The red had disappeared from Laney’s face, but she kept her eyes averted from his as Peter introduced him to the Korean woman next to her. Was that from embarrassment or had she felt something too?
“I’m Maryanne. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Tyler. I’ll be filming the dates, so I guess I’ll get to see a lot of you.”
“Looking forward to it,” he said shaking her hand.
“All right, that’s all the crew, but let me show you around the place and then you can get settled in for a few hours before Laney comes to do your makeup. Are you ready to meet the women?”
“I suppose I will be in a few hours.”
“Great. I think you’ll really like the women we found for you. They come from all walks of life, but they matched your personality questions.” Peter continued talking as he led Tyler around the compound and then finally to his space.
The simple main room held just a table and a few chairs, and a single hallway led back to a bedroom with an attached bath. Nothing extreme but nice. It wasn’t home, but Tyler thought it would be a suitable replacement for a few weeks.
9
Tyler stared up at Laney as she poured liquid foundation into a spray bottle. “What is that?”
“This?” she held up the bottle. “This is an air brush machine. You’ve heard of it, right?”
“Yeah, but I thought they airbrushed pictures for magazines. I didn’t realize they airbrushed people.”
A tiny smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. It was a cute, lopsided smile. “They do airbrush magazine pictures, but they also airbrush people for TV. HD is wicked. It will pick up every pore in your face.”
He ran a hand across his chin as if searching for gaping holes. “Do I have big pores for it to find?”
She chuckled and shot him a look out of the corner of her eye as she screwed the lid back on the machine. “Not really, but they want you to appear perfect, so-” she shrugged letting the words fade away. “Close your eyes, please.”
He shut his eyes and took a deep breath as the motor on the air brush machine whirred to life. A breath of air covered his face moving slowly left to right. It didn’t feel much like makeup, but he’d never worn any before, so he had nothing to compare it to.
The motor stopped, and he opened his eyes. “Am I beautiful now?”
A pink blush graced her cheeks. “I might use the word dashing, but yes, almost.” She set the air brush down and picked up a small plastic tool with a comb-like head.
“Dashing, huh? I haven’t heard that word in a while.” In fact, no one he knew had used that word since his grandmother who used to always tell him he looked dashing when he wore his suits for church. “Are you from around here?”
She shook her head and moved the brush across his eyebrows. Her face was close enough he noticed a tiny dimple in her left cheek and the smattering of freckles that dusted her nose. “Texas originally, but I’ve been living in New York for the past six months.”
“Texas?” His head perked up at the mention of home and the finding of a kindred spirit out in this foreign place. “What part?”
“Houston where it’s hot and humid. How about you?”
“Frederiksberg. The good ole Peach of Texas.” They might both be from the Lone Star State, but that was where the similarities ended. She was a city girl and he preferred the country.
“I can’t say I’ve ever been there, but I do love peaches.” Laney’s lips pursed as she stepped back and looked him over. It was an odd experience as she looked at him more like a piece of art than a person. “Okay, I think you’re ready.”
His heart sped up in his chest as his nerves pulled taut. “Are you sure? I don’t need any more touch ups?”
Her brow furrowed, and she shook her head. “You said you didn’t want makeup, and now you want more?”
“Actually, I’m just nervous about meeting these women. I’m not generally a limelight kind of guy.”
“Kind of hard to avoid when you agree to the be the bachelor on a reality dating show. If you didn’t want the limelight why did you do it?” She began packing up her supplies, but the tilt of her head told him she was still listening.
“My friend’s wife is very persuasive.”
Laney turned back to him. “What, did she obtain some dirty laundry on you?”
“No, she’s just an amazing cook, and I didn’t want her banning me from dinner. After my last girlfriend broke up with me, she suggested this. I didn’t think I’d get chosen though.”
“I can see why they chose you.” Her eyes held his for a moment and then she turned away, but not before he saw the blush climb her face once again.
An awkward silence descended. Tyler felt the need to say something, but he didn’t know what. He didn’t know her, not really, and they would have to work together for the next few weeks. “Right, well I guess I better get out there. Wish me luck.”
“Good luck,” Laney said, but she kept her face turned from him.
Tyler hoped he hadn’t made her uncomfortable, but he couldn’t worry about that now. Right now, he had to put on his game face, meet twenty women, and pretend this whole thing didn’t scare him out of his mind.
Tyler blinked against the blinding lights. How was he supposed to act natural with all the bright light shining in his face?
“Are you ready?” Justin asked.
No, he wasn’t ready. Why had he ever thought this would be a good idea? He was in a foreign city, wearing rented clothes and makeup of all things, and waiting for twenty women he had never met who had agreed to come based on his photo and interests alone. “I guess as ready as I’ll ever be.” It sounded like the worst kind of meat market especially for a small-town rancher hoping for more than a physical attraction.
“You’ll do great. Just be yourself.” Tyler assumed Justin’s words were meant to boost his confidence but as the man put little emotion behind the words, they fell flat on Tyler’s ears.
