Page 6 of Catching Coy
Oh dear.
“Okay,” Coy said, leaning back against the bleacher. “Give it to me.”
“Uh, what?” She scooted an inch or so away, even though she hated that.
“You just watched the whole thing and you’re not monetarily invested in any of it,” Coy said. Agnes shot him a half-hearted glare, which made Coy laugh, then the producer got up and crossed the gym to talk to one of the cameramen. “Tell me what you think,” Coy said.
“That would be cheating.” Bellamy leaned back against the bleachers as well, keeping plenty of space between them so their hands wouldn’t brush or anything.
“Cheating? To give me your unbiased opinion?” He tilted toward her, bumping her shoulder. “Come on.”
“Coy Jones—”
“Why do you keep calling me by my full name?” He didn’t right himself after bumping her shoulder, so now they sat all huddled up together. They were practically cuddling. What would Agnes say if she came back and caught them?
“Um. That’s just what we always call you when we’re watching your games. Do you not notice that everyone just calls you that?” She focused on that explanation instead of how she wouldn’t mind adjusting so that Coy could put his arm behind her. It would make this whole situation more comfortable anyway.
“Yes, I’ve noticed how game announcers tend to use my full name, but we’re friends.” He pointed at Bellamy and then back at himself.
She burst into laughter. “I met you yesterday.”
“I’ve already given you a nickname, Bells.”
“No one calls me that.” She sat up to distract herself from wanting Coy’s arm around her.
“I do.” He kept leaning back and she was pretty sure he scooted closer so their legs were touching. Oh boy. “So, Bells.” He laughed at her scowl. “Help me.”
“Coy Jones,” she began again, laughing athisscowl. “I have seen every single season ofThe Catchand my fair share of behind-the-scenes stuff as well, and also like every post-Catchinterview there is. And Roxy and I have never failed to pick the winners.” She wouldn’t count the year Candance didn’t win golf-pro Bo West’s heart. Roxy had gotten that one right, so technically Bellamy wasn’t lying. “So,cheating,” she reminded him.
He sat up and studied her. “Okay, now I’m dying to know your pick.”
“So am I,” Agnes said, making Bellamy jump. How had Bellamy missed her coming back over? Shouldn’t she be herding the women or stirring up drama or something?
Bellamy smiled at both of them. “I need to discuss some things with Roxy first.” She waved her hand. “Besides, these things take time. We usually can pick out the top contenders on the first day, but not the winner. I’m gonna need to see more first.”
Agnes nodded then turned to Coy. “You gonna be ready to send two home in half an hour?”
He choked. “Half an hour?”
“Forty-five minutes, tops.” She gave him an official nod and walked away.
He whirled back to Bellamy, real panic in his expression. “See, you have to help me. What if I send someone home who could be it?”
Bellamy’s heart clenched. Of course she wanted to believe that love was real on the show and not just all scripted stuff, but part of her had always thought, in the back of her mind, that it couldn’t be love at the end, could it? Did that sort of thing really happen?
“You really do care.” It was sweet. And it made her want to puke because if one of these women was the one, it meant she wasn’t.
Coy pressed his lips together. “I want to take it seriously, even if it is for entertainment. I said yes to Nico on the chance that there’d be a woman here who wasn’t in love with the idea of Coy Jones and could just be in love with me.”
“Isn’t that exactly why they’re all here?” Bellamy pointed out. “To meet you?”
“They don’t know who the nextCatchwill be when they sign up. So sure, they’ll know it’s some athlete, but he might not be famous or anything.” He was studying her so close, she had to swallow back nerves bouncing around her stomach.
“Or he might be Coy Jones,” she said, forcing a smile.
“Help me.” He put his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands, leaning in too close to her, especially if he wanted her to think clearly. “You saw everything today.”
She ran through it all in her head. Willa wanted the attention, Bellamy was pretty sure. But she was beautiful and had a good voice and there was a chance Bellamy was wrong about her. Coy and Gillian had clicked, finding a shared love of basketball, and Coy sounded invested in Gillian’s company. Bellamy was pretty sure he wouldn’t go far with Lucy, but it made for good kissing and everyone liked that—probably even Coy. She wasn’t sure about Bristol. She’d seemed to be analyzing everything the other women did for most of the day, more focused on them than on Coy, if she wasn’t with him personally. She had a head for competition.
