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Jack cleared his throat and looked at Hunter as he held up a picture. “I think that’s a great place to end with Kimber. Last one is Sarah.”
“Sarah and I didn’t get to talk a whole lot, but she has an interesting job, and I love that she’s originally from Montana. That’s another date I’m looking forward to.”
Rose leaned in and whispered, “You are terrible at keeping a neutral face, Kipton Howse.”
My head jerked to the left as I stared at her. “What?”
“Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me.”
“And me,” Winnie said quietly as she stood and headed out.
The room soon became a bustle of activity. I watched as everyone packed up all the equipment and started to make plans for tomorrow’s live show and first date.
“What did you mean?” I asked Rose. “About keeping my secret?”
She stared at me for a moment, then laughed. “We need to work on your game face.”
I rolled my eyes. “Was it that obvious?”
“Not here. Come on, I’ll drive you back up to Uncle Brock’s place.”
After gathering my things and making sure I was finished for the day, I followed Rose out to her Ford Bronco Sport.
“I love these! I want to get one,” I stated as I climbed in and buckled up.
“Highly recommend it. I love this color as well. It’s a mix of blue and gray. My favorite.”
Rose was soon driving down the small drive of the guesthouse, then turning onto the main road that ran through the entire Shaw Ranch.
Turning to look at me, Rose grinned from ear to ear and finally spoke. “You like him.”
A lump instantly formed in my throat, and I had to swallow a few times in order to even speak. Did I admit my feelings to Rose, or play dumb. I went with playing dumb. “I like who?”
She rolled her eyes. “Kipton, I have gone through every single interview you’ve ever done. I watched the pageants you were in, and I know you’re way smarter than you let on.”
I folded my arms over my chest. “How do you know that, exactly?”
With a side look in my direction, she laughed. “Because I know you graduated as valedictorian in high school. You’re one of the top in your entire class. The way you speak, the way you carry yourself, everything about you screams that you’re a strong, independent, smart woman. But I don’t think you even realize how you stare at Hunter.”
My mouth dropped open. “I don’t stare at him.”
“You do. And you frequently glance in his direction and smile. But I wasn’t entirely sure you liked him as more than a friend until he started talking about Kimber. I thought you were going to crack your jaw with how tightly you were clamping down on it. And your knuckles turned white from gripping the chair.”
I let out a humorless laugh. “I was not gripping the chair.”
Rose shook her head. “Winnie saw it too.”
Doing the only thing I knew to do, I looked away and stared out the window. There was no use denying it, and clearly Rose was on to me. “I find him attractive, that’s all. We’re friends. That’s it. It would be senseless for me to want anything more.”
“Why?” she asked.
I gave her a look. “He’s on a dating show, with twenty women, in case you forgot.”
“It’s hard to forget. I know they promised not to take over the whole ranch, but they’re doing a fine job of it anyway. And why film in the dead of freaking winter? Are they insane?”
Chuckling, I replied, “School break, and the ranch isn’t as busy now as it would be in the spring and summer.”
“That’s true. And two points to you for the nice change of subject, but seriously, maybe you should let Hunter know how you feel.”
