Sealed With A Kiss: Boys of the Bayou Gone Wild, page 18
She pulled up the website and typed in Donovan Foster. Sure enough, the video was right at the top. The headline read Sealed With A Kiss! And it had over a hundred thousand views.
Holding her breath, Naomi hit the play button.
It wasn’t just a video of their kiss. It was a montage of video clips with Rachel narrating over the top. The clips included Naomi on the airboat with Sawyer, crawling through the attic window, and handing the rescued raccoons over to the volunteers at the drop-off point.
How the hell had they gotten those videos? Clearly someone on the airboat had shot them. It hadn’t been Bennett or Sawyer, since they’d both shown up in the clips. It could have been Zeke though. He’d probably done it for the Gone Wild website. Had Rachel seen them and asked to include them?
There were also clips of Donovan’s rescue of the little boy and his puppy on the pineapple floaty and him carrying a St. Bernard through waist deep water to his waiting family. Those had also, clearly, been shot on a phone by someone on the boat with him.
It wouldn’t have surprised Naomi if Charlie had put a bug in someone’s ear about getting some video for the Gone Wild website, actually, now that she thought about it.
And, of course, there was footage of Donovan under the pool, bracing the metal beam as the power tools cut through the thick plastic directly over his head. That had definitely been filmed by Rachel’s cameraman. There was also the final image of him handing the seal off to Naomi and of her holding the seal while Donovan examined it.
And then, right there at the end, was the shot of her grabbing the front of his shirt and pulling him in for the kiss.
He came willingly of course. His hands went to her hips and he deepened the kiss almost immediately.
She rewound just that portion of the video and rewatched it.
Twice.
Yeah, that was a hot kiss.
Naomi felt warmer and her lips tingled remembering it.
Wow. The world was watching that.
And they did look damn good together.
She started to push the replay button again but stopped herself. Still…she scrolled through the comments.
Oh, people really did like them. Her eyes rounded as she read.
They liked all of it, actually. The rescues, the animals being reunited with their humans, the baby seal’s cuteness. They were also concerned about the flooding, asking about where and how to donate, outraged over the ownership and treatment of the animals, and even talking about protests. People were linking to organizations that were helping flood victims as well as groups that were fighting to protect animals. One guy had even listed the numbers and email addresses of Alabama elected officials so people could contact them and demand changes in legislation.
There were two comments that noted she looked a lot like Naomi Williams from Zoey At the Zoo and saying they’d loved that show and wondered what she was up to. She tried to ignore those.
And then there was the kiss. That clip was definitely getting the most comments.
She shook her head. More than a cute baby seal? Come on.
But it was right there in black and white. Well, and some orange in the fire emojis and red in the heart emojis. And a few GIFs of people fanning themselves or dumping water over their heads to cool off.
Naomi set her phone on the counter. She thought about it all as she started taking out her braids. Then as she gathered her hair up under her shower cap. Then as she stepped into the shower. And the entire time she went through her shower routine.
It was really not cool that someone had captured that private moment on film and had broadcast it to the world. It was also silly that anyone cared about that she and Donovan had kissed. They should care about the animals and the people who were suffering from the hurricane, not Naomi and Donovan making out. Didn’t these people have any sense of priorities? This was crazy.
Then again…it really wasn’t. She knew how this worked. People loved to watch other people’s lives. The more dramatic the better. People ate up moments of happiness and humanity in the midst of chaos and misery. They’d been watching a video about animals being rescued from flood waters and abusive humans and that had been uplifting, but then to hit them with a surprise moment of hot romance like a big old “and they lived happily ever after” at the end? Of course, they were watching and rewatching and responding.
So this wasn’t a bad thing. This was a normal thing. Okay, normal-ish.
The story was a good one. Donovan was saving animals and she was kissing him. There was nothing scandalous about that.
If more people figured out who Donovan Foster was and got interested in the work he was doing, and the animal park where he was doing it, that could only be a good thing. And it seemed there were a lot of other good things coming from this as well—donations and protests and letters.
Okay, so a bunch of people had seen her kiss Donovan. So what? If she didn’t want to kiss him—and take every chance she had to do so—that would be a lot crazier than anything on that video.
Yeah. That was absolutely true.
By the time she was rinsing off and reaching for a towel, Naomi had decided she was fine with people knowing she had amazing taste in men.
And that Donovan Foster wanted to kiss her back.
Damn right, he did.
And as she stepped out of the shower, she reached for the play button on the video one more time.
But just before she could hit it, her phone lit up with a text.
From Donovan.
She opened it immediately.
Donovan: Hey, you coming to Ellie’s this morning?
Naomi: I was on my way over there in a little bit.
Donovan: Good. Need you.
Her heart flipped even as heat swirled through her lower belly.
Donovan sent another message before she could reply.
Donovan: Rachel’s here. She’s talking TV show. With me. Animal rescues and rehab. Here. You need to come tell me it’s a terrible idea. Because it sounds kind of awesome.
Naomi had to re-read his message three times. A TV show? About Donovan’s rescues and rehab? He’d already done that. His show had been very popular, but could he do it again? Maybe. And what he was doing here in Autre was a little different. This was everyday wildlife, not dolphins and elephants. Though they did now have a tiger…
Naomi shook her head. It was a crazy idea.
