Page 33 of The Wrong Bachelor

From the way they looked at each other, it seemed like there was the fragile beginning of a connection between them. Watching them together, I was somewhat surprised there hadn’t been “vote for Teagan and Cole” posters all over the school that morning. They were both gorgeous, so it seemed natural that people would ship them together.

Laurie was called next, and it was painful to watch her bat her eyelashes at Cole. He didn’t seem too averse to her shameless flirting, which definitely put him down a couple of pegs in my books. I was tempted to look away as she flung her arms around Cole’s neck and accepted her heart. Cole was annoying as hell, but it irked me to think of him ending up with Laurie.

As Cole went to make the next announcement, I noticed Angus making small jerking movements with his head and giving pointed looks with his eyes. I had to smother a laugh as I realized he was attempting to direct the actions of the film crew despite the fact he was on screen. Skye shot him a dirty look, which seemed to stop the strange head jerking and overdramatic eyes. Angus really needed to learn to trust his crew, but it was pretty funny watching him struggle not to micromanage. He looked like he was busting at the seams, and it was clearly killing him to keep quiet.

I gave a small shake of my head and focused back on the contest as Zoe’s name was called. Brooke and Evan were the next two selected, leaving only four contestants left standing in front of Cole. This was the part of the competition I was going to find difficult. Willow, Anna, Maria and Sally stood in a line, glancing at each other, wondering who was safe and who would go.

There was already a hint of defeat in Willow’s eyes, while the others simply looked worried. It seemed so unfair that I was selected when there were obviously other girls who cared about the contest. I wished that I could trade places with one of them, but it was too late for that. I certainly didn’t envy Cole who was starting to look a little worried himself.

“Maria.” Cole called out the name with a deep breath and she stepped forward, a relieved smile covering her face.

I didn’t watch as Cole handed Maria the heart though. Instead, my eyes were fixated on the three girls who were still waiting. If Willow had looked defeated before, now she looked utterly hopeless.

“Cole has only one piece of his heart left to give,” Angus announced to the remaining contestants. It somehow made the whole situation feel even more tense, and if a camera hadn’t been trained on my face, I probably would have glared at him. Did he really want these girls to feel worse? “Cole, who would you like to give the final piece of your heart to?”

Cole hesitated for several, painstakingly long seconds before he finally spoke.

“Willow.” He said her name with a long exhale, and I felt just as relieved as he seemed. Willow’s eyes widened with shock, and her gaze darted to the two girls beside her. They were both giving her tight smiles, annoyance flickering in their eyes.

“Come on, Willow, it’s okay,” Skye whispered, from behind the camera, when Willow still hadn’t moved. She gave Willow an encouraging smile as she beckoned for her to approach Cole. I wasn’t close with Skye, but the gentle way she looked after Willow made me want to hug her.

Willow went to Cole to receive her heart, stumbling toward him as though she were still stunned. I hated being in front of the camera, but it seemed to make Willow completely lose her feet. Cole chuckled as she practically fell into him, catching her by the arms and righting her before he handed her the last paper heart he was holding. Willow gave him a grateful smile before joining the rest of us.

Once she was in place, Angus turned his attention on the two girls who had been eliminated. “I’m sorry Anna and Sally, but you have not been chosen to continue in Cole’s search for true love.”

The girls nodded their acceptance. They seemed annoyed about their dismissal but unwilling to display their disappointment for the camera. They gave us all waves in farewell before traipsing after one of the film crew who was gesturing the two of them to follow him into the house.

“There’s one more announcement before we leave tonight,” Angus said, directing his words to one of the cameras. “Cole needs to pick his first single date for this week. Who will it be, Cole?”

Cole looked over our group. I could have sworn his eyes were drawn straight to mine, but I gave a small shake of my head, desperately hoping he wouldn’t pick me. If I had any chance left of saving my relationship with Jake, a date alone with Cole would completely shatter it. I was already starting to worry about how Jake would react to the fact I was staying in the competition for at least another week. It’s not like I had any choice though. People had paid to vote for me. I couldn’t just ignore that.

A tiny crease formed between Cole’s brows as he continued looking over the group of contestants until his gaze landed on Willow.

“Willow,” he said. “Will you go on a date with me?” The frown on his forehead had disappeared and was replaced by a warm smile.

The rest of the room audibly gasped. But Willow was smiling as she nodded in reply. I let out a breath of relief. I hadn’t realized how tense I’d become in the last few moments, but I could feel my body physically relaxing at the news I hadn’t been picked.

“Great,” Angus said, with a clap of his hands. He turned to face the camera that was focused on him. “Well, that rounds up the selection ceremony for this evening. Join us again on Sunday to see Willow and Cole’s first date and the fun group date we have planned for the rest of our contestants. Good night and we’d truly love to see you next time.”

The camera in front of him dipped to the floor, signaling that filming was done for the night. Everyone relaxed as the film crew started to pack their equipment away.

“Great work tonight, everyone,” Angus said, beaming as he looked around. “Still a few little kinks to work out, but brilliant effort for the first try.”

I definitely felt like one of the kinks, and I wondered if Angus already knew that I was going to be the audience’s choice when he had tried to convince me to stay in the show earlier today. He could have warned me if that were the case.

“That’s all for this evening,” he continued. “Don’t forget to check your emails for your next call times, but I’ll see you all later this week.”

Everyone started to leave, but I hung back, wanting to catch Cole for a moment.

His eyes brightened when he noticed that I hadn’t left and he walked over to stand with me as the others took off. It felt awfully quiet without everyone else gathered on the patio. The atmosphere had been buzzing with excitement and anticipation, but now everything felt so still.

“You look beautiful tonight, Madi,” Cole said, his voice low and his eyes appreciative as he looked at me.

“You clean up alright yourself,” I replied.

“Was that a compliment?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

“Don’t let it go to your head.”

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