Page 51 of The Love Dare
He looks down at her with a self-satisfied grin. “When I signed an eight-year, ninety-million-dollar contract.”
She gulps. “Right.”
“Is it furnished?” Nina asks, lips pursed in thought.
He rolls his eyes. “I’m a hockey player, not a heathen.”
“You’re a single man.” She arches a brow as she studies him, still unconvinced. “Did you decorate it?”
“My assistant hired someone.”
She nods now, somewhat placated. “Does it have a view?”
“Like you wouldn’t believe.”
“Trish?” Nina asks into her headset. “What do you think?”
“I can’t believe you own a house,” Winnie whispers, drawing his attention back to her. She examines him thoughtfully, as if seeing him in a new light. “I don’t even have a lease.”
“I heard about that.” He turns to her fully and resettles his hands on her hips, unable to believe he can actually hold her like this now, possessively pressing her up against him, leaving no room for doubt. “Did you really leave New York?”
“Yup.” She takes a deep, uneven breath. “Quit my job and everything.”
“For the show?” he asks, unable to completely cover the worry laced through his words, harkening back to old fears. He doesn’t want to be the cause of her regrets. It’s why he didn’t stop her back then, and why he can’t help but ask now.
“No,” she assures him quickly, adding a dismissive little shrug. “It was just…time. The city won’t be the same without Sam, and my business really started taking off after this new commission. I was ready for a change. And?—”
“That’s enough of that,” Nina cuts in. “This is a TV show. You’re both under contract. And there will be no more talking until cameras are rolling. Agreed? Or we can cancel this impromptu little outing right now.”
Neither of them answers.
Nina raises her brows. “Well?”
“Fine,” he seethes, at the same time Winnie murmurs, “Okay.”
“Now, I need footage of you leading her out of the house. Then we’ll take two separate cars to the location. Tyler, you’ll goin ahead with us to give us a quick tour. And when we’re done setting up, we’ll start from the beginning while you bring Winnie inside. Understood?”
“Understood,” they respond in gruff unison.
The cameraman repositions them back into the same spot as the last usable shot. One of the assistants feeds them a few different lines to say to explain the new date twist. It’s all so fake and contrived, he wants to scream. And that’s before the crew parades them through the house, over and over again, filming the exit from every possible angle. He’s holding Winnie’s hand, but they may as well be miles apart. Every time he meets her eyes, he feels her impatience, matching his own. They’ve been waiting years to have this conversation, and every extra wasted second feels like a lifetime. The anticipation builds to a literal buzz beneath his skin. He fidgets on the car ride over, knees bouncing as he taps his fingers on the leather seat.
Nina fills the silence. “You still have to film the rest of the season.”
“Don’t remind me.”
“You have to go on dates with the other women.”
“I know.”
“You have to kiss them.”
“Jesus,” he snaps. “Can I just get one fucking night for myself? One fucking night with Winnie without you pestering me about all this other shit that doesn’t matter? One night!”
“One night,” Nina agrees. “But you’re mine come morning.”
Tyler crosses his arms over his chest and stares hard out the window. They don’t speak again until they reach his house, and even then, it’s the bare minimum required to give a quick tour of his place. While the cameramen set up, he paces around the foyer. The minute he gets the okay, he charges back outside to the second black SUV parked in his driveway and practically rips open the door. Winnie stares up at his house with wide eyes. It’snot huge but it’s brand new and ultramodern, a stark reminder that he’s come a long way from the boy in the trailer park. She gapes as though it’s the Taj Mahal.
“Oh my god, Ty, this is like ahousehouse.”
