Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 112961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 377(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 377(@300wpm)
The third date is the first real miss.
BENJI: COWBOY
Physically, Benji—who goes by Tex—is great, but the energy is all wrong. I can see Connor pacing in the background behind a wall of screens as we struggle and jerkily interrupt each other, trying to fill silences in unison. When he asks me what my dad thinks about his daughter writing romance for a living, I ask him in return what his mom thinks about him riding horses for a living and watch the confusion play across his features.
When I’m blessed with the end of our date and Tex leaves, I’m on autopilot. Without thinking, I make a beeline to Connor where he’s standing at a monitor, reviewing footage. He turns at the feeling of my hand on his arm, following me to a shadowed corner.
“What’s up?” he asks, concerned. He bends a little, coming eye to eye. “You okay?”
I realize I don’t need anything. I was just following an instinct to be near him, to feed this ghoul inside of me that is recharged in his presence. I want him to calm me down.
And this time I’m smart enough to turn off my mic. “Just wanted to say hi.”
He smiles. “Hi.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” he says brightly. “Why?”
I see the lie in the tightness across his forehead, but maybe I’m reading too much into this and it isn’t about watching me on dates after our orbit-bending dry hump but the pressure of, you know, having his livelihood hanging in the balance of this entire project.
“Nothing. Good.” I look past him out the window of the café and to the street, where a few people loiter outside, clearly curious about what’s going on inside, what all these cameras are doing here. “You seemed stressed when things with Tex were stalling.”
Connor’s deep laugh sends vibrations down my arm. “It was getting a little awkward—which doesn’t make for good television. But you lecturing him about what BDSM really is circles us right back to great television.”
I preen as if he’s just paid me the greatest compliment. “So, I guess it’s good to have a few duds?”
“Absolutely. There’s no standout if you have chemistry with everyone.” He scratches his chin. “You seemed to really hit it off with Isaac.”
“Of course I did. Your casting skills are unmatched.”
He smiles tightly. “Cheers.”
“But,” I say, “you know what only occurred to me today?”
“What’s that?”
“You might know who my best DNADuo match is.”
He shakes his head. “Nope.”
“Really?” I’m relieved. I would be relentless, pestering him constantly.
Connor laughs. “Really. I know the range, know there are some good ones in here, but only Rory knows whose score is the highest.” We both look over at the director, who seems to be using this break to talk Brenna’s ear off. Connor looks back at me. “But you’re welcome to speculate and think out loud in the confessionals.”
“When are we doing that?”
“We’ll shoot the first tomorrow night after the final date. Does that sound good?”
“Will you be interviewing me for these?”
“Me?” Adorably, he points to his chest. “Why?”
“Because you’re hot and have an accent. This might surprise you, but chicks dig both those things.”
“But I’m a producer.”
“Wait, what?” I ask with mock alarm.
He laughs. “You’ll be in the confessional trailer solo. You’ll just need to give a recap of each date. We’ll prompt you through an earpiece with questions, and—”
“You’re going to put me alone in a room with a camera and trust that the entire thing won’t go off the rails?”
Connor stills and pulls a deep breath in through his nose. He lifts a hand, waving it to Brenna, who jogs over immediately. “What do you think about having our host, Lanelle, interview Fizz—”
“I want you, Connor.” Glancing at Brenna, I quickly say, “That came out wrong. This is purely a professional want.”
“I have no idea what we’re talking about,” she says, “but you just pulled me away from hearing about the time Rory lost a contact in the mosh pit at a Social Distortion show and the entire mob stopped to help her find it. I’m just happy to be over here.”
Connor and I both give this the sympathetic moment of silence it deserves, and then he turns and offers an apologetic smile. “Fizzy, I can’t be on-screen. Have you met Lanelle yet?”
“I have, and she’s great. But I know you better. That will come across on-screen.”
“I’m not an actor,” he says.
“Neither am I.” I motion to him, from the top of his sexy head and all the way down the length of his solid bod. “And you’re fooling yourself if you think all of this wasn’t made to be in front of a camera.” I turn to Brenna. “What do you think? Imagine the female audience’s reaction.”
Not realizing she was called over to referee, Brenna looks like she’d rather go back to listening to Rory’s mosh pit escapades.