers, how he looked in the low light, how he tried so hard to stop himself from smiling…

A clapping sound got Kate to quiet down and brought Amber back to the present. “Anyway, that’s all for now. Thank you for coming and we can’twaitto see you for sound check and of course for shooting. I can tell we’re going to have a good show.” The woman got up and so did her colleagues.

Amber shuffled to her feet when everyone else started rising. They each shook hands, wished each other well, then walked out.As Amber left the studio, she could hear the excited chatter of the girls behind her. Kate was practically skipping and giggling like a schoolgirl, while the other two were whispering in awe about the possibility of meeting Levi Marks in person.

Amber, on the other hand, couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous. Sure, winning a date with a celebrity was exciting, but she wasn’t sure if she was ready for the kind of attention that would come with it. The thought of the paparazzi following her around and tabloids speculating about her relationship with Levi made her feel uneasy. She cringed internally because she was getting way ahead of herself.

As they walked outside, a sudden gust of wind blew Amber’s hair into her face. She pushed it away and glanced up at the sky, noticing dark clouds looming in the distance. It looked like it was going to rain.

The girls were chattering excitedly about the day’s events. Kate kept sneaking glances at Amber, wanting to ask her something but not quite sure how to broach the subject.

Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore. “So, Amber,” she said, “what do you think of Levi Marks?”

Amber shrugged. “He seems nice, I guess,” she said. “I’m not really into that kind of thing.”

Kate’s eyes widened. “What? How can you not be into Levi Marks? He’s amazing! He’s the biggest movie star in the world right now!”

“Yeah, I know,” Amber said. “I just don’t follow his stuff.”

The other girls looked at her in disbelief. “Are you serious?” Patricia said. “He’s like, the hottest guy on the planet right now.”

Amber just shrugged again. “I’m more interested in getting to know him as a person, you know?”

The girls looked at her skeptically but didn’t say anything else. They were too busy talking about how amazing it was going to be to meet Levi Marks in person.

Amber, meanwhile, couldn’t help but wonder what he was really like. Outside the club, that was… Would he even remember her? She knew that a lot of celebrities put on a façade for the public, and she was curious to see if Levi Marks was any different. She also felt a little nervous about the whole thing. She had never been on a date with someone so famous before, and she wasn’t sure how she was going to handle the attention.If I even won.She scoffed and shook her head at her absurd thought process.

“Hey, do you guys want to grab a coffee or something?” Kate suggested, looking at the group.

“I’d love to, but I have to head back to work,” Diane said apologetically.

“Yeah, I should probably get going too,” Patricia added.

Amber hesitated. She didn’t have any plans for the rest of the day, but the idea of spending more time with Kate and talking about Levi Marks didn’t sound particularly appealing.

“I think I’m going to head home,” she said, smiling at the group. “Thanks for the invitation though.”

They exchanged goodbyes and went their separate ways. Amber walked towards the street feeling a bit deflated. It was a strange feeling, like she had been on the verge of something exciting but then it had slipped away.

Chapter 4

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