Page 94 of The Wrong Bachelor

“Look,” Hayley continued. “After everything I’ve seen and heard, it seems clear to me that there’s more to what happened on Friday night than what Madi saw. I don’t think she’s willing to admit it, but I reckon she’s beginning to realize that as well. I mean, a girl shouldn’t have to cheat her way to the final round of a dating competition if she’s sleeping with the guy, right?”

“Right,” I agreed.

“So, what’s the plan?” she asked.

“Do you think you can get her to the formal on Saturday night?”

She smiled. “Already all over it, my friend. She’ll be there.”

“Okay, great.”

“What then?” she asked.

Getting Madi to the formal was one thing, but once she was there, it was all down to me. I had to convince her I was the right guy for her.

“Just get her to the formal,” I said. “Then watch me win back my girl.”

26

Madison

There was something distinctly depressing about getting ready for a formal that you knew was only going to bring you heartbreak. I almost backed out of it entirely during the lead up to the night, but I knew I couldn’t let Hayley down.

When the front doorbell rang, announcing Hayley’s arrival at my house, I knew any hope I still held of avoiding the formal was gone. I opened the front door for my best friend but froze when I saw it wasn’t Hayley standing on the porch.

“What are you doing here, Laurie?” I asked. Laurie was dressed in a long silver gown, with her hair and makeup all perfectly done. She was clearly ready for formal, but I couldn’t understand why she was at my house. I looked past her, almost expecting to find cameras filming the two of us. Surely this was either part of the True Love contest or some bizarre hidden camera show.

When I focused back on Laurie, I saw that her hands were fidgeting and there was a nervous expression on her face. “Can I talk to you for a sec?” she asked.

I wanted to refuse, but she looked so worried that I found myself nodding and joining her on the front porch instead.

“What is it?” I asked.

Laurie let out a breath before she started. “I wanted to apologize for my behavior.”

My eyebrows shot up. “You do?” I glanced around my front yard again. Yeah, I definitely felt like I was being pranked.

When I faced Laurie once more, I could see her nodding her head at me. She looked genuinely apologetic, but I had so little trust in her that I wasn’t sure whether I could believe her.

“Look,” she said. “The truth is, I’ve been jealous of you for a long time.” She couldn’t meet my eyes, and I could see it pained her to say the words out loud.

I frowned at her revelation, my confusion and surprise leaving me speechless. I definitely wasn’t expecting her to say that, but she seemed so embarrassed that I found I believed her.

“But the reason I’ve been so mean to you for the last couple of years is because I’ve been in love with Jake for as long as I can remember,” she continued.

“You have?”

“Yes,” she replied, a light blush coloring her cheeks. “I hated seeing the two of you together, so I did some things I’m not very proud of.”

“But I thought you liked Cole,” I said, shaking my head as I tried to figure her out.

Laurie gave a little laugh. “I was just using Cole and the competition to try and make Jake jealous. Cole can’t stand me.”

“So, the other night at the campsite…"

“Nothing happened,” Laurie said with a shrug. “I knew Cole would kick me out of his tent and I planned for Angus to be there waiting with a camera. He was all for the idea when I suggested it, but when I got out of the tent, he wasn’t there. All that effort and Angus missed it. I still can’t believe he only caught the aftermath.”

“You know what you did isn’t normal, right?”

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