Page 31 of You're The One
Dominic either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care that Bodhi could be moving in on his girl. No wonder he sucks at dating. He’s clueless.
He places a hand between my shoulder blades, gently guiding me toward the others.
I sidestep his touch and dig into my bag, pulling out the cover-up I packed.
“Hold that for a sec,” I say, handing him the bag.
“Oh yeah, sure, no problem.” His tone suggests he does, in fact, have a problem with being my bag boy.
I tug the dress over my head, adjusting it to make sure everything’s covered, then hold out my hand.
He gives the bag back without a word.
“So, who do you think I should take on the one-on-one date tomorrow?” he asks, taking advantage of the rare moment we’re not being filmed.
“Umm… what about…” I trail off.
The truth is, I barely know any of the girls yet. I’ve only connected with the women I’m sharing a room with. As far as roommates go, I lucked out: Summer, River, and Emma.
River’s the only one not on today’s date. Shecouldcheck a lot of Dominic’s boxes. She’s a doctor who specializes in holistic medicine, so she’s clearly driven and has her own passions. Plus, she’s gorgeous.
Finding a woman here who isn’t beautiful is impossible. So maybe the better question is: who seems the most… lackadaisical?
So, yeah. She’s out of the question.
“Can I think on it?” I look up, and he’s already watching me.
“Oh. Yeah, sure.”
I hop into the back of the van while Dominic takes the passenger seat. A few moments later, Emma and Bodhi climb in, and we’re off.
We settle around a long rectangular table, the sun beginning its descent over the ocean to our left, casting everything in that soft, golden light producers live for. I choose the seat farthest from Dominic, opposite him and three spots down.
Summer is on my left. Perfect. If anyone can help me quietly gather intel on the other girls—and steer me toward the bestworstoption for Dominic’s date—it’s her.
“You have lots of hidden talents, my friend.” She turns toward me and tunes out the rest of the table. The others are still chatting about random topics, everyone still in that early stage of getting to know each other.
“No, I grew up in a sleepy town on Lake Michigan, so I’m not exactly new to water activities.”
Technically, I still live in the same town. Same house we grew up in, too. Even though I travel a lot, I don’t have my own place yet. It just makes more sense to use a rent-free home base when I’m barely there.
She nods, then tilts her head. “So, what’s the deal with you and Dom? Someone said you guys know each other?”
I take it Summer isn’t a hockey person. Even if she were, my connection to Ryan isn’t obvious, especially with us having different last names. When our parents got married, my dad never formally adopted Ryan, and Ryan didn’t change his last name once he was old enough to decide for himself. So I have my dad’s last name, Matthews, and he has his biological father’s name, Logan.
“My brother plays for the Chicago Saints, the same team as Dominic. They’re friends, so our paths have crossed a few times over the years. But we’re not close, by any means.”
“Ah, but you always had a crush on him?” she asks, nodding. “Girl, I don’t blame you.”
A huff of air escapes me. “No. Definitely not.”
Her brows draw together. “Then why’d you sign up?”
“I didn’t know he was the bachelor.”
Which was true, at first. But I also didn’t pull out once I knew. I didn’t think I could… but I also didn’t want to. As much as I’ve thought about it, I still can’t figure out why. I don’t say any of that, though.
“Have you seen The Parent Trap? The producers kind of pulled one of those.” Which is true enough. Whether I came into this willingly or not, it was a trap.
