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“I will be. I think we need to show this bully they can’t win. You’re right about publicizing everything. That will make a big difference and probably help the show’s ratings too, which I know Mr. Bradley is going for.”
“You keep talking about him like you know him personally,” Lily said. “Calling him Mr. Bradley sounds like a cover-up.”
Snow grew exasperated. “Nothing is going on with him!”
Lily remained unconvinced. “Yet, he seems pretty personally invested in you. How old is he? What’s his first name?”
Snow’s cheeks scorched. Where was all this heat coming from? “His name is Hunter Bradley. He’s in his early thirties, maybe.”
“Not bad. What does he look like?”
“He’s—handsome,” Snow said. The scorching, locking, ensnaring, can’t-look-away, quicksand kind of handsome. She thought again of the way he’d watched her during their conversation. He had been keen on her. He’d fixated his warm brown eyes on her, and his attention only intensified as the conversation continued.
It’d only been because he was concerned for her safety. She hadn’t thought anything more of it. Until now. Thanks a lot, Lily.
Lily’s grin grew. “I get it.”
“Get what?”
“You and Hunter Bradley,” she taunted.
“Will you stop? He’s not one of the contestants. He’s a security guard. He owns the show. That’s all.” How many times did Snow need to say it?
Lily’s smirk didn’t leave her face. “Just because he’s not a contestant, doesn’t mean he’s not up for grabs.”
Snow shook her head, wishing she could shake away the storm coalescing in her midsection as easily. “I don’t know anything about him. I’m focusing on Carter, on Eric and Clayton and Marcos. They’re my potential Prince Charmings.”
“Whatever you say. But if Hunter Bradley is gorgeous and wants to protect you, sounds like the kind of man I’d want on my side. Did I ever tell you about the time Henrik confronted my ex? He was brutal and so confident. He radiated masculinity and made me feel more valued than I ever had before. You want a guy like that, Snow.”
“I’ll find him,” she said. Even if it didn’t happen here on the show… Then again, that was the agreement, wasn’t it? That she would find her true love here? Preston and Judd hadn’t panned out—but there was still time to get to know the others.
“How is wedded life?” Snow asked. Lily gushed on and on about how gallant Prince Henrik was, how they were turning the wishing well behind his castle home into a national monument and how she struggled to keep up with everything it took to oversee castle staff.
“It’s a good thing Henrik’s mom is around to help me,” Lily said. “I still have so much to learn.”
“Sounds like you’re getting there, though.”
Snow’s phone pinged with another message from Eloise. She glanced briefly at it before turning her attention to her friend.
“Hey, it looks like Eloise and Mr. Bradley want to meet with me, and I’m assuming it’s about the threats. I’ll be in touch, okay?”
“Oh,Hunter Bradleywants to meet with you?”
“Shut up.”
Lily laughed. “Okay, good to chat with you. You stay safe, got it?”
“I will. Thanks, Lily.”
Snow ended the call and placed her phone on her knee, staring at the black TV screen at the other end of her suite’s seating area. Lily’s taunts rampaged through her mind. Hunter Bradley couldn’t possibly be into her, could he? He was only looking out for her wellbeing. Yet, the idea that he could be secretly admiring her made her stomach somersault.
“It doesn’t matter,” she told herself. “It’s just her speculation, that’s all.”
From Eloise’s message, it sounded like they were prepping to shoot an interview that would be shared intermittently throughout the week about the show’s progress.
Snow got dolled up, dressed in an ice-blue blouse, fitted jeans, and silver heels. It seemed the studio wanted to play up the silver in her hair and her proclivity for cool colors, which Snow didn’t mind in the least.
Hector stopped in her room for the last few minutes she spent preparing. Just before going out into the hall, she gave him a thumbs up, opened the door—and stopped.
