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“Stella, you have to stop overthinking this,” Gabe tells me, but I can hear the uncertainty in his voice now.
I’ve laid out the reality to them now, and they are forced to see it. Our little dream bubble is about to come to an end.
For the first time since filming started, I don’t want it to be over. I’ve come to love each one of these very different men. They protected me and gave me strength when I most needed it. Letting them go is going to be agony.
Abruptly, I lift myself out of the hot tub, tears burning behind my eyes.
“Hey! Where are you going?” Forrest demands, sounding shocked at my departure.
“I’m really tired,” I whisper, hurrying back to the house. It’s better if I put distance between myself and them now before it becomes unbearable. I am already in way too deep to stop the sea of pain that’s bound to engulf me.
CHAPTER 25
Forrest
Ipull myself out of the hot tub, but Bennet stops me.
“Let her go,” he says ruefully. “She wants to be alone.”
I gape at him. “She wants to be alone because she thinks we don’t want to be with her once this damn show is over.”
Bennet exhales and leans forward, the bubbles popping lightly as he moves closer. “Do you want to be with her when this is all over?” he asks pointedly.
Gabe scowls furiously. “If you don’t, then just say so,” he snaps at Bennet. “Don’t make assumptions for us.”
“But she’s not wrong about your reservations, is she?” Bennet presses.
“My personal life is exactly that,” I bark defensively. “Personal.”
“But that’s kind of the point, isn’t it?” Bennet sighs. “If we do this, it won’t be. It will affect all of us. Did you hear what she said? We’re a team, or we’re not.”
I recoil as if he’s struck me. “We are,” I sputter. “I mean, that’s what we agreed to.”
“It’s more than just fucking Stella,” Gabe grouches crassly. “Don’t you get that?”
I’m vaguely offended by his wording, but his point hits me dead center. “We need to be in this together—all together.”
I bite on my lower lip, thinking of how much I’ve come to care for Stella over these past few weeks. But it isn’t just Stella. I like these guys, too, even if the cameras have made it difficult to know them as well as I would have liked.
“Is there any truth to what Stella was saying? About your parents not being supportive of her?” Bennet asks.
I tense, but Gabe jumps in. “I know my parents are going to freak the fuck out when they hear about this,” he concedes. “But I’ve learned long ago that nothing I do will ever please them.”
An odd expression crosses his face when he says this, as if saying it aloud reminds him that this is the truth, and that it truly doesn’t matter if he’s with Stella or not.
That sounds like my father. He’ll never accept Stella, either, but he never accepted my career choice, anyway. He doesn’t understand half of what I do with my life. The realization almost slaps me as I meet Gabe’s eyes, the two of us bonding in an unspoken moment together.
“Are we really going to let her go because of the judgment of others?” I ask slowly. “Especially those we’re never going to please?”
“Nope,” Gabe says, his tone much more assured than before. “Fuck everyone else.”
“Indeed,” Bennet agrees. “I’m not letting her go.”
“Me neither,” I add. “I believe that people get put together for a reason in situations.”
Bennet smirks, his belief system clearly not lining up with mine, but I don’t care. All that matters is that we’re all on the same page when it comes to Stella.
We look at one another, convinced that we’re all on the same page when it comes to our plans with Stella and what it means. It’s clear that we all love her and are willing to do whatever ittakes to make her happy. Moreover, Stella loves us. It’s worth making this work for that alone.
