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When I hear the front door close, instead of relief, I feel an ache inside my chest that nearly suffocates me. I didn’t think she’d leave. All this time and in all the scenarios I played out in my mind, not once did she walk out the door. I thought we had something special. Hell, I even started to think she might be my person, the one I could see myself eventually marrying. Apparently, that was all one-sided. She didn’t care enough to even give us a chance. That alone tells me what I need to know.

Three days later, I’m still walking around like a zombie. There’s been no word from Jess, not even a text.

Tonight was supposed to be our big night. We were supposed to be together for the debut of our show. The TV station has been constantly running ads. It seems like they’re trying to promote it as much as possible in order to bring in viewers.

I had planned a small watch party consisting of my brothers and their wives, my parents, and, of course, me and Jess. My parents ended up coming down with the flu, so they canceled. And now that Jess isn’t coming, neither are my brothers’ wives. Since Jess, Liz, and Lana are good friends, they are having their own watch party elsewhere.

That leaves me, Ethan, and Jake. That’s all I need—to be surrounded by my idiot brothers when I really just want to crawl into a hole and lick my wounds. Instead, I have to pretend like nothing bothers me. It’s what’s expected of me, after all. I’m the fun brother. I’m the one that doesn’t give a shit about anything, the one that turns everything into a joke.

Too bad I can’t find humor in anything right now. I’m in the midst of a shitshow of my own making. I fell in love with a girl who wants nothing to do with me. She told me over and over again that all she was interested in was a short-term fling, and I didn’t believe her.

Returning to the living room, I see Ethan and Jake have settled in despite just arriving twenty minutes ago. Their feet are up, and plates of snacks are resting on their laps.

“Hey, Dax,” Ethan says. “The show is about to start. Get your ass over here.”

I walk over just as an image of me and Jess appears on the screen. I have my arm around her, and she’s smiling up at me. She looks like a girl in love . . .

What a goddamn punch in the gut.

I flop down onto the couch next to Jake. “I told you guys the party was canceled. Not sure why you showed up.”

Jake smirks at me. “And miss your television debut? Not a chance, bro.”

The introduction of the couples continues to flash on the screen. Finally, Anne-Marie, the show’s host, makes her appearance.

Her overly bright smile illuminates the screen. “Good evening! Tonight is the night you’ve all been waiting for. Six newly engaged couples are about to face off in a challenge like no other. The contestants have been given a series of tasks in this exciting game of skill and speed, and you, the viewer, get to watch it all play out. Which couple will win the ultimate prize? Stick around and see! I’m Anne-Marie Peallant, and I will be your host for Pursuing Desire.”

“I’m going to need some whiskey to get through this,” I grumble to myself.

Jake laughs. “We’ve been looking forward to this for weeks. I can’t wait to see you and Jess on screen. Tell us the inside scoop. Did you spend the entire time arguing with each other?”

“Not exactly,” I tell him as I get up and make my way to my minibar.

Ethan sits forward. “Were you able to get along with her? Give us something, some little tidbits of gossip.”

“Yeah, tell us what really happened. Jess has been staying with us, but she won’t tell us anything,” Jake says. “Just says we’ll find out everything we need to know when we watch the show.”

My hand stills on the whiskey decanter. “Jess is still staying at your house?”

“Yeah. She’s going to stay there until she finds her own place. Haven’t you talked to her?” Jake asks in a curious tone.

I put the whiskey glass to my lips and throw back the fiery liquid. The burn feels so good that I go ahead and pour another. “I’ve been busy.”

Ethan starts laughing. “I bet you have. You’re probably having to soothe some hurt feelings. What did all your girlfriends say about your little three-week rendezvous with Jess?”

I turn on Ethan so fast it makes my head spin. For the briefest moment, I think about telling him to shut the fuck up. Instead, I paste a devil-may-care smile on my face and saunter over to the couch.

Flopping down, I tell him, “Don’t you worry. I know how to handle my women. I keep them so busy in the bedroom they don’t have time to ask me any questions.”

Jake and Ethan laugh and shake their heads at me. I can hear their thoughts. Good ole Dax. He gets all the women he wants.

I feel sick at the thought of having to keep up this charade for the next hour. Not only do I have to pretend nothing’s wrong, but I have to see Jess’s beautiful face splashed all over the screen while my brothers sit here and make dumbass comments.

Anne-Marie’s perfectly made-up face appears again, and I hold my breath as I wait to see what sort of images I’m going to be forced to endure. She explains the rules of the game and then goes on to tell the viewers that contestants are heading to Destin as the first stop.

The first several minutes seem pretty tame. They show flashes of scenes with the different couples in their cars discussing the trip. There are a few shots of couples kissing or holding hands and even some scenes of the couples arguing. After several minutes, Jess and I are on the screen and we’re bickering back and forth about the hotel and food.

I can easily picture those first few days of the trip when we were just getting to know each other better. Though we’d run into each other many times prior to the show, this was the first time we put forth any effort to have a real conversation. We spent some time arguing. However, I enjoyed her company, even in those early days.