That evening they sat down in what would have been a family dining room had the house actually belonged to the McMahons. Stephanie spoke to Amy for a while before studying a large sheaf of papers, getting lost in whatever it was she was reading. Vince and Linda entertained Amy with some of the stories they had concocted in the past for the benefit of the wrestling fans. She thoroughly enjoyed the evening and the only thing that would have made it better was if Mark could have been there. In all honesty, she didn't have any idea where he actually was and since she had only known him two days, she knew she had no right to know. Still, he was the first man who had ever shown an interest in her who wasn't abrasive or overbearing, and so far she had enjoyed his company. She couldn't help but hope that he would ask her out again, even if it did seem unlikely.
"Oh, I almost forgot," Vince said, reaching inside his jacket pocket for something. "I got you this today." He placed a cell phone on the table and slid it across to her. "It's so I know where you are at all times."
Linda elbowed him and rolled her eyes. "No, it isn't so he can keep tabs on you, at all! It's so you can always call us if you need us, even if it's for us to pick you up from somewhere."
"Plus you can use it to make long intimate phone calls to a certain someone," Vince said, raising his eyebrows, his mouth curving into a smile when she blushed.
Amy felt overwhelmed that they cared enough about her to want to make sure she was safe, that she could contact them if she needed them. She picked the phone up and studied it for a few seconds while she swallowed down the lump that had formed in her throat. "Thank you so much," she said quietly when she could trust her voice again.
Linda squeezed her hand. "It's nothing Amy, just a phone."
"It's the thought behind it though," Amy replied.
"You know you're going to have to get used to this? You're a part of our family and we'll worry about you all the time that you're not with us. It's what families do," Linda said, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
"Not all families," Amy said, her tone subdued as memories tried to crowd in on her current happiness.
"No, not all families. I know that as well as you do," Vince said, recalling bad times from his own childhood. "But this family looks out for one another, and you better not forget it! It works both ways you know? Any one of us may need you to help us at some time, and we'll expect you to be there for us, too."
"I would be," she said, worried that he might think she would ignore them if they needed her.
"I know," Vince said, smiling gently. "So you better get used to the idea that we'll be there for you as well, for as long as you need us."
Amy bit her lip. "That may be a long time."
"We're counting on it," Vince replied, smiling with something like relief. It was the first time she had intimated that she would stay for any length of time. "As far as we're concerned, Peaches, you're welcome to stay forever."
"Thank you," Amy whispered, looking half sad and half happy. She swiped at her eyes self consciously. "I'm sorry, I guess I'm just tired. I'll go up if that's alright?"
"Wherever we're staying is your home, so you can treat it as such. Off you go and we'll see you in the morning." Linda smiled and watched as the young girl left the room, her shoulders drooping slightly.
Vince looked at his wife's concerned expression and grabbed her hand. "It's going to take some time for her to get over her past. She's not used to being cared about in any way, but she'll get there. We'll help her."
Linda nodded and watched as Vince got his own cell phone out and sent a text message. "Who was that to?"
"Oh, nobody important. Just letting someone know Amy's new number," he replied innocently.
"Is this nobody important covered in body art by any chance?"
"Could be," he said, smiling smugly.
"I wish you'd make your mind up about him," Linda said, shaking her head.
"What do you mean?"
"One minute you like the idea of Amy coming out of her shell with him, the next you want to deck him for daring to look at her in a certain way. She's not a child," Linda said sternly.
"No, she isn't. And neither is he, which is far more important. Still, I guess I do trust him, which is why I gave him her number. He cheers her up." Vince rubbed a hand through his hair. "Anyway, it's extremely early days yet. Once we leave for home she won't be able to see him for two weeks anyway, because he's committed to the show. She can have a holiday with us in the meantime."
"And I suppose you think that will make her forget him or vice versa?"
"Well, you never know," Vince said, pursing his lips thoughtfully.
"You know what they say. Absence makes the heart grow fonder," Linda said, giving him a knowing look.
"Oh, for God's sake. They only met yesterday, they aren't in love!"
"I fell in love with you the first time I met you, and my parents said the same thing to me. So don't be too sure about how they feel."
Vince glared at his wife and sighed, wondering what he'd done by even introducing Mark to Amy. Well, it was too late now, he would just have to watch and wait...and be ready to kill if necessary, he thought grimly.
The next morning Vince dragged Amy with him to work and handed her over to Tammy, with instructions to make sure she 'gave her something complicated' to do.
Tammy grinned at her as Vince walked away. "What did you do to piss the boss off?"
"I have no idea," Amy replied, shaking her head and staring after Vince's retreating figure.
