Ineligible Bachelor (18 page)

“Freddy.”

Bad timing to try to tell someone you loved him when a signed contract said you had to pick his perfect match in three weeks. Of all the impulsive moves in the world, sending his picture into the magazine would haunt her more than any specter ever found on an episode of
Ghost Hunters
on Syfy.

“Freddy!”

His voice made her jump and she spun around, knocking a vase of flowers from a small table near the door. Embarrassed, she began to clean up the mess. “Sorry,” she managed to get out.

Logan knelt beside her, set down his cell phone on the floor, and began helping her pick up some of the flowers. “I called out to you twice, and you didn’t seem to hear me. Are you okay?”

She nodded and stood, the vase and the rest of the flowers in her hands. Another perfect moment hung in the air and then dissolved.

“Important call?” she asked him.

“Roberto. He said wardrobe has been looking all over for me. I suppose it would be better if the production staff didn’t find me
here. I mean, me with no shoes and you still in your bathing suit. How would that look?”

She shrugged and looked at the floor to protect herself against the pull of the attraction she felt for him. Not knowing what else to say, she said nothing.

Logan drew down his eyebrows. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

She laughed. “I’m fine.”

He shook his head, dismissing her reply. “It seems to me that something is wrong.”

What was wrong? How about the fact that she was in love with the most eligible bachelor in the world? Logan Gabriel. A man who would be an instant celebrity once the show hit the airwaves. A man whose life she had probably changed forever with one click of the shutter on her digital camera. A man she could never tell how she felt or allow to kiss her again.

Because if he did, there would be no turning back.

“Really, I’m fine,” she lied.

He walked to her, close enough to kiss her again if she would allow it. “I think we need to talk, Freddy.”

“I know we do.” She looked into his incredible eyes and almost closed the distance between their lips. How she managed to pull back, she did not know. “But not now. Go, and get on some fancy clothes. We have a job to do.”

At the door, he paused and turned back. “You sure?”

Her stomach lurched, and again she forced the words to freeze on her lips. He didn’t need to know just how not okay she really felt. “I’m good,” she said with a practiced smile.

He returned the smile and winked before walking away.

Logan waited alone in the parlor for the elimination to begin. Try as he might, he could not seem to define what was happening or figure Freddy out any longer. He hit the rewind switch of his memory, his brows furrowing as he tried to recall every moment they’d had together and what she’d said, or rather what he thought she’d said. He needed to be sure. A wrong guess could be disastrous in the fragile game of chess they played.

“Now that’s what I call tall, dark, and handsome.”

The Boston accent told him he had company before he actually saw Madison. “You look nice,” he said to her once she circled around and came into view.

She put one hand on his shoulder and reached with the other for one of the champagne-filled fluted glasses set on the table near him. “And you look thirsty.”

He took the glass offered and stepped back. Madison’s hand glided down his jacket until it rested on his chest. He sipped the champagne handed him and looked over the rim of the glass at her. She did look nice.

His gaze scanned the room, resting on each of the bachelorettes in turn. They all looked nice. Five beautiful women, each of them knowing that by the end of the night there would only be four. Then three by the end of the week and two by the week
after. One of the final two would be his for a planned two-week romantic trip. He should care about which one that might be. But he didn’t. He only cared about the sunburned woman who was, so far, nowhere in sight.

“You aren’t here,” Madison said, referring to Logan’s obvious preoccupation. She refilled her glass with champagne from one of the opened bottles on the console table. “Care to tell me what you’re thinking about?”

Logan declined the refill she offered him with a wave of his hand. “No, I’m here,” he assured. “It’s been a long day.”

“Longer for those of us waiting for you to get back from your date. Did you and Jade bond?”

He offered her a polite smile. “How much bonding can one do with a camera crew following you around?”

Madison leaned back and rested her shapely backside on the backrest of one of the leather sofas. She tapped the top of her glass against her lips before speaking. “Actions speak louder than words. Take me on the next one-on-one, and I’ll show you how much two people can bond in an hour or so.”

“You know that isn’t my decision.”

She smiled. “I’m sure you can figure something out.” She set her glass down on the table near her hip and walked her fingers across Logan’s shoulders before looping her arm around his neck. “This can’t be fun for you. Waiting to see who gets you next, I mean.”

Logan could almost feel the camera zoom in on them. “And not so much fun for you either.”

Madison smiled. “We cope.” She glanced at the production crew filming and the makeup crew dabbing and primping. “Everyone seems occupied. Why don’t we take a few minutes for ourselves and talk outside? You haven’t had much time to get to know me and vice versa.”

Logan weighed his options and decided that dodging questions from one bachelorette would be better than trying to avoid questions shot at him by five. He set down his glass and crooked an arm in her direction. “Where to?”

Madison smiled and slid her arm through the loop made by his. She folded her hand over his forearm. “The side patio.”

Logan nodded and opened the French doors, as Madison looked over his shoulder.

Behind him, Jade caught Madison’s gaze and nodded. She let the champagne glass fall from her hand. It hit the deep rich walnut flooring and shattered, sending glass shards in every direction. The rest of the bachelorettes instinctively took a step back, not wanting to get anything on their clothes or shoes. “How clumsy of me,” Jade said, crouching down and appearing to clear the fragments of the very expensive crystal glass.

