Home Sweet Home Read online

  Home Sweet Home

  by

  Melanie Shawn

  Cover Design by Hot Damn Designs

  Published by Red Hot Reads Publishing

  Copyright 2013 Melanie Shawn

  All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the original purchaser of this book. No part of this may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission in writing from Melanie Shawn. Exceptions are limited to reviewers who may use brief quotations in connection with reviews. No part of this book can be transmitted, scanned, reproduced, or distributed in any written or electronic form without written permission from Melanie Shawn.

  This book is a work of fiction. Places, names, characters and events are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locations, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  My First (The Crossroads Series)

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  Lauren Harrison was highly annoyed, although you would never know it from her placidly calm demeanor.

  Not many things ruffled her. She was a high-powered woman in a high-pressure career. If she were easily rattled, she would have fallen apart long before. But there was one thing that got under her skin every time, even if she refused to show any outward signs of it.

  She absolutely could not stand it when people behaved as if they were too good for everyone else around them. She detested it when people displayed any sort of attitude of entitlement.

  She hated it when people had an air of arrogance in their demeanor, and she absolutely loathed it when they let it influence their actions – especially when their actions impacted the people around them.

  There was no excuse for that kind of behavior in Lauren's mind. She had worked hard to get where she was by doing her job well and without complaint, and she respected others who also worked hard at their jobs, without regard to whether she might consider their job on a lower rung of the social ladder than hers.

  She didn't think like that, it never even entered her mind. In Lauren's way of looking at the world, the value of one's work was derived from how diligently one applied themselves to a task and how successful one was at the completion of that task – not from some arbitrary judgment of the perceived value of the task. To her mind, that was ludicrous!

  To that end, she had no patience for people who treated restaurant servers like their personal servants, for people who treated administrative and secretarial staff like second-hand citizens, or – more to the point in this moment – people who were willing to make an entire television production crew of more than 25 people wait around for over 4 hours because they didn't consider it important to be on time.

  Lauren was at the home of one of her best friends, Karina Blackstone – known to the rest of the world as pop super star Karina Black. Karina had agreed to allow her stunning Hope Falls mountaintop mansion to be featured on the celebrity edition of the real estate reality show 'Home Sweet Home.'

  The show offered a glimpse inside fabulous abodes that the public would never ordinarily be afforded the chance to see. Lauren, a real estate agent who loved homes and architecture, would reluctantly admit to watching it every once in a while – although, she would be quick to point out, she was interested solely in the beautiful homes that were showcased, and was not impressed one little bit by the appeal of Home Sweet Homes' host, the charismatic and almost-too-good-looking-to-be-a-real-person Ben Stevens.

  In fact, it was the complete lack of professionalism and courtesy currently being shown by the hours-tardy Mr. Stevens that was the cause of Lauren's ire. The shoot had been set to begin at 9 am. The crew had been set up on time, ready to go. Lauren, the real estate agent who originally sold Karina the house and who was on hand to give Ben a personal rundown of the architectural details, was there and ready to go on time.

  My God, even Karina was on time, and she was one of the most famous people on the planet! She was the one person in this fiasco who would have the right to throw around her diva weight if anyone would, and she was the height of professionalism. Ben Stevens could take a lesson, Lauren fumed to herself.

  It was now one o'clock in the afternoon, and the host had still not seen fit to grace them all with his presence. Lauren sighed as she glanced at her watch for the twentieth time that hour.

  Shaking her head, she walked over to where Karina sat in front of a vanity mirror, getting her hair and make-up touched up by the professional stylists that had flown in for the shoot.

  Lauren sat down in the chair next to Karina's, making eye contact in the mirror because Karina could not turn her head to face Lauren without disrupting the stylists' work. Lauren studied herself in the mirror, side by side with Karina. They were both tall and slender, but where Karina had the dark, dusky brown skin and silky midnight-black hair befitting her Native American heritage, Lauren had light peach-toned skin and white-blonde hair, which was usually swept back in a chignon, not a hair out of place. The combination of her reserved and controlled manner and her Nordic good looks had inspired more than one competitor or colleague to dub her, 'The Ice Princess.'

  Lauren said regretfully, “Kar, I don't know how much longer I can stick around at this point. I have appointments this afternoon that I'd rather not reschedule, and I was actually supposed to be out of here a few hours ago. What do they call it?”

  “Wrapped,” Karina replied.

  “Yeah, I was supposed to be wrapped a while ago. I mean, I hate to bail on you, but...”

  “No, hey, don't even give it a second thought,” Karina said genuinely, “I can fill him in on the details of the house. Sure, it won't be as brilliantly or professionally done as it would be by you, but it will be fine. If you need to take off, go ahead. You have a job to do!”

