“I hope you know, the only reason I agreed to this contest was to save the ranch. As soon as I go through the official ceremony and sign over the ranch to you, I’m breaking off the fake engagement and flying back to Vancouver.” The truth was, I didn’t have the desire to be in any sort of relationship. Not now. Maybe never. They were too much work with too many expectations that I’d grow tired of trying to meet and eventually fail.
My sister looked at me in the mirror, eyes narrowing slightly. “What you do after you’ve signed the paperwork is your business. Just try not to break any hearts along the way, okay?”
Wasn’t the whole point to get them to fall in love with me? Honestly, the whole dating contest idea was a ridiculous one. “Where did you find these women anyway?1-800-I’m-Desperate?”
Jada ignored the jab. “My IT guy created an extensive online questionnaire targeting single supernatural females. Thousands filled out the questionnaire, and we hand-selected the top twelve candidates.”
Algorithmic and unromantic. Good. Love wasn’t in the equation.
She explained how the evening would start with a meet and greet in the lounge, then some one-on-one time with each of the women on the veranda overlooking the pool. “That’s to giveyou a chance to meet the contestants and get to know them a little better. Then, at the end of the night, you’ll eliminate two of them by giving a charm to each of the ten women you want to advance to the next round.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose, already feeling the beginnings of a headache forming behind my eyes. “What do they know about me? What have you told them?”
“Nothing, little brother,” she answered, crooking up her neck at me. “They have no idea you’re the star fromSecret Shadows. Not yet, that is. They’ve seen no photos. All they know is that you’re an eligible bachelor looking for that special someone.”
I was somewhat relieved to hear that. No fame-seekers or gold-diggers, which was a real problem in my line of work. “And they willingly signed up for this madness?”
She cleared her throat and looked away. “Yep. They’re all hoping to find their fated mate.”
There she goes again with that fated mate bullshit.Such pairings were a romantic myth in our culture, but no one actually believed it.
“But I do have a request,” she said with a smile that fell somewhere between wariness and guilt.
I eyed her suspiciously.
“One of the women has had…a change of heart. She no longer wants to participate. I told her I’d see to it that you wouldn’t select her to move on.”
“And what happens if thebachelorhas a change of heart?”
My sister ignored me and continued. “I’ll send her in last, so you’ll know who she is. Then, at the charm ceremony, she’ll be one of the two women you won’t advance.”
“Last contestant doesn’t get picked. Got it.” I snapped my fingers. “Okay, let’s get this party started then. The sooner we do, the sooner it’ll be over.”
“For heaven’s sake, Travis,” Jade said, rolling her eyes. “It’s not a root canal.”
“Easy for you to say.”
As I hobbled out of the door, someone from the hallway thrust a microphone and camera into my face.
“Fuck!” I pushed Jada back inside the hotel suite and slammed the door behind me, wrenching my knee again. At this rate, it would never heal. “What are the paparazzi doing here? How in the world did they find out about this?”
“Relax,” she replied. “Those aren’t paparazzi. They’re my camera guys.”
I glared at her. “Your guys? What the hell are you talking about, Jada?”
She gave me a sugary smile. “We’re hoping to sell Date-A-Wolf to one of the paranormal networks when it’s all over.”
“Date-A-Wolf?” I sputtered. “Are you serious? You mean, like a reality TV dating show? You’re going to televise this?”
“Who wouldn’t want to watch their favorite actor fromSecret Shadowsfind true love in paradise?”
I couldn’t believe what was happening to me. At the hands of my own sister no less. “And you didn’t think to inform me first?”
“Because I knew you’d say no, that’s why.” She opened the door again. “Sorry about that, fellas.”
She flashed a grin at me over her shoulder. My older sister was having way too much fun with this, so I gave her my harshest scowl. If I were in my wolf form, I’d be flashing some serious fang.
“Oh, come on, Travis. Don’t be such a grump. You have to admit—it’s going to be great publicity for the island.”
