Page 74 of Roughing It

He winces.

The grimace on his face tells me everything. These are going to hurt. I open an app, randomly pick a post, and read the comments out loud. They range from absurd to cruel.

“I bet her management company paid for her to go there and get laid. Lord knows she needs it. Remember when Ryan dumped her?”

“Y’all are stupid af if you think any of this is real. Blakely Bradshaw is playing everyone.”

“I bet she planned that entire scene. #clickbait #pathetic”

“AI. Never happened. Ur suckers.”

“No way a man like that wants a spoiled bitch like her.”

“She’s been trying this natural face crap. Girl needs makeup. Hudson, if you see this, I’m single.”

“Maybe we’ll get lucky, and she’ll fall off a cliff while out there.”

I rub the heels of my hands over my eyes. The comments are part of the job, but it doesn’t make it easier. What a fucking couple of days it’s been.

“You’d never ask me to send you to a cabin in the woods if you wanted an all-expenses paid sex getaway.”

When I look up, Kirk winks. Blinking back tears, I grant him a small smile.

“Blakely, you’ll come out of this fine, and so will he. I’d wager Peak Adventures’ DMs and messages are blowing up right now and will be for months. And your numbers are growing every day.”

“So, do you have any advice?”

“Well, you have two options. Option one is to go on as if nothing happened. Option two is to lean into it.”

“Lean into it?”

“Give them what they want. Glimpses of the two of you together and watching you grow closer. Don’t focus on the hate; there’s a lot of positive out there. So, share more of these moments. If nothing else, it will mean massive numbers.”

I frown at him and shake my head. “No. Hudson wants what happens between us to stay private, and I—” I suck in a breath. “I agree with him.” Holding my hands up, I say, “I know. I usually splash everything all over my socials, but this isdifferent, Kirk. I won’t do that to him. He didn’t ask for this. I came out here to learn survival skills, and that’s what I want to focus on.”

Pausing, I glance behind me—Hudson is puttering around the kitchen—and whisper, “I really like him. Don’t smile at me like that.”

“You like him? Like the way you like dogs and maple donuts?”

“No. I like him in theevery-time-I see-him-I-think-about-kissing-him-and-it’s-way-too-soon-to-be-this-investedkind of way.”

Kirk’s grin grows. “And how does he feel about you?”

“We’re still feeling each other out, but…” Large, warm hands settle on my shoulders, stopping my words.Shit.

His baritone voice has my heart jumping in my throat. “We’ll do the second option. We’ll lean in.”

I crane my head to look at him. “How much of the conversation did you hear?”

“All of it.”

Heat blooms over my cheeks. “All of it?” I squeak.

“Yep. You’re super loud.”

Kirk laughs. “He’s not wrong, BB.”

My lower lip juts out. “I was whispering!” They both snort, which only fuels my pouting. Ugh. I inhale for a four-count, then say, “Hudson, this is the exact opposite of what you want.”

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