Page 61 of Playing With My Heart Strings

“Do you have siblings?” she repeats what I assume was her question.

“No. I’m an only child.” I leave it at that. Talking too much about my family will lead to more questions, and frankly, I don’t want to get into it with my competitors right now.

“I’m an only child, too.” Aspen purses her lips and flashes me a look. I suppress a laugh at the irony. Of course, Aspen and I would have that in common, too. But I feel like we’re nothing alike, and that’s a small comfort. Because even if I don’t win, at least I don’t have to be her.

The producers shoot a couple more hours of us just hanging around the house. They also pull us aside one-by-one to do someinterviews about the previous weeks. By the time the day is over, I’m exhausted and ready to go back to the hotel to decompress.

23

dusty

Face Your Fear

“Are you a daredevil?”I ask Baylor as we walk hand in hand to the location for our date. This is our second on-camera solo date, and although we’ve secretly spent more time together, I still feel like there’s a lot I don’t know about her. I want to know what gets her heart racing, if she’s the type of person to jump blindly into love or dip her toes in first.

“I’m not sure,” she admits. “I wouldn’t say I’m an adrenaline junkie, but I’m not scared to do crazy things.”

“Good. I hope you’re not afraid of heights,” I hint at what our date has in store for us.

“Oh no.” Her face pales. “I’m guessing you’re not going to tell me what we’re doing, though, are you?”

I give her a mischievous grin. “That would ruin the surprise.” I haven’t really gotten to see Baylor in an uncomfortable situation yet. Sure, the drama with Aspen wasn’t pleasant, but it wasn’t something fear-inducing.

“Pleasetell me we aren’t jumping out of an airplane or something.”

“If I said we were, would you still do it with me?” I ask.

She squeezes my hand. “I’d probably shit my pants”—she lets out a laugh mid-sentence—“but yeah, I’d still do it with you. I’ll face my fears, if that’s what it takes.”

“Atta girl.” I squeeze back and wink. “Come on, we’re almost there.”

About a quarter-mile later, our destination comes into view, a towering skyscraper. My stomach swims with anticipation, and I just hope Baylor won’t be too nervous when she finds out why we’re here.

We both look up when we reach the base of the building.

“What are we doing?”

“We’re going to the top,” I reply, wrapping my arm around her shoulder and pulling her into me.

She lets out a nervous laugh. “Just for the view, right?”

In convenient timing, a cheer cuts through the air, prompting her to look up at the person hanging from the side of the building.

“You’re joking, right? There’s no way we’re jumping off a building!”

“We’rerappellingoff a building,” I correct as she pulls her bottom lip between her teeth. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you. We’ll do it together.”

“I swear, if we die because—” Panic fills her voice, but I press a finger to her lips.

“I won’t let anything happen to you. We’ve got professionals who are going to get us through it.” I’m not sure if my attempt at reassuring her works, but she reluctantly nods and we enter the building to take an elevator to the top floor.

Neither of us says a word in the elevator. I can tell Baylor’s nervous, and I don’t want to make her more anxious by speaking. So I just hold her hand, rubbing gentle circles with my thumb.

When the elevator dings, signalling our arrival at the top floor, she sucks in a deep breath. Before we exit, though, I cup her face with my hands.

“If you don’t want to do this, just say the word and we’ll go back down. I would love for you to do this with me, but the last thing I want to do is pressure you into something you’re uncomfortable with.”

She nods, closing her eyes for a moment. “I want to do this with you. I want to face my fears and take the leap…literally.” She chuckles, and my shoulders immediately relax before I plant a kiss on the top of her head.

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