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“How would they know who I was looking at?” I asked.
“The other cameraman panned out and inadvertently got Kipton in the shot. The audience knew she was there, and when you turned and saw her, everyone saw you.”
“So what?” Kipton said, exasperated. “It was the stupid dress—and wasn’t that exactly what you wanted, Jack? What guy wouldn’t look at a girl wearing that dress?”
“She’s right. She looked hot as hell last night. Even women were checking her out.”
Kipton turned to my cousin. “Thank you, Rose. I think.”
“The bottom line is, Travis saw Hunter’s expression, and he was the one who had the idea for the poll. He asked Ansley to record the message inviting the audience to vote for your next date. Then he told her to start some drama with Rainey.”
“Why would he do that?” Kipton asked.
Jack pushed a hand through his hair. “One of the viewers commented about seeing Rainey on another show in the past, and started insisting all the women were paid actresses. Rainey and Ansley were the only two women we paid to be on the show. Travis insisted we hire them in case we needed a bit of drama.”
“I can’t believe it,” I said. “I thought it was an experiment?”
Jack laughed, but there was no humor behind it. “That’s what we’d originally intended it to be. A dating experiment…but once the ratings spiked, Travis decided to throw in some obstacles.”
“You didn’t tell me you’d be changing the fucking rules all the time!” I shouted.
“Hunter Shaw,” my mother said. “Do not raise your voice and curse in my house.”
I turned to look at her. “Mom, they’re breaking their own contracts!”
“Life isn’t always the way you expect it to be, Hunter,” Jack said. “And show business definitely isn’t. Did you really think it was just going to be you, going on a few dates, then walking away with a bunch of money? How do you think we’re pulling in more viewers each week? By slightly altering the rules of the game—which is actually allowed in the contract, in an addendum from the Dating Rules portion.”
I glared at him. “But why drag Kipton into this mess?”
He shook his head. “I never planned on it. I had a suspicion the two of you liked one another from the beginning. I admit, I even hoped to nip it in the bud. If you were falling for Kipton, you wouldn’t want to date any of the others.”
“I could still do it. I will still do it. We don’t need to pull her into this mess. Just let her host.”
Jack looked at me with a serious expression. “You can honestly say that you can continue going on dates with other women when you have feelings for Kipton?”
My eyes met hers. Everything had changed even in the short time since we’d slept together and admitted how we felt. She gave me a supportive smile and nodded.
“Yes. You both knew when we started this thing, I wasn’t actually looking to find anyone. I never had any intention of being with any of those women long term.”
Jack looked at Kipton, then back to me. “Was that because you wanted to stay single? Or was there another reason?”
I kept my gaze locked on Jack. Even at that first meeting with the producers, I truly had no idea she was the reason behind my declaration. I wanted to meet her, definitely, but I wasn’t looking for love. I never thought I’d be so lucky, and if I was, I sure as hell didn’t think I’d find it on some stupid show.
Jack nodded and gave me a small smile. “I thought so.”
“I didn’t answer you,” I spat back.
“You don’t have to, Hunter. It’s written all over your face.”
Kipton walked over to me and laced her fingers with mine. “I’m not going to stand here and say that I don’t have feelings for Hunter, because I do. Strong feelings. And we both knew what was at stake when we decided to pursue them. So…what do we need to do moving forward?”
“You’re going to have to be one of the contestants now,” Jack immediately stated.
“She’s not living in that house.”
That came from my mother. All eyes turned to her.
She shook her head. “She stays here, or we refuse to let you film on the ranch.”
