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Chapter 13

Damn, that was harder than he thought it would be. The one month separation should have been the hard part. But no, seeing her again and not being able to take her to bed and tell her how much he loved and missed her—that was the hardest part.

But it was stupid to feel that way. What bothered her was the awkwardness of being friends after she’d spent a night wrapped around his dick. No heartbreak. No soul crushing sadness. Just a twinge of discomfort.

Maybe he’d held out a bit of hope that she had changed her mind. That she wanted more than one night with him. That their time meant more to her than a casual fuck fueled by alcohol and a wedding. But no. She was ready to shut the door on their relationship entirely. He wasn’t surprised that he could be so easily cast aside, given his own mother had done the same.

Well, fuck that. He’d promised Ben that he would look after his sister, and she wasn’t getting rid of him so easily.If he was being friend-zoned, so be it. He had ten women who wanted to date him so badly they were willing to do iten masse. Al snorted. As if he’d ever be okay with his girlfriend dating a bunch of other men at the same time.

He was going to get through the next six weeks of taping the world’s stupidest show. He’d done his research. Well, he’d talked to Marina. The woman had watched every dating show ever made and knew what made the bachelors either loved or hated. And more importantly, what type of female contestants made the show worth watching and which ones were snooze worthy.

He would be a perfect gentleman. Treat the women with respect. Keep one mean girl to stir the pot, but pay a lot of attention to the sweet ones. Lots of kissing to keep the viewers guessing who he would choose in the end. Okay, maybe Marina didn’t suggest that part. But he had to do something to get Jeannie off his mind, even though the thought of making out with someone else made his stomach turn.

But he’d also researched exposure therapy. Again, the term research might be a bit of a stretch, but he did read the first few lines that came up in Google, and it seemed that if he wanted to get over Jeannie, hooking up with a lot of other women was the way to do it.

And the show would become so popular that money would no longer be a problem for them. The new attorney would get Ben’s conviction overturned and Al could leave town knowing he’d fulfilled his debt. And if he did that with a new fiancée by his side, even better. Surely, he wouldn’t still be pining over someone else when he was engaged?

Chapter 14

“You’ll have a series of group dates with one-on-ones mixed in. At the end of each date, Shane, our host, will pull you away to set up for the night’s elimination. We’re calling it the arraignment. Get it?” Lindsey snorted as she looked up from her laptop. She was the show’s producer and apparently a genius at reality shows, having already won three Emmys.

“I guess,” Al said, cocking his head to the side. “That’s usually when a suspect pleads guilty or innocent. I’m not sure it totally fits for a contestant elimination.”

Lindsey waved her hands in the air. “It’s fine. The average viewer won’t care. They just need to hear keywords they’re familiar with fromLaw and OrderorC.S.I. Also, we aren’t using the term contestants. They are women of interest.”

Jeannie’s leg bounced under the table, drawing his attention. She was seated next to him in a tight-fitting blouse that matched her blue eyes and a pair of ripped jeans that showed glimpses of her gorgeous legs. Was shenervous? Although she had gone to New York to work on the show, there were probably a lot of new faces in the room. He slid his leg against hers, offering his silent support. Her breath hitched, and her body froze. He itched to do more, to reach under the table and stroke her thigh until she relaxed.

“For the ones you want to keep,” Lindsey continued, oblivious to the scene playing out under the table, “you’ll hand them an evidence card.” Lindsey’s eyes lit up and she lowered her voice, “‘Will you accept this evidence of attraction?’” She snickered as she pushed her glasses up her nose. “I crack myself up with this stuff.”

Al rubbed his hand across his forehead. “That doesn’t make sense.” His eyes darted to Jeannie, who was taking notes again, but without the bouncing leg.

“Oh really?” Lindsey asked. “Which part?”

“Women of interest? That’s just, well, forget it. It’s fine.” He ran a hand through his hair. “But as a deputy, I wouldn’t ask someone to accept evidence. That’s for the district attorney. They present evidence to a judge or jury—not to a person of interest, and never at an arraignment.”

Lindsey rolled her eyes. “And the T-Rex didn’t live during the Jurassic period, but everyone overlooks that because Cretaceous Park doesn’t have the same ring to it. ‘Will you accept this evidence of attraction’ will be the hot new catchphrase, just you wait and see.”

Al took a deep breath and nodded. He’d always wanted his own catch phrase. “I guess that’ll work. What do I tell the girl I’m sending home?”

Jeannie straightened in her chair but didn’t move her leg from his. “This one’s my favorite.” With her hand over her heart and sad puppy dog eyes, she said, “I’m sorry, but there’s no evidence of attraction. Your case has been dismissed.”

Al laughed. “Okay, that is pretty good. I’ll have to practice so I can say it with a straight face.” A throat cleared at the end of the table, drawing their attention to the show’s host.

“If I might offer a suggestion?” Shane smiled, showing off his vibrantly white teeth. “I practice all my lines in the shower. Well, when I’m alone, of course,” he said, winking at Jeannie.

The fuck did he just say?

Jeannie’s laugh interrupted his angry thoughts. “Then I guess you practice all the time.”

“Feel free to come and check. It’s a big shower. There’s always room for one more.”

Jeannie fanned herself and grinned. “Ahh, my teenage fantasy come to life. A hot shower scene with Shane Ashton.”

“Trust me, baby, I only got better with age.”

Al slammed his water bottle on the table, and everyone jumped. “Are we done here? I need to get back to work.” He didn’t. He’d taken a few days off to get the show started, but he was done. He felt a bump against his leg and looked over to see Jeannie tapping the word “Chill” on her notepad.

“Just a few more things,” Lindsey continued. “Filming starts tomorrow. We’ll bring the women to the beach house where they’ll stay for the duration. Wear your tux. You’ll have a couple of hours to meet the ladies, and then you’ll sit with Shane and talk about your feelings. The dates will start the following day. Any questions? Concerns?”