Chapter 89
As soon as Elizabeth was on stage, Dave started flirting with her, as he does with many of the female guests. He took her hand and made a grand gesture of kissing the back of it before leading her over to the chairs by his desk, holding her hand the entire way. She couldn’t help giggling at the way he was acting, unable to believe that David Letterman was actually flirting with her!
Lucky rolled his eyes as he watched the scene, grumbling under his breath about the man having no shame, hitting on another man’s wife.
“Lucky, why don’t you move over next to Sarah so your lovely wife can sit there?” Dave asked, pointing to Lucky’s seat as he and Liz approached them. Lucky sighed and stood up, reaching out to hug Liz before she could sit down in order to keep up their facade. He pulled back and kissed her quickly, then sat next to Sarah Michelle Gellar on the other couch while Liz took the seat next to Dave’s desk.
“Elizabeth, right?” Dave asked before starting his interview.
“Liz,” Lucky quickly corrected. “Everyone calls her Liz.” She looked at him strangely, wondering why he was so quick to correct him, when he called her Elizabeth all the time.
“Okay, Liz, then. Do you realize that you’re probably one of the most envied women in America right now? Maybe even the world?”
She shrugged and looked pointedly at Lucky, forcing a smile. “I can’t imagine why.”
Lucky returned her phony smile and reached out to place his hand over hers. “Oh, she’s just being modest.”
“Come on, you just married Lucky! Hey, does he even have a last name?”
Liz nodded. “Of course he does!” She winced as Lucky squeezed her hand, his nails digging into her. Obviously, he didn’t want her to reveal it. “But, I can’t say what it is.”
Trying another angle, Dave leaned forward flirtatiously. “How about you? Do you have a last name?”
“Webber,” she answered, smiling. “But, that’s my maiden name, nice try.”
Lucky chuckled softly, proud of the way she was handling the interview. Now if only Dave would stop flirting with her so much...
Figuring uncovering Lucky’s last name was a dead end, Dave moved on. “Lucky mentioned earlier that the two of you haven’t always gotten along. What made you realize that you were in love?”
“Um...” Liz glanced over at him, not sure how to answer, but saw that he wasn’t going to offer any help. “I don’t know. Everything happened so fast. It was like one minute we were fighting and the next we were getting married.”
“Aw, how romantic,” Sarah cooed. Liz looked over at her, having forgotten for a minute that she was still there. She seemed to be sitting awfully close to Lucky, too.
“Is it true you were married in Vegas?” Dave continued. They both nodded. “Why Vegas? I would think you’d have a big ceremony at home for your families.”
“We were being impulsive, I guess,” Lucky answered with a shrug.
“Are you sure you weren’t just drunk?” Dave asked, laughing. Liz had been taking a drink of Lucky’s water and was so startled by the question, she started to choke. Lucky quickly patted her on the back, trying to cover her outburst.
Liz recovered and blushed. “Sorry, I guess that went down the wrong pipe.” She glanced guiltily at Lucky, hoping he wasn’t mad at her for almost blowing their cover. She knew the last thing he needed was for the truth about them to come out on national television. It wasn’t exactly her idea of fun, either.
“You okay?” Dave asked. She nodded. “Well then, I guess it’s time for Lucky to do his song, or else we won’t have time for the next guest. Lucky, why don’t you go ahead over there, I’ll keep your wife company here.”
Lucky looked at him for a moment, then stood up to join the rest of his band. Before starting, he glanced back over at them. Liz was leaning over the desk, deep in conversation with Dave, their faces only inches apart as they whispered to each other. He frowned, wondering why he even cared that she was talking to him.
“Hey man, you ready?” his guitarist hissed in his ear, snapping him out of his trance.
“Yeah, sorry. Let’s go.”
When they were done playing, they escaped backstage. Liz had been so caught up in watching Lucky sing, she didn’t realize right away that she was still sitting on stage. She didn’t want to stay there for the rest of the show, especially now that Lucky was gone, but she wasn’t sure how to get back to the audience without seeming rude.
They took a break for the commercial that would be put in later, so Liz leaned over the desk to ask Dave if he needed her to stay.
“Um, since Lucky’s gone, shouldn’t I go back to my seat?”
“If you’d like.”
“Well, it’s getting sort of crowded up here, I don’t want to be in the way,” she said sheepishly. “Thank you for everything.”
“You’re very welcome. I wish you all the best with your marriage,” he said sincerely, shaking her hand. She returned his smile and hurried off the stage, sinking gratefully into her seat next to Charisma.
“You were great up there, Liz,” she whispered.
“Thanks, but I’m still going to kill Lucky for doing that. I hate being put on the spot like that!”
