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I’d put my own feelings aside. It wasn’t about finding someone I could happily spend the rest of my life with. Selecting a mate was a political move at its core.
To my dismay, I’d barely seen Jessica. She’d been present at meals but was always busy, running around with her clipboard and talking into her headset. Whenever I tried to steal a moment alone with her, she always had some excuse about how she was busy planning the next competition or working on upcoming events for the pack.
I was starting to think she was avoiding me, and I couldn’t blame her. I had a hard time not watching her constantly whenever she was around. If I wasn’t careful, others might start to notice. Still, I missed our easy conversation and witty banter. Without her to laugh and joke around with, my life had been reduced to one boring meal after another.
Three days after our night together, I awoke to a knock on my bedroom door. Before I could say anything, the door swung open, and Jessica walked in, not even looking my way as she referenced her ever-present clipboard. My gaze raked over her body, taking in the way her simple black dress clung to her curves. Curves I remembered all too well. My fingers itched to reach out and pull her into my bed, but she kept a careful distance from me, all business.
“You have a group date this afternoon,” she informed me. “At breakfast, I’d like for you to select three women to bring along for lunch and an afternoon on the grounds.”
I arched a brow, my lips quirking up in a teasing smile. “Are you actually going to plan this one, or do I need to put something together on my own?”
She looked up from her clipboard, meeting my eyes for the first time. “I’ve taken care of it.”
“Too bad. The last time I planned my date, it turned out even better than I expected.”
“Garrett…” There was a warning tone in her voice, but her cheeks turned pink, and I couldn’t help but smile at that, knowing she wasn’t completely unaffected by what happened between us.
I tossed the covers off and stood from bed, dressed only in my boxer briefs. When I caught her looking, I grinned. “How should I dress for this date?”
Her eyes lingered on my body for a few seconds before she gave herself a visible shake and jerked her gaze back to mine. “Casual is fine.”
“What, no balls today?”
She blinked, momentarily at a loss for words, and I laughed, knowing where her mind had gone.
I made atsking sound, even though I’d known exactly what I was doing. “Whatever are you thinking, Jessica? I meant that I was really looking forward to wearing my tux.”
She laughed in spite of herself, and the sound made me feel lighter than I had in days. “You’re bad, Garrett.”
I wiggled my eyebrows, and she shook her head. “Stop it,” she said, though she was still smiling. “You’ll be playing beach volleyball and having a picnic.”
“Beach volleyball?” I grinned. “You remembered.”
“It’s my job to know what you like, Garrett.” Giving me a pointed, no-nonsense look, she turned and left my room, calling over her shoulder, “See you at breakfast.”
It was the longest conversation we’d had in days, and I was ridiculously pleased that I’d made her laugh.
At breakfast, I decided to invite Hayley, Jasmine, and Ashley based on Holden’s recommendations. I hadn’t gotten to know them as well as some of the others, and I figured it would be a good time to remedy that. Jessica instructed us to meet outside on the south lawn at one o’clock.
The setup was nice when I arrived at the beach, and I could tell Jessica had taken extra care with it. Not only was a volleyball net set up, but there were tents providing shade, luxurious reclining lawn chairs, an elegant buffet of fruits and light appetizers, as well as a bar. Assistants and servers dressed in white linen were interspersed around the court, the servers walking around with trays of cocktails and sparkling water.
I recalled the conversation Jess and I had before the Contention began about how I wanted the dates to be full of activity, and she’d definitely pulled through with this one. While she’d been right earlier—it was her job to know what I liked and plan dates accordingly—it made me feel good that she’d gone to so much trouble to create a date I really wanted.
“Good afternoon, ladies. Garrett.” Jessica gave us all a friendly smile, though she looked away from me quickly, focusing on the contestants. “Here’s how today’s date will work.”
She went on to explain that we would play volleyball two to a team, switching things up to give me time with each woman. The point was to see how well I could work together with each pairing, though she didn’t mention that part aloud. It was a well-thought-out plan that I could get behind, though I wished I had the chance to see Jessica participate in the sport rather than simply overseeing it.
“Help yourself to appetizers and drinks,” she said. “You can begin playing whenever you like. After, there will be a picnic set up near the beach. Does anyone have any questions?”
She looked at us expectantly, and when no one said anything, she clapped her hands together. “Great. I’m going to go check on the picnic. The assistants can help with anything you need.”
I watched as she disappeared down a path, disappointed she was leaving already. Turning to the women, I offered them a smile. “Shall we begin with a toast?”
They enthusiastically agreed, and the date got underway. For the first half hour, I made a point of really getting to know the women. Jessica thought I wasn’t taking anything seriously? Well, I’d show her I could do a great job at anything when I set my mind to it.
We worked our way through a bottle of champagne as Hayley, Ashley, and Jasmine told me about their respective lives back on their pack lands, and then it was time for the game to begin.
I paired off with Hayley first in a two-on-two game of beach volleyball then rotated through the other girls. It was fun getting to participate in one of my favorite sports, but I couldn’t help but look for Jessica from time to time throughout the afternoon, hoping she’d see just how much effort I was putting into this. She only reappeared once, though, to take us to the picnic after we’d finished playing volleyball.
