Frog Prince

  FROG PRINCE

  Chapter One

  Rebekah Johnson, AKA, Rebe, had to finally admit her desperation was getting a bit out of hand. Trying to find a man to take her to a dance at the last moment was proving to be downright impossible. For one thing, Rebe had a checklist for her would be date: The man had to look the part of the fantasy hero. If only she'd thought about the timing before she'd dumped Chase.

  What was she thinking? If only he'd thought before he'd cheated once again, and with no regards to public displays of affection. Couldn't he at least have had the decency to wait until after her event to get caught? How rude.

  Rebe stared into the heavy ornate mirror on the wall across from her at her reflection. Wondering what picture she would portray if she showed up alone. That would make for one desperate heroine and no doubt it would feature somewhere in a romance novel or two. Romance writer couldn't get a date. Sure that would make good reading, and it would profit someone, just not her.

  "Kandi, why in the world do you have a mirror in your kitchen?"

  "To keep me from over eating."

  "Your body is perfect?"

  "And I want it to stay that way," Kandi laughed.

  For a nano second Rebe narrowed her eyes and frowned as she critiqued her friend's body, model perfect TV meteorologist body with a critical eye. Where Rebe was tall and statuesque, Kandi was a bit on the petite size and her pixie haircut gave her a fairy look. Rebe on the other hand kept her thick hair, long, and even added in extensions for more length and fullness. And where Kandi kept her natural brown eyes, Rebe was constantly changing the color of her contacts depending on the outfit she was wearing. As different as day and night, the women had been best friends practically since birth

  With a groan Rebe propped her elbows on the kitchen table where she and Kandi were seated. Then she cupped her face and groaned again, only louder this time, in order to elicit a bit of sympathy from her friend. At the sound of Kandi's chair scrapping the ceramic tile floor, Rebe peeked between her fingers and hoped. Then Kandi said the unthinkable.

  "I can set you up with Sam."

  An image of tanned legs, a great behind and rock hard abs filled Rebe’s mind, but she brushed it away. She would never venture down that path. Instead she glared at her friend. Surely she was kidding. Sam Adam, was what─about five feet tall? He was clumsy as all get out, and he was grossly overweight. Sighing trying to decide exactly how to word it so it wouldn’t come out making her look bad, Rebe blurted out the same sentiments she’d thought.

  “Kandice Kane, how dare you suggest Sam.”

  Turning to give her a frown, Kandi said, "It's a good thing you chose two professions where fiction is a part of your work. Besides, I was trying to do you a favor. I think since you want to call me Kandice, I’ll just leave you to your own devices."

  “What? That is your name.”

  “And you know how much I hate it. Why didn’t my parents think of the jokes people would make of my name. Kandi Kane, indeed.

  “Your parents named you Kandice, so I don’t think they were trying to make you the butt of jokes.”

  Kandi stopped in her track and mock glared at Rebe. You’re right; you’re the one who started calling me Kandi. What were we, three?”

  “I like Kandi. Besides you also gave me a different version of Rebekah.”

  Rebe and Kandi laughed together grateful for the bond they shared. They were both the only girl in their family. Rebe had had the most wonderful big brother, Jamie. While Kandi’s three brothers, had played surrogate for both her and Jamie. Moving to hug Kandi, Rebe gave a noisy sigh. “Now let’s go back to Sam. This isn't fiction. He's shorter than I am."

  "He is not and you know that. He's also not clumsy or overweight.”

  “Whenever he's around me, he's always tripping over something.”

  “Even if he were, so what? He’s crazy about you."

  "How would you know that?”

  “Trust me. I know.”

  “Sam glares at me so much, to even think he cares about me is crazy."

  "Anyone with eyes can tell how he feels about you, except you obviously. In addition to caring about you, he'd make the perfect date for you to take to a romance event. He's smart. He's a fantastic dancer. He has great conversation, and might I add, he's very handsome. There is however one very important qualification. He's very nice."

