Author's Note: Sorry for updating so quickly but I'm having so much fun with this story, I can't stop myself from writing more of it. This chapter is all Belle, Rex, Mimi, Shawn, Phillip, Brady, John and Kate but there will be be all Lumi/Jan/Nicole interactions in the next chapter. In the meantime, thanks to all of you who reviewed, I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far and keep the feedback coming.
Belle bounced up and down on the couch in her loft excitedly while Rex, Mimi and Phillip watched her with amused smiles. Phillip hadn't seen the blonde woman this happy since before her break-up with Shawn. Phillip, Rex and Mimi were all sitting on the couch with her while Shawn and Brady were standing next to the counter, waiting for the popcorn to finish heating up.
"So, why did you invite us all over here?" Phillip asked as Belle continued bouncing enthusiastically on the couch.
"Because Lyric Wilson is starting her publicity campaign today. I've marked down all her dates on my calender. Today, she's going to do a book signing in South Carolina at Barnes and Noble. But first, they're going to ask her and her boyfriend some questions and stuff. They're going to be live in..." Belle checked the clock, "Three and half a minutes. I can't wait to see what she's like. Lyric is my complete and total idol. I mean, she's talented, young, she's having sex, her books are making her rich and she has a gorgeous boyfriend that adores her. What more could you want?" Belle turned to sneak a quick glance at Shawn. They had agreed to try and act normally around each other for their friends' sakes but it was still awkward for them.
"Speaking of her gorgeous boyfriend, I'm really looking forward to seeing him." Mimi spoke up. Belle had gotten Mimi hooked on Lyric's books as well and both of them had read the magazine article about her, "He's every woman's fantasy man. He just sounds so incredibly sexy. Lyric said that he can bring her to orgasm just by whispering things in her ear. How does he pull that off?"
"I bet he's really ugly." Rex grumbled, his eyes darkening with mild jealousy, "And I bet woman totally exaggerated his sexual prowess. He's probably awful in bed."
"I can't believe you got us all over here to watch something so stupid." Brady added moodily, sitting down on the floor next to the couch with the bowl of popcorn in his hands.
"Look, you're been an ogre ever since Nicole disappeared and I, for one, am sick of it!" Belle told him, "I thought this might cheer you up. Besides, we're all friends and we don't spend enough time together. I figured this would give us a chance to bond."
Rex snorted, "Bond over watching Mimi drool over some random jerk on the television screen? Sounds great. I mean look, he's not even on the screen yet and she's already drooling. Gross."
"Well, I'm leaving." Shawn pulled his jacket on, "I have better things to do."
Belle's eyes flashed angrily, "You will stay here, Shawn Brady! You've been acting grumpy too. I mean, what has gotten into you and my brother?"
"Shawn's upset because Jan isn't around to follow him everywhere like he's her hero." Phillip announced, then held up his hands defensively when Brady, Mimi and Belle all glared at him, "Hey, I'm just the messenger. I heard it from Shawn."
Mimi had been trying to get Shawn and Belle back together ever since the break-up and decided it was time to do damage control, "Shawn, please stay. Just for a little while."
Shawn reluctantly sat down next to Brady. Shawn, Brady, Rex and Phillip all began talking amongst themselves, ignoring the television while Mimi and Belle stared intently at the screen.
A man that had introduced himself as the manager of the bookstore smiled warmly at the crowd, "And now, let's have a round of applause for Lyric Wilson." the applause was deafening as a blonde woman and a dark-haired man walked out to face the crowd. As they seated themselves at a table in front of the store, Belle tilted her head thoughtfully.
"They look kind of familiar." Belle mused. Mimi murmured in agreement. When the camera finally zoomed in on the couple's faces, Mimi and Belle both gasped in unison. Rex, Shawn, Phillip and Brady were all completely ignoring the television set now so they didn't react.
"You guys! Shawn, Shawn, Shawn, Shawn, Shawn!" Belle repeated excitedly to get her ex-boyfriend's attention. Shawn turned to look at the excited expressions on the girl's faces and let out an irritated sigh.
"Let me guess. We really need to cut back on both of your sugar intakes?"
"Don't even think about it. I would die without sugar, you evil bastard!" Mimi pointed at the screen, "Look! It's Lucas and Sami!"
All eyes were on the screen now. Lucas and Sami greeted the manager of the bookstore, who was obviously running things, "So, Lyric Wilson is your pen name, right?" the manager asked after the greetings were finished, "And your real name is Samantha Brady?"
"Sami Brady." Sami confirmed, "And this," she reached over to squeeze Lucas' hand, "Is my fiancé, Lucas Roberts."
"Oh my fucking God!" Phillip exclaimed, shaking his head in amazement, "My mom is going to die."
Mimi's eyes were wide with shock, "So, Lucas has been my fantasy man ever since I read that article? That's really scary. But I do know for a fact that there are certain parts of his anatomy that are definitely fantasy-worthy." she swooned, then noticed the look on Rex's face, "Of course, it obviously runs in the family."
Belle reached over and swiped at the phone, "I have to call my dad. This is too freaky." Belle decided to try her father's cell phone first and quickly began dialling his number.
John was deep in conversation with Kate in his office at Basic Black when his cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket, "Hello?"
"Daddy? It's Belle." the voice on the other line responded.
"Hey, sweetheart. What's up?" he asked.
"Um, not a lot." Belle said, her voice faintly sarcastic, "It just turns out that Sami's a famous writer and that's she engaged to Lucas."
