“At least I don’t pull out photo albums.” Her dad bumped her mom with his elbow as they stopped at the sliding glass doors leading to the pavilion.
Gunner leaned over and smiled. “Wow, this is great.”
“Yeah, wow,” Landon said.
“Well, come on. Let’s eat.” Tamie stepped through the doors, followed by Sophia and Henry.
The meal was simple and delicious. Cheeseburgers, chips, and potato salad. And Henry was quick to tell them that he’d cooked them. The show had nothing to do with this cookout other than the cameras circling them. Maybe that’s why it tasted so good.
They talked through the meal, with Tamie and Henry tagging Landon and Gunner with questions. Once they were finished, Landon and Gunner were each taken to a separate room where they were interviewed and then left to change to go swimming.
As Gunner came out of his room, Landon was coming out of his. They walked together back to the pavilion where they were told to wait until Sophia’s family met up with them. After a few takes of Sophia descending the stairs and the show getting Gunner’s and Landon’s reactions to seeing her, they headed out to the beach. Gunner would never understand television. Would the first reaction be the best one?
Sophia looked great. The suit fit her perfect, and just as he’d suspected, she had the longest, sexiest legs.
Cameras followed them as they walked to the beach. As they reached the pier, Sophia and her mom stopped. “We’ll see you guys later.”
At the end of the pier, cameramen were waiting in boats to follow them as they jetted around in the water. After they were hooked up with waterproof mics, they got on the jet skis and took off. If it weren’t for the cameras following, Gunner would have had a better time, but knowing he was being filmed, he had to watch what he said.
It had been a while since Gunner had the opportunity to run around on a jet ski. It took him a second, but it was like riding a bike and came back to him quickly. Landon fell off a couple of times. The poor guy even face-planted once.
Gunner had stopped his jet ski and was looking over the water when Henry slowed his to a stop next to him. “Hello, sir,” Gunner said.
“Gunner. This has been fun.”
“Yes, sir. It has. This was a lot more relaxing than all the traveling we did the last few weeks.”
“You don’t like to travel?” Henry asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.
Gunner shook his head. “No, I don’t like being filmed.”
Sophia’s dad laughed. “Yeah, I can see that being a royal pain in the rear.”
“That’s a nice way of putting it.”
“We’re being listened in on too.”
Gunner chuckled. “Yeah, another thing I don’t care for.”
Henry shook his head. “Yeah, me neither, but I’m told I need to suck it up.” He cleared his throat, and Gunner braced himself for the coming conversation. “I can tell you like Sophia.”
“No, sir, I love her. She’s bright, joyful, sweet, and funny. I love her smile and the way she lights up a room, and I’d love to spend the rest of my life finding ways to keep the smile on her face.”
Her dad sat quietly a moment. “I see. Would you be willing to move to California to be with her?”
Gunner had thought a lot about that in the last couple of days. He’d spent his life helping others and giving to his country, and he longed to have the opportunity to have a life and share it with someone. “Yes, sir, I would. I plan to tell my employer I’m done if she picks me.”
“What does your family think of that? You’re from South Carolina, right?”
“My family wants me to be happy, and I would hope Sophia would humor me and take vacations back home with me.”
Henry shook Gunner’s hand. “Well, good luck to you.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Gunner wasn’t sure if he had her dad’s blessing or not, but the man hadn’t flat-out told him to keep away from his daughter, so that was a good sign. Now all he had to do was make it through the ceremony and hopefully catch the person responsible for the letters. He had an idea percolating on how to take them down, but again, he’d need to talk to Noah and get everything in place. He’d be keeping his plan from Sophia. He didn’t want her acting nervous. She’d be worried, and it could tip off his suspect.
Two days. He had two days left. And then maybe things would be back to normal. He could kiss Sophia without having a camera shoved in his face.
Chapter 29
Ceremony day. Sophia thought she was a nervous wreck the first day of filming, but in comparison, that was nothing compared to what she was feeling at the moment. The large garden of the stucco home they’d used the first night of filming was decked out in tea lights, and a warm breeze was blowing.
If she weren’t so freaked out, she’d really love how beautiful the place was. It had been two days since she’d seen Gunner as he was leaving her parents’ home, and the last she’d heard was that he had an idea of who was behind the letters. That’s all he would say, and they’d had exactly five seconds to talk, so she couldn’t ask for a longer explanation.
“Sophia!” Travis called from the edge of the garden.
She glanced around and quickly made her way to him. “What are you doing here?”
He held out a letter. “This was in the limo.”
Her breath caught. “Another one? On the night of the ceremony?”
“It was sitting on the seat after Gunner and Landon got out.”
“Were they the only two in there?”
“Yeah, as far as I know, but I did step away a minute, so I guess someone could have put it in there.”
She caught her lip between her teeth and tore it open. Before pulling it out, she paused. “Did you tell someone that Gunner stayed with me at the cottage when Landon could hear?”
Travis grimaced. “Yeah.”
“Did you have Gwendolyn tell me I was needed at the bachelors’ mansion when we got back from visiting Landon’s family?”
He shook his head. “No. I just wanted Landon to know so maybe this stupid show would be over and things could go back to normal.”
