Pick Me (11 page)

While he tried to regain control of his breathing and accelerated heart, he caressed her back and drew her closer, kissing the top of her head. For the second time in his life, he knew what it meant to find true contentment. The problem was that both times included Valentina. She’d run from him in Denver, something he still needed to ask her about, but the bigger problem was now. She’d already warned him this wouldn’t last. That she’d be gone, back to Chicago when the show ended. After tonight, he was bound and determined to change her mind.

What he’d just experienced with Valentina went way beyond sex. 

Chapter 7

Valentina settled onto the stiff sofa across from
Pick Me’s
host Shepp McCord and glanced around the stage. The crew had created an intimate setting for the dreaded “dating diary,” where she’d tell her version of the dates she’d had with all three bachelors, and then what she’d thought of each guy.

While she’d known about the dating diary, she’d hoped she could talk Jonas and Derek out of it. No such luck. Now she had to ramble on about the men and the dates. Fortunately she only had to do this a few times a week, the day after a round of dates with each bachelor. The guys had it easier. They only had to describe their one date, and had done so right after the date ended.

“What’s the hold up?” Jonas yelled from across the stage. “I thought I told you people I wanted this set ready to roll thirty minutes ago.”

“Give them a break,” Danny shouted back as he came toward the set from the opposite direction. “You know damn well that the prefab set we use for the show came in damaged. These guys have been busting their butts all night to fix it.”

Jonas huffed as he stomped toward Danny. “I don’t want to hear any bullshit excuses. Time is money, and we’re wasting a lot of both.”

“Then you should have been here last night helping,” Danny countered, his cheeks flaming red.

Wow. She could understand why Danny was angry, but she couldn’t believe he’d actually stood up to Jonas. He and everyone else normally walked on egg shells whenever Jonas was around, worried they’d be the brunt of his next tirade. Although she didn’t like how things were already starting this morning, at least Jonas’ ire was directed elsewhere. She only hoped she could escape the studio without having to talk to him alone. His threats were becoming worse.

“We’re ready,” Paul, a fifty-something crew member, interjected as he wiped the sweat from his brow with his equally sweaty t-shirt.

Jonas narrowed his eyes at Danny, who held his gaze with defiance, before turning his attention to her and Shepp. He pinned her with a glare of disdain. “Goldie,” he barked. “Do something with Val, she looks like shit.”

Valentina straightened her spine, ready to throw a barb back at him, but Goldie blocked her view of the bald-headed jerk.

“You look fine,” Goldie whispered, and powdered Valentina’s cheeks. “A little dark under the eyes, but hell, I’d be exhausted if I had to date all those hunky guys, too.” She gave her an encouraging smile, and fluffed her hair. “I like you better with the curls.” Then she turned and ran off the stage.

Colt liked her hair curly, too, which was a good thing. No amount of goop or flat ironing worked under the duress of Dallas’s high humidity. As for the dark circles under her eyes, well, that was Colt’s fault, not that she minded. He’d come to her apartment again last night, after her date with Brad, surprising her, like he’d done the night before. Both nights they’d stayed up until about three in the morning, talking, fooling around, and watching reruns or old movies.

He’d never stayed the whole night, but she suspected he would have if she’d asked. But she hadn’t, and didn’t plan to. Spending time with him, that didn’t involve just sex, was making her crazy. It amazed her how quickly she could feel so comfortable around him, and she’d found it difficult to not blather the truth about the show. Not yet, though, maybe not ever. He seemed to hold her with such high esteem, she couldn’t fathom seeing the hurt or disappointment in his eyes when he learned the truth.

Jonas stepped onto the set, gave a disapproving snort as he looked at her, then turned. “Okay, people, let’s get this over with.”

The cheesy theme song played softly in the background as the camera focused on Shepp. When the music died, he plastered on his high-wattage smile, and turned to her. “Val, you’ve finished your first dates with all three bachelors, what do you think of the guys?”

Tamping down the urge to swipe her heated forehead, she manufactured a smile. “They’re all great. I’m having a lot of fun.”

“Cut,” Jonas yelled. “What the hell was that, Val?”