"Are you sure?" John checked, glancing at Kate warily. Kate saw the look on his face and she eyed him expectantly.
"I'm positive. Is there a TV around where you are? Turn it to channel thirteen, both of them are on right now."
"Sure." John went over to the television set and flicked it on. Motioning Kate over, he turned the television to the right station, just in time to see Lucas place a small kiss on Sami's cheek. John's eyes dropped to the hand Sami had interlocked with Lucas', which sported a large diamond engagement ring. Kate must have taken all of this in at the same time as John because she immediately began shrieking loudly. John ended his conversation with Belle and did everything he could to calm Kate down but it was a lost cause.
"Why is this happening?" Kate wailed, "This is some kind of joke, it can't be real. My son would not hide something like this from me." she paced around the office during a commercial break, "John, who would be cruel enough to mess with my mind like this?"
"I don't think anyone is messing with your mind, Kate." John pushed her into one of the chairs in his office, "Let's just watch for a minute and see what's going on. And please stop hyperventilating."
The commercial break ended and Lucas and Sami came back on the screen. After they finished signing some copies of books for several more people, the man standing next to Lucas and Sami's table cleared his throat loudly.
"Why don't the two of you call on some of your fans to ask you some questions?" the man suggested and both Sami and Lucas smiled up at him, although John thought he noticed Sami eyeing the array of waving hands and little bit guardedly. Finally, Sami chose a young woman out of the crowd to ask a question.
The woman batted her eyelashes at Lucas before speaking, "Well, I'm sure all of us would really like to know the truth about Lucas. Is you fiancé really everything you made him out to be? Is he really that amazing in bed?"
"Like she would know!" Kate fumed, "Sami had better choose not to answer that question if she knows what's good for her."
Sami looked at Lucas through lowered lashes before replying, "He's better. I can't even use words to describe how incredible and erotic he is in bed. Before him, I didn't think it was possible to have such mind-blowing sex. But he proved me wrong." she gazed adoringly up at Lucas. The camera then zoomed in on Sami's hand, which was resting on Lucas' thigh.
Kate gasped indignantly, "Get your hand off my son right now!" she screamed at the television set, "Don't touch him there!" almost as if Sami had heard Kate's words and wanted to do the exact opposite of what Kate wanted, Sami's hand gave Lucas' thigh a gentle squeeze. John winced and looked over at Kate. She looked almost like a very angry cartoon character, her eyes were bugging out of their sockets and her face was redder than John had ever seen it. He could almost see steam shooting out of her ears. Tentatively, John started towards the television set.
"Maybe, I should turn it off." he suggested.
"No!" Kate snapped, glaring at the screen, "Lucas will fix this. He'll make everything better and clear everything up. He's going to tell everyone there that he isn't engaged to Sami and that this is some stupid hoax. How could he be engaged to Sami? That doesn't even make sense."
Another woman was called on to ask a question, "So, he's your muse? Does that mean whenever you get writer's block, he... uses his amazing talents to... make it go away?" a few people snickered but Sami didn't hesitate. She nodded in agreement.
"Absolutely. In fact, sometimes I worry that I work him too hard. I'm a real slave driver."
Lucas leaned over and began nibbling her earlobe, "You could never work me too hard, baby. I'd always be ready for you."
Kate was practically in tears now, "Why is this happening to me? Have I died and gone to hell?"
"Do you and Lucas do all the things that the characters in your books do?" one woman asked, "Like, the character, Jade, from your first book really liked wearing Keith's underwear. Do you also enjoy wearing Lucas' underwear?" the woman looked like she was having a hard time keeping a straight face. Other people had less self-control than her and were already laughing openly.
Sami only hesitated for a split second, "Yes, I do it all the time. It makes me feel closer to him."
"Are you wearing them right now?" the woman continued.
"She had better not be!" Kate roared.
There was no hesitation this time, "Of course."
One of the few males in the crowd called out, "Can we see?"
Sami began blushing and stammered nervously. Finally, Lucas spoke up. Wrapping one arm around Sami's shoulder, he gave her a possessive squeeze, "Whether it's her underwear or mine, the only one who gets to see her in them is me."
John didn't miss the grateful smile Sami gave Lucas, then he watched as Lucas eyelids drooped as he pressed his mouth against Sami's tenderly. Kate fell off her chair.
"That tramp!" she fumed, ripping at her hair in agitation, "What has she done to my son?"
"Kate, if you don't calm down, I'm going to turn it off." John responded. Kate sat back down in her chair and grumbled quietly to herself. She and John continued watching as Lucas and Sami continued answering questions and signing books. Finally, the hour ended and Lucas and Sami were followed out of the bookstore by the camera men and several extra-enthusiastic fans. One of the fans got between Lucas, Sami and the limo.
"Lucas, I love you! Can you sign my chest?" she handed him a pen and lowered her already low-cut shirt, exposing almost everything to Lucas, Sami and everyone watching channel sixteen at that moment.
Before Lucas even had a chance to react, Sami rested her hands on his shoulder and pressed her forehead to the side of his head for a minute, "The only chest Lucas is interested in tattooing anything on is mine. Only, when he tattoos things there, it's usually not his signature, if you know what I mean." she winked at the cameras, then pushed past the girl and managed to get herself and Lucas into the limo without further trouble.
Kate was storming around the office again, shaking her head angrily, "That little bitch will not do this to me and Lucas. I'm going to stop her. I just need to figure out how."