  Lauren nodded, torn. On the one hand, she did not like to break her commitments, which is what made the thought of rescheduling her afternoon appointments so distasteful. On the other hand, she did not feel right about leaving Karina with the job of remembering and relating all of the real estate minutiae that she, as the homeowner, would have no real reason to keep in her mind. Square footage and ceiling heights had little meaning to an artistic soul like Karina – she had bought this house because of the stunning view and the fully-equipped music studio it offered.

  Before she could make her decision, she heard the distinctive voice of Karina's manager, Bernie Kaplan, as he made his shuffling way across the room to where the women were sitting. Bernie was a stooped, balding, white-haired little man who was not even a fraction as spry of body as he was of mind and spirit.

  “Hello, beautiful women,” he greeted them cheerfully, “I have news regarding when we might be getting this show on the road.”

  “Excellent!” Lauren smiled enthusiastically, “When might that be?”

  “No one knows. That's the news,” Bernie said matter of factly, “But I'll keep you posted.”

  Karina laughed, “Oh, yes, Bernie, please do – your little updates are so help
ful.”

  Bernie shrugged, “Can I know what I don't know?”

  Lauren and Karina looked at each other, each silently puzzling out the grammar of the riddle to themselves.

  “No, I cannot,” Bernie answered for them, “But here is a small tidbit of information that you may find more enlightening. When I was waiting to speak to the producers about when we might get started, I happened to hear a very interesting conversation they were having...”

  “Were you eavesdropping, Bernie?” asked Karina reprovingly.

  Bernie shrugged, “If two people are having a conversation, am I rude enough to interrupt? No, I am not.”

  Karina laughed again, pointing out, “But you will gladly stand there and listen to it.”

  “That's just good business, chickadee,” Bernie pointed out, “At any rate, what I didn't interrupt turned out to be a conversation about how much they liked this area. Stunning natural beauty, they said, and great big gorgeous homes. They were tossing around the idea of launching a spin-off show. 'Home Sweet Vacation Home.' How about that?”

  Bernie looked supremely pleased with himself.

  “How about that?” Karina asked, nonplussed.

  “Don't you see it?” Bernie asked, impatiently.

  Both women shook their heads.

  “Let me lay it out for you then. They will be looking for a host. Preferably a successful local agent who just happens to have star quality, much like they found in Ben Stevens.”

  Karina and Lauren nodded at him, blankly.

  “Still, no?” he said, exasperated, “Oy! What would you do if you didn't have me? I'm talking about you, bubeleh! You would be perfect.”

  Bernie indicated Lauren. Still, it took Lauren a moment to grasp the implications of what he was saying.

  “Me?” she said, wrinkling her forehead, “I'm no TV host.”

  “Not yet,” Bernie conceded, shrugging, “That would be where I would come in. I would represent you, bring you to their attention, broker your deal...”

  “Whoa, whoa,” Lauren said, “Slow down. Is this spinoff even a certainty?”

  Bernie waved this concern aside dismissively, “What in life is a certainty? Only death. Is this death we're talking about here? No it is not. So there is no certainty.”

  Lauren looked at Karina, at a loss for what to say.

  “Don't mind him,” Karina said, “He's just thinking out loud. You can always tell Bernie's excited about an idea when he starts going all Yiddish and Philosophy on you.”

  Lauren shook her head, “I'm sorry, Bernie, I don't mean to be rude. This has just been a very trying day.”

  Karina grinned, “Welcome to showbiz, babe. It's a hurry-up-and-wait kind of business.”

  Lauren grimaced in reply, “Then I don't think I'm cut out for it.”

  Bernie, never one to be easily deterred, said, “Don't rule anything out. We'll talk, we'll talk.”

  Lauren opened her mouth to respond, but never got the chance. She, Bernie, and Karina were all distracted by the commotion that was suddenly arising at the front door of the house.

  Ben Stevens, it seemed, had finally arrived.

  --- ~ ---

  Ben climbed out of the back of the town car that had been sent for him by production. He sighed. If only everything else that the production team had arranged for him that day had gone as smoothly as the car ride from his hotel in Lake Tahoe had gone.

  He had to hand it to the Sierra Nevadas, the pine tree covered mountains were absolutely gorgeous. The 45 minute drive, though stressful because he wanted to hurry up and get to the set, had at least been filled with stunning natural beauty.

  Generally, Ben liked to work in the backs of limos and town cars in order to make good use of the dead time, but today was different. He needed to get his head right. He needed to get into the 'I'm Ben Stevens and you're watching Home Sweet Home' mindset. He needed to dial up his personal charisma.

  This was an incredibly important episode of Home Sweet Home. The celebrity edition. With Karina Black, for God's sake! What a get she was. The network was, obviously, going to promo the hell out of it before it aired. It was entirely possible that more people would watch this single episode than had ever seen the show at all in the past.

  He needed to be on his game today. He'd been mentally preparing for weeks.

