Royal Chase(23)

There were bottles of liquor and glasses everywhere. I guessed that production assistant hadn’t been kidding when she said our job was to interact and drink heavily.

I grabbed a lounge chair next to Genesis, who smiled at me as she slathered on more sunscreen. “I have to wear like SPF 9000. I have two shades. Pale white and bright red.”

“Me too,” I told her, putting my sunglasses on. I never liked the way spray tans looked. Although, considering the women surrounding us, I was alone in that sentiment.

We couldn’t wear our mike packs because of the water and the bikinis, so there were several sound guys holding boom microphones over us. There were also cameras everywhere, and I wondered how they all managed to stay out of each other’s shots. They were fixated on the girls in the bathing suits, filming their conversations. I didn’t understand this because presumably the show’s target audience was women between eighteen and thirty-four. Women who weren’t all that interested in watching other women in their swimsuits. Now, shots of a half-naked Dante, on the other hand—that I understood.

There was some giggling and splashing, and I turned to see a bunch of girls getting into the pool. They had deigned to do so because Dante had shown up and, as if he’d read my mind, was taking off his shirt to join them.

His shirt hit the ground, and he flashed his very muscular and defined torso, and I melted. I was so, so shallow and grateful for my sunglasses that allowed me to watch him without him knowing. “I wish I didn’t like that so much,” I murmured to myself.

Fortunately Genesis was distracted by him too, so she didn’t say anything in response. He dove in and everyone squealed in delight. I noticed that all of the girls were careful to keep their heads above water.

I wished so badly for a magazine. Or a computer. Or my phone. Watching Dante flirt with the masses was not my idea of a good time.

He surfaced and waved at me. Then he swam over and came up to the edge, crossing his arms on the side of the pool. Which obscured my view of his perfect chest.

As Pepé Le Pew would say, le sigh.

I felt hyperaware of every detail—how his muscles flexed in his forearms, how the water droplets clung to his dark hair, how his smile seemed brighter and more blinding than the sun.

And I was hyperaware of how much I liked it.

“Come in. The water feels nice.” I could actually feel nineteen sets of eyes boring into me.

“I’m good. Thanks, though.”

“Your loss,” he said, flinging some water at me. I refused to be goaded into responding.

Genesis started to say something to me, but we were interrupted by Harris’s voice. “Good afternoon, ladies. I hope you all got a good night’s rest, because this afternoon Dante would like to take everyone out on a group date. You’ll be going horseback riding. Cars will be out front waiting for you in one hour.”

Everyone practically sprinted back in the house, nearly trampling Harris in the process. I wondered if an hour would be long enough for them to get ready. “You’re not going in?” Dante asked.

“You’ve seen me without my makeup. I don’t need to impress you.”

“You don’t,” he agreed.

But Genesis was gathering up her things, so I decided to go inside after all. I didn’t want to be left alone with Dante when we had such little clothing on. Bad things might happen.

And I wanted to kick the part of me that got excited at that prospect.





Chapter 7



Those gorgeous eyes, that amazing body, that incredible brain, that earth-shattering smile . . . but enough about me. How have you been?





“When did he see you without your makeup?”

“What?” I was just delaying for a second until I could think of something. “Oh, last night. After the Heart Celebration. It wasn’t a big deal.”

Technically he had seen me last night without my makeup on because I had cried it all off. But if I told her that, then I’d have to explain everything, and I didn’t know if she could keep a secret and I couldn’t risk my career.

I was still lying to her though, and I did not enjoy it. Another girl might have seen right through me, but Genesis just accepted what I said.

Fortunately, I had my red cowgirl boots with me, and some comfortable black leggings. I put on a soft T-shirt, one I wouldn’t mind the horses chewing on if they got affectionate. I hadn’t packed a hat, not knowing there’d be a need for one. The show had given us bathing suits; maybe they’d give us some hats so we didn’t burn.

Genesis put on a similar outfit, including well-worn boots. That surprised me. “Where are you from?” I asked her.