Page 58 of Say Yes to the Nemesis

Interesting. I would normally pick a zany, outgoing girl like JacqLyn to hook up with. I guess you can never tell who you’re going to have weird vibes with.

When JacqLyn finally backs off, I swallow and make eye contact with Wren. She’s pointedly looking in the other direction. Two cameramen are actively filming her reaction. Subtle, it is not.

JacqLyn sighs. “I wish we could stay here forever.”

Rich holds up his hand, tapping his wrist like he’s pointing to a watch.

I jump out of the Jacuzzi, then force myself to turn and help JacqLyn out.

“Yeah, maybe some other time,” I say vaguely.

JacqLyn is gorgeous and fun. But honestly, she’s way too much for me to handle. It takes a man with balls of steel to tame a filly like her.

“Okay, last question,” I say, grabbing the index cards again. “How would someone know you were falling in love with them?”

That’s a heavy one.

The answer: “I stop pretending not to care. I let them see the weird parts, the dark parts, the too much parts.”

My eyes travel to Wren. She’s looking at me like a trapped mouse.

Yeah. That one’s hers.

But I don’t want to call her out, so I point at Letitia. “Letitia, I think you said that.”

Letitia puts her hands on her hips. “You know I didn’t say that. I’m way too firm for all that.”

“So who did?” I ask.

For a second, no one responds. The girls glance at each other, some murmuring. At last, Wren raises her hand.

“I said it.”

She strips quickly, revealing a bright pink bikini that hugs her curves perfectly. She walks straight into the cold plunge like she doesn’t even feel it. She dips herself under, then stands up, water running down her body.

She’s so fucking attractive. I can’tstandit.

I glance at the card, my mouth twisting like I’ve bitten a lemon. “What’s something you’d never tell me?”

Without missing a beat, Wren answers, “High school. All of it. Burn it down.”

Yeah. That sounds about right.

“All right. You can…”

She submerges herself one more time before climbing out of the cold plunge. I cock a brow. Wren would be the one who enjoyed a cold plunge. Her icy inner core probably loves the chill of it.

I invite the girls to join me in the Jacuzzi for a few minutes. A few of them do. Most head upstairs to change before the elimination.

When the time comes, I stand at the edge of the set, towel slung low around my waist. Steam curls around my ankles and my heart thuds like I just finished a game.

I’m only supposed to send home two girls, but I already know I won’t get along with a handful of them.

Divya probably shouldn’t be eliminated. She’s what the producers keep calling a villain. But some of the girls are stillquestion marks. If they haven’t made an impression by now, I’m ready to let them go.

I gather up my roses and hand them out to everyone except for Brooke.

“Brooke, if you’ll step forward.”