Hollywood Remake (A Celebrity Love Story)

Chapter 35: Knocked Up

Aidan glanced in the rearview mirror as Kate pulled the car up the driveway toward the house. He could swear he just saw a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye. Was that… Shit. It was. He froze in his seat as he caught sight of his assistant, Dean, emerging from a hiding place in the bushes to remove the ‘Open House’ sign from the front curb.

Did she see it? Aidan ventured a sidelong look at Kate’s face, but she showed no reaction. Her attention was fully focused on negotiating the twists and turns of the narrow driveway.

“That’s weird,” she said, as she pulled the car to a stop just in front of the three-car garage. “It looks like we're the only people here.”

“Still pretty early,” he shrugged. “We must be the first ones.”

“A house like this? You’d think it would be crawling with people, just wanting to take a peek inside.”

“Yeah, you’d think.” He shrugged again as he pushed open the passenger side door. “Must not have advertised it very much.”

Aidan snuck a look back over his shoulder as they made their way up the front walk, but the end of the long driveway was invisible from here. He was in the clear for now. No way for Kate to see that the whole ‘Open House’ was a ruse – a careful conspiracy between himself, Dean, and a few exceedingly helpful real estate agents.

Everything was going according to plan. So far, so good. 

The whole thing had started a couple of days ago, after Aidan’s little white lie about wanting to go househunting. Not a bad idea, he’d realized, the moment the words were out of his mouth. What better way to show Kate everything he could offer her if she decided to move to LA.

He hadn’t wanted to waste time taking her around to a bunch of houses, though. All he needed was for her to set eyes on some garish, over-the-top monstrosity, and she’d get it in her head that every house in Beverly Hills had to be like that. He needed her to see houses that were understated. Comfortable. Big enough for a family, and in a neighborhood where they would be secure – but otherwise, as close as possible to the middle class suburban home where she herself had grown up.

Choosing the house was the easy part, of course. It was the next stage of the plan that had been keeping Aidan up at night. It could backfire so easily if she caught on – if she realized she was being manipulated. It could end up driving her away for good. A huge risk. But if he could manage to pull it off, it just might be enough to convince her.

The plan itself was simple. Set it up like an open house. Stage the furnishings inside according to his detailed instructions. And then let her think they’d just stumbled on it by pure chance. Dumb luck.

No, not luck. Fate. The uplanned destination of an aimless drive through Beverly Hills… A random series of left and right turns… A passing impulse to pull over. Destiny. How could she say no to destiny?

The front door opened to greet them now as they made their way up the walk. A neatly dressed real-estate agent came out onto the stoop, waving to them with a friendly smile. She had a tray of chocolate chip cookies balanced in one hand. Homemade? Nice touch, Aidan thought, as they stepped into the front hall and were immediately greeted by the delicious scent of cookies baking.

“Welcome!” the agent said, offering them the tray with one hand and a listing brochure with the other. “Please make yourself at home. Feel free to take a look around.”

Aidan ventured another glance at Kate’s face, trying to gauge her first impression. She was quiet. She merely nibbled at her cookie as she strolled through the rooms on the main floor of the house, taking it all in without comment. Was that a passing smile he saw on her face when she looked around the kitchen? He wasn't sure.