Page 46 of The Wrong Bachelor

“Why do I feel like I have an unfair advantage on tonight’s date?” she asked.

“Because you do,” I replied, lowering my voice to a mock whisper.

I’d pretty much had to beg Angus for skating to be the next group date. Madi had always been just as good on the ice as her brother, and Lucas was on his way to becoming a pro. The three of us had played ice hockey together for a couple of seasons when we were younger, but while Madi could skate, she seemed completely unable to handle the contact of the sport. She gave up once it became clear she was never going to be able to give as good as she got. Her mom had begged her to change to figure skating, but Madi didn’t take to the idea.

I wasn’t bad at hockey, but I didn’t love the ice like the Matthews kids did. I hung up my skates once I found football instead.

Angus and the film crew were standing on the ice in sneakers. They all looked distinctly uncomfortable, especially the boys who were manning the cameras. They were gripping the equipment tightly and moving with awkwardly slow slide-steps. They looked terrified that they might slip and break their precious electronics. It was probably a valid concern, to be honest.

Angus stood next to me, and he cleared his throat as the rest of the contestants joined us.

“Welcome to tonight’s group date,” he announced, smiling broadly at the group before him as the cameras scanned the scene. “As you can see, you will be skating tonight, which begs the question: will you glide gracefully into true love or will you slip and fall off Cole’s radar?”

I lifted an eyebrow. Where was Angus coming up with this stuff?

“We’ll have a few fun competitions a bit later,” he continued. “But, for now, why don’t you all get comfortable on the ice.”

Brooke and Laurie both looked horrified at the idea, and I swear Brett was grinning as he focused his camera on the two girls. It was like he couldn’t wait to see which one of them would fall first. The rest of the group were all chatting excitedly, and from the eager way the other contestants were eyeing the ice, it looked like they were ready to give skating a try. Music came on over the loudspeakers, and a few of the more confident contestants in the group started to slowly skate around the edge of the rink.

Madi was one of the first to skate away, and I found myself watching her as she glided across the ice. She was sticking close to Evan and holding Teagan’s hand to keep the girl steady. I wanted to try and catch up with them, but I hesitated. Should I really be chasing her down when she’d skated off without a backward glance?

“Hey Cole, I’ve never actually skated before. Do you mind giving me a hand?” I turned to find Zoe standing at my side, looking up at me with hopeful eyes. We’d only just begun but her glasses were already slightly skewed.

I could see Laurie shooting a deadly look her way, but Zoe didn’t notice. Zoe was one of those people who never seemed to care what others thought about her.

“Sure,” I said. I took her hand and slowly started to help her skate, keeping close to the wall surrounding the rink. Zoe hadn’t been kidding when she said she’d never been on the ice before. She nearly stacked it several times as we made our way around, and she couldn’t stop staring at her feet. It was lucky I was holding her hand or she would have landed on her ass already.

“How are you enjoying the competition?” Zoe asked once we had an uneasy rhythm going.

“Is this contestant Zoe or reporter Zoe asking?” I replied.

Zoe laughed. It was a deep rumbling sound that echoed from her chest and completely at odds with the small girl next to me. “Can it be both?” she asked.

“Nope. No comment then.”

Her laugh rang out through the air again. I didn’t know Zoe well, but she had always seemed so serious. Right now though she seemed quite relaxed, despite her skating struggles, and she appeared to be enjoying herself.

“How about I ask you a question,” I said.

“Shoot,” she replied.

“Are you in this competition for a story or because you’re looking for true love?”

She slowly let out a sigh. “Both, always both.”

Her response confused me, and as she looked up at me she must have seen the questioning look in my gaze because she continued.

“I can never seem to ignore the journalist in me,” she explained. “I live and breathe the stuff. So, even though I might have other intentions, there’s always a part of me that’s internally taking notes in case it might make a good article.”

“Sounds exhausting,” I said.

She shook her head. “Nah, I love it.”

“So, if I bared my soul to you right now, would it make this week’s school paper?” I asked.

“Of course," she replied. "I would probably be able to get that story in the Lincoln Gazette."

"The local paper? Really?"

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