Page 85 of Fire and Icing

“Okay. Well, whatever you call it. We need less.”

“Less touching you?”

“Less being so …”

“So …?” He’s grinning like I amuse him.

“So … boyfriend-y.”

Dustin chuckles softly. “I’m supposed to be your boyfriend, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then, I think I’m going to be boyfriend-y.”

“Right. But not so much …”

“So much what?”

What do I say, not so much breathing in my ears and sending chills down my spine? Not so much drawing me into your arms so that your warm, campfire scent lingers around me for hours after you held me? Not so much smiling in that way that makes me see your face when I close my eyes at night?

“Just tone it down,” I finally say, feeling flustered and ridiculous.

“Okay. I’ll tone it down,” he agrees.

I have to wonder if this man even knows what tone it down means.

Chapter 18

Emberleigh

No matter if you win or lose,

the most important thing in life

is to enjoy what you have.

~ Dong Dong

A memberof the production team knocks on our door just after breakfast to tell us that each contestant remaining on the estate gets a phone call to someone back home today. A member of the staff will stand next to us in the hallway to ensure we aren’t gathering recipe information or breaking our NDA on the call.

Dustin asks the staff, “Can Emberleigh be next to me while I call my family? They just love her.” The staff member agrees. Dustin dials his mom and she answers with a chorus of voices chiming in.

“Hey, everyone!” he announces, “I’m here with Emberleigh on a work trip.”

His family goes nuts talking over one another with excitement.

I can’t help but wonder why he brought me into the call. We’re not actually dating. Does his family know that?

We talk with them for fifteen minutes and then our time’s up.

“I love them,” I say after he ends the call.

“They’re an acquired taste.” Dustin’s smile gives him away. He’s crazy about his family.

Dustin gives me some privacy to call Syd. I tell him he can stay, but he insists it will be good for me to talk to my best friend without him around.

Based on our NDA, I can’t outright tell Syd that Vanessa’s here as a judge, but I can give her a hint. If she guesses, well, who am I to stop a woman from guessing?

---