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I put my hand over my mouth and opened my eyes wide. The bear’s gaze hadn’t wavered at all. How the heck was I going to fake a hiccup? I couldn’t remember the last time I had them.
I moved my shoulders up.
Bjorn furrowed his brow.
I did it again but with a little jump this time. And again.
“That’s making me think of some things, but they’re probably not what you’re doing.” His voice was husky.
Stephanie scrunched her face. “This one probably wasn’t such a good idea after all.”
“Oh.” I realized what I probably looked like.
“I’m stumped.” Bjorn ran his hand through his long blond hair. He had no right looking so good doing it. “And a little distracted, to be honest.”
“Get your mind out of the gutter. It’s hiccups.” My cheeks burned as I took a long sip of my wine.
“Sexiest hiccups I’ve ever seen,” Bjorn said, his voice low and far sexier than I would have preferred.
A knock on the door startled me. We were in the middle of Colorado Ranch Village, but ever since Bibi had asked me not to talk to my mom, I’d been looking over my shoulder. Suzanne would not take kindly to the cold shoulder I’d been giving her in my text messages. I told her that all contestants ofThe Mating Gamewere taken to an undisclosed location for the duration of their episode. It was only a matter of time before she did her homework, and my lie caught up with me.
As much as Bibi wanted me to cut her out completely, that would backfire.
Hugo poked his head inside the door. “Hope I’m not interrupting anything. I was heading back from HQ and figured I’d check if Bjorn was ready for a ride home.”
“And see Bibi,” I said under my breath.
Bjorn grinned at me, then rose from the couch. “Yeah, we can head back.”
“Already? We just got started.” I was about to suggest that Hugo could have a glass of wine and make a fool of himself playing charades, but then I noticed the dark smudges under his eyes. The wolf was probably working double time on account of this episode.
“Next time, you get to choose what we do.” Bjorn reached for my hand. “Come outside with me.”
I hadn’t bothered to put my coat on, and the night air had gotten noticeably sharper. “Did the two of you plan that, like I have my girlfriends text me in case I need a fake emergency to get out of a bad date?”
“Nope. I wasn’t sure how this night would end, but Hugo was supposed to be working at home tonight.” Bjorn tipped his head back. “And he’s on his way back from HQ. Makes me wonder if something’s up.”
“It’s weird that it’s not our problem, but then again, it is.” My mind was racing, trying to figure out what it was. “I hope my mom didn’t pull anything.”
“You can take the bear out of production, but you can’t take the production out of the bear.” Bjorn chuckled. “Guess that’s true for you, too.”
“I don’t want to mess this job up.”
“You won’t. You’re doing great.” He took both my hands in his. He was so warm, and it was on the tip of my tongue to say it. But before I had a chance, he bent down and pressed his lips to mine.
It wasn’t the ravenous kiss he’d surprised me with the night of the mating ceremony. This was gentler, sweeter, but it still made me melt into him. Like this bear was in for the long haul and how much it scared the hell out of me.
“I had a good time tonight,” he said when he drew away. “I can’t wait to see what you’ve got up your sleeve for our next date.” He winked at me when Hugo came out, and they walked to the car.
I barely noticed Bibi standing in the yard until the guys drove away.
Stephanie and Tina were in the doorway, saying goodnight.
“You did great tonight,” Tina said. “It’s not easy to go from behind the camera to in front of it, and you made it look flawless.”
“Once you’re done with your episode, we’ll have a true dream team. If only I could convince Stephanie to stay longer,” Bibi added.
“It’s strange to watch other people do our jobs,” I said as I sank into the couch. I could still smell Bjorn. Taste him on my lips.
