Page 97 of The Wrong Bachelor

“I know you are all at the start of a roaring great night, but before we really get this party started, we have a bit of an announcement to make.”

I felt overwhelmed with worry and quickly decided I didn't need to be here to watch Cole's revelation. I started to walk away, but Hayley grabbed hold of my arm, cementing me firmly in place.

“You aren’t going anywhere,” she said.

“But…” My excuses drifted away as she gave me a judgmental look; the kind that promised bodily harm and injury if I tried to walk away.

“Fine,” I grumbled. I hoped Hayley had some tissues in her bag because I was convinced I would need them once the announcement was made.

“So, without further delay, I give you the final episode of True Love!” Angus roared. The crowd started screaming, clapping and wolf whistling in response.

To my surprise, a large projector screen descended from the ceiling above the stage and covered the back wall. Cole’s face lit up the screen, and my heart leaped as I watched him smile directly at the camera. There was a cheekiness to his eyes, and he looked so damn handsome that it actually hurt just to watch him up there.

“I thought this was supposed to be live,” I murmured to Hayley. She simply smiled and raised a finger to her lips to indicate for me to be quiet before turning back to focus on the screen.

“I have a confession to make,” Cole said. “And I feel really terrible about admitting this, but you guys all voted for the wrong bachelor.”

Mutters of confusion and a few gasps rippled around the room as he spoke, but I found myself more intrigued than surprised. Why wasn’t Cole here in person? Where was the girl flinging her arms around his neck and kissing him as he told her she was the one he had picked?

“You see, a bachelor is supposed to be someone who is unattached. And yeah, I might be single, but the reason I’m the wrong guy is the fact that my heart has actually been attached to someone for a very long time.” He gave an embarrassed laugh, pushing a hand through his hair. “Far longer than I should probably admit on this video.”

Movement in front of me caught my attention, and I looked away from the screen as a girl in an elegant blue dress walked up and handed me a piece of paper. I frowned and took it from her. It had been cut into the shape of half a heart, just like the ones we’d used on the show. As I looked at the heart, I saw the word “kind” was written on it in the same messy scrawl that Cole used. My heart immediately started beating faster as I tried to figure out what was going on.

“Although I loved this girl, there was a problem.” Cole continued. “I could only ever admire her from a distance.”

My view of the screen was obstructed again as another girl walked up and handed me a paper heart. This one had the word “funny” written on it, and my heart seemed to skip a beat.

“What’s happening?” I whispered to Hayley.

"Just wait,” she replied.

“This girl had a boyfriend for a long time,” Cole continued. “So as much as I wanted to be with her, I knew I couldn’t because she was happy and that was all that mattered.”

Another girl approached and handed me another paper heart. The word “friendly” was written on it. Barely a second had passed before a guy in a smart suit stepped forward and gave me one more. “Likes pancakes,” it said, making me laugh softly.

“But then the two of them broke up, and I finally had my shot.” Cole’s voice still echoed from the speakers around the gym. “I thought this competition might bring us closer together, but instead it’s pulled us further apart.”

As I listened, I realized that everyone in the room had turned away from the screen to face me. One by one, students stepped out from the crowd and handed me paper hearts. There were too many now to read all the words that were written on them, and I was starting to struggle to hold them as they began to pile up in my hands. Tanner winked as he walked up and placed a heart on my head. Jake followed right after him and gave me a warm smile as he placed another heart on top of the already massive pile I was cradling.

“Good luck,” he whispered before stepping back. I stared at him, shocked that he was taking part in whatever was going on.

The crowd parted in front of me, and I saw all the True Love contestants standing in a line. They too walked towards me one by one. Evan kissed me on the cheek as he handed me a heart, and Brooke gave my wrist a comforting squeeze as she added hers to my pile.

Teagan, Willow and Laurie were the final people to approach me. All three of the girls were beaming as they placed three more hearts onto the pile. I looked at them with wide eyes, trying to understand what it all meant, but they merely gave me knowing smiles in reply.

“I have a message for that girl.” Cole’s voice drew my attention back up to the screen. “I need you to know, that whatever you think happened on the camping trip never did. I don’t have any proof, but I’m really hoping that my word is enough.”

My heart was now beating faster than I had ever experienced before. I could barely keep up with Cole’s speech and the words that covered the hearts I still held. But the words didn’t seem to matter anymore, because I already knew deep down exactly how he felt about me, and how I felt about him.

The video suddenly stopped playing, but I could still hear Cole’s voice.

“Because the truth is…” My gaze darted from the blank screen to the stage. Cole was standing up there in his suit, looking at me as he spoke into the microphone. “The truth is,” he repeated. “I could never truly give out any pieces of my heart, because one girl already had them all in the palms of her hands.”

I glanced down at all the heart-shaped pieces of paper I was holding and tears started forming in my eyes. The crowd parted around me, and when I looked back up, Cole was making his way toward me. He was smiling so widely, and I could feel every ounce of his love and hope in the way his bright eyes watched me.

“Madison Matthews,” he said, coming to stand in front of me. “You’ve got all the pieces of my heart. Can a guy like me hope to get one or two of yours in return?”

I didn’t have adequate words to answer him. How could anyone respond to something so beautiful with a simple yes? Instead, I tossed the pile of paper hearts into the air and launched into his arms, putting all of my emotions into one epic kiss. I could feel Cole grinning against my lips, and I knew, even without a word, that he understood exactly how I felt. As our kiss deepened, I felt the paper hearts raining down on us, like a calmer version of the storm that had raged around us during our first-ever kiss, and I breathed a sigh of happiness.

---