Pick Me (8 page)

You could turn around and head home. Wait for your scheduled date with her.

That he could, but he didn’t want to. He had another two days before he was supposed to see her again. Besides, he liked Valentina, and not just for the sex. She had a cool inner strength he admired, a sense of humor he could relate to, and just being near her calmed him. When he’d first met her in Denver, he’d considered himself fortunate. He’d had a gorgeous woman to ease the loneliness he’d been feeling, and give him a hot night to remember. Only it wasn’t just another hot night to tuck away in his memory bank and recall when the loneliness set in again.

Since that night, he’d never been the same. Hell, he couldn’t look at a woman without comparing her to Valentina. He didn’t know why. Just knew whatever had happened in Denver had changed him. He only wished she wouldn’t have left him in the Mile High city, high and dry with nothing but those memories.

Yesterday, after they’d had sex in the woods, he’d wanted to ask her why she’d snuck away in the middle of the night six months ago. The blissful satisfaction on her face had kept his mouth shut. Maybe he didn’t want to know. Then again, maybe coming here tonight and putting up with the show were both lame attempts at bolstering his bruised ego. No woman had ever walked away from him. All the others had clung to him, searching, seeking more, something, anything. Now he was the one searching, seeking more, and while Valentina had made it clear she wanted him, it was only for the sex. Why? Why was she denying them the chance at something good, something real?

He leaned against his truck. Stared hard at her apartment’s darkened windows, trying to come up with one valid excuse for being here tonight, and contemplating whether or not he should leave. Then she flipped on a light. From where he stood he watched her wave a hand in the air as she spoke into her cell phone, then she ripped something off her dress, tossed it against a wall and slammed the phone on an end table. She eyed the phone, and slumped onto the sofa, resting her face in her hands.

With his heart and mind racing, he decided he didn’t need any excuses. Valentina was angry and hurting, and he was determined to find out why. 

*

Releasing a deep sigh, Valentina didn’t know whether to laugh, cry, or throw her cell phone against the wall like she’d done with Jonas’ broach.

Jonas was such a prick, and after the call she’d received from him tonight, she worried he’d only become worse. When she’d told him how her evening with Trent had gone, he’d threatened her again. Not good enough, he’d told her. But what did he expect? For her to jump Trent’s bones right there in the street with the camera crew hovering around them?

God she wished she had someone to talk to. She couldn’t call her family. All she’d hear from her mom and dad were a bunch of “I told you so’s,” and her brothers would handle the situation with the Bonasera family motto: If you can’t laugh or cry about it, then get pissed.
Charming.

She shoved off the sofa, then rummaged through the kitchen cupboards for a wine glass. If only she could tell Danny. He’d know what to do. But if she told him, and the knowledge of the spy cams and her and Colt’s soft-core sex tape were released, his job could be in jeopardy. While she had resigned from her position, he was still
Pick Me’s
Production Manger. He needed his job. He had a fiancé waiting for him in Arizona, and bills for their upcoming wedding that needed to be paid. No, she wouldn’t tell Danny about any of this.

She poured wine into the glass while trying to think of someone she could confide in, but came up empty. “Pathetic,” she said. The only other person she trusted was her friend Chloe. They’d gone from grade school through high school together, and while Chloe went the route Valentina’s parents wished she had—found herself a husband and already had two baby boys—they’d managed to keep in touch.

Taking a sip of the wine, Valentina calculated when the last time she’d spoken to Chloe, and with regret, realized it had been over ten months. Jeez, with the way Chloe and her husband were producing, they could have had another child she didn’t even know about. No, she couldn’t call Chloe. Besides, what would she say? Hey, long time no talk, how are the kids and by the way, I’m the bachelorette on a reality show and the director is blackmailing me with a sex tape. Yeah, right. That would go over well.

If only she could be the ruthless vixen Jonas wanted her to be. Wear those stupid spy cams, flirt, kiss, and give him something for his ratings. Unfortunately it wasn’t as simple as that. She actually liked Trent, and she realized tonight that he wasn’t on the show to gain any sort of fame, but to find his soul mate. She still thought finding ones soul mate would be easier if it were done through an online dating service, but who was she to judge. She might have found hers on a one-night-stand.

“Don’t even go there,” she muttered before taking another sip of wine. Colt was
not
her soul mate. Sure, he was fun and sexy, but fun and sexy only lasted for so long. At least that’s what she’d keep telling herself. If she didn’t, she’d end up right back where she was six months ago—pining over a man she could never have. They came from two different worlds, she was a city girl. He was a country boy. That kind of crap might work in a cheesy romance novel, but not in the real world. On that note, she raised her glass in a mock toast, then brought it to her lips.

A rap at the door made her jump and spill wine down her chin. Dabbing her face with a kitchen towel, she looked at the clock. Who would be dropping by at this hour? Had to be Danny. Then she froze. Could be Jonas. She didn’t trust that sick bastard, and if it was him, no way would she let him inside her apartment.

Her heart rate accelerated as she approached the door with caution, then jumped another level when she looked through the peep hole.
Colt.

Without hesitation, she opened the door. “What are you doing here?”

“I was in the neighborhood.” He sauntered into the living room, his gaze moving over the furnishings. “I didn’t have a chance to say this yesterday, you know with all the cameras on us, but this place is...nice,” he finished, and fingered a hideous black sculpture that resembled a woman’s vagina.

After she’d moved in, she’d learned from Derek that the couple he’d leased the apartment from were lesbians. Not that she cared, but when one had a hot guy in her apartment... “None of this is mine,” she blurted, aware of how all the paintings, sculptures and knick knacks resembled or symbolized some form of the female anatomy. “I rented it fully furnished...” She bit the inside of her cheek. “From a couple of women.”  

