And then she set off for Roxy’s house to tell Coy.
Chapter Ten
Coy opened thedoor to find Bellamy standing there. “I knew you couldn’t stay away.”
“I need to talk to you.” She moved to go inside, but Coy stepped in the way, holding out a hand toward the porch swing.
“I’ve been wanting to give this a try. And you showing up is convenient, because I wanted to talk to you too. I have to cut two girls tomorrow night and I have no idea who. I mean, I havesomeidea—”
“One.” Bellamy perched on the porch swing, watching as Coy took a seat on the other end. “Stella just left.”
Coy automatically scooted closer. “What?”
She pulled out her phone, leaning toward him as she tapped a few icons and then flicked through her Instagram feed. His leg rested against hers, but she didn’t seem to notice as she searched for whatever she was looking for. Coy bent over her, slipping an arm over the back of the swing.
“Here.” She turned suddenly, coming nose to nose with him since she hadn’t given him enough warning to pull his head back.
Which, he wasn’t sure he would have even if she had given him warning.
“Oh,” she breathed and didn’t move. Coy did, but only to lift his hand to trace his thumb along her jawline and then to dip his head closer to hers. He had called it. This porch swinghadmade for the perfect shot and luckily for Coy, there weren’t any cameras in sight.
“Stella has a boyfriend,” she whispered.
“Well, that’s unfortunate,” he whispered back. Mystery solved. And he found himself not even a tiny bit disappointed. If every single girl back at the Ranch House packed up and drove off tonight, he would find a way to get through. Likely by taking Bellamy into Roxy’s living room and locking out Agnes, Nico, Zane and every single cameraman on this ranch.
“Stop,” she said softly, gripping his shoulders.
Coy opened his eyes to find her still closing hers, head tipped, everything except her words saying she was ready for him to kiss her. “I would rather not.”
“Coy…”
The way she groaned his name, probably meant to express her irritation that he wasn’t listening to her, did not help. He pulled in a long breath. “Okay, Bells. If you say so.” But he didn’t move away.
Neither did she.
He was getting mixed signals.
“How many women have you kissed so far?” she asked, opening her eyes, staring up at him and blinking slowly.
“Uh…”
She pressed her lips together. Coy ran his thumb softly along them. “Enough that you’ve already lost count?” she said.
“No. You caught me off guard. I wasn’t expecting that question,” he said. “Three.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “That’s it?”
He chuckled and leaned his forehead against hers. “That’s it. Are you disappointed? We could make it four…”
“No, I’m not disappointed in that, Coy Jones.” She settled her arms around his neck, holding him close. She smiled, near enough that it would take only a few centimeters of movement to reach her lips, and he struggled to respect her request. Magnets pulled him stronger than anything that buzzed between him and Lucy.
Bellamy turned serious. “But … don’t kiss me until I’m the only one you want to kiss. You still have to do this dating thing, and I don’t know if you’ve just never actually gotten it that I’m not competing here. You could still fall for those other girls.”
Zane’s words, the ones he’d used to convince Coy not to discount a moment like this, returned to back up her argument.You have to stay here for six weeks and date those women.
Coy put an arm behind her back and pulled her closer, even if he wasn’t going to kiss her. This was one of those moments he was going to trust how he felt and let it lead him forward. “It’s time you started competing.”
* * *