I stood up quickly, teetering on my borrowed heels. “Sure.”
“I meant Mia,” he said gruffly.
With a squeal, my fellow contestant jumped off her barstool, and he led her away without a backward glance.
I sat back down again, my cheeks flaming hot withembarrassment. The asshole acted as if he and I had never met before.
He’d been nice in the hospital, sure. But he’d also been drugged.
I’d dated men who thought they were all that and a bag of chips. Having been engaged to one, I had neither the patience nor the desire to do that again. And given the fact he was a werewolf? Well, multiply that no by a hundred and one.
The next hour slogged by like a tortoise on Valium. Travis continued to pull other contestants away for tete-a-tetes on the veranda, including Sarah who’d been as nervous as I’d ever seen her. She returned a short time later, saying he was nice, but that she didn’t think they had a love connection. Sarah seemed both relieved and worried about this, which I found somewhat perplexing.
“If you’re disappointed about being sent home tonight, don’t be,” I said. “I plan to spend the rest of my time on the beach and—” I snapped my big mouth shut.
I hadn’t told her I was here by mistake. My arrangement with Jada to stay on the island and finish out my vacation was probably unique to my situation. When the other contestants left the contest, they might really leave the island.
“That’s not it,” Sarah said. “Well, I mean, Travis seems like a nice enough guy, but I don’tlikehim like him. I’m…I’m worried about how my family will react if I’m sent home.”
She’d mentioned them earlier. “What does your family have to do with this?,” I asked, narrowing my eyes. “What will they do?”
Sarah hesitated, staring at her hands as if trying to decide how much to share with me. “I come from a wolf clan with a long history of arranged marriages, but unfortunately, nosuitors have shown an interest. My family saw this as the perfect opportunity to fix that. They’re going to be very, very unhappy if this doesn’t pan out.”
My heart went out to her. Everyone should be able to decide who to love—or not love. No one’s family should force them into doing something they didn’t want to do. No wonder Sarah seemed so apprehensive about being here. I wasn’t all that thrilled to be here either, but at least it was a combination of my own actions combined with poor internet targeting.
Surely there had to be a happy medium between families who forgot your last birthday and families who wanted to control you.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, it was time for the charm ceremony.Good. I couldn’t wait to get back to my hotel room, change into shorts and flip-flops, then head down to the bonfire and chill out. Or maybe I’d just crawl into bed, read for a bit, and start my vacation fresh in the morning.
At Jada’s direction, the twelve of us formed two semicircles under a vine-draped trellis. The sound of the ocean roared in the darkness just beyond the veranda while the hotel’s bonfire crackled and burned like a funeral pyre out on the sand. Thankfully, I didn’t spot any dancing witches.
With a heavy limp, Travis emerged from the shadows and took his place in front of us.
As if on cue, fireworks went off behind him, illuminating the beach and water in brilliant flashes of color. A few of the women, including myself,oohedandahhed. It really was spectacular.
Travis cleared his throat and called the first woman forward. “Lauren, may I put this charm on your bracelet?”
“Oh, my goddess, yes!” Lauren rushed to him and held out her wrist. After he attached the charm, she gave him a hug and returned to the group.
Then he called Mia’s name, and I literally thought her boobswere going to bounce clear out of her dress. Thankfully, they stayed put. “Mia, may I put this charm on your bracelet?”
“Yes, yes, yes,” she squealed. It sounded like she was having an orgasm. Unlikely, sure, but not impossible.
Travis continued calling women forward, including a very surprised Sarah, until the only ones without a charm were a cat-shifter named Lillian, an elf named Carmen, and yours truly.
Thank goodness it was almost over. My feet were killing me from standing around in these heels. On the way back to my room, I was going to check out the various beach cabanas and decide where I wanted to try getting a spot in the morning. I’d have to get there early. The good ones probably went fast.
Then Travis called out the last name. I started to turn toward Lillian to congratulate her until I realized it wasn’t her name he’d called.
It was mine.
I was so shocked, I couldn’t move, my feet were frozen to the floor. Someone literally had to push me forward.
I moved toward Travis haltingly, searching the darkness behind the camera lights for Jada. What was going on? She’d specifically said this wasn’t going to happen.
His golden eyes sparkled in the moonlight as I stopped in front of him. I stood there searching his face for some sort of explanation, but all I got was a practiced, camera-ready smile.
“Daphne, will you accept this charm for your bracelet?”
