Page 73 of Knot Her Reality

Glancing at Koda, I decide to put his name down for the macaroni and cheese with the braised ribs. That seems like something he’d like. Now, which one for the others? I decide on chicken and dumplings for Natalie and the beef stroganoff for Ronan. That just leaves the country-fried steak for Tessa. I’m not sure if that’s hers or not, but seeing as it’s the only option left, I have to choose it.

I flip the card over before setting it and the pen on the table. As the others finish, they do the same—Koda being the last one to finish.

“Okay, to make sure we keep it fair, we’ll pass our cards to the person on our right. Then we’ll go one at a time and announce our favorites, marking correct or incorrect on the card in our hand. After that, we’ll declare a winner.” I glance around the table before passing my card to Tessa and taking Koda’s. “Any questions?”

“Pretty self-explanatory,” Ronan says as he picks up his pen and glances down at Natalie’s card. “Who’s going first?”

No one speaks up, and I’m just about to say I’ll go first when Koda clears his throat. “I will. My favorite meal is the chicken and dumplings.”

“Damn it,” I hiss, wrinkling my nose as I check off Koda’s correct answer. “I definitely got that wrong. My favorite is the surf and turf.”

Looking at Koda’s card, I see he got that correct as well. Tessa goes next, telling us her favorite is the country-fried steak. Natalie’s turns out to be the macaroni and cheese with the braised ribs. Ronan’s is the beef stroganoff. Well, at least I got two of them right. But Koda somehow got every single one correct.

“How did you do it? You got everyone’s right!” I wave his card in the air as he laughs. “Did anyone else get all of them right?”

Everyone shakes their heads as I turn my attention back to Koda. “Well?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know what you want me to tell you. I pay attention, and I made educated guesses. Plus, some of you gave it away while you were eating your favorites. It was just easy to see.”

“I’m jealous that you got them all right.” Laughing, I glance up to signal to the bartender that we’re ready for the next part.

Once again, Koda guesses everyone’s drinks correctly, and I manage to get all of them wrong. But this time, Natalie also gets all of them right. We move into the living room after that and just chat. We talk about everything from our favorite childhood memories to our hopes and dreams. It’s lowkey one of the best dates I’ve ever been on. Not only do I get to know all of them so much better, but we do end up doing more guessing games about people’s favorite things.

But as the night goes on, everyone moves in closer and starts touching me more—not that I don’t return the favor. No one mentions it, but both Koda and I are perfuming like crazy.

Glancing over at the vase of roses on the coffee table as the four of them continue talking, I consider my options. I knew going into this date that I was attracted to all four of them, and getting to know them has only made that attraction grow. Since there was a possibility of inviting someone back to my room for the night, I had them put the roses here. I’d been fairly certain I would be inviting Koda back to my room—even if it’s just to find out if this chemistry between us was a one–and-done thing. What I hadn’t expected was to want to invite all four of them back to my suite.

Is that crazy? Is it too soon? What will the others think?

Shaking my head, I push away that thought. It doesn’t matter what the other suitors or the viewers think. This is about me and how I feel—what I want. And I know that I want the four of them to spend the night with me.

Reaching over, I grab four white roses before turning my attention to the four of them, who have fallen silent. Taking a deep breath, I force a smile to my lips. “I know it might seem like it’s too soon or whatever, but I don’t care. I’d like the four of you to join me in my suite for the night.”

Turning to Koda, I offer him the first rose. He takes it with a grin, leaning over to press a kiss to my lips. “I was hoping that was how the night would end.”

Natalie, Ronan, and Tessa don’t say anything as they each accept their roses, and it’s making me nervous.

“If that’s what you want, of course. I would never try to force—“

Tessa’s suddenly hovering over me, her lips just millimeters from mine. “Hush, omega. Of course, we all want to join you in your suite. We just don’t want to overwhelm you.”

“Oh. Okay. Great. Then we should do that.”

Tessa pulls away with a smirk, offering me her hand. “Yes, I think we should.”

Chapter Twenty-two

Ronan

Evangeline leads the four of us to her suite as I cling to Natalie’s hand. Today has been perfect, and I’m not ready for the night to end, but I wasn’t expecting for her to invite us to her suite.

“Breathe, Ro,” Natalie hisses from the corner of her mouth. “You’re freaking out.”

As much as I’d love to deny her words, I know there’s no way I can. I’m definitely freaking out.

“How are you so calm right now?”

She shrugs. “If you don’t want to do this, then we can make our excuses and go back to our own suite.”

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