Melanie opened her eyes slowly, adjusting to the morning sun streaming through the window. She yawned and got up looking to her side and realising that Sam was looking straight at her, she grabbed the bed cover.
"Good morning, how are you feeling?" Sam asked thoughtfully.
"Bloody great, I'm starving though," Melanie said, stifling a yawn.
"A woman after my own heart," Sam grinned, "What do you fancy eating?" as he dragged himself out of the bed stark naked to retrieve the menu from the other side of the room. Melanie couldn't keep her eyes off of him.
"I know what I would much prefer," Melanie said sheepishly
"You read my mind," Sam laughed and jumped on her.
An hour or so later, Melanie and Sam ordered half of what was on the Room Service Menu and proceeded to devour everything on the trolleys. It was a romantic setting, eating gorgeously freshly made food on a king sized bed with the man of her dreams, could it get any better? They talked about numerous things and something inside Melanie dissipated. She wasn't going to expect anything nor demand he marry her this instance.
"What are you thinking about?" Sam said, popping a grape into his mouth.
"Just thinking about cleaning," Melanie lied, "She couldn't afford to muddle the waters with her feelings."
"Okay... so what do you have planned today?" Sam asked, "If you've got absolutely nothing, I was hoping you would be able to spend it with me."
"I ah... well... I would love too but... actually, no that's sounds great," Melanie smiled.
"Have you got something to do?" Sam asked.
"I'm looking for work, it's fine doing the ironing day in and day out but I've run out of clothes to iron and I'm in desperate need to get something to tie me down... otherwise the resources I came with are slowly drying out."
"I can help you with that actually," Sam said, "What kinda roles are you looking for?"
"Preferably something that isn't public relations, what have you got?" Melanie said.
"Great, let me call up Alyson and pass her your details." Sam said reassuringly.
"Thanks," Melanie said.
"No problem... so now that I've sorted out the job for you... now I have you all to myself." Sam said, kissing her.
TWO MONTHS LATER
"This is a beautiful creation, I've never... wow," Melanie said filling her hands full of Swarovski crystals and chiffon, "I hope, I will be able to pull it off."
"You can pull off anything, unlike me. I'm a beached whale," Dawn said looking at her expanding bump, "It's a simple tailor made Zac Posen dress for me. I swear, guys have it so easy when it comes to style, put on some suit and they're classic."
"Well, never thought I'd actually say this, but I can't wait for all this stuff to be over... I hate the paparazzi."
"Yes, but you love Sam, don't you?" Dawn teased, "And I'm mighty sure, you would go hell and high water for him."
"I never thought I'd actually say this about anyone but I yeah, I would."
"Well, I'm sure this gruelling part of their job will be great then, because you'll be with him and it'll be enchanting especially with what you're wearing. Beautiful. Can't wait." Dawn quipped.
"And why are you so excited?" Mel asked.
"Nothing, nothing at all," Dawn said keeping her smile under wraps.
Melanie looked at herself in the full length mirror, wow. She had never seen a more beautiful dress. She was wearing one of Donatella's latest creations. A floor length nude gown and it was littered with small hand sown Swarovski crystals, long sleeved yet backless till the hem hit her backbone. It was understated class and regal elegance. She was wearing three million dollars worth of diamond earrings from Harry Winston and a Swarovski clutch, her shoes were vintage Jimmy Choo but they accentuated the style of her dress.
At that moment, Dawn walked into the room and gasped, she was dressed in a luminous green sheath dress, "Oh bloody Nora, you look amazing..."
Melanie turned around, "You really think so?"
"I know so... do you have everything?... The guys are down in the lobby... and my, don't they look a sight."
"Just came for the food and the booze," Clive said looking up as Dawn walks from the lift, followed by Melanie, "Samuel."
