Ineligible Bachelor (21 page)

Logan watched her until the driveway turned to the right and she slipped out of sight.

For the first time in a very long time, he felt out of control. Was she right? Did he get caught up in the adventure, the excitement? Had his own ego taken over once he was semialone with six beautiful women who were required to do nothing but hang on his every word until the show ended and he ended up with one of them?

And what about Freddy? Were his feelings real and growing each time he was with her, or was it just all part of the game?

Think,
he commanded himself.
Figure it out, and fast.
Whatever conclusion he came to would ultimately affect a whole lot of hearts. He owed it to Freddy, to the bachelorettes, and to himself.

The next two weeks at the mansion were heart-shredding for Freddy. Her stomach churned from too much anxiety trying to avoid Logan, and her head throbbed with too many sleepless nights trying to figure out the least disturbing way to make it to the end.

One by painful one, the bachelorettes dwindled to the final two. Now with only Jade and Madison left in the mansion, Freddy tried not to agonize too much over the final dates he had with each one. After all that had happened, Roberto didn’t trust her picking out Logan’s perfect match, so he had changed the ending. Now Logan had to select the woman for him from the two left.

While the production crew buzzed getting the mansion ready for the final episode, she busied herself with packing. Right after the final taping, she planned on leaving.

Trying to avoid spending any more time with Logan than necessary had been both difficult and painful. Fortunately, with Annie nearly attached at her hip, there hadn’t been too many opportunities anyway. Once she got home, the plan would be to dye her hair, buy some new clothes, and forget all about Logan Gabriel and
Eligible Bachelor
.

Provided, of course, that the tabloids and TV newsmagazines left her alone. Depending on the editing, they might be sitting on her doorstep every day. She hoped the boring and automatic,
almost robotic, performance she’d managed to evoke over the last few tapings would take care of that. She’d purposefully faded into the background, preferring to act like scenery instead of taking much of an active part in the show. The bachelorettes took the cue and filled in rather nicely, creating some drama of their own, floating conspiracy theories, and jostling for position when Logan was around.

At this point, she did not care which way the show went once aired. She only wanted to get it over with. She wasn’t ready to face a world without Logan in it every minute, as he had been since they’d arrived. They had spent more time together in the last few weeks than they had since Pee Wee football camp. Despite the obstacles and the rules, it had only made her want more. More time, more Logan.

But she mailed that darned entry and nothing had worked out the way she thought it would. She should have never messed with providence; she should simply have let nature take its course. You can’t force someone to feel something that doesn’t come naturally. She knew that now. Lesson learned, albeit it a little too late.

Her stomach managed to both lurch and growl at the same time. She hadn’t eaten all day. There had to be some crackers in the kitchen. She opened the door and stuck her head out into the hallway. All clear.

Quickly, she cleared the balcony landing and raced down the stairs. She had just turned the corner and entered the kitchen when a hand grabbed her wrist. She jerked her head. Logan stood next to her.

“Back from your final date with Jade so soon?”

“We finished taping about an hour ago.”

She walked to the sink and ran the water before opening the cabinet and retrieving a glass. “How was it?”

“A bit awkward,” he admitted.

Freddy forced a laugh. “How awkward could an all-expenses-paid date with a beautiful woman be?”

“Depends what’s underneath the pleasant appearance.”

She shrugged. “So then you’d rather I chose Madison as your dream girl.” She took a healthy drink to keep her from saying any more.

“You sound angry.”

“I’m not.” She opened the freezer and fetched a few ice cubes. She placed them in the glass before refilling it.

Logan stopped her from walking by him with a hand to her arm. “Ah, could you give me a hint what’s going on inside that mind of yours, since I’ve proven myself to be a lousy mind reader.”

She glared at him before catching herself and softening her features. In his eyes, she could see her worst nightmare—it showed a man with more on his mind than wondering what was on hers. “Nothing. It’s nothing.” She smiled. “Gotta run. Got a lot of packing to do.” She saw his eyes take on a strange intensity as he spoke.

“I’ve missed spending time with you over the last few days, Freddy.”

She threw up her hands, spun around, and leaned against the counter, a careful distance between them. “For some reason, you aren’t listening to me.”

“Explain it to me again then.”

When he made a move toward her, she put up her hand. “Stay right there. Things started to get all messed up the last time we were alone together in this kitchen.”

“I know.”

She could feel a mortifying heat climb up her throat and knew a bright red color probably accompanied it. He agreed that their relationship was a mess. The last ray of hope left alive inside her flickered out.

She took a deep breath and began. “You saw the way your boss salivated when he thought about all the free airtime for your firm. He’s probably already ordered the nameplate for your new office.”

“He did love the ad campaign twist.”

“And you’re about to go on the adventure of a lifetime, and I hope it’s good for you in every way.”

“Every way?”

She nodded, and her heart climbed to somewhere in her throat. She had hoped that, along the way, a lightbulb would go on in Logan’s head and he would understand that the two of them were and always had been special together. She had hoped to hear him tell her how much he cared for her, maybe even realize that he loved her.

But she had tried to force him into it by trapping him in this reality show. She couldn’t do it any longer. If anything started here, it would certainly end when the fantasy ended. And that would be both disastrous and uncomfortable.