  "And there's one thing that disqualifies him. He's my friend. Rather, he used to be my friend, until he decided I was lower than dirt." Ignoring Kandi's laughing, Rebe continued. "Granted, Sam is smart and he's nice, at least to other people. And just maybe he's a wee bit taller than five feet. But let's not forget, he's still shorter than I am. Seriously, he is. And that's with me wearing flats. Do you really think I'd go to the biggest event of the year in flats? And with Sam?"

  Rebe had no choice but to ignore Kandi shaking her head indicating she thought Rebe was judgmental, condescending, and perhaps a bit superficial. Hmm. Perhaps she was. She’d fess up to the superficial rap. She’d always admitted to that. Why shouldn’t she be, it seemed to be the only area of her life she’d had any real control over.

  Her life plans had been made since before she was born. Her parents had determined she'd be a lawyer. And she'd done that…was still doing it. But her secret career was writing. She produced fantasy for women. If she were a slight bit superficial, romance had made her so. Writing it and reading it had made her look for certain qualities in a man. The more she wrote, the more she was on the lookout for heroes.

  That's right; she thought proudly, she was a romance writer. And she'd learned a few things about women and romance. Women did not read romance for the realism, or to see themselves and their own lives reflected back to them by the characters on the written pages. They didn’t want the heroine to make stupid choices, or to not know what to do in a given situation. They had lots of demands for their fictional heroine. She couldn’t be a ‘B’. couldn’t be selfish, spoiled, or one of the favorite expressions of romance readers: She couldn’t be too dumb to live. They wanted the heroine to be what they themselves wished they could be in their real lives, brave, resourceful, having all, or at least most of the answers, having a man, though not needing one. Women read romance for the fantasy of it.

  If readers required a lot from their heroines they required even more from their hero. They want the hero to be tall, rich, and incredibly gorgeous. He had to be a take charge kind of guy, the typical alpha male. Actually Rebe didn’t think any woman would want a real alpha male to live with twenty-four-seven. She thought women would tire of them quickly. But she was in the fantasy business, so she adhered to the rules, and the dream of the perfect man. The hero. His body had to be muscular, broad shoulders, kissable lips. Oh, he could have a tiny flaw, but he definitely couldn't be a short, overweight guy. What would be the fantasy in that? And here was her best friend telling her to date a romance, 'no no', and to take him to the largest romance ball of the year.

  What she needed was…dare she say it? Eye candy. What a name. But it was what it was. Romance writers brought out the heroes to the event that women had wet dreams about. And the fans went home happy to know that their heroes existed, that the writers, who wrote about such yummy men as their lead characters, had them in real life. Never mind that the men the authors took to the event were generally hired from a modeling agency and paid to be adoring. Or the fact that more than likely fifty percent of them were gay. The fantasy was in fact intact. Rebe owed it to her readers to wow. Her attention suddenly refocused on Kandi when her friend snapped her fingers beneath her nose. Of all the nerve.

  "Look, Rebe, I'm only trying to help you. You had the hunk primed and ready to go. Chase even called me to relay the message to you since you weren't taki
ng his calls, nor were you talking to him at work. He said he'd still go with you because he knows how important tonight is

  to you. And you told him no way in hell. Perhaps you want to rethink your position."

  "Rethink if I want to take a man who has cheated on me more times than I can count, to an event where I'll be judged by the man on my arm. You want me to take a dog to a pet store and turn him loose. I don't think so."

  "Then are you going to join in the hunt and call around and see if you can get a guy?"

  "I already did. I even asked my cousin Evan to go with me. I was going to pay all of his expenses to fly here. I even offered to pay him to take me. But he said no way in hell would he go with me and pretend to fawn over me."

  Rebe laughed as she thought of Evan's swearing. She'd had to hold the phone from her ear. Disheartened or not, she had to admit he had a point. She glanced at Kandi deciding to ignore the smile on her face. "I'll admit my even asking him could be seen as creepy, but I'm desperate."

  "Then let me ask Sam."

  "I'm not that desperate."

  "Suit yourself. It's your money. How much is that again?"