He turned, and burst out laughing. “Well that explains a lot,” he said, then closed her drapes before he moved toward a painting on the wall. “The décor definitely screams...
female.
”

“That’s putting it mildly. You should see the bedroom.” Her cheeks burned when she caught his heated gaze. “I meant...I didn’t mean...oh just forget it.” With brisk steps, she moved toward the kitchen. Colt snagged her arm and spun her to face him.

“I know what you meant,” he said, and ran a finger along her jaw, then tucked it under her chin. “Why so skittish tonight? Bad day?”

That’s putting it mildly.
“I’m not, it’s just...you really shouldn’t be here. The—”

“Show,” he finished. “I know.”

“Then why are you here?”

He lifted a shoulder. “I told you, I was in the neighborhood.”

“Try again,” she said, and cocked a brow. While she knew having Colt in her apartment was wrong, especially since she’d just finished a date with another man no more than ten minutes ago, she was glad he’d come tonight. After Jonas’ call, she could use a friend.

Tell him.
The thought came from nowhere, but she quickly squashed it. She couldn’t tell Colt anything about the arrangement she’d m
ade with Derek, or about Jonas’ blackmailing. If she did, he might lose complete respect for her, and she wanted his respect. Wanted him to continue to want her for as long it lasted.
Four weeks.
   

“Do you practice that look in the mirror?” he asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You know, the
look,
the one school teachers seem to be born with.” He smoothed her creased forehead. “The one that says you’re busted so you might as well fess up.”

Guilt piled up on more guilt. “Sorry, I didn’t realize I was giving you
the
look,” she countered trying hard not to let her conscience rear its ugly head.
Tell him.
“So, you were in the neighborhood...”

He stepped back, taking his comforting warmth with him. “I thought maybe we could discuss how we should handle our next date,” he said, then bent and picked up the broach she’d thrown against the wall after her call with Jonas. “Is this yours or did one of the ladies who own the apartment leave it behind.”

“Oh, I was wondering where that was, thanks,” she said, taking it from his hand while cringing on the inside. Another lie. Another reason to vacation on her guilt trip.

Setting the ugly spy cam on the counter, and double checking to make sure the stupid thing was indeed off, she turned to him. “So you wanted to discuss our next date. Why?”

He stopped in front of a painting she’d originally thought was one of those abstract things she’d never understood, but after learning about the owners, she’d realized the painting somehow symbolized two women joining together. “What do you think this is supposed to be?” he asked.

“Why are you avoiding my questions?” she countered.

“Am I? I didn’t mean to,” he said with a crooked grin. “I guess I was just making conversation.” He flicked his gaze to her, then went back to staring at the painting. “I just figured maybe we should have a plan of attack.”

“A plan of attack,” she repeated. “Attack against what?” Oh God, don’t tell me he knows about Jonas. The slimy bastard might have already gotten to Colt, or maybe Colt was his and Derek’s imposter. The wheels in her mind started clicking into place. Yes, it made sense, but this was Colt. And Colt...she didn’t want to believe he’d stoop so low. She wanted to believe he was one of the good guys, her knight in a cowboy hat.

“I meant that I wanted to make sure no one knows we’ve been together. So how do we do that?” He met her in two long strides and cupped her cheeks. “How do I...we not let on that we have a history.”

“One night doesn’t make a history,” she said, keeping her tone cool, and trying to remain detached even though her body burned for his touch.

Disappointment flickered in his eyes, but he grinned and stroked his thumb along her lower lip. “I suppose it doesn’t. But what about yesterday? I’d say that was something for the history books.”

Yes it was. She couldn’t stop thinking about yesterday, his warm caresses, the way he’d filled her and made her come alive in the middle of the woods. “Yesterday was wonderful,” she said, pleased to finally admit something true. “But I’m not sure how much history can repeat itself. I have a date with Brad tomorrow, you’re scheduled for Sunday, then it starts all over again on Monday with Trent.”

The thought of dating both Trent and Brad made her weary, heart and soul. All she wanted to do was cuddle up in Colt’s strong arms and forget that
Pick Me
ever existed. Lose herself in his embrace like she’d done in Denver.

Intensity shadowed his eyes for a second before he masked it with another smile. “Why not? No one would know if I popped by for a visit.”

She hoped she’d managed to hide her disappointment. What Colt suggested was exactly what
she’d
suggested yesterday. They would have sex for as long as the show lasted. Somehow she’d thought better of him, that he might want more. Granted, he wasn’t like Trent who was on the show to find someone special. Nope, Colt was doing the show to own up on a bet, and he might not be who he’d said he was on top of it all.

Steeling herself from the desire in his eyes, the soft touch of his fingers, she shifted away. “I know what I said yesterday, but I think I was caught up in the moment. It’s not right.”

“I’d say you and me feel just right.”

He had her there. No man felt as right as Colt. But with the compounding guilt, the lies, and that sex tape hanging over her head, she didn’t feel right at all. “Please understand—”

He held up his hands, his gaze still on her. “I do,” he said and moved to the door.

She didn’t want him to leave. Not like this. Not at all. But how could she tell him she wanted him to do the things he’d done to her yesterday with Jonas’ vile threats looming over her? If she’d known Colt was one of the bachelors, she wouldn’t have signed on to be the bachelorette. The time she’d spent with him in Denver had meant too much to her, no matter how much she’d tried to deny it.

As he gripped the door handle, she placed her hand on his shoulder, the same shoulder she’d gripped yesterday when her pants were around her ankles and his head was between her thighs. Those thoughts weren’t helping her, and while she tried to shrug them away, she couldn’t. Especially when he leveled her with a gaze so hot, the air between them literally thickened.

“One last thing before I go,” he said, his voice deep, huskier than usual. “When we end our date on Sunday, what kind of kiss should I leave you with?”