"Well, what the boss says, goes. So, I have just the thing for you to do, and you never know, you may even enjoy it!" Tammy said with a wicked glint in her eyes. She pulled Amy inside the room and handed her a tape measure, a pad and a pen. After picking up the same for herself she gave a slightly unsteady smile. "Okay, let's go."
"Go where?"
"To Mark and Glenn's dressing room, of course. We have some measurements to take," Tammy said, starting to look nervous.
"M...measurements? You mean I have to...oh, I can't," Amy said, not moving.
"You have to. I have to do it and I feel just as nervous, and I've been doing it for years. I suppose it makes it worse because of who we're measuring..."
"But...but they've been wrestling for years, you must have their measurements already!" Amy said hopefully.
"I have old ones. But their outfits are starting to get a bit ill-fitting, especially Glenn's, he's lost a few pounds. I have to do this every once in a while. It'd make me feel much better having you there, because I can teach you how to measure at the same time I'm doing it. That way Glenn won't think I'm just there to feel him up!" Tammy said, smiling shakily.
"You could always measure Mark and I could measure Glenn, if that helps?"
"No, no. I am there just so I can feel him up. Glenn's mine!" Tammy said, giving a small laugh.
"Talking of Glenn, did he find you yesterday after you threw your coffee all over him?" Amy asked, reaching for any subject to delay what she knew she was going to have to do.
She watched as the older woman blushed. "Yeah, he did. And you want to know what I did? He burst into the room without knocking and I threw a tray full of pins at him in shock! It took me quite a while to pick them out of his chest, not that he seemed to mind. He laughed at me the whole time."
Amy couldn't help but laugh herself at the mental picture she got. "You really know how to make an impression!"
"Don't I just? Still, it wasn't all bad. He said thanks and then touched my face..." she tailed off and started to look mesmerised, before shaking herself. "Anyway, we have to do this, and you have to learn, so let's go."
Tammy marched off so quickly that Amy found herself jogging to catch up with her long legged stride. "Do we have to?"
"Yes, we do. I had this scheduled for this morning anyway, and now I have you to back me up. Come on, deep breaths, we're nearly there."
Almost too soon they were standing outside the door and Amy could hear the rumble of voices from inside, punctuated by deep laughter. She took a deep breath and swallowed. "Are we measuring for...er...trousers?"
"Oh yeah, we sure are," Tammy said, sounding just as breathless as she did. Gathering her nerve, the blond knocked on the door and swung it open as soon as she heard one of them shout out to come in.
Amy had to admire her resolve. Obviously this was a part of the job that she found difficult, but she gritted her teeth and got on with it. Amy decided she would have to do the same.
Mark was sitting on the settee, leaning his head against the back with his eyes closed. He opened them and immediately sat up straight when he saw her walk in, a smile curling the corners of his mouth. "Good morning, Amy," he said, his deep voice sending a shiver down her spine. "Busy?" he asked, nodding towards the tape measure.
"Oh...er...well, I have to...er...measure you..." she stammered, blushing when his eyebrows shot up.
"Measure me?" he said, standing up and moving closer to her, noticing how Glenn was leaning down to talk to Tammy and that neither of them were paying any attention to what he was doing. "What part of me are you gonna measure, honey?" He watched as her face was completely suffused with colour and her mouth opened and closed a couple of times. He touched a finger to her nose. "I heard Vince call you Peaches, which I have to assume is because of this beautiful complexion. But seeing as it changes colour whenever you're around me, I think I'll just call you Scarlet."
Amy was shocked when he leaned down and planted a brief kiss on her lips. He didn't seem to care that the other two were in the room, but when she looked across at them, she realised why. Glenn was standing so close to Tammy that they were virtually touching and Tammy's face was the same colour as Amy's. Whatever he was saying to Tammy had made her eyes become incredibly wide.
Mark's hand caressing her cheek made her attention jump back to him, and she looked up into his impossibly green eyes, seeing them crinkle at the corners as he smiled. "You know, you looked just like this when I kissed you in Vince's office. Am I not allowed to touch you in front of anyone?"
"I...I don't mind...you..." she swallowed and tried again. "People will think that we're...you know..."
He raised an eyebrow and grinned. "I am an adult, you know? I am allowed to have a relationship."
"A relationship?"
"Mmm-hmm. A relationship. Me and you. You got a problem with that?"
"You don't know me and...I don't really know you..."
His thumb rubbed across her bottom lip, stopping her from rambling. "I know enough for now, and the rest we'll find out as we go along. I'm not looking for a quick roll in the hay, Scarlet, if that's what's worrying you." He studied her expression and his eyes narrowed. "My God, you've only been here for a few days and the gossips have already got to you haven't they?"