Sophia stared at him. This was twice that he’d handed her a letter. He’d confessed that he loved her. He’d told Landon about Gunner. It was a crazy thought and not possible. She’d known Travis her whole life. He was harsh, blunt, and sometimes mean, but he wouldn’t threaten her.
Sighing, he cast his gaze down. “But I also know that you’re not in love with me. I was hoping maybe you’d see potential with us, but you don’t.” He lifted his gaze back to hers. “And I’m okay with it. It hurts a little, but not as much as it should have. We’re friends, and I think I’m lonely.”
She touched his arm. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’ll find someone.” He nodded to the letter. “Open it.”
Pulling the letter out, she read it and was thoroughly confused.
“What does it say?” Travis asked.
“Stay away from him.”
“Him who? There are two guys here tonight.”
Sophia shrugged. “I have no idea. I’ve made a pretty big display of being into Landon.”
Travis narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, and we both know he’s not the one.” He laughed.
“It was that obvious?”
“Yeah, but I’m glad you’re happy. If Gunner’s as good a guy as you say he is, then…that’s all that matters to me. If he hurts you—”
Her eyebrows went to her hairline.
“Okay, he’d snap me like a twig, but I’d go down kicking and biting.” He laughed.
“Sophia!” the director called. “We need you.”
Travis hugged her. “Knock ’em dead.”
“Thanks,” she said and hurried over to the director. As she slowed, she took a deep breath and smiled. “I got another letter just now.”
Candace took it, read it, and pinched the bridge of her nose. She handed it off to one of her assistants. “Get that to
security and tell them we need to beef up.” The assistant nodded and scurried off. “I hope we catch this person soon. I’m getting a little sick of it. What did it even mean?”
“I don’t know.”
“You wanted Landon first, right?”
Sophia nodded. “Yeah.”
The director smiled. “Okay. Go take your place over there by the trellis. There are two X’s on the ground. Make sure to stay on the one to the right. Landon will be on the left.”
“Okay.” Sophia walked to the spot and turned to the camera. Squaring her shoulders, she clasped her hands in front of her. A woman with a sponge dabbed her face one last time and jogged out of the scene.
Candace counted down, called action, and Landon strode into the garden with a wide smile on his face. When he got to his spot, he quickly glanced at the ground and stepped on his X.
“Hey, Sophia,” he said.
“Hey, Landon.”
“So, I guess this is it, huh?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I guess it is.” Oh, she hated this part. “Landon—”
He held his hand up. “There is no spark at all between us.”
Laughing, she said, “No, not at all. I think you’re a great guy. You’re funny, intelligent, and interesting. I’ve enjoyed spending time with you, but I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’ve had so much fun. I got to go to places I’d never been with a beautiful woman. This was an all-around great experience.” He hugged her. “I’m so glad I got to know you.”
She patted him on the back. “I’m glad I got to know you too. I had a lot of fun hanging out with you.”
He flashed her one last smile and walked back the way he’d come.
But it was television, and they shot the scene several more times, with the same lines, until Candace was sure they had enough film to make it through editing. Sophia thought it was perfect the first time, but she didn’t argue. They just kept repeating it until her feet hurt.
* * *
Gunner pulled on the cuff of his tux. He’d been sequestered since early afternoon, giving interviews and being given instructions about the ending ceremony, what would happen once he was picked and what would happen if he wasn’t. That last one made his stomach queasy. Not being picked wasn’t an option.
Over the last two days, he’d been in contact with Noah. They’d gone over Gunner’s suspicions, and Noah had agreed with him. After that, they’d come up with a plan to bring the culprit into the light. Hillary had been let in on it too, and she’d let a few of the cameramen she trusted in on what was happening.
“You’re up,” a guy said as he poked his head in.
“Where’s Gwendolyn?” Gunner asked.
The guy shrugged. “She said she was needed out front with the limo.”
Gunner followed the guy to the edge of the garden where he could see Sophia in the distance. Between the tea lights and the beading on the dress, it looked like she was glowing in her soft-purple floor-length organza gown. With her hair pulled up, she looked like a princess. He wondered if she were wearing glass slippers, she looked so perfect.
“There’s an X on the ground. Hit that when you stop, okay?” the guy said as he urged Gunner forward. Cameras were everywhere and tracking every step.
As Gunner approached Sophia, her smile grew, and his pulse fluttered. The fact that they were on film didn’t even matter to him. “Hey.”
“Hi.”
“You look so beautiful tonight, but I think it comes easy for you.” This was the woman he wanted to love and live with for the rest of his life. He wanted to wake up to her and fall asleep with her in his arms. He wanted forever with her.
A light blush blanketed her cheeks. “Thank you. You look handsome. That tux is working for you.”
He chuckled. “We both know the only reason I look good is because you’re next to me.”
“Charmer.” She stepped into him. “I’m so glad I met you.”
Bending down, he touched his lips to hers. “I’m glad I met you too.”
Music began to play, and off to the side, he could see Candace encouraging him to dance with Sophia. “Would you like to dance?”
Confused, Sophia looked around. “Sure.”