  "It's not so much about the money. Besides, all the authors put in the same amount. It's our way of saying thank you to our fans. There are more than enough conferences where they can go and spend a ton of money. We wanted to do this and have them eat a nice dinner, dance, win prizes and have a good time.” The look Kandi was giving her couldn’t be ignored. “Okay, and we want them to buy a few books."

  "Why don't you just give the books away too?"

  "We do give away copies of our backlist, but the book signing is also a tribute to the booksellers, well one in particular. Sue Peterson always makes herself available for selling books at chapter events and even single author events. The dance allows her to make a little money and yes, before you ask, the authors make money from the book sale. We had thought to give the money to charity, but none of us could agree on just one or two. In the end we decided it didn't much matter. Most of the money we make goes back into the prizes we give away. Why are you asking me so many questions? You went with me once. You know what it's all about. Hey─"

  "No, before you ask, I feel the same as Evan. I'm not going as your date. Once was okay, but twice and we'll start rumors. I'm sure that's not the fantasy you want to present to your fans. Granted, there's nothing wrong with it but…"

  "Stop that." Rebe sighed. “A couple of years ago bringing a friend was no big deal until someone decided to turn it into a contest of which one of us could bring the hottest guy."

  "I think the lot of you are crazy. Love doesn't come in a preconceived package."

  "That is so not true, at least not for romance readers. Pick up a romance book by any author, it doesn't matter the genre. The heroes rival the gods from Mount Olympus and have swagger down to a science."

  Gods?"

  "Don't get technical with me. Besides, as a kid I loved the whole Greek gods' thing. Matter of fact I still watch any movie with a Greek god. And I am talking little 'g' god. Its fantasy and I love it. As a result I totally understand what the romance fans are looking for."

  "Then you have to go. What am I saying? You have no choice. You also have a speech to give, my friend. Your choice. Go dateless, or go with Sam."

  Sighing deeper this time Rebe weighed her options. How the heck she'd ever become involved in the unspoken competition with the other writers of trying to fulfill the romance readers’ idea that women who wrote of the perfect couples lived a perfectly romantic life was a mystery? But she was involved in it and she needed a date that would wow.

  "I'll talk to you later," she said absently, reaching for her purse and heading for the door. "I need to go home and think."

  Out in the hallway Rebe stared at Sam's door, wondered for a moment and did her best not to think of him in any other way but the picture of him she'd conjured up to replace who he really was. Her imagined image was best for all concerned. She couldn't do Sam. She wouldn't do Sam.

  By 6: p.m. there was no choice but to admit defeat. She was giving a speech and there was no way she was going alone. She thought about Sam and groaned. Better she went with him than go dateless she supposed. Reaching for her cell she was prepared to take a fair amount of ribbing from her friend. Without preamble she asked Kandi, "Do you think Sam will go with me?"

  "I thought he was too short."

  "Look, I'm frantic. Will you give him a call?"

  "Only if you promise to be nice to him."

  "What is that supposed to imply? I am not a mean person. I would never be mean to Sam. Tell him, I'll pick him up at 7:30."

  "You're not even going to wait for me to let you know if he can make it."

  "Like he's busy. I'll be there at 7:30. And check to make sure he…well… looks presentable."

  "You know, Rebe, I'm thinking about not asking him. It would serve you right to go to this thing alone."

  "I'll be there at 7:30. Now go see if you can help Sam scrub some of the paint off his body. See you soon."

  Sam glared at Kandi. "Are you serious? Do you really think I want to go to a romance dinner dance? And with Rebe? You've got to be kidding. The woman is a snob. Besides she doesn't like me, or any man she thinks isn't up to her standards."

  "You'd be helping her out."

  "Why on earth would I want to help her? I don't even like her. You could say, I can't stand her."

  "You made a promise."

  "That's blackmail and so not fair."

  "Desperate times calls for desperate measures."

  "Why can't Rebe be more like you?"

  "If she were she wouldn't be…oh darn it.” She'd nearly blown it. If Sam for one moment thought she knew his true feelings concerning Rebe he wouldn't go.

