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A snort sounded from Rob’s direction. Jill hid her scowl. Was he going to keep interrupting her date all night?
“What can I do to help?” she asked, resisting a peek in Rob’s direction. She refused to acknowledge his presence again even if her body seemed unable to focus on anything but his near proximity.
“Nothing. Just sit there and look beautiful.”
Jill felt like an even bigger fraud at his words. Look beautiful. Funny how she’d never felt that way until she’d crossed an ocean and had men compete for her affections.
Jeff pulled out containers of assorted cheeses, a bottle of wine, and two goblets. Delicious aromas filtered from the basket. “May I?” he asked after uncorking the bottle.
“Please.” She lifted one of the goblets and allowed him to pour her glass three-fourths full of the sparkly red liquid, then waited as he filled his own. “Allow me to make a toast?”
“To new friendships that last a lifetime.”
Jeff raised his glass.
“And to ratings that soar.” Oops. Why had she added that out loud? Grimacing, she met Jeff’s blue gaze and was relieved when he merely shrugged and clinked his glass to hers.
“To friendships.” The corners of his mouth curved upward as he winked. “And to soaring ratings.”
Jill took a slow sip of her wine, enjoying the woodsy flavor that remained on her palate. “This is good.”
Jeff grinned. “Wish I could take credit, but I’m told it comes from one of the many vineyards in this beautiful country. Seems this place has all kinds of hidden treasures.”
“Really? It’s delicious.” And it was, although she admittedly wasn’t an expert of any kind. “So, tell me, Jeff. Why did you decide to come on a reality television show and let the world in on your every move?”
Jeff passed her the container of cheese. “A lot of different reasons.”
“Like?”
“The conventional ways a man meets a woman weren’t working for me.” He shrugged. “Why not a reality show?”
“You tell me.” She popped the lid off the cheese and eyed its contents, hoping the microphone wouldn’t pick up the rumble of her stomach.
“I’ve devoted most of my adult life to mission work and there isn’t an over abundance of eligible women around. I came here hoping to fall in love with a woman who could share my dream.”
Jill almost dropped the container, which would have been a shame. Food should never go to waste. But Jeff’s admission had startled her. He’d come on this show hoping to meet the woman of his dreams. He’d probably been sorely disappointed in the show’s choice of her. Well, of Jessie. Damn, she’d have loved for her sister to meet and fall in love with a man like Jeff. For that matter, falling for him herself wouldn’t have been a bad thing.
“You know, when I agreed to come on this show, I really wasn’t expecting to meet someone like you.”
Yeah, she’d just figured that out on her own.
“Oh?” She asked, once again eyeing the cheese and wondering how many chunks of cheese she could take out without looking like a pig. Three? Four? Should she push it and take five? She took five. They were only small wedges, after all. And who knew what all else he had stuffed in that basket?
She mentally scolded herself for obsessing over cheese when Jeff was having a serious conversation with her. If only she could have fallen for him.
Jeff laughed, a soft self-deprecating sound. “You’ll think me a tad foolish, but I actually thought I’d met you before.”
“Really?” Jill’s eyes widened as she stuffed a piece of the cheese in her mouth. Yum, this was the same smoky flavored cheese she’d made her sandwich with. “We’ve never met that I recall. Until this trip I’d never traveled outside of California.”
“As I said, it was foolish to even think I’d ever met a real princess, much less,” he stopped, shrugged, and grinned. “Well, I’d met a woman a year ago from this country and her name was similar. My imagination played tricks on me.”
“I hope you weren’t too disappointed when you saw me.”
He took her hand in his and squeezed it reassuringly. “Jane, a man really would be foolish if he were disa
ppointed with meeting you.”
With wonder, Jill stared into Jeff’s intent blue eyes. Maybe she’d only imagined that his kiss had been brotherly? Maybe she should—
