The Reluctant Bachelorette (25 page)

Taycee held up her hands, wanting to remove the nail polish
and file them down. “They’re fake. Just like me.”

Jessa rolled her eyes. “You’re not a fake. The person I saw on
TV last night was the same person I’m standing in front of right now. Taycee
Lynne Emerson. My beautiful, talented best friend, who has three bachelors half
in love with her right now—and for good reason.”

“You’re wrong.” Taycee sank down on one of the barstools and
rested her head on the counter. “It’s all a show. Don’t you see that? Those
guys
act
like they like me because they want to win, and I
act
like I’m into them because I don’t want to screw things up for Shelter. I feel
like such a fraud. Please don’t make it worse by making me to go on some talk
show.”

“But it’s turning into the best story ever.” Jessa’s hand came
to rest on Taycee’s. “Small town girl falls for big-city, rich guy—potential
savior of our town. Shelter couldn’t have asked for better publicity. Besides,
I don’t know what you’re talking about. You and Jake seemed to really hit it
off this past week.”

“That’s just it.” Taycee sighed. “He’s a great guy, but . . .
I just don’t know if it’s real. I want the people, the cameras, and the
pressure to all go away so I can see what’s real and what’s not because right
now it all feels too fake to be real. You know?”

“That makes no sense.”

“It’s seven in the morning.”

Jessa opened the fridge and pulled out a quart of orange
juice. “You know what they say, early to bed, early to rise—“

“Shut up.”

Jessa smiled as she poured herself a drink. “How about this: By
the end of the show, if your feelings toward Jake are still fake, then I’ll
happily take him off your hands.” Something about the way Jessa said it made it
sound like she actually would.

Taycee’s arms folded on the counter and she leaned forward,
resting her chin on her arms. “Wait a sec, you like Jake?”

“I think he’s cute, that’s all,” she said with a nonchalant
wave of her hand. “Maybe even good for a kiss or two.”

“He’s rich too,” Taycee taunted.

“Okay, so maybe he’d be good for a little more than a kiss.”

“You’re terrible.” Taycee picked up the muffin and removed the
paper wrapping, shoving a piece into her mouth. “I take it Burt and Megan
included the part about organic farming in the footage?”

“Yes, and I spent most of the night researching everything I
could about it. From what I’ve read, it’s a brilliant solution—something I
can’t believe we haven’t looked into before. They say that the transitional
period is the hardest, but the co-op could be the solution for that.” Jessa’s
smile had never been so big. “It’s all so perfect how this is panning out. I
couldn’t have planned it better myself.”

“So you’re fine with Jake presenting it to the town on
Saturday?”

“More than fine,” Jessa said. “I’ve already shot off an email
to the mayor’s secretary, who will spread the word.”

“Of course you have.”

“Smart, wealthy, handsome, and could help save our town.”
Jessa shook her head. “And you don’t know if you like him. Seriously, girl, what’s
wrong with you?”

Taycee wondered the same thing herself.

“Is it because of the Tin Man?” Jessa asked.

“Who?”

“The Tin man. You know, Luke.”

It took a minute for Taycee to get the reference. The one
without a heart. It was sort of like a slap in the face, the way the words
lodged painfully in her chest. Her initial instinct was to defend Luke and tell
her that he had a heart. A really good heart, capable of loving harder and
stronger than most people, because that’s what Taycee wanted to believe, more
than anything. But the truth was, she really didn’t know if he did—at least not
when it came to finding true love and making a commitment. He’d been engaged at
least once before, and he’d admitted that he hadn’t loved his fiancée enough.

Maybe Jessa was right. Maybe Luke was the Tin Man.

The thought made her heart hurt.

Jessa moved toward Taycee with a clack of her sandaled shoes
on the tile. She leaned against the counter. “You’ve got to get over that guy.
I refuse to watch you get your heart broken over him again—not when someone
like Jake is around to take you away from all this.”

“All what?”

“This town. The people here. The memories. It’s like you’re
caught in a net and can’t get out. What you need is to get away from Luke and
leave him behind once and for all.”

That had to be the worst advice Jessa had ever come up with.
“But you were the one who said you could see sparks between us. I thought you
liked Luke.”

“And I thought those so-called sparks I saw weren’t real?”
Jessa countered. “Isn’t that what you told me? That he only pretended interest
to goad you?”

Taycee’s finger scraped at a nonexistent spot on her counter,
avoiding the question and Jessa’s eyes. Deep down, Taycee wanted to believe
that it had been real, that there was a chance Luke could be interested in her.
But no matter how much she wished it, that didn’t mean it would come true.
Because that was how life worked. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. And
when you lose, you have to get over it and move on.

Which was exactly what Jessa was telling her to do now.

Jessa’s hand squeezed Taycee’s. “I thought his coming back
would be a good thing. If things worked out between you, great. If not, you
could finally move on. But since he’s returned, all I’ve seen him do is hurt
you more, and frankly, I’m sick of it. In my mind, he never has been, nor will
he ever be, good enough for you. You deserve someone who looks at you the way Jake
does.”

In Jessa’s roundabout way, she’d just given Taycee a
compliment. But for some reason it felt more like a solid punch to the stomach,
knocking the wind out of all her wishes and dreams. Which was completely
stupid, considering Taycee had tried time and time again to convince herself of
that exact same thing. Yet deep down, that hope refused to die.

