Page 18 of Catching Coy
She took another deep breath, nodded, and slipped her arm through. The butterflies in her stomach last night when Coy had held her so close said all this was worth it.Coywas worth it. Plus, she was like aCatchsuperfan. She should be lapping this experience up.
But losing seemed a lot less trivial than when Gunner had sent Sybil home in favor of Mae on the live finale the season before.
“Let’s go.”
Chapter Eleven
Charlotte, 28
Fort Collings, Colorado
NICU Nurse
“It’s scary because going into tonight, Coy and I have had so little time together. I’m worried about what that means for us. Having Stella leave scares me all the more. I’m friends with these women. I’m not ready to go home.”
* * *
Nerves bounced aroundin Coy’s stomach. He still hadn’t decided on who to cut and on top of that, Bellamy would be here tonight. Completely inside this world for the first time. It was the only way to move their relationship forward the way he wanted, but he couldn’t help but regret that he couldn’t sneak off to strategize with her anymore.
Well, he could always take a page out of Gunner’s book.
If Coy had his phone, he’d text Gunner and ask him how he’d handled this. He didn’t really know the baseball player before he’d agreed to doThe Catch, but they’d chatted a lot since then, becoming friends.
Agnes stood next to him, tapping away at an iPad. “Are you bringing in any of the pastCatchesfor ‘advice?’” he asked.
“Gunner,” she said, without looking up. You guys seemed to hit it off when we introduced you last summer.”
“When?”
“Week five. The advice goes over better the closer you are to choosing the Final Pick.” She glanced up at him, her eyebrows pinching. “Why?”
“Can we move him up? I need advice sooner,” he said.. Agnes gave a knowing nod. “I’m finding my situation is similar to Gunner’s in some ways.”
“We can do a call, video or something. That will make the advice later even better.” She gave him a pat on the arm. “I’ll get something arranged.” She walked away, stopping to give some instructions to one of the productions assistant, and then called out, “Okay, everyone, let’s get set.”
Coy swallowed as he made his way to the mark in front of the bleachers where he would make his Team Picks. A few minutes later, a production assistant led Gillian, Bristol, Lucy, Charlotte, and Willa to their marks in a half circle. He got waves and smiles from all of them. Lucy blew him a kiss, which made some of the tension in him melt. He had one sure pick. Their chemistry on their date said so.
But his mind swirled with all the other options. He was pulled to Bellamy every time he was around her, but they had just met. In a normal situation they’d take several dates, get to know each other, all of the usual before he committed himself to a relationship with her. He and Bellamy definitely had a spark, as well as friendship, but the fact was that hedidhave to date these girls for the next few weeks, and none of them deserved for him to make a show of it until he could date only Bellamy. And what if it didn’t work out with her? He would have passed up the opportunity with one of these other women for something that fizzled out. He recognized those thoughts were probably just nerves, but he couldn’t dismiss them.
The director gave the signal that they were filming, and the cameramen began taking shots of the women fidgeting and avoiding eye contact with each other as they waited. Portia stepped to Coy’s side, and the women turned their attention to her.
“As you can all see, Stella is no longer here. She left the Ranch House last night. That does mean that Coy will only cut one woman from his team,” Portia said, her gaze stopping on each of the women in turn. Someone gave a small gasp, maybe of relief, but Coy couldn’t tell who. Quiet murmurs rippled through the group as they digested the news. “But—” Portia held up a hand and the women fell silent. “We have a twist to rival any Catch season yet.” She gestured to the doors of the gym, which were being opened by unseen crewmembers on the other side. Bellamy stepped through, smiling widely at Coy, and began walking toward them.
“Coy has asked that another woman be added to the competition,” Portia finished.
Whispers rushed through the women waiting, but Coy didn’t take his eyes away from Bellamy to see the reaction of the others. Bellamy gripped one side of her rippling dress, fingers clenched. Her eyes danced with nerves, but it didn’t show in the rest of her expression—not in the confident strides she took to join the women or in the way her gaze didn’t leave Coy’s.
She was gorgeous. He’d only ever seen her in jeans and hoodies, and many of the times her shoulder-length brown hair had been pulled back into a ponytail or hanging straight down. “Wow,” he mouthed at her, and his heart skipped as her smile widened.
“Ladies.” Portia smiled at all of them and then turned to Coy. “Coy, it’s time to pick your team.” She took several steps back. Coy turned to the basket beside him, filled with this week’s team gear. Last week had been a small basketball. This week’s was a retro-looking letterman jacket with “The Catch” embroidered on the back and “Coy’s Team” scrolled across the left front. He picked one out.
His first choice was obvious. “Bellamy.”
She grinned again as she walked toward him. “Phew. I was worried for a second there,” she teased in a quiet voice.
“Welcome to the team,” he whispered back, leaning over to kiss her cheek.
She pulled the jacket on over her pretty dress, which made Coy chuckle, then she went and sat on the bench behind him. Coy turned back to the basket, reaching for another jacket, gripping it in his hands. “Lucy.”