Maybe Rachel was just talking about a segment on the news. That would make more sense. And Donovan would be amazing at that too.
Honestly, Donovan would be amazing at anything that involved animals and cameras.
A segment on the news, even if it was a regular thing, was a lot smaller scale that what he’d done previously, but he’d said that it sounded “kind of awesome” to him.
Naomi definitely wanted to hear more about this. Because there was one very important word in his message that she couldn’t ignore.
Here.
Whatever they were talking about would be here and that meant Donovan would stay. At least a little longer.
Suddenly her heart was flipping and her stomach was swooping again. Donovan didn’t need her right now in a sexy way. He needed her as a stand-in, pseudo-agent.
She could definitely help him with this. Because this could mean that Donovan, the man she was madly in love with, the man she knew she wanted more than anything, could stay here with her.
She’d do whatever she needed to do to make that happen.
Donovan was always happy to see Naomi.
But when he was sitting in Ellie’s at eight forty-five in the morning, trying to concentrate on a meeting with two people who were telling him things that sounded too good to be true, on only three hours of sleep, Donovan felt a healthy dose of relief along with his usual God-she’s-gorgeous-and-I’m-so-glad-she’s-here.
She’d help him sort all of this out. She was smart and practical and always knew what he needed. He lifted his coffee cup to his lips for the thirty-eighth time that morning already and cursed Zeke and Zander Landry. Then he added a few choice words for Gabe and Logan Trahan as well who had been mixing the drinks for Zeke, Zander, Owen, Dax, and Ollie.
Donovan had been the designated driver and herding three drunk Cajuns and two drunk millionaires through the French Quarter had taken more time, more curse words, and had caused a far bigger headache than it should have.
“Coffee, Naomi?” Ellie called from the bar.
“Please,” she answered with a smile. But her gaze was back on him immediately as she bee-lined for his table.
She was dressed in a yellow top that left her shoulders bare and faded blue jeans. Her hair was down and natural today and she wore no make-up, though her lips were his very favorite berry color.
But her expression was wary as she approached. And noticed who he was sitting with.
Yeah, she’d probably seen the video by now.
He braced himself.
Rachel greeted Naomi with a bubbly, “Oh, hi! I’m so glad you’re here!” from right across the table.
Donovan grimaced as his brain asked why can’t we just go to sleep again?
Well initially he’d gotten up because the animals needed him.
But now there was no way he was going to be able to sleep even if he did head home. His brain, as sleep deprived as it was, was spinning.
Rachel was in town with her boyfriend, Brent, to pitch Donovan an idea. For a TV show. A fucking reality TV show. About his wildlife rescues and rehabilitation. Shot right here in Autre.
It was probably a terrible idea, but it was truly beyond him at the moment to figure out why.
Naomi’s arrival made him all the more certain that she really was a goddess. Or his guardian angel. He needed her calm, rational thinking right now. She would absolutely tell him why this idea sucked.
“Good morning, everyone,” Naomi said. She pulled out a chair at their table and sat.
“You have perfect timing,” Rachel told her. “We were just about to get into the details.”
Naomi looked from Rachel to Donovan and then back. “Details?”
“I’m sorry, I’m jumping way ahead,” Rachel said. “Naomi LeClaire, this is my boyfriend Brent Meyer. He just graduated with a degree in media arts production. He’d like to produce TV shows and documentaries. He’s looking for projects and asked me to keep an eye out for amazing people doing amazing things in this area that might make a great story. He’s heard me talk about Boys of the Bayou Gone Wild before and so, of course, I told him all about the big animal rescue the other day and he’s now seen the footage we shot.”
Naomi’s eyes narrowed. “Yes, it seems a lot of people have seen the footage.”
Rachel nodded excitedly. “I know. Isn’t it great? We cannot believe how that has blown up.”
“So you did put that montage together?”
“We did.” Rachel gave her a big grin. “That’s just a tiny bit of what Brent can do. We saw some of the clips on the Gone Wild website and asked if we could use them. We put it together with some of my footage and uploaded it. In exchange for letting us borrow their videos, we offered to share it with Gone Wild. And now, we want to do something more. Even before we saw the response we thought it could be great. But now? This definitely has the makings of something special.”
Naomi frowned. “Something more? Like what?”
“Think reality TV show,” Brent said.
Naomi’s eyes narrowed. “Donovan’s already done that.”
“That’s what makes it even more enticing,” Brent told her. He leaned in, resting his forearms on the table and clasping his hands. “Donovan Foster, TV reality star, internet sensation, world traveler, wildlife adventurer, has now settled down in small-town Louisiana to try to make a normal life. But excitement finds him even here. In what looks like a typical backyard to the rest of us, on Main Street USA, in a muddy bayou…Donovan finds adventure.”
Brent’s eyes were practically sparkling.
Damn, Donovan’s head hurt.
