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She laughed, meeting my gaze once more, and for a moment, I forgot just how serious this meeting was. I was caught up in the enjoyment I got from shocking Jessica.
She was the first to look away. “Okay, back to business.”
It took us three hours to finally narrow it down to fifteen women, but when we were finished, I was pretty satisfied with the diversity of the contestants. It would be interesting, to say the least.
“There will probably be a few more applicants,” Jessica said as she carefully rearranged the file folders. “But my guess is that all the serious contenders have already submitted. We can make the final choices at the end of next week.”
She stood, gathering the folders in her arms, and moved toward the door. I rose to my feet. “Jessica, wait.”
“Yes?” She turned, her dark blue eyes wide. I was struck by her sweetness and innocence. Her beauty.
I shook my head, confused by the errant thought. “I want to apologize for the way I spoke to you before. It’s been… difficult to come to terms with this. I’ve been an ass, but you’re still here, working hard and trying to make this easier on me. I appreciate that.”
I held her gaze, my mind going back to that fateful evening before my life had been turned upside down. We’d connected in a way I hadn’t expected. She was a good person. Kind and thoughtful. She didn’t deserve all the anger I’d been throwing her way, even if I did wish the wordContentionhad never come out of her mouth.
She smiled. “Like I said, it’s the least I could do.”
I chuckled and shook my head. “You’d be perfectly within your rights to let me flounder and figure this out on my own.”
“Why would I do that?” She cocked her head, her brows knitting in confusion. “This is my job.”
“Right.” I flashed a quick grin. “Well, I’ll do my best not to make it too hard on you.”
Jessica laughed. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
Then she slipped out the door, leaving me staring after her, and for a fleeting moment, I wished she could have been one of the contestants.
6
JESSICA
Submissions continued coming in, and the next day, Garrett and I decided to close the application window to give him time to select his finalists for the Contention. It had been interesting watching him analyze the women who might be competing for his heart—there was no rhyme or reason to any of it. As if he wanted all of them to be as different as possible from each other.
Of course, we didn’t know their personalities yet, but their backgrounds and qualifications couldn’t be more different. When I’d asked him about it yesterday, he’d simply shrugged.
“Just want to keep it interesting.”
I supposed his choices reflected his regular life, too. From what I’d seen since I’d come to live here on the estate, the various women he dated—if you could even call it that, since he was rarely seen with the same woman more than a handful of times—were just as diverse.
He was a self-proclaimed bachelor, making me feel even guiltier that I’d roped him into this. There wasn’t a day that went by that I didn’t regret this idea, but it was done, and there was nothing I could do to change it now.
Surprisingly, Garrett had seemed to come to terms with it as well, his playful demeanor making a reappearance whenever we met together. Maybe he was looking forward to it now—though I suspected he’d be out in a heartbeat if he had a choice.
As for me, I’d been fighting my own feelings on the matter. Though he hadn’t shown any romantic interest in me after that morning on Holden and Kayden’s terrace, I thought of our moment often. Surely it had been wishful thinking on my part, my own attraction to Garrett that made me think he’d nearly kissed me. But I couldn’t shake the memory, and my dreams had become uncomfortably detailed—all revolving around him.
It was a stupid crush, and I needed to get the hell over it. It wouldn’t be long before fifteen women would arrive at the estate, ready to stake a claim on his heart.
I strode through the wide, carpeted hallways of the main floor, barely noticing the grand decor that usually took my breath away. Tonight, my focus was on the meeting ahead of me.
I’d requested dinner with Willow, the coordinator and former council member who’d headed up Holden’s Contention. With only weeks remaining until the contestants arrived, I desperately needed her advice. Along with making sure Garrett had everything he needed to make his selections, I’d been crazy busy with the actual planning of the Contention—working on the dates, the competitions, and the required formal events.
Now that submissions were closed, coordinating the event was my sole focus. While I’d worked tirelessly, I still felt desperately behind. I should have asked Holden for more time initially, but he’d been set on getting the Contention rolling as soon as possible. So here I was, feeling like a fish out of water as I tried to pull together the biggest challenge of my life with the clock counting down.
“Good evening, Willow,” I said as I entered one of the private dining rooms used for smaller gatherings. I gave her a friendly smile as I joined her at the table.
“Hello, Jessica.” The tall redhead was a force to be reckoned with. I’d been intimidated by her during Holden’s Contention, always giving her a wide berth. But she was nothing if not knowledgeable and capable, and I desperately needed her help.
“How is your event planning going?” She lifted a perfectly manicured brow as I chose the seat across her, her voice kind but professional. She kept her eyes trained on me as she took a sip of water from a crystal goblet, making me shift uncomfortably. I certainly had big shoes to fill when it came to my new position on the council.