Tyler took the moment to scan the area. Peter sat in a director’s chair off to the left, a pair of headphones on his head and a monitor in front of him. A lanky man whose name failed him held a boom mic his direction and Justin stood to the side. A sole camera focused on him a few yards away. Maryanne and Laney sat behind it. Laney flashed him a thumbs up sign when she caught him staring at her. He smiled back and relaxed a little. He could do this.
The sound of a car engine reached his ears and Tyler smoothed his shirt. He adjusted his tie and cleared his throat. It was dry as if he had swallowed a bug, one that refused to be dislodged, but he knew it was just his nerves. A black stretch limo pulled up and the door opened. A blond woman with a skin-tight evening gown stepped out. The slit in her dress went nearly to her hip and the front dipped quite low as well.
Her eyes lit up and her lips stretched to a wide smile as she caught sight of him. He waited as she carefully stepped up the path. She was pretty, but a little too revealing for him. He wanted a more modest woman, but perhaps this was for the camera. Maybe she was more modest normally. He tried to keep an open mind, but when she spoke, the shrillness of her voice told him she wouldn’t be the one he chose in the end.
“Oh, my goodness, you’re even more handsome than I imagined.” Her voice was high and pitchy, almost like Minnie Mouse. “Can I wear your hat?” She reached up and without thinking he took a step back. Didn’t she realize it was rude to ask for a cowboy’s hat unless you were dating him?
“Sorry, it’s covering up my hat hair,” he said trying to salvage his reaction.
“Oh, well, maybe later. I’m Stacie by the way. With an IE and not a Y.”
Of course, she was. This woman oozed “high maintenance” in every way sense of the word and sent off warning bells in Tyler’s head. She was Sierra and the three previous women rolled into one, and he wondered how she had made it past the survey. There was no way he could envision her on his ranch or any ranch. “Well, I look forward to getting to know you better.”
Tyler didn’t, but they
had told him to try to give everyone a fair chance. It was harder than he thought it would be, and he wondered if he would be able to keep a stoic face if the rest of the women were like this. What if he felt nothing for any of them? Would they force him to continue even if it was obvious there was no match for him?
She blinked at him, obviously taken off guard. “Oh, yes. I look forward to getting to know you better as well.”
Tyler breathed a sigh of relief as Stacie with an IE walked up the rest of the path and into the house. Surely the next woman would be better. Pulling his shoulders back, he turned back to the limo. They had told him four women would arrive in every limo. The door opened again, and a stunning redhead exited.
Now, she was a little more his style. Beautiful but in an understated way. Her long hair fell in a soft curl about her shoulders and while her evening gown was form fitted, it had a much more modest neckline and much smaller slit. This time there was no need to fake his smile.
“Hello,” he said when she reached his side. He held out his hand to her. “I’m Tyler.”
She smiled as she took it and looked up at him with these amazing green eyes that seemed to sparkle in the light. “I’m Heidi.”
His breath caught a little in his chest. “What do you do Heidi?”
“I’m a preschool teacher in Washington state.”
He blinked at her. Washington state. That information stunned Tyler. He supposed he had known these women came from all over the country but hearing her say she lived in a state across the country from him brought home the reality that either he or the woman he chose might have to leave their home and move at the end of this journey.
“Washington state. I can’t say I’ve ever been there.”
“It’s beautiful if you don’t mind the rain. It rains a lot.” Her eyes twinkled as her lips pulled into a crooked smile.
“You’ll have to tell me more about it.” Though he wanted to talk with Heidi longer, they had told him to keep each first meeting to a minute or less. They claimed he would have plenty of time to talk to the women after the initial meeting. He hoped so, but he would have to keep Heidi on his radar.
The next woman to exit was a tall brunette. She wasn’t as thin as the other two women, but her athletic build was appealing. He could see her riding horses with him, and he added her to his mental list.
Then a stunning blond exited. She had a bubbly air about her he found appealing, and he wanted to get to know her better as well.
“Let’s take a break before the next car,” Peter hollered. The lights cut off and Tyler sighed a breath of relief. He had never thought acting was hard, but he felt as if he’d just done a physical workout, and there were four more cars to go.
“Ready for your touch up?” Laney appeared at his side, brush and makeup in hand.
“More?” He hadn’t done anything to smear the makeup that he knew of.
“Yep, a touch up. The lights are hot and they’re afraid you might have sweated some off, so I have to retouch during every break.”
“I guess my face is all yours.”
She dipped her brush in some powder and ran it across his face.
“How’s it looking?”
“Your face?” She smiled. “It looks good. I’m almost finished.”
“No, I don’t mean my face. I mean the whole thing. Is my nervousness as apparent as I think it is?” He wasn’t sure why he was asking her other than she was the person he had spent the most time with so far, and she had an honest air about her. He held her gaze as he waited for her answer.
“You look fine. Just be yourself.” She squeezed his arm, and his eyes fell to her hand. It was nothing, a friendly touch but it sent off a surge of heat in his arm. Before he uttered another word though, she disappeared, and the next limo arrived.
Laney bit her lip as she watched the next limo pull up. This was harder than she’d thought it would be. She shouldn’t care what these women looked like or how Tyler reacted to them, but she did. With each one he seemed uninterested in, her heart gave a tiny cheer, but with each one he smiled at, her stomach knotted, and her fists clenched at her side.