Taycee walked into the diner, fighting the fatigue of yet
another late and stressful night. One more round of dating was now over and
only three bachelors remained: Jake, Alec, and Miles. Which meant only two
weeks and five dates left.

Whew.

She could do this. She
had
to do this.

Early on, Taycee had pictured herself going on date after date
after date and being filmed in the process. That was it. But now there were
things like upping the romance, keeping viewers happy, doing interviews, and
going on talk shows. Every day, the pressure mounted, making her feel like one
of those pressure cookers her mother once used to can grape juice, looking
ready to blow at any second.

Did Taycee have it in her to keep this up? With each new date,
each new vote, and each new donation to the town, the guilt grew. People gave
so freely to the little town of Shelter, expecting what in return? A good
romance? A happy ending for her and some chosen bachelor?

Well, it didn’t feel happy. Not when a pit formed in Taycee’s
stomach before each date, making her feel like what she was doing was deceptive
and wrong. Was it right that Shelter was benefitting from something that wasn’t
real?

Jessa didn’t think so. She seemed to think that Taycee could
turn on and off her feelings like a faucet. Off to Luke. On to Jake. Everyone
wins. The bachelorette show gets a happy ending, the money raised forms a much
needed co-op, and Shelter Springs gets another chance to keep on keeping on.

But Taycee had doubts. Lots of doubts.

“Taycee, your order’s up,” Liza’s voice called out.

Already? She glanced at the clock in surprise. It had only
been fifteen minutes. Was Liza actually being nice now? Wouldn’t that be
something.

“Thanks, Liza. That was fast.” The smell of the curly fries
wafted into Taycee’s nose, making her mouth water.

“Oh, I’m off early today for a date, so I wanted to make sure
you got it before I left,” Liza said in her sugary sweet way as she removed her
apron.

“That was nice of you.” Taycee examined her food. Maybe Liza
had spit on it or added salt instead of sugar to the chicken salad. “A date
this early in the day? Sounds promising.”

“I hope so,” said Liza. “Luke’s taking me into Denver for a
show and dinner. Should be fun.”

Wait—what? Liza was going out with Luke? The curly fries
suddenly looked and smelled like wooden springs. “Oh, that’s great,” Taycee
managed to say. “I’m sure you’ll have a fun time.”

“I plan to.” Liza’s white teeth sparkled through too-pink lips
before she disappeared into the back room.

With slow steps, Taycee carried her plate to the far corner of
her booth and slid all the way to the end, trying to hide from the eyes of
everyone else in the room. She felt transparent, as though a visible cloud of
jealousy and patheticness surrounded her, announcing to the world that Luke had
just shaved off another chunk of her heart.

Because if he was interested in someone like Liza, there was
no way he’d ever be interested in Taycee.

The sting of tears came. She immediately blinked them back,
despising them almost as much as she despised herself.

The door opened and Luke stepped inside, looking so good it tore
at Taycee’s heart even more. Liza came out of the back room and gave him a
winning smile.

“Ready?” he asked.

“As if I’d ever keep you waiting.” She turned and called out,
“I’m off, Maris. See you tomorrow.”

“Have a good time, hon.”

“I will.” Liza looked Taycee’s way and waved a smug goodbye,
which made Luke look her way as well.

For a moment his brown eyes met hers and Taycee’s heart
thwacked in her chest, feeling like it would burst from her body any second.
The room suddenly seemed devoid of everyone but her and Luke—locked into a
staring contest that crackled with an underlying tension and awkwardness. Under
normal circumstances, Luke would have grinned and waved, even come over and
chatted with her for a few minutes. But not today.

Maybe he didn’t know what to do or how to act either.

Liza’s head came between them, breaking the connection, and
Taycee returned her attention to her food, trying not to feel the deep-rooted
pain that came with the chiming of the bells.

She let out a breath as she shoved her curly fries away. Maybe
Jessa was right. Maybe it was time for Taycee to move on with her life.

Jake was handsome, kind, funny, rich—the perfect bachelor. It
was beyond ridiculous to think that Taycee couldn’t develop feelings for
someone like him. What she needed to do was try a little harder and really go
for it. If not, she might end up spending the rest of her life pining away for
a guy who never pined back.

T
aycee closed her apartment door
behind
her and leaned against it. Her date with Miles had been horrible. Not horrible
in the she-couldn’t-stand-him sense. More in the
she-was-a-scatter-brained-idiot sense. How many times had he repeated something
he’d said because she wasn’t paying attention? How many times had the words
“Earth to Taycee” forged their way through her fogged mind?

Too many.

Way too many.

And when he’d kissed her goodnight, all Taycee could think
about was Luke and how he was on a date with someone else. No matter how hard
Taycee tried, she still couldn’t concentrate or regroup. Even now that she was
home, her thoughts still strayed to Luke and Liza and how cute their names
sounded together. Were they hitting it off? Was he holding her hand? Making her
laugh? Kissing her?

Taycee wanted to cup her hands over her ears and tell the
screaming voices to take a hike. She breathed in deeply, trying to organize her
thoughts, but they continued to explode inside her head like a finale to a
fireworks show. She needed to get out of her apartment, calm down, and find a
way to regain some equanimity.