The One

by Danielle Allen

  The mood in the room shifted abruptly. I’d never heard a silence so loud. My body tensed.

  “Hello everyone!” Lillian greeted us as she strolled into the room. “I’m Lillian! As Julian’s only real relationship, I’d be happy to give you any insight I can.”

  I blinked blankly, unable to join in with the chorus of unsettled hellos. Her looks gave me pause.

  With the face of a model, Lillian Pierce was stunning. She had a warm honey skin tone that had a radiant glow. Her bright blue eyes sparkled. She had lustrous dark blonde hair that cascaded down her back in soft waves. Her one-piece romper was trendy, but sophisticated.

  “She looks just like Leah,” Mya hissed under her breath. “Leah 2.0.”

  My stomach twisted violently as I nodded as discreetly as possible. I was thinking the same thing.

  “Lillian will be having one-on-one time with each of you before heading back to Black Heart Studios: Nashville. So, let’s get started! Ana, you’re up first.”

  Ana smirked cunningly as she rose from the loveseat and followed Lillian out of the room.

  As soon as they left the room, everyone seemed to start speaking at once. The cameras panned over us and the crew members seemed giddy. They knew getting us together as a group to wait for Julian would be awkward. They knew cracking open bottles of wine and encouraging us to answer questions about Julian would be tense. But throwing in Lillian, who looked like the show’s frontrunner, was stirring the pot.

  And they are getting exactly what they want.

  Samantha started crying, spiraling into a weepy insecure mess as Emma comforted her.

  Tori and Tiffany picked apart Lillian’s overall appearance in unnecessarily catty remarks.

  Leah seemed uncomfortable, staring into a compact mirror and primping herself.

  Bailey and Mya speculated what we would learn from Lillian.

  And I couldn’t stop thinking about the concerted effort the show was planning to take to push Julian and Leah together.

  Even if America didn’t love her, she is clearly Julian’s type.

  The amount of alcohol consumed in that hour was ridiculous. It didn’t take long for me to realize that they were calling women to chat with Lillian alphabetically.

  “Last, but not least, Zoe,” Lillian beckoned with a faint smile.

  I followed her to the frequently unused study. Two mahogany leather wing-backed chairs were angled toward one another. We each took a seat.

  “Zoe…how are you?” Lillian started, crossing her legs.

  I smiled. “I’m well. How are you?”

  “Tired!” She giggled, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “We don’t have much time so shall we get to it? Tell me what it is you like about Julian?”

  “He’s the second best man I’ve ever met. And it’s a close second so that’s really saying something.”

  She seemed amused. “Who’s the first?”

  “My father.”

  “So, no daddy issues. That’s good, very promising.”

  I thought that was an odd response, but I smiled politely.

  Lillian clasped her hands in front of her. “So tell me more about what you like about Julian.”

  “I like that he’s so together and focused. He knows what he wants. He’s a go-getter. And we have a lot in common.”

  It was quiet as she looked at me, compelling me to explain myself, my feelings. “Go on,” she encouraged gently.

  “I don’t know what else you want me to say.” I paused before adding, “He’s intelligent, annoyingly so at times. He’s funny.” My body warmed and my lips turned upward. “But not just funny, he’s witty and he has incredible timing. He’s sweet and affectionate. He’s poetic. He has this way with words that just speaks to me. He…”

  I blinked through the haze and my stomach flipped. I’d realized I was rambling on camera in front of his ex-girlfriend like a lovesick crazy person. Shifting in my seat, I pulled myself together.

  “He’s a great man and I’ve been enjoying getting to know him,” I concluded.

  Lillian’s facial expression was unreadable. “Well, is there anything you’d like to know about Julian?”

  I thought about it and the barrage of questions immediately popped into my head. You wanted to reconcile at one time, do you still? Did the sex in November rekindle some feelings for you? Does he have a type? Are you his type? Why did you break up with him? Do you regret it? Why are you here?