God she wished she could hit him again. “Shepp asked me a question and I answered him. If you have something in mind for me to say, then put it on the teleprompter.”

Palming his head, he spun in a circle, then threw his arms in the air. “A teleprompter, she says.” He stopped, stormed onto the set, then plopped next to her on the sofa. “Shepp, get outta here for a sec.”

Shepp nodded, and bolted toward Danny who stood a good twenty feet away. Although there were at least fifteen people milling around the set, she had this immense sense of isolation. She detested Jonas, just being near him, and knowing what he could do to her and Colt, had her stomach churning and bile rising in her throat.

“Look, I know we have our differences,” he began, his tone quiet and meant for her ears only. “But if you don’t take this seriously all of these people will lose their jobs. They’ll blame you. And when they go on to work their next job, they’ll talk. You’re name will become synonymous with cancellation. Do you understand me?”

She hadn’t considered that the crew would blame her if the show tanked. After all, she was playing bachelorette to help save the show. But now that she thought about it, she wouldn’t be surprised. She’d been around long enough to know the crew liked to gossip, and bad rap directors, producers, as well as fellow and former crew members. “Don’t you think you’re being a little dramatic?” she asked, not willing to allow Jonas the satisfaction of knowing he’d hit a chord. “You’re so worried about time and money, why don’t you get out of my face and let Shepp continue with this stupid interview. I have a date tonight.”

Leering, he edged closer. “Ah, yes. With your hillbilly cowboy. Make sure you wear the spy cam, and this time, give me something I can use. Now, back to this interview, I want you to act bubbly and excited. You’ve worked on this set long enough to know what works, so do it. If you don’t...”

“Kiss my ass,” she muttered through clenched teeth.

“That’ll be Colt’s job, and if you actually caught that on camera, hell, I’d find a way to throw in a monetary bonus for you.”

Before she could tell him what he could do with his bonus, he shoved off the couch. “Okay, people, let’s try this again.”

After Shepp returned, and the cheesy music died down again, he repeated his spiel, “Val, you’ve finished your first dates with all three bachelors, what do you think of the guys?”

With defiance she looked directly at Jonas and gave Shepp the same answer, verbatim. Screw Jonas.

Shepp’s eyes flickered with amusement and approval. “So tell me about your first date with Colt.”

She told him about the afternoon date, of course leaving out the fact that they’d had sex in the middle of the woods, and finished by saying that she looked forward to their date tonight. Which was true. She loved simply hanging out with Colt. Carefree, relaxed, comfortable, and the sex...wow. He’d rocked her world more times than she could count on all of her fingers and toes.

“It sounds like you two had a bang up good time,” Shepp chuckled. “Did Trent match up to Colt?”

Not even close.
“There’s more to Trent than meets the eye,” she answered honestly. “Don’t let the long hair and all of those tattoos fool you. He has a romantic side to him that blew me away.”

“Really? How so?”

“For our first date, he had reserved the rooftop lounge of The Ascot Hotel, hired musicians, had the best wine, food. Afterward, he took me to The Mouth House. It’s a local club where his band sometimes plays. Well, while we were there, he’d actually jumped on stage and joined the band, dedicating a song he’d written to me.” While it was probably one of the most embarrassing moments of her life, considering The Mouth House was known for its Goth crowd and heavy metal music, and she’d looked like she’d just stepped off the cover of Miss Prim and Proper magazine—if there was such a thing. Regardless, she’d had a great time with him, and an even better time after he’d dropped her off at her apartment.

She hoped the cameras didn’t catch the blush heating her cheeks as she thought about how Colt had stopped by, unannounced, then proceeded to satisfy her.

“It sounds like you and Trent hit it off, but what about Brad?”

Where to begin.
When she’d first heard Brad talking through the partitioned wall, without even seeing him, she’d labeled him a himbo. Every time he’d begun a sentence it started with “um.” She’d worked on the set of
Pick Me
long enough to know they never had ugly guys as bachelors, so between the “ums” and his not so brilliant answers, she’d placed him in the classification with other himbo’s. After meeting him, she’d hoped she was wrong, but... “Brad is one of a kind.” So true. If they hadn’t been talking about anything exercise related, or the latest low carb, high protein diet, the silence had been deafening. “He’d taken me to a local carnival, and put his muscles to use at one of the games, and won an enormous stuffed animal for me. I swear the thing takes up half of my living room.”

