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“I don’t know,” Snow said. “I’m sorry it’s come to this.”
Carter inhaled. The line between his brows deepened. He frowned at the carpet, bobbing his head. “Me too. It was nice getting to know you.”
“And you,” she said, taking his hand. “You know, if you’re interested, I’d be happy to set you up with a friend of mine.” Juliet had said she was attracted to Eric, but she might like Carter better, considering Eric’s behavior on the date they’d had.
He waved this off as well. “I’ll fend for myself, thanks. I never did like the idea of blind dates.”
“Me neither,” Snow said, matching his attempt at a smile. “I don’t know anyone who does.”
The two of them laughed, and then Carter stood and pulled Snow into a hug. She buried her face in his chest, holding him tightly, hoping to convey how sad she was with this embrace. When she broke away, Carter trailed a hand over her cheek.
“You’re a beautiful person, Snow, inside and out.”
“Thank you,” she said. “As are you. Goodbye, Carter.”
“Goodbye.”
Snow had no desire to go anywhere near the pool again, but she found Marcos headed in that direction in a pair of surf trunks, with his chest bare, and a towel strung across his shoulders. She shared essentially the same parting words with him as well, apologizing that they’d never had the opportunity for a date.
“I would have loved that with you,” Marcos said in his accent, giving her his contagious smile. She wondered if he was ever upset, with how bright of an attitude he seemed to constantly maintain.
“I would have too. I wish you all the best, Marcos.”
“And you,” he said, opening his hands, lowering his head, and raising his brows as if asking if it would be okay to hug her.
Snow smiled and folded herself against his chest, inhaling the scent of sunscreen on his torso. She patted his bare skin a few times before pulling away and was surprised to find a tear streaming from Marcos’s eye. She lifted a finger to wipe it away.
“You are a bright light to everyone you meet,” she told him. “I hope you never lose your charisma.”
“Yes, and you.” He patted her shoulder. “So it ends tonight?”
“Tonight,” she said. “I’ll be giving out my last apple and I wanted you to be prepared.”
“Thoughtful,” he said. “Thank you, Snow. Thank you for this opportunity. It has been amazing.”
“It wasn’t me,” she said. She couldn’t take any credit for whatever experience he’d had on the show. She hadn’t had the chance to date him. None of this had turned out as she’d hoped. Now that she knew what Preston was really like, she wished she’d put him off in favor of someone sweet like Marcos. She supposed it was too late now.
“I wouldn’t have had it be anyone else. Good things to you, Snow.”
“And you, Marcos.”
He grinned again before stalking the rest of the way to the pool for his swim.
The conversation with Judd went much the same. He’d suspected the letdown was coming—since she hadn’t paid much attention to him after their date and their kiss—which made her feel even more wretched that she hadn’t said anything to him sooner.
“I wish I felt more than I do,” she told him honestly.
“Don’t worry your sweet heart about it,” Judd said, brushing his thumb across her jaw.
A glance toward the resort’s gym windows showed the final person she’d been hoping to run into. It would be best to have the news be a surprise—and under any other circumstances, she would have had it be that way. But Clayton would understand. Like the others, he deserved to know what to expect on the show that night.
“I thought I’d find you here,” Snow said, stepping into the gym. Clayton was at the weights, pumping a set toward his torso repeatedly and showcasing the muscles in his biceps and shoulders.
“Hey, there,” he said, lowering the weights. He set them back onto the rack and wiped his forehead with the towel sitting close by. “You working out? I’ll join you on the treadmill again.”
“Actually, I’d like to talk to you about something.”
“Anything.”
