Page 20 of The Wrong Bachelor

Movement caught the corner of my eye, and I looked over to see Willow emerging from the house onto the patio. She looked so tense as her eyes darted around the group. I quickly waved to her, grabbing her attention.

“Willow, come sit with us,” I said.

She slowly nodded, but the anxious look in her eyes remained as she came to sit beside me.

“I’m so glad to see I’m not the only one wearing jeans,” I said to her as she made herself comfortable.

“Hello, what do these look like?” Evan scoffed behind me.

I waved his comment away with one hand, still focused on the girl before me. She was glancing around nervously, and I wondered if there was a way I could make her feel better. She didn’t have any friends in the group, and from the way she kept stealing looks at Laurie, I had a bad feeling some people here had already made her feel unwelcome.

“How’s your art project coming along?” I asked, trying to distract her.

“It’s fine,” she said. “I’m not very good at working with watercolors though. I’ve had to scrap my work about six times already.” She looked down at her hands as she answered.

“I’m sure it will come together in the end,” I said. I tried to give her an encouraging smile, but she was still focused on her hands, which were clasped together in her lap.

I frowned as I watched her, not entirely certain what to say. I wanted Willow to feel at ease, but I wasn’t sure if that was possible. I was saved from coming up with a solution when one of the girls from the film club came over to join us.

“Hey, Skye,” I said, as she approached.

“Hi, Madison,” she replied, giving me a warm smile. “Is it okay if I hook you guys up with microphones?” Her eyes moved between Willow and me, seeking our approval.

“Yeah, of course,” I replied, while Willow nodded at my side. Skye was in the year below us, but you would never guess it after seeing how at ease she was talking with everyone. She was also sporting unicorn hair at the moment, which looked insanely cool. I couldn’t stop staring at it while she set me up with my microphone.

“When did you change your hair?” I asked her, still mesmerized by the bright, pretty colors. “It looks amazing.”

Skye smiled up at me. “Last weekend. My mom wants to kill me.”

“Totally worth it,” I replied.

“Totally,” she agreed.

Once Skye finished helping Willow with her microphone, Angus clapped his hands together, drawing all of our attention.

“Good evening, lovely ladies,” he called, holding his hands up above his head. Evan loudly cleared his throat and raised his eyebrows.

“And gentleman,” Angus added with a smile before bowing apologetically at Evan. “Welcome to the very first group date of Lincoln High’s very first True Love charity dating contest.”

Some of the girls giggled and clapped, along with some of the film club who weren’t manning equipment. Evan simply lifted one eyebrow at me, causing me to smother a laugh.

“Tonight’s date will be made up of several different rounds. You will be competing against one another to gain alone time with our one and only bachelor, Cole. But, before we begin, let’s bring him out here.”

Everyone clapped, and some of the girls started squealing again as Cole walked out of the house and came to stand at Angus’ side. He was wearing dark jeans and a navy button-up shirt. He had his sleeves rolled up to reveal his forearms and the shirt clung tightly against his full chest and large biceps.

His eyes were practically sparkling as he scanned the scene in front of him. He paused for a brief second when he caught sight of me. My eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at me, but he quickly continued surveying the contestants who sat before him, the corner of his mouth now raised in a smirk.

“Damn, Cole is fine,” Evan whispered to me. I couldn’t help but nod. Who knew the jerk could look so good?

“Over to you, Cole,” Angus said. “What is the first activity you have planned for our contestants tonight?”

The film crew was split into groups, with one camera focused on Cole’s face while the other two were focused on the contestants. I felt really uncomfortable as Brett focused the camera on Willow, Evan, Teagan and me. No one else seemed to notice, as they were all watching and waiting for Cole to speak.

Cole rubbed his hands together and smiled at everyone. “I’m looking for someone who has a healthy appetite,” he said, his grin growing wider. “So, for our first activity tonight, we’ll be having a donut eating contest.”

I spluttered out a laugh before raising a hand to my mouth to silence it. It was difficult to contain myself though, especially when I caught the look on some of the other girls' faces.

“Cinnamon donuts are almost impossible to eat without licking your lips,” Cole continued. “The first eight people to finish a full donut without licking their lips will advance to the next round tonight. The last two contestants to finish will, unfortunately, be eliminated from the group date.”

---