“My plan is to get enough footage to put together three mock episodes. We’ll have a focus group that will look at what we’re putting together and give us input and reactions. We’ll also be sharing clips here and there, along with still photos and behind-the-scenes bits on social media. All of that together will be packaged into a presentation to two potential major investors. One is the uncle of a friend of mine, Jonathan Anders. The other is a friend of his. Jonathan, however, is the one we have to win over. If he decides to invest, his friend will too. If Jonathan gives us the financial backing, that, combined with bringing in a lead who has some reality TV history and a big social media following”—He gave Donovan a grin—“will make a great project to shop around to the streaming networks.”
“Um…” was the best Donovan could do.
But it seemed they didn’t need a reaction from him.
“And of course, there’s you,” Rachel said, looking at Naomi. “Everybody loves a bad boy who’s been tamed by true love.”
Donovan looked at Naomi quickly, “I didn’t tell her that.”
Naomi had made it clear—very clear—how she felt about people being privy to her personal life. Even if they were dating—and they seemed to have come to the conclusion that that wasn’t going to happen—she would hate that video being online. She would doubly hate the idea of putting more content like that online.
“I know you didn’t,” Naomi said, not looking away from Rachel. She seemed thoughtful. “We told you in Alabama that we were just friends.”
“But you have a ton of chemistry,” Rachel said. “I witnessed it in one kiss and now the world’s seen it in another. You can’t argue with those comments and reactions.”
Donovan braced himself for Naomi’s reaction.
But instead of leaning in and pointing her finger at Rachel, or slapping a hand down on the table, or springing to her feet, Naomi sat back in her chair, crossed her arms, crossed her legs, and asked, “What are you thinking?”
Donovan felt his eyes widen.
“Because there won’t be seal and tiger rescues every day,” Rachel said. “We really play up the romance angle. The idea that he’s given up all the world travels and major excitement for the adventure of falling in love, is gold.” Rachel leaned in, clearly sensing that she had a small window in which to deliver this pitch. “Women absolutely swoon over the rugged, alpha guy turning his life upside down for the woman he falls for, right?”
“We’re not a couple,” Donovan interjected. He had to, didn’t he? Naomi didn’t want this and had gotten dragged into it because of a spur-of-the-moment kiss caught on camera.
But Naomi was nodding. “There’s no question that romance sells.”
“Absolutely,” Rachel agreed. “Look at all the reality TV that’s entirely about people falling in love. A bunch of women get together to compete for one eligible guy. People who agree to show up and get married to someone they’ve never even met before. Hell, the Dating Game started forever ago. And even the scripted TV shows have a romantic subplot or at least some will-they-won’t-they tension.”
“You’re absolutely right,” Naomi said.
She was? Donovan didn’t watch a lot of TV and he should probably defer to Naomi here but he was surprised by her calm, almost contemplative, reaction.
“And,” Rachel went on, “the kiss was the most replayed and commented on part of that video. People love you two together. Donovan and his confidence and compassion, and you learning as you go, being willing to jump in even with your inexperience are absolutely captivating, but then when you’re together… whew!” Rachel fanned her face. “The way you look at each other and protect each other and work together is absolutely addictive. I saw it even before the kiss. Then when I saw that, I couldn’t wait to call Brent.”
“She showed me the kiss just from her phone,” Brent said. “Even that way it was clear it would sell.”
“That was private,” Donovan felt the need to say.
This was…weird. And that he felt weird about it was also weird. He’d never cared that people watched him falling on his ass, getting pooped on by a multitude of animals, screwing up and getting bitten and stung. But hearing that people might tune in to watch Naomi do… well, anything…felt strange. He felt protective. He didn’t like the idea of people watching her potentially fall or struggle or fail, but he also really didn’t like that she might be put in the position of doing something she just didn’t want to do.
Rachel looked at him and nodded, then sat back in her chair, folding her arms. “Yes. I know. I get it. People would be witnessing some private moments, for sure. But they will be very invested in the two of you. Your chemistry will definitely get people tuning in to see your relationship develop. I’d be willing to bet your audience will grow with every single episode.”
“But we’re not developing a relationship,” Donovan said. “Not beyond our friendship. Yeah, there’s chemistry, but that kiss was just…impulsive. We were happy the rescue had been a success. It was taken out of context.”
He looked at Naomi. Who didn’t say anything. Shouldn’t she be protesting this too? It was mostly his fault the kiss had been filmed. Rachel wouldn’t have even been there with her camera if she hadn’t recognized him the night before and wanted to follow him around. But Naomi had kissed him. Of course he’d been all in, but this wasn’t entirely his fault. Why was he the only one arguing here?
Rachel didn’t even glance at him. She was studying Naomi. “Well then…” Rachel asked, “can you fake it?”
Donovan frowned. He watched Naomi. Who, even after five seconds ticked by, still hadn’t said absolutely not.
He blew out a breath. “We aren’t going to—”
“Donovan, can I talk to you for minute? Alone?” Naomi asked.
He snapped his mouth shut. What the hell was going on?
Well, there was one way to find out. “Definitely.”
He got up and followed her to the door. As they walked through the bar, he noticed a table of women watching them and whispering. There were four of them, clearly tourists, and they seemed excited to see him and Naomi together.
