AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She started to speak, but then had to clear her throat. “I…I mean, before we kissed, I guess it didn’t bother me too much. I was really confused by how it made me feel, actually.”
With a slight tilt of her head, my mother gave Kipton a knowing smile. “Darling, that’s called jealousy.”
“And it’s an ugly, ugly thing,” Georgiana added. “Trust me, I speak from experience.”
“And if it bothered you before, it’s going to bother you even more now,” Dustin stated.
“Why are you all ganging up on me? I’m not going to sleep with any of them. I can kiss a woman and have it not mean anything.” I quickly turned to Kipton. “Not with you, though. When I kiss you…”
My voice trailed off, and she gave me a sweet smile.
“You’re not an actor,” my dad said. “And from the show last night, it sure looked like you were enjoying yourself.”
I shrugged. “I wasn’t enjoying myself. I had Travis in my ear, warning me to act like it. That’s not my scene, and all of you know it. If it’d been a date with just one woman who wanted to go to a club, I still wouldn’t have enjoyed myself, and most likely wouldn’t go out with her again.”
Kipton drew in a breath and exhaled. A feeling of dread washed over me when I saw the conflict in her eyes. I shook my head. “Kip, I know this isn’t the best way to start a relationship, but you’ve known from the beginning why I agreed to do this stupid show.”
She nodded and took a deep breath. “I know why you did it. We can get through it together.”
“You’re going to have to sneak around, and then you’re going to have to pretend to be just friends during the dates,” Dustin reminded her, taking a sip of coffee.
“The camera is never on me for the dates, other than when the woman’s selected,” Kipton argued.
“But you still have to watch them, sweetheart,” my mother said, nothing but concern in her voice.
I saw it the moment Kipton’s eyes lit up. It was like I was able to read her mind. “I don’t have to watch them. I can get recaps from Jessie.”
“When that light goes out, I’m a hundred percent yours, Kip.”
Kipton threw her arms around me, and it was then I realized I’d been scared to death she was going to agree with Dustin.
“We can do this, Kip. I swear on my life, you’re the only woman I want.”
She buried her face in my chest as she whispered, “All I ask is that you please don’t hurt me, Hunter Shaw.”
I drew back, tipped her chin up so our eyes met. “I promise you, I won’t.”
Her smile looked wobbly, but I saw it in her eyes. She trusted me—and that meant the world.
Chapter Nineteen
KIPTON
I pushed all the worried thoughts away as I looked into Hunter’s eyes. I had to admit, everything Dustin had said, as well as the rest of Hunter’s family, had already raced through my mind as I lay in bed earlier this morning. Was it stupid for us to start a relationship during the show?
But once the show was over, I knew I’d be going back to Bozeman to finish school, and Hunter would be heading back to Missoula. We’d be separated. Not that I didn’t believe in long-distance relationships. Hell, maybe it would be easier to do that, rather than sneaking around on the ranch.
But when Hunter looked at me with his piercing blue eyes and made me that promise, my heart won out over my head.
I was falling in love with Hunter Shaw, and for the first time in my life, I experienced a sense of peace I’d never known. Standing in the middle of the Shaw kitchen, with this family and this man, I felt at home. Not that I hadn’t felt that way with my parents, but I never truly wanted to admit a piece of me had been missing…and Hunter and his family filled that missing piece, crazy as it sounded.
“What do you plan on doing since you don’t have to do any filming today or tomorrow?” Lincoln asked me and Hunter.
“I thought I would show Kipton a few of my favorite places,” Hunter answered as he winked at me. “Dustin is helping with one of them. Right, Dustin?”
Dustin huffed. “And I think you’re crazy with that idea, but I’ll play along anyway.”
I lifted a brow. “What is it?”