She couldn’t survive without him in her life in some way. She’d rather have him as a friend than nothing at all. She needed to finish this. Now. Settle it, and send him on his way so she could survive what came next.

She braced herself for what had to be said. “I’ll always be there for you, Logan.” Her heart seemed to be coiling tighter inside her chest. “As your friend.”

Logan shifted away from her. “So you’re ready to send me off to paradise with either Madison or Jade?”

Not trusting herself to speak, Freddy nodded.

“Okay then. I understand. Let’s do it.” He touched her on the arm and left the kitchen.

As she watched him leave, her mind screamed for him to come back, though no words escaped her lips. He understood nothing, and she was back at square one with nowhere else to go.

“I can do this,” she whispered, though her heart ached and her head began to throb. “I want you to be happy.” Her breath caught, and she said what she should have said a long time ago. “Because I love you.”

Logan stood in the hallway just outside the kitchen, Freddy’s voice hitting him like a sledgehammer in his chest. She loved him?

His first thought was to go in and ask her. But what if he was wrong? He knew she loved him, but what if it was the way she loved chocolate or her mom’s meatloaf? Loved him. Not
loved him.

There was only one way to find out for sure. He needed to talk to Roberto.

On set in the massive foyer of the mansion, Freddy saw the cameraman press his hand to his ear, probably listening to a set of final instructions. Logan must have made his final choice, and he and his date were on their way here now.

She had managed to get through the last two weeks by doing everything by the book, or rather, according to the script. She blogged every night, the
EB
blog sprouting cyberwings and gaining more than a million followers. Redemption in the eyes of Roberto, or so he said. The show was already a huge success, and it hadn’t aired one episode yet.

The script Annie had handed her a few minutes ago said that after the selection, Logan and the lady of his dreams would stop by for some final words from her before continuing on their way. One more shot to her heart and it would be all over. She winced. Maybe in more ways than one.

“Five minutes, Ms. McAllister,” the set director called, as the hairstylist made some final adjustments to the curls in her hair.

Five minutes and the show would be officially over. Her hands went cold, and she thought about turning and running, but she knew she had to finish. She pasted on a smile and waited.

When the front door opened, she felt her smile fade with the surprise. “Roberto, what are you doing here?”

“Change of plans,” he replied, signaling to the crew. “We’re moving to poolside to film the final scene.” He took her by the arm and guided her out the front door.

“I’m confused.” She kept pace with him as he walked double-time toward the back. “Why the change?”

“In a nutshell, I fired Annie. That means we need to change the ending again.”

Freddy stopped. “You fired Annie?”

Three strides ahead of her, Roberto motioned for her to keep walking. “Yes,” he said when she caught up. “I found out Annie leaked the spoilers.”

“Really? Why?”

Roberto’s annoyance came out in a harsh sigh. “Because she could. But she had help.”

“Who? A cameraman?”

“No, Jade.”

Freddy thought she felt her jaw drop to the ground and reached up to check if it was still attached to her face. “You’re kidding?”

Roberto shook his head. “I’m as serious as a heart attack, which I almost had by the way, when I saw Annie passing Jade a flash drive. When I confronted Jade, she broke down and confessed that Annie promised to make sure she would be the last one standing in exchange for helping leak information. Come to find out Jade’s brother is the owner of DontLook.com, the site where the spoilers are posted. One of the cameramen helped by getting the video onto the drive. He’s gone, too.”

“But Annie was so into the show and the ratings. Why would she do that?”

“Because if I failed, she thought she would step right in.”

“I guess it makes sense.”

“Only if you are a backstabbing witch.”

“So you changed the show’s ending so Annie couldn’t totally sabotage the show.” She paused. “But since Jade is gone, that means only Madison is left.”

Roberto looked at his watch. “Yes, and we need to hurry to wrap this up. The crew is filming Logan’s final scene with Madison, and I only have the mansion rented for another thirty minutes.” He reached out and fluffed her hair. “That will have to do. Now get out there.”

“Okay, okay, already,” Freddy said, half walking, half stumbling onto the pool deck. She regained her footing and smoothed the front of her gown. “I got it. I’m ad-libbing my enthusiasm for the preppie.” Roberto shooed her forward with both hands as the boom lights came on. She turned toward the camera and stopped. Logan was already in place.

And he was alone.

“Hey, Freddy!”

She stood at the edge of the pool tile, her mouth in the shape of the last word she’d said, her eyes just as wide. She felt the color drain from her face and then rush back. Giving her head a small shake, she walked toward him. “Where’s your date?”

“She’s here, don’t worry.”

“I’m not worried. I just want to get this over with.” She stood next to him and faced the camera while Roberto set up the shot. “Did you hear about Annie?”

He nodded while a makeup artist patted his forehead with a sponge. “Who would have guessed she wanted to submarine the show.”

She looked around. “What are we supposed to do? I’m kinda used to following the script, and there is none for this.”

“I know, isn’t it great?”

She shrugged. “I suppose.” She noticed he held the Bio-Shoes in one hand. “Did you forget to give them to your new model-slash-date?”