Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 95609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 478(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 478(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
He’s taken my hand, and I can’t help but curl my fingers around his.
“Patrick!” Joe yells, sounding more annoyed than I’ve ever heard him before.
I watch Joe and Patrick walking toward the one trailer we have set up as the assistant director moves in on me and Luca. He takes over the filming with the competence of a long-term professional.
“We’re rolling in three,” the assistant director tells us.
I lean in because once they start rolling, I won’t be able to be real with him. “Thanks for picking Hannah. She’s excited about the one-on-one date. She’s an excellent choice.”
He frowns. “Ani, I picked her so I can cut her. I don’t want to hurt her. Despite what you think of me, I didn’t come here to break hearts. I thought it would be kinder this way.”
I can’t let this happen. She’ll be devastated. I can work on her, can make her see how amazing she is and that she doesn’t need to marry a king to do great things, but only if she’s here. “You can’t let her go this early.”
“You said it yourself,” Luca points out.
I shake my head. “She’s going to get hurt either way. Give her some screentime. Don’t dump her on the second day. She’s a sweet kid.”
He’s silent for a moment, and I should be worried. Very worried. “I could be persuaded to keep her.”
My teeth clench. “I suppose if I don’t block the door tonight, you’ll consider it.”
One broad shoulder shrugs. “My darling, if you block the door, I’ll climb in through the vents. I’ve already thought of all of this. You’ll find I’m an excellent planner. No. I was hoping you would pretend to like me for the camera.”
He knows exactly how to get to me. “Liking you isn’t the problem.”
But it is. I like him a lot. Despite everything, I want to be around him. There’s a part of me that is satisfied by the fact that he seems to be ruthlessly pursuing me.
I have to remember where I am and that nothing is real here. He’s pursuing me because he’s in an impossible position and I’m the easy way out.
He looms over me, and it’s hard to remember all those truths when he’s standing there looking gorgeous. He stares down at me like I’m the only person in the world for him.
“I’m glad because I like you quite a bit,” he says.
“We’re ready, Your Majesty.” Christy is standing to the side of the picnic blanket, a frown on her face. “That ice cream you insisted on is going to melt if we don’t get going.”
Ah, there it is. That’s what I need to hear.
“We couldn’t have that.” Luca winks down and takes my hand, leading me back to the blanket.
And all those cameras that will be on us as we film our “scene.”
Still, when the ice cream comes, it tastes perfect. It tastes real, and I’m flooded with sweet memories.
As the cameras start to roll, I wonder if this will be a good memory. Or something I regret for the rest of my life.
Chapter Eleven
I walk back to the group feeling weird. Like I’m caught between joy and despair. That’s probably dramatic, but that’s how I feel. I almost managed to forget there were cameras on me when Luca was talking about what it was like to grow up in Ralavia. Even though he’s royal, he’d still been a grubby boy who liked to dig in the mud, and he knows a surprising amount about bugs. It’s a reminder that he’s human, that despite who he has to be in public, he’s also the man I spent one of the best nights of my life with.
And then it’s over and Ashley F takes my place while I head back to the group.
Shelby is standing there when I join the rest of them, who are checking their hair and makeup at a small stand placed there for exactly such a reason. I know it’s hard to film in a park, but it feels like they could have done more than one small mirror and a bar-height table for five women to ensure they’re TV ready. Well, four women and me, who is now thinking I could have put on some lip gloss.
The fact that Luca didn’t mention my lack of makeup is a point in his favor, but I suspect he knows that. The man does seem to instinctively understand how to deal with me.
“I’m only saying you could hide the cellulite better if you wore long pants.” Shelby sounds syrupy sweet as she gives Emily “advice.” I haven’t talked much to anyone since I joined the group. I’d spent time the night before with two of the Ashleys and Hannah, but I’d avoided the rest since I was supposed to be eliminated.
Emily looks to be around twenty nothing, with long, dark hair and wide eyes. Like she walked off an anime screen. She wouldn’t be the badass. She would be the princess everyone fought over.