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“I’ve been watching you, Jessica,” he murmured. “You take your job very seriously. That’s something I can appreciate.”
When I looked up, there was a teasing glint in his eyes, a slight curve to his lips. I waited for a heartbeat. Two. Wondering if I could be interested in this man. But the feel of his hands on my waist, the caress of his breath, and even the flirtatious look on his face did nothing. Ifeltnothing. Instead, I just wished that I was with Garrett instead.
“I do,” I replied, pulling back slightly, but I couldn’t go far when we were in the middle of a dance. I offered him a smile and changed the conversation back to him and the work he was doing with Holden.
As soon as the song ended, I moved to return to the table right after. Ryker was definitely interested, but I was being truthful with Kayden earlier. I didn’t have a lot of time to think about dating right now.
We stayed a bit longer, everyone having another round of drinks, and then we all piled into the vehicles waiting to take us back to the estate. By the time I made it back to my room, I was a little unsteady and still pretty buzzed, but I decided to pour myself one more glass of wine. I didn’t have to be up early tomorrow, so why not?
Just as I started toward my bedroom to change, there was a familiar knock at the door. I hesitated, not sure I wanted to deal with anything else tonight, but I’d missed the competition and wanted to know how it went.
Grabbing another glass and filling it with wine, I walked to the door and let Garrett in, holding out the second glass for him.
“Were you waiting up for me?” he teased as he took the glass. “How thoughtful.”
“I figured I’d give you your own, so you didn’t steal mine tonight.”
“Thanks.” He took the glass from me then walked in and sat on the couch with a sigh. “What a night.”
I sat beside him. “How did it go?”
“Other than having to watch the competition with Willow, you mean?” He shook his head. “She’s not nearly as fun as you. No interesting commentary, way too focused on the facts and can’t take a joke to save her life. I missed having you with me. Can I just say I’m immensely glad that you’re the coordinator now and not her?”
I giggled, the wine going to my head. “Glad you recognize.”
He laughed. “So, you had a fun night out, it seems.”
“It was good to get away for a bit, yes. But I want to hear about the competition. Tell me everything.”
“It was intense. Really cutthroat. Way more than the first one. I guess the girls are really starting to take it seriously. Reagan won, but just barely. The obstacle course was wild. Did you come up with the layout?”
“Yeah, that was me,” I said, pride swelling. The obstacle course had been inspired by a capture-the-flag-style competition from Holden’s Contention. It had been set up in the woods, with many surprises, traps, and obstacles around every corner, designed to physically and mentally challenge the women.
He nodded. “I figured. So, after the competition, I hung around to chat with some of the girls—I thought you’d appreciate that.”
I should have, but irrational jealousy speared my chest. Things were getting real. There were only ten more women, which meant it was time he got serious about his selections. But that also meant the end was getting closer with every elimination, and where would that leave me and Garrett?
Doesn’t matter, I reminded myself.He was never yours to begin with. That didn’t make it any easier to stomach, though.
“How did that go?” I forced myself to ask.
He shrugged. “It’s hard to take any of them seriously as a mate. I’ve started thinking of some of them as a good fit for the council, but just having a normal conversation feels so forced. It’s more like I’m conducting job interviews than finding potential love interests, which I suppose is what I’ve been doing.”
He dropped his head back on the couch with a sigh. “Mya even said tonight that she was in love with me. Can you believe that?” He laughed. “I’ve never even been alone with her. And then there’s Jasmine. She’s acting like we’re already together. Tonight, she mentioned that she already had her kids’ names picked out, and that I better get on board with it because she wasn’t changing her mind.”
Garrett lifted his head and gave me an incredulous look. “Can you believe that? I haven’t even considered if kids are in my future—I’ve literally never thought of it before—and here she is, planning it all out in her mind. I thought I understood women, but I was dead wrong.”
I laughed at that. “That’s pretty crazy.” I nudged him with my shoulder then rested a hand on his arm. “But we aren’t all like that.”
He arched a brow at me. “Let’s hope not.”
“What else? Surely your night wasn’t all bad.”
He went still, his gaze dropping to my hand. I hadn’t even realized I’d started stroking him softly, but now that I was touching him, I didn’t want to stop.
“What’s wrong?” I leaned in a little closer, breathing him in.
“How much have you had to drink?”