Logan dropped his arm, allowing Madison’s hand to fall to her side, and began to walk toward Jade when the set manager stopped him. “We’ll get that. You continue doing what you were going to do.” Crew members were already helping with the cleanup. “Cut!” he called out. “Someone get a broom. Let’s get this cleaned up so we can start filming again.” The film crew turned off their equipment, and the key grip lowered the boom pole as the best boy hurried off in the direction of the kitchen.

It was exactly the reaction Jade hoped her planned awkwardness would produce.

“We’re here, so let’s talk,” Logan said to Madison once he closed the doors to the side patio.

“What do you think of the game so far?” she asked, making herself comfortable on the seating wall. She patted the capstone. “Join me?”

Logan shook his head. “Finding love isn’t a game, Madison.”

“Poor choice of words on my part. What do you think of the show so far?”

“It’s been interesting.”

“Think of it this way. You’re going on the trip of a lifetime with someone handpicked for you.”

“Sounds more like an arranged marriage.”

“I doubt you’re thinking that far ahead.”

“And I doubt you know what I’m thinking.”

She pointed at him. “Exactly why we’re here. You haven’t been giving us your full attention.” She looked up in the direction of the second floor. “We’re all beginning to wonder why.” She returned her gaze to Logan. “Could it be your intrepid matchmaker preoccupying you?”

Logan frowned. “Freddy and I have known each other for a long time.”

“In what capacity?” Madison pressed.

“We grew up together. Sort of. We’ve known each other since we were kids.” He eyed her almost angrily. “And I would imagine that you all know by now that Freddy and I are close.”

“We know you have a relationship of some sort, but we can’t quite seem to figure it out yet.”

“Have you spent some time with Freddy?”

“We have.” Madison lifted her chin. “She got quite a nasty sunburn today.”

“How long were you with her?”

“A few hours.”

Madison looked rather tan. He felt annoyance well inside him remembering the pain Freddy’s sunburn caused her. He knew the proverbial “All’s fair in love and war,” but if Madison purposely kept Freddy baking in the sun to keep her from showing up at elimination, then war it would be.

“And not a sunspot on you,” he said, forcing a smile.

“So glad you noticed,” Madison returned.

Logan nodded once.

“I do hope Freddy will feel up to coming to elimination tonight,” Madison said after a lengthy silence.

“Well, since she’s my eyes and ears around here, I hope so, too.”

“Your eyes and ears. Interesting. But your eyes and ears are not exactly what we ladies are interested in.” She stood. Reaching out, she placed the palms of her hands on his shoulders. She leaned forward, her mouth next to his ear. “So watch out, Mr. Eligible Bachelor, because I am pretty sure this little game we’re all playing is about to change.”

“Ms. McAllister! You’ve done it this time.”

Roberto’s voice boomed through the doorway of Freddy’s upstairs suite. She’d never heard him speak this loud before. Not a good sign.

She’d spun to face him. “What have I done?”

Eyes narrowed and lips pressed together to form a thin line, Roberto strode into the room. Annie followed, holding a laptop. He gestured for Annie to put it on the nearest table and shoed her away from it.

“Look here.”

He pressed the Enter key, and the home page for a popular online e-zine covering reality TV appeared. The first headline read, “
Eligible Bachelor
Spoilers.”

Freddy’s brow wrinkled. She read the area to which Roberto pointed: “News and rumors for the upcoming new reality show. Cast Members. Blog. Scandal in the making.”

“What’s this?” she asked. “What’s a spoiler?”

Annie took over. “A spoiler is when someone inside leaks something about the show. Usually spoilers are released after the show airs, but someone leaked it now. And we still have a good three weeks’ filming to do.”

“That’s what makes this so bad,” Roberto added. “The network could yank the whole thing. I mean why watch the show if the outcome is already all over the Internet?”

Freddy opened her mouth to respond and then closed it when Roberto clicked on the link to the website. A picture of her and Logan popped up.

Roberto began reading. “Is
Eligible Bachelor
over before it starts? That’s the question some people are asking as an intimate video surfaced yesterday. Are Logan Gabriel,
Elan Magazine
’s Most Eligible Bachelor contest winner, and his longtime friend, Frederika McAllister, the woman who will pick his dream date, more than just friends? The clip shows the hunky bachelor and Frederika entering one of the pool houses after shooting an episode for the show. They did not come out for quite a while, leaving some to wonder if the contest is even real. Watch the video, and judge for yourself. The clip is time-stamped to show how long they stayed inside. You can hear voices coming from inside the cabana during the filming, but you can’t make out what is being said. Or being done. Then take our poll after you watch, and let us know your thoughts.”

“There’s a poll?” Freddy asked weakly.

“Care to see the results to date?” Roberto asked, aiming the cursor at the prompt.

“I suppose I’m going to whether I want to or not.”

“You are.” Roberto logged in next to the answer that indicated the responder who chose this particular selection thought the whole show was staged. When the graph appeared showing the vote total, it looked like a majority of the responders did also. “There you have it. We’re ruined.”

Think, Freddy,
her mind screamed.
Talk yourself out of this or be prepared to have your wages attached from a lawsuit settlement for the rest of your life and probably the next.