Page 52 of Love at First Sighting
“I would like to give a special thanks to the alluring Ariel Martin for helping me with this evening’s show,” Sam says, dramatically kissing the back of El’s hand. I clock the brief annoyance that crosses her face, but she goes back to hiding it and fawning over Sam as she’s meant to.
Sam steps away and frowns. “Which makes what I’ll have to do to you even more dismal.”
The audience gasps and El feigns concern. I should have expected that El is a great actress. She puts on fake faces forthe whole world every day. I look back up at Ian Forte and he’s leering and watching her carefully. I conclude I hate him.
Sam disappears offstage and comes back, wheeling a table to center stage. The box on top is bedazzled and painted in deep reds and golds, and Sam opens the lid.
“My lady, I’m going to ask you to climb inside and meet your fate,” he directs, bringing over a small step stool for El to climb. She takes the bottom of her dress, flashing a glance and a tempting tease of her leg at the audience as she climbs inside. I look back at Ian Forte. He’s practically salivating.
El leans back in the box; her head sticks out of the top and her feet jut from the bottom. However, as someone who watched El get ready, I remember immediately those aren’t her shoes. They’ve been mostly obscured by her draping dress during the show, but I remember them being black stilettos, and these are red. Clearly fake feet.
Yet, as Sam locks her in and shows the audience she can’t escape, anxiety bubbles in my stomach. It’s because I’ve come to care so much about her that the thought of anything—even something stupid—happening to her scares the shit out of me.
“Are you comfortable in there?” he asks.
“So cozy,” she responds, and the crowd chuckles.
Then Sam whips out a big fucking saw. He dramatically waves it over his head, then runs his fingers over the blade and feigns cutting himself. He saws vigorously through the box and El fidgets as he slices through her. I am somewhat curious about how this trick works. I’m going to have to ask El later.
He hits the bottom of the box and glances up at the crowd with a single brow raised before casting the two sides of thetable apart. The crowd gasps, and even I clap. He spins the two ends of the table to show there’s nothing on the other side, and then puts them back together.
“My lady, would you like to be in one piece again?” he asks El.
“That’d be great,” she says from one end of the box. Sam pulls the table back together and makes a few adjustments on the other side before the top of the box pops open, then El sits up and carefully moves out of the box. Sam takes her hand and guides her to the front of the stage, showing that she’s in one piece. El gives a tasteful curtsy and her eyes drift up to Ian Forte’s box, and I look there, too.
He’s summoned one of his waitresses to his side and is whispering something in her ear as he claps for Sam. El seeks me out in the crowd and flashes a smile meant only for me, and then she blows me a kiss as she and Sam take their final bows. El turns on her heel, following Sam determinedly behind the curtains. Sam worked his magic; now it’s time for El to work hers.
Chapter 15
El
Sam owes me now.
The second the curtains close, he ushers me offstage and into one of the wings. A waitress quickly offers each of us another glass of Terra vodka, and while Sam drinks it, I most certainly do not.
“What a rush, Ariel! Isn’t it magical?”
While participating was a little bit fun and I nevermindedSam’s shows,magicalis not the word I’d use. He’s not a bad magician by any means, just a truly lackluster boyfriend.
“It was fun!” I tell him.
“You saved my show. I was deeply panicked about the loss of Katarina, but you are a hero. I mean it.”
“Uh-huh,” I begin. “Happy to help. Now, I have something I need to talk to you about.”
“Of course,” he says.
“I want you to introduce me to Ian Forte.”
Sam grows quiet, and after a moment he sighs. “I would love to, but—”
Considering I saved his show, I’m not asking for much. He’s willing to perform alongside me and show me off but notintroduce me to Ian? I know their families are good friends. They’re even neighbors at the airfield where they store their private jets. Sam comes from old oil money, which explains how he can afford to follow his passion to be a literal magician, and the Fortes have been continuous investors in his career.
“But what?” I interrupt.
“Look, El,” Sam begins, “I got you in because this soiree is the who’s who of cultural icons, and I brought you onstage because I was in a quandary and I trust you to perform well.”
“Who here is anicon?”