  So, when the day had begun by his being erroneously texted that his call time had changed...which then caused the original town car that production had sent for him to consider him a no-show and leave...which in turn meant that he had spent the entire morning coordinating with production on trying to arrange a replacement town car or a rental car or ANYTHING to get up to this tiny place called Hope Falls...well, let's just say it hadn't been conducive to getting himself into his “star magnetism” mindset.

  The truth was, he felt an incredible responsibility to the show and the 25-plus people that worked on it. He knew that, aside from the incredible shots of gorgeous homes that each episode featured, he was the main linchpin upon which the success of the show hinged. The better the performance he delivered, the better chance they had for solid rankings, and the better chance to keep 25-plus crew members employed in an increasingly unstable job market.

  Yes. You're damn right he took that responsibility seriously.

  He knew that, in order to have the greatest chance to give the best, most engaging, most magnetic performance possible, he needed to be 'in character' the entire time he was on the set. Yes, in his mind he referred to it as being 'in character' even though he was appearing on the show as himself, and not a character in a scripted drama. It was, in a way, like acting out a part, though – the part of a highly stylized, amped-up version of himself.

  Any natural charm and charisma that he innately possessed, he did his best – to paraphrase the immortal words of Christopher Guest – to turn it up to 11. There might be people out there who could turn their 'it factor' on when the cameras started rolling and then revert to their natural state immediately after the director yelled 'cut' – Ben was not one of them.

  It wasn't like he had set out to be a television personality, after all. He was a real estate agent. When one of his clients, a producer, had recommended him for the gig, he'd been completely unprepared. He had learned on the fly, and was doing the best he could under high-pressure circumstances.

  The town car came to a halt, and Ben could see by the collection of equipment vans parked in the driveway and out on the street that they were in the right place.

  Alright, Ben, he told himself. Everyone in there is going to be on edge. Don't add to the stress. Don't put the blame for being late on anyone else, just brush it off. Be happy, be charming, be magnanimous. Put on a great show.

  He took a deep breath, pasted a wide smile on his face, and got out of the car.

  --- ~ ---

  Karina and Lauren walked over to stand side by side in the archway that led from Karina's entryway to her living room, the perfect vantage point to watch the event that had everyone on the set buzzing with busy energy, scurrying to and fro, and chattering to each other in their headset mics. The entrance of Ben Stevens.

  Lauren recognized him as he walked through the door. Yes, that was definitely the handsome host she had seen a number of times on her television screen.

  As Ben crossed the threshold, the production team began to clap and cheer. Lauren looked around incredulously, her disbelief quickly turning to annoyance.

  “Wow, I'd love to have a job where I actually got applauded for waltzing in five hours late,” she said archly to Karina, crossing her arms in a pointed refusal to join in the applause.

  Karina smiled at her indulgently, “Again. Welcome to show biz, babe. What you're witnessing is the scale of talent. When you're not a 'name' you get treated like cattle. When you are a 'name' you can do no wrong. There's no in between.”

  Lauren shook her head, “It's such a bizarre world you live in, Karina.”

  Karina eyed her sideways, “Hey, don't
look at me, Laur. This isn't my world anymore. I live in Hope Falls now, same as you.”

  Ben had moved to the center of the entryway and was waving both hands to the assembled crew, who were still applauding. Much as he would, Lauren thought, if he were royalty about to address his subjects.

  “Hey, folks,” he said with what Lauren thought was a transparently false humble expression, “I know there's been a big delay. These things happen. But, moving forward, now...let's have a great show.”

  Lauren turned to Karina with a raised eyebrow, “Wow. 'These things happen.' How sincere! That's right up there in the non-apology department with 'mistakes were made.' I can tell he's really and truly sorry after that little speech.”

  Karina laughed and was about to reply when they were interrupted by the topic of their conversation himself walking up to them.

  “Ladies,” he said in a loud, too-hearty voice, “I'm sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to introduce myself before we get started. I'm Ben Stevens.”

  Although, of course – since Karina was the huge super star AND the guest on the show he was about to host – he had really come over to introduce himself to her, and not to the both of them. Lauren knew this. However, she couldn't get past the uncanny sensation that the majority of his spotlight-like attention was focused on her, and not Karina.

  “Hi, Ben,” said Karina, offering her hand casually, “I'm Karina, pleased to meet you.”

  Ben extended his hand and gave Karina's a firm shake, saying, “Absolutely. It's a pleasure to meet you. We're all so happy that you're doing the show.”

  “Of course,” Karina replied pleasantly, “And I'd like to introduce you to my very good friend, and the agent that helped me with the purchase of this home, Lauren Harrison.”

  Lauren extended her hand to shake his, saying in a neutral, business-like tone, “Pleased to meet you, Mr. Stevens.”

  Ben took Lauren's hand, but instead of shaking it as she was expecting him to do, he slowly turned it so that her palm was facing down and lifted it to his lips, pressing them to the back of her hand for what felt to Lauren like an uncomfortably long time.