"Well, I heard some stuff," she admitted as he led her to the settee and pulled her down on it next to him.
"And you believe it all?"
"Not really, but..."
"But? Either you believe it or you don't!" he said, his voice like a soft growl as he became impatient. It would be nice for just one person to disbelieve all the rumours for once, even if some of them were true. He saw her tense as his voice deepened and took a calming breath, forcing himself not to get angry at her. After all, she hadn't actually done anything and he knew he was being unreasonable.
"I don't believe rumours just for the sake of it," she said quietly, biting her lip. "I prefer to get to know the person in question first. I...I'm sure there's a grain of truth in them somewhere, but you don't seem like that to me."
Mark was surprised and his face showed it. "You don't think I'm like that?" He watched as she shook her head and his face relaxed into a smile. "How would you like to have dinner with me tonight at the hotel?"
Amy smiled shyly and lifted her chin. "Is this a date?"
He chuckled and tugged at a strand of her curly red hair. "Yep, this is a date. Well?"
"I'd love to. I haven't got anything glamorous to wear, though," she said worriedly.
"We can soon fix that. I'll take you shopping this afternoon, and don't argue, I always get my own way!" He fixed her with a warning look.
"So not all the gossip was untrue then?" she said, trying for a teasing tone, pleased with her efforts when he slanted her a stern glare and grabbed her chin threateningly, but gently.
"Want to know which bits are true?" he growled, leaning closer to her, his intentions clear in his eyes.
Just as he was about to make contact, a loud cough came from in front of them, making Amy jump back guiltily. Mark had no such problem, merely looking up at Glenn with a frustrated smile. "Can we help you?"
Glenn grinned. "Much as I hate to break things up, I think these ladies are here to do some work. Shall we let them do it?"
Mark stood up and studied Glenn's face, unable to help laughing. "Sure. You think your fans will like that particular shade of pink?"
"What?"
Mark pointed to Glenn's mouth where a smudge of bright pink lipstick could clearly be seen and the younger man quickly wiped it off, glancing over at Tammy who looked as if she wished the floor would open up and swallow her.
Amy stood up and unrolled her tape measure, calling Tammy over and hoping to make the older girl feel more at ease by getting on with their job.
"Okay, so...er...where do I start?" she asked, looking up and down Mark's huge body and wondering if she would actually have the nerve to do this. Not that Mark seemed to mind, he was standing with his arms folded across his impressive chest and his legs planted apart, staring at her with amusement.
Tammy moved to kneel in front of Glenn, placing one end of the tape measure on his outside ankle. "Just do what I do and note down the measurements, okay?"
Amy nodded and copied Tammy, running the tape up the outside of Marks leg to his waist and then jotting down the reading. Then came the inside leg and Amy watched Tammy carefully, blushing when she saw how her hand actually brushed up between Glenn's legs, even though the contact was impersonal. She glanced up at Mark and his mouth was twitching as he tried not to laugh at her expression. "Not up to it, Scarlet?" he said mockingly.
"Yes, are you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. She took a deep breath and gritted her teeth, running the tape firmly up the inside of his leg until she got to the crease where his thigh met his body. She quickly jotted down the measurement and moved her hand away, glad that this part was over. She couldn't help but notice the changed contours of his body and her eyes shot to his. "If I wasn't up for it before, li'l girl, I sure as hell am now," he grumbled, not in the least bit ashamed of how his body had reacted.
Amy didn't say a word, her face so red by now that it almost hurt. She continued taking measurements, making him hold his arms out straight at shoulder height so she could do his chest and waist. When it came to his arms she had to stand on the settee behind him so she could reach properly, and she swatted his head when she heard him chuckling.
He turned around when she had finished. "Need some help down from your high perch, tiny?" He didn't give her time to answer, merely grabbed her around the waist, his large hands nearly spanning it entirely, and lifted her down to stand in front of him.
"Tiny, Scarlet, Peaches...I don't know what I'm supposed to call you!" Glenn said, grinning stupidly down at her as he walked towards them.
"You can call her Miss Travis," Mark growled at him, making him smile even more.
"I think I'd prefer to call her Amy," Glenn said, his eyes glinting wickedly as he wound Mark up.
"You'd probably prefer to keep your head where it is too, wouldn't you?"
Glenn held his hands up. "Whoa, okay, message received loud and clear. I don't think Vince would appreciate having to put a new door in just yet, do you? Anyway, I have other fish to fry," he murmured, his eyes darting to where Tammy stood scribbling in her pad.
