Chapter 2 #2
The young girl standing in the doorway behind him was blushing, her whole face flushed crimson.
She didn’t look much younger than Izzie, putting her at no more than twenty two.
He was drawn to her almond shaped eyes as they flitted between looking no higher than his chest or at the floor.
She nervously messed with her hair, tucking it behind her ear only to remove it instantly, enabling her to hide behind the veil it created.
“Alex. Call me Alex. My dad is Mr Carter. Come in, we don’t bite.
This is my sister, Isobel.” He held out his hand for her to shake, amused by how unsure of herself she was.
He lowered his head as he bent slightly at the knee, enabling him to make eye contact with her.
The colour in her already flushed face deepened further.
He smiled reassuringly at her before straightening to his full height, allowing her to do her job.
Hooking the battery pack into the back pocket of his jeans, he could feel her shaking. “Erm, Mr Cart...Alex, I, erm, need to run the wire under your erm...shirt. It you don’t mind. Or you can do it if you prefer.” Her whole arm shook whilst she tried to remain professional.
Alex grinned, holding out his arms in an almost surrendering pose, gesturing for her to carry on.
Lifting the hem of his shirt she began feeding the wire through, pushing her hand up between his flesh and the material.
She tried to focus on the job in hand instead of counting the ridges of his abdomen as she brushed over them.
“Just clip this bit on to the button hole here. That should do it.” Without thinking she ran her hand over the outside of his shirt, smoothing it back down where she had caused it to ruffle.
Her insides fluttered at the feel of his muscular form, the sound of her own pulse vibrating in her ears.
“Oh God! Sorry...that was wrong of me. I’m sorry.
I shouldn’t have. I mean if you just want to straighten that out, I’m done.
Thanks.” Turning on her heels she hurried out of the room and back down the corridor.
“Ooh, Alex has an admirer!” Izzie giggled, teasing him.
“Shut up. The poor girl looked horrified. Go after her, Iz, and tell her it’s okay, will you?” He felt terrible that he had made the girl uncomfortable.
“You go, Mr Big Shot! I’m not your slave.”
“Do I need to remind you who pays your wages?” Regretting his tone immediately, he now pleaded. “Iz, please?”
He could see it was futile, she had turned her attention to the guy sitting in the chair next to her who was trying to chat her up. Huffing loudly, he shot out of the door and in the direction the girl had gone.
He found her at the water fountain just around the first corner, cursing to herself under her breath as she paced back and forth.
“Hey, I just wanted to say sorry if I embarrassed you. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. Sorry.” He smiled genuinely at the girl. With the colour in her cheeks now faded he could truly appreciate her beauty.
“I think they’re ready for you now, Alex. Do you want to follow me? It’s just this way.”
Holding out his arm, he indicated for her to lead the way, following closely behind her but not so close that he couldn’t truly appreciate her.
Her shoulder length sandy coloured hair swished in unison with her hips as she walked purposefully in front of him.
His eyes were settled on her denim clad behind when she abruptly came to a halt, causing him to career into her.
He held out his arm to steady her as she looked less than impressed that he had nearly sent her flying onto the studio floor.
“If you just want to wait here, I’ll take you across to the sofa when they cut to the ad break. Maybe you could try to watch where you’re walking then too.” Raising one eyebrow as she spoke, she managed to stop her face from flushing as she looked into two very dark, very sexy eyes.
Alex smirked at her attempt to tell him off. “So what should I call you? I’ve just realised that you know my name and yet here I am still in the dark as to how to address you.”
“Grace. Grace Harris.” She didn’t look at him as she spoke; instead her eyes were transfixed on the studio floor, watching everyone’s movements like a hawk, leaving Alex feeling a little unimportant.
Leaning forward so he could speak in a hushed tone he whispered in her ear, conscious of not disturbing the live broadcast that was going on a few feet away. “It’s nice to meet you, Grace.”
He chuckled as she visibly shuddered from his nearness before she quickly placed her hand on his arm to guide him across the floor.
After briefly introducing him to the two presenters who were about to inflict torture on him, she wished him luck and scurried back across the studio, taking up her place just behind camera one, where she remained the whole time he was on air.
The interview wasn’t as bad as he had expected it to be; they had tried hard to avoid the inane questions he was usually asked, instead sticking to asking him about his music or for his impressions of the city so far.
He shook their hands as they drew the interview to a close, linking into yet another ad break.
After a few pleasant exchanges Grace was by his side again, ready to guide him back to the green room where Izzie awaited him.
To avoid any further embarrassing situations, Alex unhooked his own mic, shoving it back down beneath his shirt before pulling out the battery pack and handing it over.
Izzie tossed him his leather jacket before steering him out of the building.
Glancing back over his shoulder as they left, he was certain that the girl had been checking him out.
As they sat in the car his thoughts drifted back to Grace.
He still felt uneasy about the way she had acted around him.
He hated it when people came over all star struck around him.
He didn’t think of himself as being any different to the next person, his job just meant he was in the public eye.
Strangers either thought they knew you personally or that you owed them some sort of debt.
There were generally two camps; the ones who would run up to you no matter what you were in the middle of, demanding your full attention, or the group that would shout your name or some abuse at you.
He missed being able to blend into the scenery.
As the car headed back to the hotel, he sat staring out of the window watching the shops whizz past them when inspiration hit him smack in the face.
“Stop the car!”
Izzie slid forward on her seat as the car came to an abrupt stop before Alex opened the door, jumping out on to the pavement.
He sprinted into the shop they were parked outside of, leaving his sister unsure whether she should follow or just sit tight.
Taking in the surroundings she figured it was best if she went after him.
The last thing she needed was for him to be swamped by some crazy fans.
As she pushed open the door the aroma that filled the air brought on a sneezing fit.
Rummaging in her pocket for a tissue she headed across to the counter where her brother was filling in a small card.
Peering over his shoulder she saw he had written a phone number before signing his name; not his flourishing autograph as she would have expected, but just his first name in his normal scribble.
Smiling broadly at the assistant behind the counter, he grinned as he spoke.
“Make it big. Something really amazing, not just the usual garage forecourt crap.” He pointed to a huge display that sat atop the counter.
“Something similar to that, but a lot bigger. Please.” He pulled his wallet from his front pocket, handing over his credit card as Izzie peered at the cash register. Jesus, how much!
“Are they for Mum? That’s kinda expensive, Alex. She’ll go mad at you spending all that on her. You know what she’s like!”
Smirking, he tucked his wallet back in his pocket before placing his hands on Izzie’s shoulders, steering her back out of the shop.
“You go first; check the coast is clear. I don’t want to get papped coming out of the florists.
” Doing as she was told, she checked out the street before opening the door and allowing him to run full pelt straight into the back of the awaiting car.