Page 53 of So I Won a Werelion

Leo and Dylan drove with me toThe Mating GameHQ. Fans called out to us and the reporters swarmed.

“Gabe!” one of them called to me. “Did you threaten Wanda Woodhead today?”

“Hell no.” It took everything I had not to laugh. She knew exactly who that reporter was that came looking for Wendy, and she probably had him on speed dial.

Another reporter stepped forward. “We heard that your storied snowboarding career came to an end because you attacked a human competitor in your lion form. Care to comment?”

Chapter

Sixteen

Bibi

“I can’t believe you had so many of these in your closet.” Wendy twirled in a full-length robe. I’d given her one of my favorites—red, sheer, and trimmed with marabou. It looked amazing with her dark hair.

“When I found these, I simply had to get them in every color.” My robe was black with white trim, and I wore matching high-heeled slippers. I would’ve offered the ladies those too if they would’ve fit.

“We look like we just buried our husbands in the backyard.” Hannah’s robe was purple and matched her hair perfectly. I couldn’t have planned it better if I tried.

The nail techs looked at each other as they set up, like maybe they should have put everything back in the van.And I had a feeling they weren’t the only flight risk. Wendy had looked like she’d wanted to jump out of her own skin ever since she’d been back onThe Mating Game.

“It’s a figure of speech. No dead bodies on my watch.” We had enough controversy on our hands without rumors runningrampant. “I’m so glad you’re here. Please let me know if there’s anything I can do to make your job easier.”

Wendy had barely had a chance to get settled, but I had to celebrate her first night here. It had been a long, emotional couple of days and the only way to make her stop thinking about the artifacts was to have a girls’ night. With Cindy out of town, I wanted to help her make some new girlfriends, so she didn’t feel like it was her against the world. So Marissa brought over Hannah, and I called the mani-pedi team from the Chalet and asked them to make a house call. A pitcher of margaritas waited for us to begin the festivities.

“We’re gonna take pictures of these robes for the website, right? The girls on the forum will go nuts for these.” Hannah took a sip of her margarita. Her initial disappointment of having to wait for her episode waned when she got invited to hang out with Wendy. As long as I made her feel like part of the show, I could buy some time until I put her in front of the camera.

“Absolutely. Why don’t we do it now?”

We gathered together and took a selfie.

“Too bad Cindy isn’t here. She’d love this,” Wendy said as she looked at the image.

“Let’s take another one for her,” I suggested.

“Right, poor Cindy with her gorgeous movie star mate on the set of a major motion picture.” Hannah flopped dramatically into one of my chairs. “I can’t wait to meet her. And Logan Mathis. He’s so hot, I’ll totally fangirl. Not that you’re lacking in the mate department. I’ve been watching Gabe Wylde compete for years. No one was more shocked than me when he announced his retirement.”

Once we picked out nail polish colors, the team got to work on our toes. They’d brought little tubs to soak our feet and the most divine smelling oils and lotions.

“Wendy, have you thought about where you’d like to go on your date with Gabe?” We hadn’t brought Bjorn with us, because girls’ night, but I had the camera on my phone set up. The viewers loved this raw, candid footage.

“Oooh, I’m going to need all the tips for when it’s my turn,” Hannah said.

Wendy’s tension was back. “I have no idea. Everything I think of feels like, been there, done that.”

I gave her a look. “What did I tell you?”

She squirmed in her seat. “To stop holding back.”

“You need to go balls out and wow him.” Hannah giggled as she took another sip of her margarita. “Show him a side of you he’s never seen before. You two have been best friends for so long that you’re venturing into old married couple territory already. You’ve got to show him new things, surprise him, so he knows that he better stay on his toes.”

“You mean, looking for ancient treasure together isn’t a hot date?” Wendy shrugged.

“We’ll have plenty of time to get dirty and do research,” I assured her. “And no. That’s not a date.”

“Get dirty.” Hannah wriggled her brows. Her episode was going to be so much fun.

“The two of you will be working hard on the research aspect. The perfect date shouldn’t feel like work. Close your eyes and picture the perfect date.”

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