"What a romantic way to put it. Now get lost, I want to talk to Miss Travis here," Mark said, drawing Amy towards him and away from the other two. When they were on the other side of the room he smoothed her hair away from her face, his hand possessive. "I hope you don't think Glenn's good looking?"
Amy stared into Marks eyes for a second and then looked over at Glenn, making it look like she was admiring him. "He's not bad, I suppose. Why?"
"Uh-uh. Wrong answer. You don't think Glenn's good looking." he said, his words more of an order.
"I don't?"
He grinned at her bemused expression. "Nope. You only go for guys with dark green eyes and red hair. And tattoos. Tall men."
"I do? Do I know anyone that fits that description then?" she said, glancing around the room.
Mark leered down at her. "You sure do. Open those pretty eyes wide and look up."
She did, looking at the ceiling. "Nope, there's no-one up there. Ah well, if I can't find someone fitting that description, I guess I'll have to look for someone else."
He reached out a hand and held her face up to his. "Don't even think about it." His fingers caressed her cheek gently, his eyes boring into hers until she couldn't drag her own eyes away from his hypnotic gaze. He frowned suddenly. "I'm gonna miss you."
"You are?"
He nodded. "Yeah, sounds crazy right? I've known you for what? Three days, four? And yet I feel as if I've known you for years, and I'm gonna miss you over the next couple of weeks. You must think I'm a psycho."
Amy shook her head. "I don't think you're crazy. I feel exactly the same way, as if I've always known you. Except I don't actually know anything about you, not really."
He tilted his head to one side. "And I suppose you have a lot of questions you want to ask me, right? Well, if you're good, maybe I'll let you ask me some questions tonight."
"Really? You won't mind? I mean, I don't want to poke my nose in or anything," she said, glad that he was willing to open up about all the gossip, but worried that he might think her a busybody.
"I don't mind with you, but I might not answer all your questions. I guess it all depends what you ask me, doesn't it?" He gave her an easy smile and glanced across at Tammy who was standing waiting for Amy. "I think your work here is done, Scarlet. I'll come and find you at two o'clock and we'll go shopping. We could even catch a matinee movie before we have dinner?"
Amy stared at him silently for a few seconds, a small smile curving her mouth. "You're really nice, do you know that?" Mark looked almost uncomfortable with the compliment and Amy laughed softly. "I don't suppose that goes well with your mean image does it?"
"Not really, no," he grumbled, fighting a smile. "But I guess it's okay as long as you don't go blabbing it to everyone you meet."
"Don't you like being called nice?"
"I wouldn't know, no-one's ever said it to me before. I guess it feels okay, coming from you. You have more reason than most to think that most men aren't nice," Mark said, not thinking of what he was giving away.
Amy went completely still. "How would you know...Vince wouldn't have told you, he..." she shook her head and pulled back from him.
"He didn't tell me, I guessed. Then I asked for details, but he didn't tell me much." He stared at her steadily for a moment, taking a deep breath. "Maybe we can both discover some more about one another. I don't suppose either story is very nice, and neither of us seem comfortable with them, do we?"
Amy shook her head. "No-one knows about my life before I came here. I don't know...I'm not sure if I want to talk about it."
"Sometimes it helps," Mark pointed out.
She stared up at him and raised her eyebrows. "Really? How often have you spoken about your past?"
"OK, fair enough. I haven't. But I've heard that it helps. So will you help me by listening?" he asked, reaching out to take her hand, absently stroking her fingers.
How could she possibly refuse when he looked at her like that? she wondered, smiling involuntarily at the little boy lost look he was using. Ridiculous that a man of nearly seven foot could look so helpless. "Okay."
"Good. I'll see you at two," he said, losing the lost look and grinning triumphantly. The small goodbye kiss he pressed on her mouth stopped her from saying anything about his playacting and she soon found herself ushered out of the room and the door closing behind her.
Tammy stared at her with her mouth hanging open. "Oh my God. Oh my God!"
"What?"
"He was kissing you and...holding your hand...and...God, you looked like a couple and you've only just met!"
"I know," Amy said, starting to walk along next to the other girl, smiling softly as she thought of how nice Mark was. "I feel like I've known him forever."
"Love at first sight," Tammy said knowledgeably, nodding her head. "They say that's exactly how it feels."
"Really? But I didn't...you know...fancy him when we met the other day. I was scared of him to be honest."
"I bet that didn't last long though did it? I bet you were soon chatting away and gazing into each other's eyes!" Tammy said, grinning and rolling her eyes.
"Huh, you can talk! Your lipstick's still smudged and I noticed that Glenn was wearing most of it!"
