Page 419 of On A Manhunt: Complete Series

ASPEN

All hell broke loose, and I was upside down.

One second, I was asking a ridiculous question, the next Luke came around the hay bales and tossed me over his shoulder. I’d thought it was him, especially based on his responses, but it was official.

Luke was here. Had Georgia known about this? Was this what live TV was like?

“Well, this makes for interesting live TV, that’s for sure, folks,” Jax said. “I think I can say now that bachelor number three is none other than Derek Dashwood from NYC ER.”

Great. Just fucking great. Derek, not Luke.

I felt Luke exhale, then carefully lower me to the stage, keeping an arm around me so I didn’t fall. “Actually, my name’s Luke Graham.”

“Oh, ho! Going incognito? We can stick with bachelor number three if you want, but…” Jax looked to the audience with his huge grin. “I think the secret’s out.”

Luke shook his head. “No, my real name is Luke Graham.”

“Luke, I’m not sure if you know how this game is played, but Aspen picks the cowboy.”

“As long as it’s me,” he said. His gaze roved over my face as if memorizing it. It’d been two days and I missed him. I hated him. I… what?

“Why should our lovely bachelorette pick you?” Jax asked, doing a pretty good job of winging it since Luke had fucked up the show and there was plenty of airtime left.

“Because I love her.”

The whole audience erupted. I freaked. I stared at Georgia, who looked horrified and Mallory who had her hands over her mouth, clearly stunned.

Jax turned toward the camera. “Ladies and gentleman, it seems this show has taken an interesting twist. Derek–”

“Luke.”

“Luke,” Jax corrected. “Is in love with our bachelorette! Tell me, how do you know Aspen?”

Luke looked to me. Ignored Jax. The audience. Everything. “We met last week while I was here on vacation. Fell in love with her the second I saw her.”

He… WHAT?

I was still trying to process what I learned about Luke from the FBI agent, although there hadn’t been any time to think since I was on a fucking stage on live TV. That while he had known meeting me at the bar was planned, it hadn’t been because of my mother.

He hadn’t lied to me. Not once.

But I’d lied to myself, hadn’t I? I’d told myself and the girls and even Luke that what I felt for him wasn’t real. That all we could ever be was fake.

I’d been the one acting. Pretending that my feelings weren’t real. I’d held back and he’d put it all out there.

I glanced at my friends in the audience. They were here because they liked me. ME. Aspen. They didn’t care if my last name was Lane or Bergstrom. They didn’t care that I was a ballerina or a yoga instructor. They just liked me for me. No strings. No expectations when it came to their friendship.

I was the one who’d held back, just like Mallory had said.

And those photos Luke posted on his social media? It had been a glimpse into how he really saw me. Pretty. Feminine. Sexy. Strong. Loved.

What had I given him besides a fake girlfriend to trick his producer?

“She must’ve loved you right back, a famous TV star with spectacular hair,” Jax commented.

He shook his head. “No, she didn’t.”

Yeah, he was right. I hadn’t loved him right back. Because I didn’t trust him, or anyone else, with my heart.

“She had no idea who I was,” Luke said.

The producers must’ve been scrambling, because someone carried a stool onto the stage. Jax waved us over for us to take seats. Luke grabbed me by the waist and plopped me down on one, then moved his so it was so close that when he sat, our thighs touched.

“I’m sure the audience and everyone watching at home want to hear more about this,” Jax said. “What do you mean she didn’t know who you were? How is that possible? You’re one of the sexiest men alive.”

Luke huffed. “I fell for the one woman who doesn’t have a TV.”

Jax stared at me, confused. “You don’t have a TV?”

I shook my head.

“What did you think of Luke when you first met him then?” Jax asked me.

I blinked, looked to Luke. At his handsome face, but past that. His eyes looked to me with hope. Earnestness. Honesty. He was out here admitting to the world who he really was. He wasn’t hiding behind his stage name or his character. “I… I–”

“I think you’ve stunned her!” Jax said, laughing. “Probably every woman out there would be tongue tied too if you tossed her over your shoulder.”

“I’m here for another shot with Aspen,” Luke said. “I blew it. Like my mother told me, men are idiots and I’m one of them.”

The audience laughed.

“I forgot who I was,” he admitted.

“You do have a lot of names,” Jax admitted. “What’s the character name in the new film you’re starring in? We’ll have to add that to the list.”

Luke shook his head. “While the film is going to be amazing, I declined the role.”

Surprise ran through the audience. I gasped.

“Why? The whole world wants to know,” Jax said.

“I’m going to try being Luke Graham for a while. The out-of-work actor dating a famous ballerina, hopefully eating kale chips with her as we watch her daughter kick ass with her hockey team.”

WHAT?

That was what I was thinking and what the entire audience pretty much said out loud.

“Mom, Dad, back me up here?” Luke asked, his gaze roving over the audience.

I whipped my head toward the crowd and an older couple stood. They waved. Oh my God, I recognized them from the video call Luke and I had with them. What were they doing here?

“Those are your folks?” Jax asked.

“That’s right. Janet and Tom. Aspen, instead of Hawaii, come with me to Nebraska for that picnic. Sierra, too. I want you to know me. Me. Luke. Just Luke.”

The audience was silent.

Jax was silent.

Luke stared at me.

The audience stared at me.

Jax stared at me.

The entire world, through the camera, stared at me.

Did I give Luke a chance? Did I give love a chance? Did I give ME a chance?