Samuel looks up hastily from the paper in his hand and drops it back onto the table and takes a breathe. He can't believe his eyes, Melanie looks more then stunning, beautiful but there isn't a word in the dictionary that can describe how truly wonderful she looks. He walks up to her and cups her face in his hand and kisses her gently on the lips.
"If I'm to get a kiss like that and a welcome, I should dress up more often," Melanie quipped.
"I say, you wear nothing at all and you can have everything you want," Sam said spellbound.
"Can I have that in writing? I could do with a new house," Melanie laughed.
They walked the metres of red carpet, stopping for photographs, being bombarded by reporters asking questions about future projects and personal matters but Sam was in too good a mood to let anything annoy him. He noticed that a lot of the A-Listers bachelors were giving Melanie a good run over, obviously undressing her, the fabric to her dress almost sheer, if not for the crystals adorning it but wow, she was beautiful and he couldn't quite get over it.
Melanie poised herself on the red carpet, she was in the limelight and this was how it felt. Blimey, it was a lot of getting used to, especially as Nicole Kidman and Kate Winslet were a few metres from her, striking a pose.
"You think this is your ball court, better think again," came the slither of a female voice.
Melanie turned around and saw Gloria centimetres away, she was wearing a bright outlandish red in the wrong shape to her body and her blonde hair looked more bed hair than anything.
"I think you have a bit of red, out of place," Melanie said and walked away from her. The comment obviously made Gloria furious and she lunged forward, Melanie stepped out of the way and Gloria hit the floor and blanked out. Sam came to Melanie, "Are you alright?"
"Never better, you best take me away before I break out in laughter on the red carpet," Melanie smiled cheekily and Sam led her away.
"Are you going to get a gong, do you know?" Melanie asked.
"I'm not nominated for anything but I know that, I'm presenting something. Shall we take our seats, I think I'm to present something in the first half," he smiled.
"Yeah sure," Melanie said sitting down on the plush red seat, "Do you ever tire of these shows? I can't quite get used to it myself."
"Well, this is the first prestigious awards show, I've been too, it comes part of the job, so... I guess, I'd have to get used to it."
The lights dimmed and the show began. An hour and a half later, Sam was called to the stage and Melanie watched in awe as he stood at the stand alone.
"Good evening ladies and gentleman and welcome to the category of Best Romance Drama. This is a fairly new category and with permission from the board of directors for the Academy Awards, I would like to say that Romance is not sold to women solely, nor endorsed by men but it is the meeting of a man and a woman. The ideology of candle lit dinners and boxes of chocolates and endless amounts of flowers specify a genre that is often upheld to men to court women in such fashion, so I hope I do this justice and be separated from the rest when I ask Melanie to come to the stage."
Melanie froze, he couldn't possibly mean her, could he? "Yes, honey, I'm speaking to you," as if reading her mind. She got up slowly and made her way towards him on the stage and he met her at the stairs and walked her over to the podium, she saw hundreds upon hundreds of faces staring back at her and she felt such a sudden shift of nerves voice themselves and when she next looked at Sam, he was on bended knees. He held her left hand in his and in his right hand he held a massive sparkler of a ring, "Melanie, I hope you won't throttle me for doing this to you but I have good reason, would you do me the honour of being my wife, my friend, my confidant, the mother of my children. I can't think of my life before you were in it, nor a life without you... you have made me the most happiest man and...."
"Yes, I'll marry you." Melanie interrupted and she watched Sam beam with joy as he placed the ring on her finger, kissed her and spun her around on stage to an applause of hundreds. He put her down, without letting her go and said into the mic, "No award can bring out a sense of achievement, or go towards measuring how happy I am as I stand in front of you all. I'm getting married to the most amazing, funny and mesmerizingly beautiful woman in my world. Yeeeeeah!"
Sam led Melanie off stage to a rapturous applause and kissed her, "Thank you for making me so happy."
Melanie smiled, wiping tears from her face, "You're welcome."
"Let's get out of here!" Sam said.
"You read my mind," and they headed outside into the sunshine.