Now it was Tammy's turn to blush, but she smiled even as the colour swept across her cheeks. "Guilty as charged. I can't believe he actually kissed me. I didn't expect that at all, so if I look a little shell shocked you'll have to forgive me."
"Did he ask you out?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact. He asked me to go to dinner tonight and I accepted, but now I feel so nervous that I swear I'll be sick the moment he picks me up."
"Mark asked me to dinner, too. He said we'd be eating at the hotel."
"Hopefully that'll be where Glenn wants to eat, so that when I run out of things to say to him, you two can sit with us and keep the conversation flowing!"
Amy laughed. "I doubt you'll have any problems, but it would be nice to sit with you if you really wouldn't mind."
"I would love it. But Mark might not, so maybe you'd better wait to make plans until you see him later."
"You're right. He's taking me shopping to get something nice to wear this afternoon, and he said we'd see a film too."
"Sounds to me like he's smitten. I haven't seen him pay this much attention to a woman, not ever." Tammy grinned at Amy as they reached the wardrobe room. "Well, enough talk about luscious men, we have work to do!"
The day rushed by with Tammy showing her all sorts of things she would be expected to do, and Amy thoroughly loved it. Before she knew it, two o'clock had come round and the door flew open to reveal Mark standing there, dressed in snug jeans and a black shirt.
Amy glanced up from the bundle of cloth she was stitching, surprised at how so many hours could have just disappeared, and her eyes ran over him, her mouth watering at how sexy he looked.
"Well?" Mark said, raising one eyebrow at her confused look. "What are we waiting for?"
"I'm sorry, I didn't really notice the time." Amy looked around her at the mess she had made. "I'll just clear up a bit and I'll be right with you."
"You mean I have to wait? I hate waiting!" Mark grumbled, walking into the room and throwing himself down into a chair.
Amy looked at him and smiled at his petulant expression. "You could always help, you know?"
He gave her an outraged look and stuck his chin out. "I have been working all day, darlin', throwing people around. It can be exhausting. I really don't think I have enough energy to pick up all those heavy piles of clothing!"
Amy continued clearing her work things away, nodding her head. "I can see how that would be exhausting. For you, anyway."
"Well, I'm sure glad you understand how hard this can all be and...what do you mean, for me?" Mark asked, leaning forward and narrowing his eyes on her suddenly innocent face.
"Oh...nothing," she mumbled, still smiling as she carried a basket of work to the cupboard. When she turned back from it she jumped, Mark had moved silently and was standing directly behind her.
"Nothing? Are you sure?"
"Well, I only meant, you know, that you...er...obviously work harder than anyone else here and that you would then feel much more tired than anyone else," Amy said, trying to keep a straight face as he leaned down and studied her eyes.
"You're lying," he said, nodding his head with certainty. "You better start telling me the truth darlin', or you're in a whole heap of trouble."
"Do you think you can take the truth?"
"Do you think you can take what'll happen if you don't tell me?" Mark countered, smiling wickedly at her.
"What will you do?"
"Now there's a leading question," he murmured, eyeing her body. "I think I'll begin by seeing exactly how ticklish you are. If I remember correctly, I was gonna do that the other day and I got kinda distracted."
"You can't tickle me," Amy said, biting her lip.
"I can't? You better start talking then," Mark said, planting one hand either side of head against the cupboard so she was trapped.
"Okay. I meant that someone of your advanced years would probably get tired far quicker than all the much, much younger wrestlers." She gave him a smug grin as she finished, waiting for him to explode.
"You're calling me old?" he asked, frowning and not looking at all amused.
Amy stopped smiling and just stared at him, wondering if she'd really insulted him. She hadn't meant to. "No...I...sorry."
Mark dropped his arms away and stepped back. "You think I'm old. You think I'm too old for you."
"No! No, I didn't mean anything by it, I was joking!" Amy said, moving forward and grabbing his arms, her eyes wide as she felt guilt flood through her. She had hurt his feelings. Her eyes fell away from his stern face. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it."
"How sorry?"
Her eyes shot upwards again and she noticed the amusement crinkling the corners of his eyes. "You fake!"
"There you go again, insulting me!"
She smacked his arm. "I thought I'd hurt your feelings, you big oaf!"
"Oaf? Fake? Old? Anything else? Be careful what you say, or I won't buy you a nice dress!"
"Hunk? Devilishly handsome? A fine specimen of manhood?" she ventured, smiling at him in a winning way.
"Gold-digger!" he said, shaking his head in mock disgust.
"Gold...! I am not! You offered! Well, fine, I'll buy my own dress, I have some money you know! Gold-digger indeed!" she muttered, stalking out of the room once she'd grabbed her purse.
