"Are you nervous?"
Sean looked up to eye Stephanie with amusement at her question. She had a definite aura of excitement about her, and a twinkle in her blue eyes.
"Nope," he replied. "More like excited. It's not every day a guy gets to live out his lifelong dream."
"So, it's been a lifelong dream of yours to get to make a fool out of my ex-fiance in front of a national audience?" The brunette smirked, thoroughly relishing what she'd just said.
The shaggy-haired man laughed heartily and hugged her against his side. He was reminded once again of how it had been so easy for him to fall in love with her. Stephanie McMahon was brilliant, gorgeous and possessed just about the sharpest wit anywhere. He kissed her on the forehead before speaking again.
"Nah - although that's pretty damn sweet unto itself," he said. "But seriously, Steph... Having you out there, by my side is about the best part of this deal."
She wrapped an arm around his waist, swatting at him with her free hand.
"Oh, you lie!" she exclaimed in a teasing tone. "I meant about your opportunity for the title, silly."
Sean kissed her on the tip of her button nose.
"I know you did, baby, but I'm still thrilled you're gonna be out there with me."
Stephanie unentangled herself of his embrace to come around in front to face him. A most tender look came into her eyes as she reached up with both hands, cupping his handsome face.
"It really means that much to you that I'll be out there, doesn't it?"
He nodded, keeping his gaze locked on hers.
"Of course it does. Steph, I love you."
The brunette felt her eyes filling with tears of emotion. She pushed up on her toes to capture his willing lips, kissing him with all the fervor she could. She curled her fingers into his shoulder-length brown hair, loving the feel of his intense kiss.
When it was over, O'Haire kept his face so near to hers, nuzzling her with affection.
"I love you, too," Stephanie breathed. "You know that, right?"
He nodded as he continued to nuzzle her pretty face.
"Yeah... I do," he murmured.
The brunette reluctantly pulled away, all of her previous giddiness bubbling back to the surface.
"Okay, mister, you've got a match to get ready for. What do you think I should wear for the segment?"
Sean shrugged and said, "I'm not sure... Anything, so long as it's short, tight and low-cut, maybe?"
Stephanie playfully made a face at him.
"Hey! We're not going for 'slut' here. We're supposed to be a babyface couple!"
"I've seen face valets dress sexy," he countered.
"All right," the brunette said thoughtfully. "I'll go for sexy, but not in an overdone fashion. I'll go see what they've got available in wardrobe." She came back over to give him a quick kiss before slipping out of his locker room with a wave and an innocent smile.
"Oh, look what the cat dragged in," a most unpleasant voice muttered.
Stephanie scowled as she slowly turned around. The last thing she wanted was to face him now. Later? Well, that was a different story. She was totally looking forward to laughing in his fat face out at ringside.
"Paul," she said sternly. Inwardly, she cursed her luck. Why did she always end up running into him? It seemed to happen like clockwork, regardless of the time or her mood. Yet, the one constant that remained was that the latter always took a nosedive whenever she encountered him.
"What's the deal?" Levesque demanded. His face deepened into a frown. "In order to make Boy Toy look good, he has to beat me?" Actually, now that he thought about it, that made a lot of sense. After all, he was the big man around there, and who the hell was Sean O'Haire? A WCW guy who went nowhere in the WWE. The guy had only made it to the company by a default, simply because Vince had bought out that other one.
"Yeah, that's right, Paul," Stephanie replied, a big smile now adorning her face. "Score one for you. And I'm going to enjoy every second of it out there."
The burly man scowled at her, his hands clenching into fists. He was silent for a moment, yet still menacing as he neared her just a bit. He glared into her eyes with hatred, his huge nostrils flaring.
"You haven't won, Stephanie."
The brunette seemed unaffected by his demeanor. A tiny smirk played on her lips as she stared up at him.
"But Sean will... and guess what? When he wins, so will I."
"Bitch," Paul muttered.
Stephanie smiled.
"Right back at'cha," she remarked. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have places to be." With that, she turned
away from him and strode down the arena hallway.