Page 114 of Wild As Her

"Try me."

She leans in slightly. "I’m actually engaged."

I choke on nothing. "You’re what?"

She nods. "Yup. His name’s Logan. We’ve been together for six years. He’s at home up in Montana, working at a ranch while I do this show. We’re saving up to buy land out here and start a small ranch of our own. Hence why I’m doing the show in the first place."

"Holy crap." I had no idea. She played the part so well.

"I know. It sounds crazy. But this show paid me more than I make in a year. And it got me out here. I never expected to stay this long, but then... I saw Bridger Falls. I saw this ranch. I fell in love."

"With the ranch," I clarify.

"Very much not with you, cowboy," she says with a smirk. "You’re great, but I've already got my cowboy, and we're building our own dream life."

I bark out a laugh. This is absolutely nuts.

"So," she continues, "what if we help each other? We sign the NDA. Fake it for the cameras. Smile pretty for the big finale. And when this is all over, we both walk away with what we actually want."

"Which is... ?"

"Logan needs a job. We get a foothold here in Bridger Falls. You get to be with the woman everyone knows you love," she adds with a knowing smirk.

I stare at her. "You want your fiancée to work here?"

She nods and chuckles. "He’s strong, reliable, and hard working. The opposite of me. But he loves this life, and he’s a damn good wrangler. We just want a shot at settling in here and building something of our own someday."

I scratch the back of my neck. "This is so weird."

"Tell me about it. I’ve fake dated you for three weeks. I once had to rub sunscreen on your neck while you talked about barbed wire."

"I was being educational."

"You were sunburned and rambling."

I grin. "Okay, fine. Give me Logan's number. I’ll talk to him. If he’s half as cool as you, he’s hired."

Her face lights up. "Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, this is unorthodox as hell, but... I respect the hustle. And I admire you for keeping this going as long as you have."

She exhales hard. "Thank you. And... for the record, I'm rooting for you and Cami. Hard. Like, I wrote fan fiction in my head during filming."

"Now I’m scared." I sigh. I don’t even know what that means.

"You should be,” she grins. “Love is scary. But it’s worth it.”

We both laugh and shake hands. Well, I’ll be damned. This has not gone like I thought it was going to go, but it’s a relief that I know how this ridiculous show is going to play out and I can finally breathe, knowing that this isn’t going to last much longer.

I pick up the NDA and read over it. It says that Elena and I are not to discuss the ending of the show with anyone other than Jenna and ourselves. If we do, we are subject to a million-dollar fine and forfeit our rights to any income around the show as well as punishable litigation.

Well, that’s just great. I can’t tell Cami any of this, and she’s going to be pissed.

"Let’s finish this thing," I say. "And when it’s over... we can begin our lives."

She high fives me and says, "Deal, cowboy."

Chapter 30

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