Eric.
Dressed in all his struggling handsome actor splendor, he strutted inside like he’d been invited here.
Damn it, maybe he had.
“Oh, thank God.” Tabitha sighed with relief.
“Who is this?” Angela whispered in Bonnie’s ear.
Bonnie didn’t answer, she simply marched straight to Eric. “What are you doing here?”
If the producers wanted drama, she’d give it to them.
Eric’s eyebrow quirked. “I didn’t like the way we left things.”
“Oh, you didn’t like the way you cheated on me and forced me to move out?”
“No one forced you to do anything. I would have come home to you. You know I always do.”
“Always? Eric, we dated for ten months.”
“Can we talk outside?” He slid a smile at everyone in the room, his hands spread out.
See? I’m completely reasonable, ladies. And these are not veneers.
Tabitha nearly wilted at his smile and Angela glared at him.
Lori indicated with sweeping motions of her hands, that taking this “outside” would be a nice set change.
“Whatever.” Bonnie stomped to the patio, swung open the French doors and then slid them shut.
Elton hid in the bushes with his camera.
She crossed her arms and faced Eric. “Why are you here?”
“I’ve come to fight for you.”
She snorted. “Um, what?
Okay, so reality TV show acting happened to be the toughest work she’d ever done. She had no script, and everything that came out of her mouth sounded sophomoric. Stupid.
What she wouldn’t do for a solid script with good dialogue! Never again would she watch a show and think “good acting.” Damn good writers, for crying out loud, putting the words in actors’ mouths!
“Why is that hard to believe I want you back? You’re a good-looking woman.”
She jutted out a hip. “I’m good looking. That’s all you got for me?”
“What? I thought we got along great!”
“I feel sorry for you if you think we had a good relationship. It just shows me you don’t know what the real thing looks like.”
He rolled his eyes. “Regardless, you weren’t supposed to come into this show when you still had a relationship.”
“Eric, look at me.” She pointed to her eyes, then his. “We didn’t have a relationship. I left you and we were done.”
“Via text message! I need closure. You have to admit it happened fast. And I personally think we could have had a chance, if we’d just stuck it out and done the tough work.”
She shook her head. “I don’t even know what I’m supposed to say to that.”
Clearly, Eric was here to further his acting career. He must have not gotten the part in “Vic’s” show. The real question remained whether she wanted to let the viewing public know this could be the only reason he’d show up. Some small innate sense of self-preservation within her didn’t want everyone to know the way Eric had humiliated her. She held back from accusing him on camera for this reason alone.
But did she want to risk Sean wondering if she’d come here with a broken heart, simply using him to feel wanted and beautiful again? No. It was bad enough she’d been originally hired as the plant and was being paid to be here.
She desperately didn’t want Sean to know about Eric. He wouldn’t understand.
“Eric, I want you to leave.”
“You don’t mean that.” He needed his full fifteen minutes of fame, after all, not five short minutes. “We have a history.”
“A short one.”
“Look, I know you’re here for your ex. The cowboy you used to talk about. But do you really think he’s going to choose you over some of the other women? You’re not a sure thing, Bonnie.”
“We’re down to three, and he hasn’t gotten rid of me yet.”
“Maybe he just feels sorry for you. He’s going to get rid of you sooner or later.”
“So, I might as well just come back with you? You’re ready to be my consolation prize? Is that what you want to be?”
He straightened and tugged on the collar of his shirt. “I wouldn’t quite put it that way.”
“If I come back with you, it will only be because I gave up on getting back the best man I’ve ever known.”
Here’s some of that butter, Lori. It helps that I believe it.
This is my reality.
He held his palms out pleadingly. “But I’m young. I can learn to be a better man.”
“Wow, okay. Eric, you don’t care about me. If you think about it, you’ll find your truth.” She took a deep breath. “I’m not sure you’ve ever loved anyone.”
“Well, I’m not sure you have, either.”
Either Eric wasn’t acting, or he’d become a better actor overnight. He fisted his hands, his words sharp and brittle.
“Oh, but I have. Very much.”
After the chaos of the day’s group date event, Sean headed to the Shady Grind for a cold beer. He needed the break. After all that chaos with the children, he needed to relax and unwind. He hadn’t expected it a school full of kids to be easy but he sure hadn’t been prepared for the biggest child there to be a twenty-five-year old woman. When he agreed to let the producers choose the winner, he’d never imagined they’d bring on someone who so obviously wasn’t ready to be in a serious relationship. Tabitha cared about one person and one person only: Tabitha.