  "What were you going to say?"

  "Rebe makes life interesting."

  "That doesn't mean I want to date her. I'd much rather have a beer and sit with you and watch a movie."

  Kandi didn't say that was the point of the date. Neither of her friends needed to know she thought they were what the other needed. She could have sworn a couple of years ago they were headed in that direction, and then something happened to change that. Rebe's brother, Jamie, died and Rebe hadn't been the same. And poor Sam, Jamie had been his best friend. It had been nearly as hard for him losing Jamie as it had been for Rebe and her parents.

  Things had been made harder because of the transformation Rebe had made toward him. Sam had gone from being her friend to…she didn’t even know. She only knew it made no sense and try as she might; Rebe had refused to discuss it with her. So had Sam.

  He'd said Rebe was finally showing her true colors. Kandi knew for a fact that wasn't true. They'd been best friends their entire lives. There was only one person Rebe treated with disdain and that was Sam. Kandi was determined to find out why and to repair the riff in Rebe and Sam’s friendship. If she couldn't make a love match, she'd settle for them being friends again. She loved them both and the past two years had been more than awkward with their strained relationship.

  She looked Sam over wondering why Rebe had never seen him for who he was. He had soulful green eyes with tiny hazel specks and they sparkled with his emotions. She'd long ago noticed anytime he was around Rebe, spoke her name, or even complained about her, his eyes would light up from within with green fire.

  Kandi almost laughed knowing she'd been around Rebe too long while she wrote her descriptions of the heroes in her book. She was starting to sound like her. Though her description of Sam was right on point. In fact, if her friend would stop whatever vendetta she had against him, she'd see that in his own way he was every bit the romance hero as Chase. She stood back to peruse Sam. Not bad, not bad at all, she thought.

  “Kandi, is something wrong?”

  With nothing more than a grin, Kandi continued her inspection of Sam. Looking at his long wavy brown hair she gave a tiny sigh of appreciation. Despite the tiny splatters of paint, his thick
hair looked so silky that if she was into him, she'd have her hands twisted in his hair all the time. She grinned as he frowned at her.

  But she was not yet finished with her assessment. His dimples were to die for. And Rebe loved a man with dimples. Sam's were the deepest she'd ever seen. Pair that with his strong jaw line, and beautiful smile and he'd hold his own with any of Rebe's fictional heroes, any day of the week. Besides that, he was brilliant, funny, and very respectful of women. He was fiercely loyal and a man she trusted her friend’s safety too. Of course she realized he didn't have much use for Rebe. But then again, Rebe didn't have much use for him either.

  "You've been staring at me as though you're trying to decide if I fit the bill. If you were any other woman I'd think you're checking me out, but since it is you and you're in my apartment asking me to do the most ridiculous thing I could have ever imagined, I'd have to think you're trying to see if I'll measure up for Rebe. Who cares if I do or not? Apparently I'm the only man left on planet Earth, since that would be the only reason she'd want me to take her to this damn dance."

  Kandi smiled at Sam. "Do you own a suit?” When he glared at her, she laughed. This was going to be fun.

  Pulling up to Sam’s and Kandi’s apartment building, Rebe took in a couple of deep breaths and exhaled. She'd blown the horn several times already and Sam had not come down. Pulling out her phone she called first Kandi them Sam. Neither one of them answered. Now she was forced to get out and ring the bell. When the buzzer sounded she yelled into it. "Sam, come down.”

  "If you're here to take me on a date, you can damn well come up and get me, Rebe. Honking your horn for me is just plain rude, even for you."

  Darn it, why couldn't Kandi have made sure Sam was ready and waiting downstairs for her, instead of behaving like a Prima Donna? She wondered, as she stomped toward the elevator and pushed the button for the second floor. This was wasting valuable time she didn't have. She banged on Kandi’s door. When she didn't answer Rebe threw up her hands. Her plan had been to ask her friend to go and collect Sam. Now she'd have to go to his apartment, which she didn't like doing because he had too many reminders of her past on his walls.