“Are you okay?” Maryanne asked as Laney leaned forward to catch Tyler’s reaction to the stunning brunette.
“What? Yeah, I’m fine. Just checking to see how his makeup looks in the camera. I want to make sure I do a good job.”
Maryanne’s eyebrow edged up her forehead. “Uh huh. Look, I get he’s good looking, but you can’t fall for him, Laney. He’s here to marry one of these women.”
“I know that.”
“You might know that, but you aren’t acting like that.”
Laney took a deep breath. Maryanne was right. She was here to do a job, and she needed to focus on that.
“Cut.”
Peter’s voice carried across the lot and Laney picked up her tools. “That’s my cue.” Maryanne shot her a pointed stare and Laney nodded. She could do this. She could build up her emotional wall and ignore the tingle that raced through her veins when she was near him. Emotional walls were her specialty after all. Focus. Do your job and get out. Little interaction, remember?
“How’s it going?” she asked when she reached Tyler. He didn’t need a touchup, but she ran the brush across his face anyway.
“It’s a little daunting. These women seem great, but how am I going to know who to keep and who to let go?”
Laney bit her lip. Keep it short and keep it professional. “I guess you’ll have to follow your heart.” Easy advice to spout but much harder to take. She certainly wasn’t doing that.
“Thanks.” He caught her eye and held her gaze. “I appreciate that.”
Laney forced a smile to her lips. “No problem. It’s what I’m here for… and your makeup obviously. Speaking of which, you’re good to go.”
As she walked back to Maryanne, she took a deep breath. She could do this, but she needed to get her emotions under control.
10
“Well, Tyler, you’ve gotten to meet the women. Do you have any that stand out in your mind?”
Tyler did have a few he really wanted to get to know better, but they had told him to be vague at the beginning. Part of keeping the ratings up was not letting the viewers discern his favorites too soon. The first ceremony would be tonight and that would be their first clue.
“Yeah, a lot of them do, but I must tell you, Justin, it’s kind of hard keeping twenty women straight. I am going to get more time with them, right?”
Justin flashed his fake TV smile. “Of course you will. In fact, why don’t we head inside now? You can pick the first woman you’d like to talk with one on one.”
“And how much time do I get with each woman? “Tyler asked. Even half an hour with each woman would mean ten more hours. He doubted they would film that long, but this was one area they hadn’t clarified with him.
Justin’s smile froze giving his expression an insincere plastic look. “We’ll be having the ceremony in two hours.”
“Two hours? How am I supposed to get to know twenty women in two hours? That’s not even ten minutes with each one.” Tyler’s voice held an edge of panic and he forced himself to take a deep breath, but this was his future here. How was he supposed to make the right decision or more importantly keep from making the wrong one with only two hours?
“Cut.” Anger filled Peter’s voice as he hollered from his chair. “Justin, didn’t you go over how he should handle this evening with him?”
Justin’s forced smile faded, and he rolled his eyes. “I told him what we always tell them, but you know they always freak out the first night.” He turned his attention back to Tyler. “Look, you’re only eliminating five tonight. Surely there are five women you didn’t connect with.”
Tyler’s brow furrowed. “There might have been a couple, but I don’t know about five. Isn’t this supposed to be about finding the right woman though? What if I cut a woman I would have had a connection with but didn’t get the chance to know?”
<
br /> “Look, I’ve been doing this long enough to know that there are women you didn’t have an initial attraction to. Then there are the ones you did. Finally, there are a handful that don’t really stand out one way or the other to you. My advice is start with those. Talk with them during these two hours and find out which ones you can let go. Then you’ll have more time to get to know the others.”
While Justin’s advice made sense, Tyler still wasn’t happy that he had such a short time with the women. What if they did this again? He didn’t like having to make such heavy decisions with so little time. “You promise there will be more time from here on out?”
Justin’s eye twitched. “There will be time, but it may never feel like enough. The only thing I can say is use it wisely.”
“Are we ready to redo this scene now?” Peter called from the side.
Justin looked at Tyler, his brow raised in a silent question.
“Fine,” Tyler said. There wasn’t much he could do about it now anyway.
“Take two.”
“So, Tyler, you’ve gotten to meet the women. Do you have any that stand out in your mind?” Justin’s game show host smile was back on his face like this was the first time he had asked the question and didn’t know the answer. No wonder the guy was snarky in real life. Tyler probably would be too if this was what he had to do.
He wanted to say no. He wanted to ask for his contract right now and maybe rip it to shreds and throw it at Peter, but instead Tyler pasted on his own smile knowing it probably looked about as real as fool’s gold. “Absolutely, Justin. I’d like the chance to get to know them all more.”
“Well, then let’s head inside. This house is where the women will be staying, but don’t worry, we have an apartment just as nice for you.”
The house was indeed amazing, and Tyler probably would have enjoyed the view more if he didn’t have twenty women staring at him as if he were the last man on earth. He could almost hear claws sharpening as the women looked around at each other. Tyler briefly wondered if they would need a security guard to keep the peace in the house. This many women stuck together seemed dangerous, but this many women stuck together while competing for the same man felt like a recipe for disaster.
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