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He dropped to one knee in front of her and took her hands in his. Snow was taken aback, uncertain what he meant by this. He wasn’t attempting to propose to her here, now, during the first episode, was he? Because he’d find himself thoroughly rejected—probably not something he wanted.
She was tempted to withdraw her hand when Preston shook curls from his eyes and began to sing. His voice was deep and soulful and impressed her despite her increasing dislike of him.
“My secret is in the depths of me,
Hidden away in a rush.
That secret begs its way to you,
Letting you know of this crush.
He pounded a fist to his heart at the wordcrush. Snow’s lips cracked, and she glanced at the other six men scowling or looking incredulously at Preston’s dramatics. Preston went on, rising to his feet but keeping Snow’s hand in his.
Truth is a harder thing to confess,he sang, taking a few exuberant dance steps.
But I can’t keep this to myself.
If there’s anything I want to eat right now,
It’s mangoes on my shelf.”
Snow couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped at this vocal, melodic admission. Laughter ricocheted from the audience behind her as well. The other contestants gathered around Preston now. Several had their arms folded, though Marcos clapped at the confession of mangoes being Preston’s favorite food and the cowboy, Judd, tipped his hat in Preston’s direction.
“Last of all, I owe you one wish,
If it could share what’s in my heart.
I want nothing more than to be with you,
And to give our life together a start.”
Preston ended his chorus with a soulful warble and a dashing smile. Coined with his curly hair and puppy-dog brown eyes, Snow had to admit, her previous frustration with him quickly vanished. In fact, she’d turned slightly gooey inside. He stood across from her, a little breathless, hope glinting in his expression.
She wasn’t quite sure what to say. “That was kind of adorable,” she began.
He grinned, all white teeth and winsome looks. “Thank you.”
Snow went on. “I have to say, that took some guts to do on live TV. Not to mention some practice. You were right on pitch.”
“I only practiced it a thousand times.” He ran a hand through his curls again. He was even taller than she’d realized. And leggy, as though he’d been stretched. He had a confident posture, though, and that was appealing.
Anticipation brewed, and Snow considered. How could she reject him after that? Chances were, every man in this room was nervous about meeting her tonight and having to bare his soul and secret and truth to a live audience from the get-go. She’d give Preston a chance to redeem himself.
Lifting her chin, Snow reached into her basket and handed him the first apple she came into contact with. Cheers broke out in the audience, but the thing that really got her was the handsome definition of Preston’s smile and the way it lit his eyes beneath his curls.
Snow didn’t want to dwell on him too much, not when so many others still had their offerings to give. She smiled and turned back to Carter, who had shrunk back to the sidelines. “Did you have something you wanted to tell me?”
His shoulders slightly hunched, Carter angled his head and adjusted his glasses again. “Yeah, though I don’t see how I can top that.”
“Give it a try,” Judd said in his cowboy hat from behind, giving Carter a shove in Snow’s direction.
Carter’s cheeks turned pink, and in spite of herself, Snow wanted to help him.
“Why don’t you start with your truth?” she said kindly. “That might be easiest. What’s your truth?”
“Family is everything,” Carter said without hesitation. “That’s my truth. I wouldn’t be where I am if it wasn’t for the support of my family.”
“I love that,” Snow said, and several of the other men bobbed their heads in agreement. “It’s a truth for me too. Since I don’t much care for mangoes, that’s something you and I can see eye to eye on.” She winked at him and then through the recurring laughter gave Preston a smile. He needed a small dose of humility, after all. And that was one of her truths—mangoes were not her favorite.
