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“I have faith in you two. The packs are luckier than they know to have you as leaders.” I could have sworn her cheeks turned pink again as she lifted her wine glass to her lips. Had she always been like this, flushing so easily, and I’d never noticed? Or was it me having this effect on her?
Way to be a cocky bastard, Kingsman, I berated myself. This wasn’t a date. She wasn’t interested in me. And even if I might have recently discovered an attraction to her, it didn’t matter. I’d be mated to someone else before long.
The wine turned sour in my mouth at the thought, but it couldn’t be ignored. “So, how is the planning coming along?” I asked her.
She nodded enthusiastically. “Fantastic. Willow gave me some good advice, and I’ve run with it. I’ve got the game makers hard at work on the competitions. The assistants have all been assigned to the contestants. I’ll be finalizing the schedules for week one tomorrow. The only thing I haven’t put too much work into yet is planning the dates.”
I gestured around at the pergola and the table setting. It was definitely a romantic setup. “Looks to me like you’ve got that part handled as well.”
“Actually, that’s why I asked you to join me for dinner.”
Before she could say anything else, the server appeared again with two shrimp cocktails in large crystal martini glasses. It looked delicious.
“Have you had time to decide on your entrée?” he asked.
I gave him a friendly smile. “Actually, we haven’t even looked.”
“Take your time.” He moved just out of the ring of light cast on the ground from the string lights, and Jessica glanced at me, shaking her head slightly. I got the message. She wanted to discuss this in private.
I nodded my understanding, quickly skimming the menu. “I’m definitely a steak and potatoes kind of guy. Prime rib sounds great.”
“I know,” she murmured, her eyes on her own menu. “That’s why I requested it as an option.”
I paused, watching her, warmth spreading through my chest that she’d been so considerate. She was sweet and caring, and I felt a pang of regret that I’d been so awful to her in the days after she suggested the Contention.
I was about to apologize again when she gestured to the server. “We’re ready.”
He took our orders, steak for me and salmon for her. Then we were alone again, digging into the delicious appetizer.
“Okay,” she said, pulling out a notepad and setting it between us on the table. “Here’s what I have so far, but I want to get your input. After all, these are your dates. I want them to be exactly what you want.”
I glanced down at the notepad, reading the list of potential date ideas that she’d come up with. Were these things she thought I’d like? Or were they dates that she’d enjoy? I suddenly found myself wanting to know all about her likes and dislikes.
“Clearly, this is a preview of one of the ideas.” She pointed toward the bottom of the page, where several one-on-ones were listed. “I figure you’ll want to have some group dates first, and save some of the more personal, romantic ones for after you’ve gotten to know some of the women and narrowed your options somewhat.”
“Right.”
“What things do you like to do?” she asked, and then drained the last of her glass of wine. I followed suit then poured us each another glass. “I’m open to any suggestions.”
“I like your suggestion to keep it casual at first. While I love this setup…” I gestured around me “… I’d prefer to save the more intimate dates until I know the contestants better.”
Was it my imagination, or did she grimace at the word intimate?
“Okay.” She picked up a pen. “Noted. Can you go into more detail on what you mean by casual? Like what kind of activities? What kinds of foods do you want? What kind of ice breakers do you prefer? Hit me with all of it.” She glanced up, pen poised, brows raised, ready to take notes.
I blinked, taken aback by her questions. I honestly hadn’t given it much thought so far. Not nearly as much as she had. Though I guessed that’s why she was the coordinator and not me.
“Yeah, um, let me think.” I polished off the shrimp cocktail, sipped on my wine, and then sat back. “Can I be perfectly honest with you?”
“Of course.”
“You seem to have put a lot more time thinking about this than I have. It’s going to take me a minute.”
Jessica laughed. “Oh, come on. The infamous Garrett Kingsman doesn’t know what kind of dates he likes? I don’t buy it.”
I gave her a wry grin. “Laugh all you want, but I’m not nearly the lady’s man you make me out to be.”
She arched a disbelieving brow. “Reputations don’t come out of nowhere.”