If they asked him to propose to her, he’d honor his contract, but they’d break up the next day.
Tonight, he found the bar filled with women, most the former contestants from the show, and some he didn’t recognize.
Levi rang the cowbell they’d had installed over the bar. “Hey, Mr. Cowboy! Drinks on the house!”
Sean accepted claps and fist bumps and slowly made his way to the bar.
“This is something, right? I had no idea this was going on.”
“All thanks to you. The women were encouraged to stick around for some kind of ‘after the show’ thing. Most of them are staying in Kerrville but they come down often for Ladies’ Night.”
“Plenty of lonely cowboys to go around.”
Levi slid him a beer. “Heard the school event didn’t go too well.”
“Nope.”
He was supposed to consult with Lori later and pick a winner but between Angela and Bonnie it was a toss-up. Unless, of course, he asked his heart, which never made logical decisions. It was Bonnie, of course. Always Bonnie. The woman who’d told him she couldn’t give him children. He couldn’t decide if she truly believed it or if she gave it as an excuse to opt out. But as an adopted foster kid, she of all people should realize he wouldn’t mind adopting. Maybe even fostering some kids.
But Bonnie, as always, was a puzzle. He’d watched her with the children and saw nothing but the patience and compassion Jolette Marie had reminded him about.
One of the show’s contestants, the fitness trainer, Kristan? Kristen? Kiersten? found a stool next to him. “How’s it going? I heard you’ve narrowed it down to three. And of course, by process of elimination we’ve already figured out who they are.”
“Hmm.” Sean didn’t want to say much, considering there were enough opinions on the subject.
According to everyone, including his brain, he shouldn’t pick Bonnie.
“I hope you wind up with Tabitha. She’s a sweetie, isn’t she?”
Sean took a swallow of his beer and avoided answering.
“Either way, I’m happy I came. It’s been such a great experience.”
“Well, I sure hope you stay awhile, darlin’.” Levi winked. “You owe me a dance, Kristan, don’t forget.”
“Oh, Levi, you charmer.”
“Who are you goin’ to pick, pal?” Levi asked.
“Jury’s still out.”
“He’s not supposed to say,” Kristan said. “It’s in the contract.”
“Though we’ll all be able to figure it out way before the show airs.” Levi gave the bar a wipe. “Depending on which lucky lady winds up sticking around for good.”
“Until then, we wait.” Kristan gave Levi a flirty smile. “And have fun waiting.”
One guess as to whose bed she’d wind up in tonight.
Meanwhile, Sean would go home to his lonely bed again. It wasn’t as if hadn’t tried to get Bonnie out of his system. He’d dated plenty, every eligible woman his age in Stone Ridge. He’d moved on to Kerrville. That’s where he’d met Robyn with a y. She was everything Bonnie Lee wasn’t, and he’d eventually asked her to marry him, making sure the news got back to Bonnie, because he was still an eighth grader when it came to her.
But he didn’t love Robyn enough, it turned out, and she saw right through him.
They were watching Kavanaugh’s Way one night and she teased him about his crush on the youngest sister of the Irish mafia family.
“I think we should make a list,” she said. “Celebrities we can get a pass on if we ever meet them in real life. We’re allowed to cheat with no guilt. Henry Cavill is at the top of my list. I’m guessing that redhead is on yours.”
He became so defensive that it led to a fight. “She’s full of herself. Of course I wouldn’t pick her.”
Because Robyn wasn’t from Stone Ridge, she didn’t know about Bonnie until someone else told her Bonnie Lee Wheeler was a hometown girl. “Sean’s first love.”
That had spelled the beginning of the end for him and Robyn with a y.
Sean finished his beer, then joined Beau Stephens for several games of darts most of which he won handily. At first, he didn’t recognize the buzzing in his back pocket, then realized he had cell reception.
From: Marti, Jr. aka Lori the bane of my existence:
Where are you? I tried your cabin. We need you back on the set pronto! HUGE development!
Great. What now? Had Tabitha pitched another fit? He couldn’t take much more. She’d pulled him aside to share how hard it was for her to share “her boyfriend” with other women and how he could be a little more understanding. He should maybe not put his arm around the pretty schoolteacher to make Tabitha jealous.
