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Keaton decided the best thing to do would be to get this over with as quickly as possible. He stripped down to his underwear—really, heneverwore pajamas—and flicked off all the lights, except the lamp right next to the bed. Then he got under the covers and rolled so he was facing the wall. That way August could get in behind him and keep as much distance as she felt comfortable with.
He tried to fall asleep, but his mind was sharp and wired as though his body was plugged into an infinite energy source. Facing the wall, he couldn’t see August when she climbed into bed beside him, but he felt the shift of the bed and the rustle of the sheets. He smelled the sweet fruity lotion on her skin and heard the soft, tense sound of her breath as she tried to get comfortable beside him.
Ignore everything. Do not react. Do not move. Play dead.
But Keaton’s mind was alight. His head was filled with flickering images of August standing in the bathroom, peeling the clothes from her skin, revealing the curves that she said others didn’t appreciate. He imagined her fair skin and long, red hair and the flush in her cheeks.
It was a damn good thing he wasn’t lying on his back or else he’d be tenting the sheets.
Forcing himself to stare into the darkness, he remained still as a statue, not daring to move. Barely daring to breathe. He waited for the tension to ease in the air and the body next to him to melt into slumber. Only then could he even contemplate drifting off himself. Something told him the next few days were going to be far more difficult than he could have anticipated. Difficult in ways he never expected.
Because in that moment, he wanted the one thing he couldn’t allow himself to want...
Her.
The following morning, August’s body was so stiff it felt like she’d gone to the gym for the first time in years. Turned out doing your best impression of a log for eight hours straight was quite hard on the muscles. Or was it more like an impression of a hot dog?
Stop thinking about phallic objects.
Shaking her head, she strode through the retreat’s large hall where everyone was currently having breakfast, looking for either Scout or Isla. Molly was back in the room, having already enjoyed a breakfast of gourmet homemade dog food that was supplied to each contestant. The plan was to listen to an opening address from Isla about how day one was going to work, and then they would go back and collect Molly for the first lot of activities.
August’s idea to wake up early and run through some training exercises with Keaton had fallen by the wayside when he’d gotten up to shower and she’d pretended to still be asleep in order to preserve her sanity. She glanced back to where he was sitting, looking as though he’d slept about as well as she had. His dark hair was sticking up on one side and his jaw was coated in a wonderful shadow of stubble that gave him a dark edge and made his green eyes look even brighter. It seemed he’d already caught the attention of some female attendees, and two women had sat themselves down beside him, smiles wide and inviting.
It was almost disgusting how easily he attracted the opposite sex—and sometimes the same sex—and yet he seemed to make no effort at all. Meanwhile August felt like she had to comb, tweeze, wax, primp and pray her way into a compliment. It was patently unfair.
The hall was filled with long communal-style tables in the middle and a strip of trestle tables with breakfast foods on either side. They had a great selection, including three different types of toast, eggs that were soft and fluffy, bacon, homemade granola, yogurt and even a TIY—top it yourself—pancake station. But August’s love of the most important meal of the day was currently stifled by her need to figure out where she was going to be sleeping the next few nights.
She spotted a familiar face across the room. “Isla!”
Her friend and fellow businesswoman looked up, smiling and waving. Isla’s dark hair was pulled back into a sleek yet bouncy ponytail and her blue eyes were enhanced by expertly applied makeup. She wore a blue dress with white roses all over it and looked, as always, like a million bucks.
“You’re so glamorous.” August pressed a hand to her chest. “Ilovethat dress.”
“Thanks. I bought myself a few new pieces knowing this was all going to be filmed.” Isla laughed and she sounded a little anxious. “Dear lord, please let this go well!”
August immediately felt guilty for bothering her friend with such a trivial problem when it was clear she was already stressed-out. But if she had any hope of getting through the next few days without losing her mind, she couldn’t be sleeping next to Keaton each night. As it was, she’d sneaked a peek of him coming out of the bathroom shirtless, with a pair of jeans slung low on his hips, and water dotting his skin. If that image wasn’t enough to fuel her self-love sessions for the rest of her life, she didn’t know what was.
Which part of “off-limits” is not getting through your thick skull?
Never mind the fact that she was supposed to be lusting after the guy who was a much better match for her: Asher Benson. And yet, mysteriously, he had not once entered her mind since she arrived here last night.
“I’m sure it will go amazingly. This is such an exciting opportunity.” August looked around the room, catching a glimpse of a tall guy with a big camera hefted onto his shoulders following a woman with a microphone. “Excited to see your face on television?”
“Ack, don’t remind me.” Isla buried her face in her hands for a moment, before realizing that she shouldn’t mess up her makeup and pulling out a compact from her pocket to double-check everything was in place. “You know me, I’m all about that ‘behind the scenes’ action. Never once have I wanted to be the subject of anyone’s attention.”
Understandable, since the entire catalyst for Isla starting her own agency had been a viral video that ousted her from her job and the entire social media industry for a while. If August thought the video of her bad date was bad, it wasnothingcompared to what Isla had gone through.
“This will do such amazing things for your business.” August reached out and squeezed her friend’s arm. “You’re killing it, girl. It’s inspiring.”
“That really means a lot coming from you. I so admire what you’ve built with your grooming business.” Isla’s shoulders dropped a little and a smile brightened her face. “How’s everything going? Did you sleep well last night?”
“Uhh...about that,” August said, but before she could launch into her request, a woman August guessed was the producer approached Isla and completely butted in to the conversation.
“If we want to stick to the schedule, we’ll need to start the morning address now,” the woman said, a commanding, no-nonsense attitude radiating in the air around her.
“Sorry, August, I have to take a minute to prep for the welcome speech.” Isla was back to looking anxious again. “But let’s catch up later, okay? There’s a fun trivia evening on the schedule for all the contestants tonight, but Scout and I were planning to slip off for a quiet dinner in our suite. You should join us.”
Oh, a suite! Maybe she could bunk in with her friends.