Brad had been determined to ring the bell of one of those strong man games, where he smacked the mallet to make the bell ring. He’d won, of course, and now she not only had to stare at a bunch of lesbian décor, but a gigantic gorilla with a big smiley face and crossed eyes.   

When Colt had seen the gorilla, he’d suggested buying a strap-on dildo, attaching it to the goofy looking stuffed animal and leaving it behind for the couple that owned the apartment. They’d both laughed until tears rolled down their cheeks, and again later when they’d attempted to have sex on the living room sofa. Even Colt’s hot caresses couldn’t distract her from the cross-eyed gorilla, or her picturing it wearing a strap-on. Colt finally had to flip the thing around so its nose was in the corner. After that, he’d replaced her laughter with moans and multiple orgasms.

“Well, it sounds like you’ve had some interesting dates. I know you still have weeks to decide, but has one of the bachelors caught your attention yet?”

Oh yeah, but she wasn’t about to reveal that information to Shepp. She’d already made up her mind to pick Colt. After spending time with him over the past three days, she knew he wasn’t Derek’s red herring, even if he was she’d pick him anyway. How could she fault him for lying about who he was, when she’d been doing the exact same thing?

“You know, Shepp, it’s really hard to say at this point. But I’m sure after a few more dates I’ll know.”

Shepp smiled, turned to the camera, and gave his trademark sign off. Once Jonas yelled cut, his smile fell and he snagged her hand. “Watch out for Jonas,” he warned. “I know you work for the show, but I’ve had a few bachelorettes tell me—”

“Shepp,” Jonas interrupted. “Don’t you have a gig at a radio station in an hour?”

Nodding, Shepp stood, and without another word, walked off the stage. She had to find out what Shepp knew about Jonas. Maybe she could use whatever information he gave her to counter his threats. Not wanting another confrontation with Jonas, she stood, too.

Jonas grabbed her arm. “Not so fast. I meant what I said about your date tonight.”

Jerking her arm free, she spun away without acknowledging him. She had to talk to Shepp before he left, but as she wound her way through the studio, Danny caught up with her wanting to synchronize tonight’s schedule. Anxious and jumpy, she feigned a headache and told him to call her in a few hours. By the time she made it to the parking lot, Shepp had already left.

*

“Would you like to split a bottle of wine?” Colt asked, while trying to keep his leg from jumping clear through the table. While the two camera people had set themselves in alcoves to avoid interfering with the crowded, high-end restaurant, and weren’t necessarily in their face, he hated their presence. Just knowing the cameras were there, watching, waiting, picking up every detail, made him plain uncomfortable, so did the microphones Danny had made him and Valentina wear.

“Sure, that sounds perfect,” Valentina said, then opened her menu. “This is a nice place. Have you been here before?”

“A few—”

“Colt, great to see you. You’re looking good,” Jimmy Fields, the owner of Fields and Green, a popular Dallas restaurant that caters to the local sports and celebrity crowd, interrupted and offered his hand. While Colt returned the greeting, Jimmy zeroed in on Valentina. “Beautiful.” He took her hand and kissed her knuckles. “When you get tired of this cowboy, you call me.” He winked, and Valentina chuckled, her cheeks flushing a pretty pink.

Colt stared at her for a second too long, amazed that she truly had no idea how beautiful she was, or the affect she had on men. As they’d strolled through the restaurant earlier, people had gaped, mostly due to the cameras, but he’d noticed the way men had stared at her. Wearing a tight, black dress that bared her shoulders and accentuated her cleavage, he couldn’t blame them, even if he wanted to wipe their faces with the bottom of his boot heel.      

Jimmy released her, then shoved both of his hands into his pockets. “Thanks again for choosing my restaurant tonight,” he said in a low tone. “You know I’m thinking of expanding, if you want—”

“We’re wearing microphones,” Valentina blurted, shifting her gaze toward one of the camera people nestled behind a palm.