When it came to Tabitha, everything was about her.
Later, he’d had to comfort her after she wound up insulting a child. But he couldn’t let a woman cry in his presence, so he’d been stuck being the proverbial good guy again.
Some days he was sick of himself.
“Duty calls.” He held up his cell. “We have some kind of emergency.”
“I’d love to have that kind of an emergency,” Levi muttered.
“No, you wouldn’t. I can’t even kiss any of these women.”
“You’re a saint!” Levi clutched his heart.
Not so much a saint as a sinner. He’s already kissed Bonnie once and he would have done a lot more than kiss her until she put the brakes on. Just the typical story of Sean chasing Bonnie, a new version now. She should be chasing him.
Feeling dread roll through him at the thought of seeing Tabitha again, Sean drove back to the mansion.
Lori met him outside.
“What’s up?”
“It’s a shocking complication.”
“Would you stop talking like a commercial and tell me what’s goin’ on?”
“Honestly, we didn’t seek him out. Swear to you. He came to us, saying he and Bonnie hadn’t really ended their relationship and you should know.”
Cold dread spiked through him and he wanted to punch a wall. “And what do you want me to do about this?”
“This is a development we hadn’t expected. Bonnie is in the patio trying to get him to leave.”
He scratched his jaw. “Wait. She wants him to leave?”
“Good God, keep up! She claims she broke up with him, he says she didn’t.” Lori held up her palms. “Who to believe?”
“I get it. This is some of that drama y’all live for.”
“Yes, and I think we need to get you on film talking to Bonnie about this latest shock.”
Sean strolled toward the patio and went through the outside wrought iron gates covered with Spanish moss. Bonnie sat on the patio bench, head in her hands, while some wily guy paced back and forth.
“And in conclusion, for these compelling reasons, I should be given a second chance.”
He sounded like a lawyer reciting his closing arguments. This guy must be another actor.
“Please. Just go,” Bonnie said.
“I can’t. This is my opportunity to fight and I can’t let you go.”
“Yes, you can. If you try really, really hard.”
“Hey,” Sean said, coming closer.
Bonnie stood. “Sean.”
“Oh, hey. The man of the hour.” The dude held out his hand. “I’m Eric, Bonnie’s boyfriend.”
Sean did not shake his hand.
“No, he’s not. He’s my ex-boyfriend.” Bonnie said. “Actually, Eric, didn’t we decide we were roommates? That’s what I remember.”
“Let’s not get caught up in semantics.” Eric waved a hand dismissively.
“Well, it’s nice to meet you Elvin, but you can go now. I think Bonnie and I need to talk.”
“Eric,” he corrected, straightening. He slid a nervous look in Lori’s direction, who remained off camera. “Um, I think I get a little more time?”
“That’s too bad. You’re not getting it.”
“Dude, if your relationship is rock solid, I’m nothing for you to worry about.”
But there had always been something to worry about for Sean when it came to other men and Bonnie. He was possessive with a capital P. Apparently, some habits died a hard and painful death.
He took a step forward and forced himself to speak calmly. “I’m not worried. You should still go.”
“I can’t.”
“But I’m asking nicely.”
“Why can’t we all discuss this like adults?’ Eric turned to Bonnie.
“You don’t know how to be an adult!” Bonnie said.
“Is that another crack about my age?”
“This doesn’t concern you, Elliott.” Sean gave him a slight tap to his shoulder simply meant to encourage him to start walking. “You should go now.”
“It’s Eric! Are you stupid or what? And what if I don’t want to leave, big guy?” The man shook his shoulders and his arms, adopting a ‘come and get it’ stance, and giving Bonnie a self-satisfied smile. “Huh? What about that?”
It reminded him of a kid: how am I doing? Good job, huh? Convincing?
“Eric, please don’t. Just go. Please, you idiot.”
Sean counted to twenty. Then twenty-five. Thirty. He was a grown man who didn’t get in fist fights anymore. Not even with supremely annoying men. Always took the high road. Always.
“I don’t know why you want her so much,” Elliott said. “She’s not as pretty as she used to be.”
He could take a whole lot, damn it, but he would not take anyone insulting Bonnie.
Sean’s fist went flying so fast even he didn’t see it coming.