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JESSICA
There wasn’t a lot I could do to spruce up the large council room, but I was trying my best. Two days from now, the council would convene, and I’d arranged to have a meet and greet for the remaining contestants. Three of them would be working closely with the existing council members in the not too distant future. It would be good for Garrett to see how the women interacted with the council, as well as for the contestants to see how things worked on a more intimate level.
Only seven of them were left since Garrett had sent Ashely home last night after his date. I was irritated he’d dismissed someone else without telling me, but more than that, the fact we had less than half of the original contestants left meant this Contention was winding down at an alarmingly rapid rate.
Before I knew it, Garrett would have to choose his mate, and that would leave us… well, I didn’t know where that would leave us. There were so many things I wanted to say to him, so much I wanted to ask. It was hard to believe my feelings were one-sided, but he hadn’t indicated differently. Maybe he just thought of me as a good friend. One he’d slept with, but a friend, nonetheless.
On more than one occasion, I’d worried about how things would be between us once this all ended. The flirting, the teasing, and even casually hanging out in the evenings would have to stop. He couldn’t be mated to another woman and spend this much time with me.
I tried to focus on my task at hand—coming up with a new arrangement for the council room to accommodate the meet and greet—but my stomach was in knots as I wondered about Garrett’s date last night. It must have gone well since he didn’t come to see me afterwards. That should have made me happy. I liked Reagan and thought she might be a good choice for the council. Instead, it only made me sad.
Garrett and I had put together a pretty spectacular date—I’d checked it out personally before he and Reagan arrived—but I couldn’t shake off that I wasn’t the woman on this date with him. That was ridiculous to think, of course. But I hadn’t been very rational lately when it came to him.
Sighing, I moved some chairs around, trying out several options. I could definitely spruce the place up with some greenery. Nothing too fancy since this was a formal room where laws and politics were handled, but it was so drab with the dark wood-paneled walls, wooden floors, and wooden chairs. Monochromatic, but not in a good way. I wondered if anyone would object to some fresh art or colorful rugs.
“There you are. I was looking all over for you.”
I spun at the sound of Garrett’s voice. My heart beat faster at the sight of him standing in the doorway. He was dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt that hugged his biceps, and his hair was a bit messy, the waves falling over his forehead.
“Yep, here I am. Just trying to figure out the seating arrangement for the council event on Saturday.” I turned back to my work, referencing a diagram on my clipboard, but was hyper-aware of him as he strolled across the room. “Did you need something?”
He sat in one of the chairs, stretching his legs out and crossing them at the ankles. “I just wanted to check in with you about my date last night.”
“Oh?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear, but it was my job. “How did it go?”
“Great, actually.”
I paused, keeping my gaze trained on the paper. Great? He hadn’t been looking forward to the one-on-one dates, and now he thought it was great? My chest tightened, and I had to swallow against a lump in my throat.
“That’s good to hear,” I managed to say.
I could feel his gaze on me as he said, “Yeah. I was pleasantly surprised. Reagan has a good head on her shoulders. I think she might be a nice addition to the council.”
I cleared my throat, still not looking at him as I started moving chairs around again. “What makes you say that?”
“Well, she talked about how she’d like to help bring about changes, and a lot of her thoughts seemed in line with what Holden and I are hoping for. She also made me an offer that I’m seriously considering.” He paused, and when I didn’t say anything, he said, “She wants to make a deal for me to take her to the end of the Contention.”
I froze, nearly dropping my clipboard. “What?”
Garrett stood, taking the clipboard from me and gazing at the diagram. “Here, let me help you.”
He started moving chairs around, but I was still trying to process what he’d said. A deal to take her to the end? “You mean she wants you to choose her as your mate?”
“Basically, yeah. But the best thing about it is that it’s politically motivated. She’s not interested in love… she just wants the position.”
That knocked me out of my stupor. “Really?” I turned to Garrett. “That… wasn’t what I expected you to say. Are you sure you can trust her? The last thing we want is another Sydnee on our hands.”
“I agree.” He continued arranging chairs while I just stood and watched, freaking out a little on the inside. This was the first time he’d shown interest in any of the women. The fact that he was now—with Sydnee’s sister of all people—was cause for concern, even if Reagan seemed nothing like Sydnee.
“But I don’t think that’s how things are,” he added. “She thinks the best way to get her father on our side is for her to make it to the end. And I have to say, it makes sense. Markus can’t hold a grudge about one daughter when I’ve chosen his other to be my mate.”
Hearing those words on his lips made me feel nauseous. This was getting too real. I made a noncommittal noise, not sure I trusted myself to speak.
“I need to give it some thought, for sure. But the more I think about it, the better it sounds. Besides, she isn’t really interested in me—it’s the position she wants.”
“She said that?” That was odd. Weren’t most of the women trying to get Garrett to fall for him? Yet Reagan was telling him she only wanted to win for the position?
Garrett nodded. “She did. It was kind of refreshing, actually. After all the others who’ve fawned over me to the point of it being ridiculous, her honesty is quite nice.”
