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Did I catch a glimmer of disappointment in her eyes? She’s gone before I can be sure.
CHAPTER 10
Bennet
Since arriving at the cabin four days earlier, I’ve almost ended my contract several times. The urge to pick up and walk out has been overwhelming as stories of what the others were going through met my ears.
So far, I haven’t endured any of what Stella, Forrest, and Gabriel have, but that makes me believe that I’m due for one of these ridiculous challenges to fulfill my obligations.
Within minutes, my assumption comes to fruition when I’m informed we will be taking a walking tour through Rosewater that evening. The whole thing appears innocent enough, but there has to be more to it. Stella also believed she was only going to a comedy show, not being put up on stage.
I’ll need to keep my guard fully up during our evening out, which means I won’t get to enjoy my time alone with Stella—time I’ve been eagerly anticipating all week.
This whole thing was throwing off my sense of stability and making me a little nuts, honestly.
“Are you ready to go?”
Her sweet, chirping voice shatters my dampening mood almost instantly. I take in her slender, perfect figure in a pair of high-waisted jeans and a loose-fitting cotton shirt. Her darkhair spills over her bare shoulders, the dark red of her lipstick drawing me in, and all of my earlier reservations fade away.
“That’s exactly what I’m thinking about,” I reply, standing from the couch and setting down my beer on a coaster on the glass coffee table.
Stella eyes me and glances over her shoulder, looking for the camera crew, but no one is in sight yet. Her brow furrows, perplexed. “You don’t want to go tonight?”
I shrug indifferently, and her face falls. Immediately, I wish I’d worded it differently. “I do,” I correct myself. “But not with an entire production crew following us around.”
Understanding colors her expression. “Right. I get it. They’re a pain in the ass.”
She steps closer and cocks her head back to look up at me. I tower over her by at least six inches. This might be the closest I’ve been to her since we arrived in Montana, and I catch a hint of her fruity, succulent scent. It calms me more.
“I’m going to tell you what Forrest told me,” she offers. “We just have to remember that this is all a stage, and it’s all temporary. Think of it like the longest workday you’ve ever had.”
I raise an eyebrow in surprise. “Forrestsaid that?”
“Well,Isaid that workday thing,” she titters. “But the sentiment is his.”
“I’ll try to keep that in mind,” I promise, somewhat impressed that Mr. Hollywood came up with such an astute coping mechanism on his own. Then again, he is used to show business and all its dirty tricks.
As accustomed as I am to the cameras in my face constantly, being in my living space is proving more daunting than I expected. After becoming the sole heir to my family’s fortune after my parents’ death, I was more than just a human-interest story, particularly when I didn’t use my money to be a party boy, even back then.
Journalists still can’t get enough of following me around, years later. But over the years, they never got into my house. This is proving to be more than I can handle.
“Come on,” Stella urges, reading my face clearly. “A night out will do us both good. I’ve been looking forward to this all week. I’ve been reading up on Rosewater. Apparently, it’s an old gold mining town with a ton of history. It’s supposed to be haunted.”
She reaches for my arm and links her own through, shocking me, but almost instantly, the camera crew appears, and I recognize it’s recording time.
Why does that disappoint me?
My sleep has been restless in the cabin despite the beautiful accommodations, and the toll of inadequate rest is beginning to wear on me.Heart’s Desirespared no expense in providing creature comforts—from gourmet food to plush towels and luxury shampoos—but it just doesn’t feel like home. I yearn for the familiar comfort of my own bed.
Just a little over three more weeks.
“Haunted?” I ask as we emerge from the front door of the cabin, maintaining line with the handy cam operator. The driver opens the back door to the Hummer, and we slide inside, Stella immediately taking the spot in front of me so we can chat, face-to-face.
Once more, her striking beauty captivates me—the elegant curve of her high cheekbones and the delicate upturn of her nose. She reminds me of a classic Hollywood starlet, with her large, dark-fringed eyes and shiny hair.
“Well, you know what they say about mining towns,” she chuckles. “Montana was part of the Wild West at some point.”
“There’s a lot of history here,” I guess.