  “No, thank you.” I gave her a kind smile. “Anything I learn about Julian, I want it to be from Julian. I appreciate you taking the time to speak with me though.”

  Lillian looked at me long and hard. Her lips slowly turned upward as the seconds ticked by. “Well, well, well. This is a first.”

  I didn’t know what to say to that so I didn’t say a word.

  Lillian’s smile evaporated. “You’re serious?”

  I nodded. “Yes. I’m good. If I have questions about anything, I like to go to the source.”

  She leaned forward and lowered her voice. “You have a chance to hear about him from the perspective of his only ex, the only person to be in an actual relationship with him. What’s a better source than that?”

  “He is. He’s a better source.”

  She nodded slowly. “Do you love him?”

  Ummmmmmmmm…

  “After six days? That’s a little fast don’t you think?”

  Lillian giggled to herself before looking at the producers. “I think we’re done here. I have to get going.”

  We got up to leave, allowing the camera crew to rush out before us. The group of four bolted from the study in the direction of the living room where the rest of the contestants were located.

  Lillian lightly touched my elbow before we made it down the hallway. “Zoe, you never answered my question.”

  My heart rate accelerated as I turned to face her. “What do you mean?”

  I knew exactly what she meant.

  She glanced behind me. “Listen,” she started, her eyes darkened. “A couple of these girls are clearly here for the money or the exposure. Some seem to genuinely like him and even claim to love him. But let’s be honest, they don’t even know him.” She paused, folding her arms over her relatively small chest. “But you, you speak about him in a way that I recognize. Because it’s how I speak about him.”

  “Okay…?” I crossed my arms over my chest and tilted my head to the side.

  She took a step toward me and lowered her voice. “I’ve known Julian for a long time and in the four years since we’ve broken up, do you know how many times he’s been in a relationship? Been in love? I’ll tell you. None. I’m his first love, his only love.”

  “If that’s the case, why is he here? And why are you telling me?”

  Tossing her hair back, Lillian scoffed. “I’m trying to help you out, kid. I saw it in your eyes when you talked about him. You’re in love with him. And I get it. He has that effect. But I’m trying to save you from heart break. None of the other ones seemed to even know him, but you do. And if you’re this invested now, how hard do you think it’ll be when the show’s over, the romance is gone, and he resumes his life with me?”

  I shook my head, letting out a humorless laugh. “Do you hear yourself? I’m not discrediting what you two had. Had. Past tense. But if he wanted to be with you, do you think he would’ve gone through all of this to be on The One?”

  “Oh Zoe…” Her voice dripped with condescension. “You’re obviously beautiful and well-educated, but you’re not being very bright right now. So let me break it down to you. Julian took this opportunity because he is making the leap from producer to musician. Every single episode is not only a promotional opportunity for him as a man, but also for him as an artist.” She paused, smirking. “He’s going to choose that poor man’s version of me, Lena, Leah, whatever.” She rolled her eyes. “And then once this show is over, we will be together again.”

  My blood was boiling, but I kept my cool. “I’m n
ot going to continue to have this conversation with you. Julian knows what he wants.”

  Lillian took a step back. “Yes he does. Me. And in November, when he was recording in my studio, he pretty much told me so.” She winked. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” She turned on her heel and walked off.

  I didn’t give her the satisfaction of reacting. I headed toward the living room and once I heard the front door slam, I closed my eyes and let my head drop back.

  That condescending bitch!

  I told myself that I only had to wait twenty-four hours for the next Bracelet Ceremony and my opportunity to discuss with Koko what happened.

  I sat on the edge of the couch and the excitement swirling around the living room earlier in the night was diminished by Lillian’s visit.

  “Hello! Anyone home?” Julian’s deep voice rumbled through the hallway, cutting over the feminine voices speaking.

  My heart jumped at the sound of his voice and my emotions swirled inside of me uncontrollably. I sucked in a deep breath.

  In jeans and a t-shirt, he strolled into the living room evoking my body’s immediate response. His eyes landed on me instantly. The irritation of my interaction with his ex-girlfriend still didn’t quell how I felt about him.

