Sophia picked the Red Heart up first, blushing as she did.
Despite himself, Obiora felt his heart begin to race. Being one of the tallest men here, he was stationed at the back row. Ejiro was there too, two men from his right, and had his gaze carefully facing forward. Obiora felt something akin to shame curl up in his chest. He looked away.
“I’ve had a wonderful time tonight,” Sophia began, sounding so natural Obiora was sure she was going off script. It would make sense, since Ameri Shae kept repeating to them how natural she wanted the show to be. It was becoming her mantra on set. “Unfortunately, six of you gentlemen will be going home tonight. One of you, however”—her blushing increased exponentially, revealing the slight dimples on her cheeks—“made quite the impression on me.”
She eyed each bachelor in turn, making some of them squirm, and Obiora’s already racing heart skip.
“Chris Wu?” The name dripped from her lips with a strange familiarity, a sweet intimacy.
One of the men at the front sucked in a sharp breath. Obiora’s eyes, along with those of the other bachelors, narrowed in on the gentleman in question. He was tall, handsome, and slender, with smooth pale brown skin and a beauty mark on the top corner of his upper lip. His mop of dark brown hair went almost all the way down to his shoulders in thick, loose waves, parted neatly in the middle to frame his face.
Obiora couldn’t recall meeting him. Perhaps the man had been with Sophia when he’d been getting to know the other bachelors.
“Cupid’s calling,” Sophia said with a wink. Some of the bachelors snorted. “Would you do me the honour of accepting this heart?”
Chris’s smile was a mile wide. “Yes. I accept.”
He walked down the step and toward her, holding himself open so she could attach the heart to the magnet hidden behind his breast pocket.
When they stared at each other, Obiora could feel the sparks all the way from where he stood. Chris said something to her, his voice pitched low only for her and the cameras to hear.
Obiora couldn’t help it, he felt a keen disappointment, his fists clenching subtly by his sides. He’d been so sure that the move he’d pulled there with the shoes would have cemented him as Sophia’s favourite bachelor of the night, and the competitor in him felt sorely bitter at losing. He wondered what Chris could have done to warrant getting the Red Heart.
He barely paid attention to the next few bachelors, managing to accept his Pink Heart with a rogue grin when his name was called.
“How’re the feet?” he asked, smiling to emphasise the dimple in his cheek as Sophia attached the heart to his chest.
“Much better, thanks to you.” She grinned, holding a leg out through the long slit of her dress, revealing that she was now wearing flat white sandals with straps that criss-crossed all the way up to her thigh. Glamorous and fucking sexy, even without the heels.
“I’m glad.”
Eventually, all twenty-four safe bachelors had received their hearts—Ejiro included, Obiora had noticed with a weird mix of relief and dismay—and the other six were immediately sent home, cameras following them as they went back into the mansion to get their already packed bags.
A limo—white instead of black, like the ones that had brought the bachelors to the mansion—drove up the long driveway at Ameri’s cue, just as the last evicted bachelor disappeared.
“I’m really looking forward to getting to know the rest of you,” Sophia said as the car stopped, and the driver walked out to open the door for her. “Chris.” There it was again, that shy familiarity when she said her favourite bachelor of the night’s name. “I can’t wait to go on our date next week. I’m excited to see what you have planned for us.”
“You’re going to love it,” Chris replied with utmost confidence, his grin playful and boyish.
“I better.” She winked.
Then she was gone, the limo disappearing down the long driveway.
“And—cut!”
Obiora relaxed. He hadn’t even known he’d been tense.
“Please proceed to the back of the house immediately!”
The bachelors complied, herded impatiently by Ameri, which meant they had no time to chat as they walked. Obiora spotted Ejiro up ahead, his long legs and quick strides almost making it look like he was gliding across the floor. His quick steps might’ve seemed to be as a result of Ameri’s urgency, but Obiora had a feeling Ejiro was running from the rest of the men.
After Obiora had—like a bush goat, his mother would’ve scolded—told Ejiro—to his face—that the rest of the bachelors had written him off from the competition because he’d been antisocial, only for Obiora to then sweep in to Sophia’s rescue from behind Ejiro’s back like a freaking snake, Ejiro must be feeling very singled out right now.
And whose fault is that?
Fuck. Damn. Shit.
He was going to have to apologise, wasn’t he?
