Page 51 of Lust & Lollipops

There was a massive, melted bar of chocolate.

A thicker, warmer blanket than the one I already had.

And a locket necklace with a picture of his house in it. Apparently, he lived on a private island, in a mansion of his own.

His asset folder had pictures of his home as well as ones of his family. He didn’t have a bank account summary sheet, or anything like that, which made me feel like he’d be a better option than Kyle, at least.

Reid was the fourth guy, and he proudly showed me photos of the apartment complex he owned and lived in. His penthouse was on the top floor, and had a gorgeous view of a large city I’d never visited before.

His package had a letter for me, written by his mother, trying to persuade me what a perfect mate he’d be. It was accompanied by a family heirloom ring that I quickly handed back. I told him I’d accept it if I chose him on the final day, and he reluctantly agreed.

Afterward, I learned that his parents lived in his penthouse with him.

That was a hard pass.

I was sure they were lovely people, but I wanted privacy.

Chris was the final competitor to return, and he did so with both his bag and my own.

Granted, my bag was one I’d never seen before.

We spent the next half hour laughing over the stupid items the Society had sent for me. I noticed Cam watching us at one point, but didn’t think anything of it.

It included a tiny, hot pink bikini that was somehow even smaller than the green one I had on. Also, a box of condoms, and a mesh sunhat that absolutely wouldn’t keep any sunshine out of my face.

The Society was made up of assholes.

Ass.

Holes.

But, Chris was decent. He lived on a ranch out in some southern state I’d heard of, but never visited. There was no sand but a lot of dirt, which he warned me about.

Everyone who paid attention knew how I felt about sand.

He had three younger brothers, all of whom were already mated. Two of them had been on Bachelorette, and won, but I hadn’t watched any part of their seasons.

Despite his big family, Chris was fine with whatever I wanted as far as children went. He didn’t care whether or not I worked, and would support me either way.

It seemed like he just wanted a companion, which I could understand. I hadn’t spent much time alone, given that Cam had been guarding me 24/7, but having no one on your side felt like shit. It had been me against the Society ever since I got my bloodwork back. And Cam had always seemed like part of the Society, given his job.

So… that was something to think about.

There were a lot of somethings to think about.

At least I didn’t have to think about the vote. Reid had been on the outs for a long time. As far as I knew, he hadn’t even been voting with the other guys. So, Reid was going home.

I hoped I could somehow get the next vote to go against Travis, so I could choose between two good options. Cameron vs Chris felt like a much different decision than Cam vs Travis.

I wasn’t including Kyle.

He’d make it to the end, but our personalities absolutely didn’t work together.

Anyway, Chris left me with his entire care package too. It was full to the brim with prepackaged desserts and candy. He apologized for not being able to pack real food, but that had been against the rules, apparently.

When we made it back to the island, I passed out desserts, melted chocolate, and lollipops for everyone to share. We all chatted and had a good time pigging out on sugar.

Afterward, we all felt like shit, and everyone crashed in the shelter. It was quite possibly the best day I’d ever had on the island.

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