  “Everything okay?” He asked after everyone greeted him. He looked around as if he could see it on our faces.

  All of us looked at each other before Emma spoke up. “We had a visitor before you arrived.”

  Julian looked confused, his eyebrows furrowed. “Who?”

  “Lillian,” Ana spat.

  His jaw clenched. “What?” He turned toward where a group of producers were standing behind the camera. “What?” He growled.

  “Cut!”

  Julian stormed over to the patio area where Bryce was standing in deep conversation with Robert Brady. We were left in a stunned silence as we craned our necks to see if we could see what was happening. When all three men started walking back from the patio less than ten minutes later, we scrambled to get back in our seats.

  Julian looked pissed, but he smiled anyway. “I’m going to spend some time with you one-on-one for a bit. I’m going to start with...” He glared in the direction of Robert and Bryce before he turned his stormy grey eyes onto me. “Zoe.”

  I stood, grabbing on to the hand that he extended to me. He didn’t say a word as he stalked out of the living room, me in tow.

  The camera crew followed us as he led us to the study.

  “Julian,” I started as soon as we were in the room. I tugged his hand, compelling him to look at me. “Hey, Julian, look at me.”

  He turned around and I saw the anger and frustration embedded in his features.

  I put my hands on the sides of his face, staring into his eyes.

  It only took a few seconds for his face to change completely. His face relaxed, rage and aggravation evaporated. The tension in his body gave way and he exhaled roughly.

  “Hi,” I whispered, putting my arms around his neck.

  “Hi.” He smirked, pulling me into him. “Thank you.”

  “For…?”

  “For being you.”

  I gazed up at him adoringly, biting down on my lip to keep from smiling so hard. “You are a sweet talker.”

  He put his lips to my ear. “I missed you. I thought about you the entire time I was gone.”

  The fluttering in my chest cavity made it hard to suck in air.

  He spoke so softly that the production crew waved their arms frantically to get our attention. The words ‘we can’t hear you’ were written on a piece of paper clipped to a clipboard.

  I cleared my throat and gestured with my head to the sign.

  He sighed. “You want to have a seat?”

  I grinned, moving my body against his as discreetly as possible. “Not really.”

  He laughed. His hands ran up and down my back and then rested at the curve of my ass.

  Standing on my tiptoes, I planted a quick peck on his lips. “Now, what was that whole thing about with Lillian?”

  He clenched his teeth and closed his eyes for a few seconds. I patiently waited for him to answer.

  “There’s no reason for her to be involved with this so she shouldn’t have come. But more than that, the show shouldn’t have contacted her without my permission.” He shook his head. “She can be intense. Did all of you have to meet with her?”

  I nodded. “And she was a delight,” I answered sarcastically.

  He grimaced. “I can only imagine. Did she say anything out of line? Scratch that. What did she say that was out of line?”

  “Oh, you know. A little of this, a little of that.” Subtly, I tilted my head toward the camera. “She did ask if I wanted any dirt on you. I declined.”

  “What dirt would she have? This is crazy. We broke up when we were twenty-four. We’ve run into each other a handful of times over the last four years and only one time did we have a real conversation.” He gave me a look. “And that was in November.”

  Her words irritated my soul. I lightly cleared my throat. “Yeah, she mentioned November.”

  He closed his eyes and his jaw tightened. When he looked at me again, I saw nothing but sincerity and genuine affection. “I apologize. When we hung out in November, the meeting served its purpose. If I would’ve thought that meeting would’ve led to her popping up here on The One, I wouldn’t have had that meeting with her. And I don’t want my ex negatively impacting anything with my future.”

  My heart stopped.

  Did he just call me his future?

  I felt giddy. “Julian…” I dragged his name out dreamily. “I appreciate you saying that. But how I feel about you is pretty solid. And considering you’re dating me and eight other women, I can handle the ramblings of your obsessive ex.”