He took her in his arms, holding her close as they began to move around in time with the music. “I never thought I’d come on a television show and meet someone like you.”
“Someone like me?”
“I told your dad you are everything I’ve ever been looking for. You’re intelligent, witty, and full of joy. I love your smile and the twinkle in your eyes. I told him I want to spend the rest of my life finding ways to make sure you always had that smile.”
“The rest of your days?”
He twirled her around and out. “The rest of my days,” he said as he pulled her back.
“Cut!” the director called. “You went out of frame. I’m sorry. We need to start the dance again.”
A makeup artist hurried out and pulled Sophia a few feet away, dabbing her face with a sponge and reaffixing her lipstick. A few of the crew fixed some of the tea lights within the trellis while others moved a few of the flowers around.
Loud gasps interrupted the moment, and Gunner and Sophia looked around.
Gwendolyn stepped from behind one of the large hedges lining the garden a few feet away with a gun in her hand. “I told you to stay away from him.”
“Gwendolyn?” Sophia asked softly. “It was you?”
“The first time I was on this show, I was humiliated.”
Palming the spot over her chest, Sophia said, “But why this? Why now?”
Gwendolyn’s eyebrows drew together. “At first, it was because of all the promises. They were sorry, offered me a job, promised I could write for a new show. Promises, promises, promises, and not a single one kept.”
Sophia backed up as Gwendolyn moved closer, pointing the gun directly at Sophia. “Okay, but I didn’t do that.”
Gwendolyn leveled her eyes at Sophia. “No, you just treated Gunner like garbage. Like how I was treated. At first, I thought he was just like all the others with friends in high places, but he was nice.”
This was part of Gunner’s plan, but not the distance he had from Sophia. They’d tried to keep everything as normal as possible with makeup and all the little details that were touched up between takes. He just hadn’t expected to find himself so far away that Sophia could get hurt. If Gwendolyn pulled the trigger…He needed to bridge that gap and fast.
Slowly, he slipped closer as Gwendolyn and Sophia spoke. Hopefully he could close the distance before something bad happened. His gut was screaming again, and he was listening with both ears.
Chapter 30
It was Gwendolyn? It made sense, but Sophia was still in shock. It was possible the gun had something to do with that too. “Gwendolyn—”
“Shut up.” She waved the gun. “Do you know how badly you hurt him that day in the upper room? That meeting with you and Landon and Hillary? I do.” She looked at Gunner. “He went straight to the bathroom and threw up. I knew right then you didn’t deserve a great guy like him. You’d just—”
“But you’re the reason I overheard him talking to Landon.”
“No, I wasn’t. I overheard your friend, Travis, talking so Landon could hear. I thought you’d want to know, so I told you to go there so you could tell Landon that you’d picked Gunner. But the next day, you called Gunner into a meeting, and I heard you say awful things. He’d opened his heart to you, telling you about his high school sweetheart, and you just…hurt him so badly.”
Gunner slowly approached Sophia from the left. “Gwendolyn.”
She jerked her gaze to him. “I’m right. She hurt you so deeply. Those weeks we traveled, I could see how brokenhearted you were. It was like the light had died in your eyes. It was the same way I was treated.”
“Are you the one who set the cabin on fire?” Gunner asked.
“I just wanted Sophia to be out of the way a second so we c
ould spend a little time together. That night I invited you for tea…you said no. So the next day I fixed the stove to catch on fire. I thought if we had just a minute together, you’d see I was a better choice. That I cared about you more.”
Sophia’s heart was hammering; she’d always thought she could keep a level head in a scary situation, but it was so hard to think. Gunner had thrown up that day after the meeting? Gwendolyn had a crush on him and tried to hurt her? Puzzle pieces were on the table with a diagram of where they went, and she was feeling too slow to put them together.
“So you did all of this because you have a crush on Gunner?” Sophia asked.
Gwendolyn glared at her as she lowered the gun a fraction. “A crush? No, while you were hanging all over Landon, I spent time with Gunner. He likes me too, but you’re in the way.”
Gunner slowly moved closer to Sophia. “Gwendolyn, you need some help. You don’t want me. I’m not what you think I am.”
She smiled. “Yes, you are. You’re sweet and caring and protective. I love you, and I know you love me too.” She lifted the gun, aiming it straight at Sophia. “And as soon as I take care of her, we can be together.”
The next few seconds were such a blur, Sophia had difficulty processing. The gun went off, and she screamed. As Gunner dove in front of Sophia, police officers rushed from the sides of the garden, grabbed Gwendolyn, and managed to take the gun from her.
Gunner rolled to a stop on his stomach.
Sophia’s breath caught when she realized he wasn’t moving. She raced to his side and kneeled next to him, tears pooling in her eyes. “Gunner?” Her voice caught. “Gunner?” She called his name again as she turned him over. “Please be okay. Please.”
Coughing, he held his chest as he sat up. “Oh, that always hurts.”
“What?”
He unbuttoned his shirt to reveal a bulletproof vest. “You might not bleed, but you’ll be bruised and sore.”
Sophia threw her arms around his neck and sobbed. “I thought…”
“I’m fine, but that hurt,” he said, wrapping his arms around her.
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