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Chapter Six
Flynn
WeekOne
Madison was going to have my head if I paced a hole in the expensive-looking rug she’d covered the hardwood in my bedroom with. Even with the warm wood accent wall and cozy touches throughout, I couldn’t relax.
The night played over and over in my mind, like a dream I wanted to make sense of. But it was real. I struggled to reconcile the fact that I wanted to see Harper, and she’d somehow shown up, looking more beautiful than I’d ever seen her.
All night, I’d found myself drawn to her, struggling to stay engaged in conversations with hopeful contestants. Some had been remarkably beautiful, but all I could focus on was Harper and the myriad of questions surrounding her appearance on a show I never imagined her being on.
Why was she here?
I’d had to send home six girls at the rose ceremony tonight. It had been easy, since there’d only been one woman I’d had a genuine connection with. As things progressed, and I got to know them more, it might be harder to choose, but I had a week before I had to deal with it again.
First, I wanted answers.
A soft knock sounded at my door, and I froze, glancing at my watch. Unless there were some brazen women in the house, there was only one person I imagined would show up at my door in the wee morning hours.
Harper had already taken several steps in the opposite direction by the time I swung the door open.
“You just couldn’t stay away from me. It was the comment about singing and dancing like Sebastian Stan, wasn’t it?” I leaned on my elbow on the doorframe.
A distinction from earlier in the evening, she’d donned sweatpants and a long-sleeved shirt, her hair in two knots on her head. Once again she blushed, her freckles more pronounced than usual.
“I’m not doing this,” she replied, turning on her heel.
“Harper, come here.” Without hesitating, I reached out and grabbed her by the elbow, yanking her into my room.
Before she could protest, I’d closed the door and locked it.
“This was a bad idea.” Even though I loved having her all to myself, however briefly, her anxiety pumped off her in waves.
Was it me? Was there something else going on?
“Everyone is in bed, Harper. I’ll stay over here if it makes you more comfortable.” I stayed by the door watching her, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Why did you keep me here tonight?”
Interesting. Not exactly what I expected her to lead with, but it opened the door for conversation.
“Did you want to go home?” I raised my eyebrow.
“No.” The word burst out of her nervously.
“So you want to be here?”
“No.” This time she held a pause before she answered, like she wasn’t as confident. Some of the tension in her posture dissolved, her shoulders relaxing a bit, her crossed arms loosening.
“So then, whyareyou here? On this show?”
“I didn’t come up here to answer twenty questions, Flynn.”
“Fine.” I held up my hands in a gesture of surrender. “We don’t have to talk about that right now. It’s been a long day.”
As if approaching a wild animal, I took a couple of cautious steps closer to her. I wanted to take her into my arms and comfort her, the deep instinct inside responding to her stressed body language. Unsurprisingly, she took a couple of steps away from me before running into the footboard of my bed.
“I need you to just stay right there. I can’t think if you’re any closer to me.”
