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“Oh,” I said with a smile. “So, Kimber and Sarah are in this first batch.”
Something moved over Kipton’s face, but it was gone before I could decide what it was. “I guess so. I take it you like them both?”
My hand went to the back of my neck. For some reason, despite just telling Blayze we were just friends, it felt strange to talk to Kipton about the other women. I rubbed the tension that had instantly started, and decided to listen to the warning bells going off in my head. “I think they’re both nice.”
“Nice?” she asked with a raised brow. “I think the word you were looking for was ‘attractive,’ maybe?”
Something inside me was screaming to change the subject. How, though? This was literally our jobs. That was how I’d been looking at this whole dating experiment so far, actually. As a job. “They just seem…nice,” I repeated lamely.
Kipton frowned, and she acted like she wanted to say something, but she pressed her mouth into a tight line instead, turning to face the busy crew.
“Kipton! You’re on in seven minutes,” someone shouted.
Without so much as looking in my direction, she said, “Well, I hope you get the two dates you want this week.”
Before I could say anything, or ask why she suddenly seemed so cold, Kipton walked away. She was soon surrounded by Winnie, who was fussing with her sweater in the back, and Tricia, who handed Kipton lip gloss, or something for her lips, before sweeping a brush over her cheeks.
I watched as Kipton pursed her lips and applied the gloss, and couldn’t help but wonder what it would feel like to kiss her. What she would taste like…
It was as if she felt me staring, because she looked up and our eyes met.
I quickly looked away and spotted the girls making their way into the barn. Hay bales with blankets on them had been placed strategically for them to sit on, behind where Kipton and I would be standing. A few of the girls smiled and waved at me as they entered. Sarriah, the fitness instructor from Nashville—and the one woman in the group who truly scared me—waved her fingers before blowing me a kiss. I had a feeling if I was left in a room alone with her, she’d turn positively feral. It was something about the look in her eyes that gave me the heebie jeebies.
Giving her a nervous smile, I turned my back on the women, lifted my cowboy hat off my head, and ran my fingers through my hair.
Before I knew it, it was nearly time to go live. I stood off to the side and listened to Jack count down. My eyes landed on Kipton, and I watched as she smiled and went to work on effortlessly capturing the hearts of viewers. Based on comments from the show’s blog, people loved her. At least, that was what Winnie told me. After Jack and Kipton pointed out the blog, I’d tried to read it once myself, but between the comments about what female viewers wanted to do to me, and what male viewers were saying about Kipton, I vowed to never look again.
Everyone was quiet, and the red light on the camera came on, indicating the show was live.
“Welcome back to Swipe Right! I don’t know about you, but based on what I saw during those interviews, it looks like Hunter might have a few favorites already.”
“What?” I whispered as my head snapped to look at Kipton. “What the fuck is that about?”
“She’s reading from the prompter. Last-minute. Travis wanted it.”
Turning, I looked at Paul. He wasn’t filming Kipton’s part, it was some other guy named Frank.
“Why?” I asked quietly.
Paul shrugged. “Who knows why Travis does what he does?”
I narrowed my eyes as I searched the crowd and found Travis sitting in the back, a smile on his face.
Kiption continued, “Are you ready to get our first date going? In just a minute, I’ll invite Hunter out and he’ll watch with bated breath as I draw out a name first, then a date. Even I don’t know what kind of adventure awaits Hunter and the women, so we’ll all get to watch this unfold together!”
I wanted to groan.
“So without making you wait a second longer, let’s bring out our bachelor.” Kipton turned and looked directly at me. “Hunter, won’t you join me?”
Inhaling deeply, I slowly let out the breath and made my way to the small X that was placed to Kipton’s left.
I gave her a brief hug and a kiss on the cheek—which hadn’t been scripted, so why the hell I did it was beyond me. Kipton tensed for a split second before going on as if nothing happened.
“How does it feel to be standing in your family’s barn, on the Shaw cattle ranch, shooting a live show, and about to go on a date that you have no idea with who and where you’ll be going? And let’s not forget, the cameras are going along with you.”
I smiled and let out a soft laugh. “I’m not going to lie, it’s a little strange. Mom, if you’re watching, please turn off the TV.”
Kipton laughed. “How adorable is he?”
