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Where washere? I followed the sound of his voice, stopping in my tracks as I walked through a doorway to discover thatherewas his bedroom. Light seeped in around the corners of dark curtains, revealing a large room with a king-sized bed in the center. And in the center of that bed was Garrett himself.
He sat up, leaned over, and turned on a lamp, illuminating the room. For a moment, all I could do was stare. He was wearing nothing as far as I could tell—though I could only see him from the waist up, a fluffy black duvet covering the rest of his body. Maybe I was letting my imagination get the best of me. Maybe he slept in thick pajama pants, but somehow, I didn’t think so.
“Good morning,” I managed, forcing a smile. “I brought you coffee.”
“You’re an angel,” he groaned. “I’ll take all the caffeine I can get.”
When he made no move to get out of bed, I entered the bedroom, walking toward the bed with the coffee extended. As soon as he took it, I backed away, wondering what to do next.
Garrett rubbed his eyes and ran a hand through his wavy hair, making it stand on end. Holy shit, he was so damn sexy in the mornings that I almost couldn’t think. Why was I here again? Oh yeah, the Contention.
I cleared my throat. “We have a meeting this morning.”
“Oh, shit,” he said, smacking his forehead. “I’m so sorry. It totally slipped my mind. I was up late; didn’t sleep very well.”
My mind immediately jumped to wondering what he’d been doing up so late. Had he brought one of the women back to his apartment? It certainly wouldn’t be unheard of. It was bound to happen at some point, right? And he’d told me he was going to try harder—he’d definitely been friendly and charming at all the meals he’d attended over the past couple of days, spending lots of time talking with each of the girls.
Don’t be ridiculous, I reprimanded myself. While Garrett wasn’t a stranger to women—a fact everyone knew—he wasn’t the type who just brought people back to his place. Well, not that I knew of. And even if he had, it was none of my business. I shouldn’t care at all what he did in his free time.
“It’s fine,” I said, dropping my gaze to my notes, hoping he didn’t notice my flaming cheeks in the lamplight. “Shall we get down to business, then?”
“By all means.” He took a long drag of his coffee, watching me over the rim of the cup. “What’s on the agenda?”
“I wanted to keep you updated on the schedule. Over the next four days, the women will continue participating in classes and training every day, including the weekend, this time around—though that won’t always be the case. We’ll have our first competition on Monday, and you’ll be required to eliminate someone.”
He nodded, still watching me as he drank his coffee. “Sounds good.”
I cleared my throat. “Now, there’s no rush to get rid of anyone. We aren’t on any particular time schedule if you’d like to take your time getting to know them. You can choose to do elimination only after every competition, or…” I hesitated, a sour taste in my mouth.
“Or what?”
“Or you can let them go after the dates. Though you don’t have to,” I rushed to add. I wasn’t in any hurry for him to get to the end of the Contention, though I didn’t want to think about why. “I actually came to discuss the option of scheduling the first date for tomorrow night.”
The women had been here for three nights now and would be antsy to get more time with Garrett on a more personal level than meals in the dining hall.
Garrett set his coffee down on his black wooden nightstand, leaned back against the many pillows on his bed, and laced his fingers behind his head. I tried to ignore the way his muscles rippled with the movement.
He stared at me, saying nothing for what felt like forever. His expression was unreadable, giving me no insight into what he was thinking. I shifted my weight, biting on my bottom lip.
“Why are you not saying anything?” I finally blurted out.
One corner of his mouth lifted in amusement, and he shrugged then sat up. “Just trying to figure out what’s going on in that pretty head of yours. You’re welcome, by the way. For the flowers.”
My mouth dropped open. I hadn’t said anything because I didn’t know what to say, afraid it would spark the conversation about the kiss that I’d do well to permanently erase from my memory.
“Thank you,” I mumbled, looking down and flipping mindlessly through the papers on my clipboard, not seeing a single word. When I looked back up, he was grinning.
He sat up once more. “Did you have something in mind for the date?”
“Yes, actually, though you can change it if you want. I thought you could choose around five women to have a cooking-type date. Only something simple, like learning to make your own sushi rolls.” I’d thought he’d like the combination of a unique activity that would double as dinner. It was something I personally would like to do, so the contestants would probably like it as well.
Garrett cocked his head. “That sounds… fun, actually.”
I laughed. “Don’t sound so surprised. I have your best interests at heart, remember? I’m not trying to punish you here. I want you to enjoy yourself.”
That much was true, even if I was struggling with the idea of him doing it with other women.
“Okay.” I clapped my hands together. “It’s settled then, for tomorrow night?”