  He looked into my eyes for a long time. “I’m sorry. I really am.” He hesitated before he mouthed, “For all of it.”

  “You can make it up to me,” I flirted, temporarily forgetting the camera because I was caught up in his eyes. “I can think of some ways.”

  “Zoe Jordan, you have no idea,” he growled, slapping me on my ass.

  “Julian Winters, I think I do.”

  We both laughed.

  Grabbing my face, Julian moved his mouth over mine sweetly. I felt myself smiling against his lips.

  “What are you smiling about?” His hands crept a little further down on my ass and he dropped his forehead to mine.

  “You make me smile. Just being with you makes me smile.”

  There was a short knock on the door before Tori walked in. Although our foreheads separated, we were slower to remove our arms from around each other.

  Julian sighed in disappointment faintly. “Hi, Tori.”

  “Hello…do you have a few minutes?” She asked sweetly.

  “Of course. Just give me a minute to say goodbye to Zoe, please,” he replied before looking down at me. “Our time is up, but it was a pleasure as always.”

  “Indeed it was,” I returned, wanting to kiss him but knowing I couldn’t. The door slammed shut and I looked over to see that Tori finally left the room. Meeting his gaze again, I held him tighter. “I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s date.”

  “As am I. Any extra time I get to spend with you is nice. I wish we had more time tonight.” He gave me a look.

  Is he telling me to meet him tonight?

  “Me too.” My response was a little unsure.

  We walked hand-in-hand to the door and he gave me a chaste kiss that left me wanting more when we parted ways. Tori walked in immediately after I took one step over the threshold and I happened to look back in enough time to see Julian give her a big hug.

  My stomach turned.

  All of us had to remain in the living room until everyone had their few minutes with Julian. Once he had spent his time with each of us individually, he sat in the living room with us, drinking and talking as a group.

  Seeing him interact with the other women offered b
oth reassurance that he didn’t look at anyone in the house the way he looked at me and a reminder that he could. Bailey’s voice rang in my head watching him with Leah tucked under his arm, Ana clutching his other hand, and Mya sitting on his lap.

  A man is only as faithful as his options. I rolled my shoulders back and tried to clear my mind.

  I tolerated the vapid conversations and the flirty commentary that whirled around me. Sexual innuendos were being tossed his way and with his quick wit, he would reply accordingly. But watching him being affectionate made my stomach turn and at that point, I switched from water to wine.

  At the time that Julian was supposed to leave, Leah volunteered to walk him out. I grumbled obscenities internally. A few other women grumbled audibly. But Robert Brady smiled like a Cheshire cat from the patio.

  One of the camera crews followed the two of them and we were free to leave the area. I wanted to head straight to my room, but I was intercepted by a producer.

  “Zoe, will you follow me for a minute. I want to show you something.”

  I looked at Mya and shrugged.

  When she started to follow me, the producer said, “No, just Zoe this time.”

  Mya and I looked at each other suspiciously before looking at the producer. “I’ll wait for you right here,” she told me.

  “What’s this about?” I questioned as I followed the familiar looking man through the foyer.

  “Think of me as your best friend,” he answered. “You and Julian have a lot of chemistry.”

  I didn’t know if it was a question or not, so I hesitated before replying, “We do.”

  “It really jumps off of the screen. But in person, sometimes it’s like you two are the only people in the room.”

  I smiled despite myself. “That’s a good thing.”

  “Definitely,” he nodded, stopping at the big, picturesque window. “He only has that with one other woman.”

  If he does, I don’t see it.

  “Oh really?”

  He moved the satiny curtain fabric to the side, but left the sheer panel in place so it took me a second to see what he was showing me. I gasped.

  Julian had his arms around Leah and she was gazing up at him. I moved the sheer panel to be sure. The camera crew had their backs to the window so it was unlikely that Julian or Leah would look my way. I’d hoped that I wasn’t seeing what I thought I was seeing, but there it was right in front of me. I’d never seen him embrace any of the other women the way he embraced me. I’d never seen him look at another woman the way he looked at me.