The rest of the show went quickly, and by the time they got out and to the back exit, Lucky’s band had finished loading their equipment back onto the bus. Liz climbed on and headed back to Lucky’s room to change. Knowing that the Late Show studio was always kept cold, she had worn a sweater, but now that they were out, she was hot. She closed the door and rummaged through her suitcase to find a cooler shirt to wear. Lucky wasn’t back yet, and she figured he wouldn’t be for a little while, so she decided to just change quickly there. She pulled the sweater over her head and tossed it on a nearby chair, then reached for the clean shirt.
Lucky walked into his room and stopped dead when he saw Liz. She was standing there in her bra, reaching for a shirt. She spun around when she heard the door, quickly bringing the shirt up in front of her.
“Don’t you know how to knock?” she snarled, glaring angrily at him.
“It’s my room, why should I?” he shot back, closing the door so no one would hear them. “Besides, you’re my wife, this shouldn’t be that big a deal. It’s not like I haven’t seen you like that before”
“We were drunk then.”
“I didn’t mean that, I meant after you were shot. Remember, I had to help you change shirts after you got yours wet?”
“Oh, right. I forgot about that. Still, I’d feel better if you could turn around while I do this.”
He nodded and turned to face the door while she quickly put on the shirt. “Okay, done.”
He turned back and walked over to the bed, sitting down. “So, how did you like the show?”
“It was all right,” she answered, putting her stuff back in the suitcase so it wasn’t all over the room. “That’s the first time I’ve heard you sing live. You were good.”
“Thanks,” he said softly, thrown by the compliment.
“Still, that doesn’t excuse you for getting me drug up on stage like that!” She turned and walked over to the bed, sitting on the opposite side and facing him.
“You looked like you were enjoying yourself,” he said bitterly.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Oh come on, Letterman was flirting with you like crazy. Don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy that, because I could tell you did!”
“Well, yeah, I mean, it’s David Letterman! He’s famous, who wouldn’t get a kick out of it? It’s not like I’m interested in him or anything. He’s old enough to be my father! Besides, he does that to all of his female guests.”
“Not all of them,” he grumbled.
“Like you’re one to talk! You and Buffy were flirting all over the place too!”
“We were not! And her name is Sarah.”
“Oh yeah, how could I forget your obsession with blondes named Sarah...” she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. “Did you forget that you’re supposed to be married when you greeted her like that?”
“Why? She’s my friend, I haven’t seen her in ages. What was wrong with that? And what does her name have to do with anything?”
“The kissing was a little unnecessary,” she grumbled, ignoring the rest of his question. Obviously, he had forgotten about his infatuation with her sister back in high school.
Lucky laughed and shook his head. “That’s just what people in the entertainment business do. It doesn’t mean anything.”
“Yeah, sure. You probably made out with her every day for that movie, don’t tell me that nothing ever happened!”
“Elizabeth, we were acting! Just because we had to kiss each other for the movie, doesn’t mean it meant anything! When you’re acting, you learn to separate yourself from the part. Anyway, you and I have to kiss all the time for this stupid marriage scam and so far we still hate each other as much as we always have, right?”
Liz glanced away nervously. “Yeah, right. I guess I forgot about that.”
Lucky stood up and looked at his watch, suddenly realizing that they were getting too carried away. “Um, I have another interview to go to, so I better head out.”
“Okay.” She looked up at him again, not sure what else to say.
“You want to come along?” he asked with a smirk, knowing she wouldn’t. It was easier to tease her than to deal with whatever had just happened.
“No, I’ll stay here,” she answered. “I’ve learned my lesson. No more interviews!”
“Well, look on the bright side. All we have to do is get through the awards stuff. You go home on Thursday morning, right?”
“Yeah, thank goodness. I’ll call Alexis as soon as I get in. Hopefully, she’ll have the papers done by the time you get back.” She stood up and walked to the door, figuring she should follow him out. “This thing has gone much too far already, the sooner we end it, the better.”
“I know. The hard part’s almost over. For the next three weeks we won’t have to keep up the stupid act since we’ll be apart. It’s be easier then. Come on, I have to get out of here.” They left the room and walked to the front door of the bus. Lucky turned around and pulled her into his arms, seeing that there were people watching them. “I’ll be back soon.”
“I’ll miss you,” she replied, bracing herself for the kiss she knew would follow.
Lucky leaned in and kissed her, trying to ignore the electricity that ran through him as their lips met. He pulled away and smiled shakily. “See what I mean? It’s just an act.”
“Mm-hm,” she mumbled, letting go of him as he exited the bus. She sighed and sat down in a nearby chair. “Did you kiss Buffy like that?” she sighed under her breath.
