Twenty minutes later, a production assistant collected them. The van only drove for five minutes. When it stopped, Teagan leaned forward and poked the driver. “Is this it? I don’t see anything.”
“Right through there,” he said, pointing through a small gap in the trees. “You’ll all be going in separately, so we’ll stop here for now.”
The van door opened and Catherine waved them all out. “Let’s go, girls! Teagan, you’re first, then Delaney. Charlie third, Olivia last. You’ve only got one take to make a true first impression! Make it count.”
Charlotte and the others stood by the car to wait as Teagan walked through the trees and out of sight. She was glad she couldn’t see anything. It would just make her more nervous.
Fifteen minutes later, the cameras reappeared, and then Delaney took her turn. When the scene was reset for Charlotte, she took a deep breath. Just going to say hi to a normal guy, she thought, slowly walking through the trees.
The lodge was huge. A curved staircase surrounded by flowers led up to the giant front door. Windows filled the three-story wall, and Charlotte could see all the way through the great room and out the windows on the back wall to the sparkling lake.
Behind her Catherine hissed, “Don’t forget to smile, Charlie!”
Wiping her sweaty hands on her jeans, Charlotte walked up the stairs. She tried to smile, but she was sure she looked nervous. There was a camera in her face as soon as she reached the landing. Another camera followed her movements from behind.
The door to the lodge was heavy, but it swung open easily. Dominic stood in the entryway, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt with a blazer over the top. He looked relaxed, even with the cameras and producers everywhere. His dark hair was wavy and gelled back. His eyes twinkled as he grinned at her.
Charlotte’s heart started to race. He’s even cuter in person, she thought in spite of herself.
“Hi,” he said, smiling confidently at her. “I’m Dominic. Welcome to the lodge.” He pulled her in for a quick hug, and she had to fight not to flinch. Surprisingly, it didn’t bother her as much this time. The butterflies in her stomach fluttered and she let go quickly, flustered.
“I’m, um, Charlie,” she said, only hesitating a second before using the nickname. “Nice to meet you.” She plastered a smile on her face, hoping she looked more relaxed than she felt.
“What, no singing? No joke? No cartwheel?” he said, laughing a little. “Not even a one-liner? I thought Teagan was going to blow out her mic with the song she sang.”
“Not really my thing,” she said, shrugging. Even the thought of pulling a stunt like Teagan’s was mortifying to her.
“What is your thing?” he asked, tilting his head to the side.
“I guess you’ll have to wait and see,” she said. Her smile was real this time, though her tone was still frosty. She winced internally. She didn’t mean to sound rude, she was just uncomfortable. Dominic looked so at ease and all she wanted to do was run.
“A mystery,” he said, winking at her. “I like that.”
Charlotte avoided his eyes. She could feel herself blushing and she twisted her fingers together nervously. Get a grip, she thought. He’s probably full of himself. Who else would come on a show like this? She glanced up from under her lashes to find him still looking at her. For a second he looked curious, but then the confident smirk was back.
Feeling more and more uncomfortable, Charlotte reminded herself of the scholarship. She’d already decided not to pretend to be someone she wasn’t to win it, but it was the only thing keeping her there with the cameras focused on her every move. She could only hope Dominic would turn out to be nicer than she expected.
The silence seemed to go on and on, with neither Charlotte nor Dominic sure what to do next. Finally Catherine put them out of their misery.
“Cut!” yelled Catherine. “Charlie, head through to the great room and wait quietly with the others.”
Half an hour later, all four girls were gathered in the great room. Olivia’s giggling over Dominic stopped when he, Catherine, and the camera crew walked in. “You have two hours to get to know each other here,” she said. “There are drinks and snacks over by the back windows. Take this opportunity to make a good impression. Have fun!”
This was one of the things Charlotte had not been looking forward to. She didn’t like parties—and the camera crew didn’t help.
Dominic came into the room and sat down in front of the fireplace. Teagan immediately began fluttering her eyelashes at him. “Do you want something to drink?” she asked. Her voice was breathy and Charlotte choked back a laugh.
When Dominic nodded, Teagan went to get him a soda. She swung her hips back and forth, which just made her look ridiculous.
Olivia sat down on the couch next to Dominic. “So why’d you come on the show?” she asked. “I mean, it’s pretty obvious what the draw is for us,” she giggled, “but since your dad is famous, you could probably date whoever you wanted!”
He looked at her and winked. “What could be better than having the chance to get to know four great girls at once?” he asked.
Seriously, what is with the winking, thought Charlotte. She must have been giving him some sort of look because he met her eyes and said, “What about you, Charlie? Why are you here?”
She managed to smile at him as she said, “I just didn’t really have time to date at home. Besides, a chance to find love and win a scholarship? I’m not gonna pass that up.”
Teagan reappeared with a soda for Dominic, dragging Delaney along behind her. “So what kind of things do you have planned for our dates?” asked Teagan. Olivia and Delaney leaned forward a bit, interested. Charlotte played it cool, but she was listening closely, curious to hear what he’d planned.
“You’ll see,” he said, giving them a sly smile.
I bet he doesn’t even know. Catherine probably plans all the dates, thought Charlotte. “Well, I hope you’re prepared,” she said, raising an eyebrow at him.
“I think you’ll find I’m prepared for anything, even you,” he replied.
Charlotte hoped this would be over soon. She would have been tense even if this was a private party, but with the camera crews and producers there, she couldn’t relax at all. Dominic didn’t help matters—she thought he was cute, but the more he talked, the cockier he seemed. He flirted ridiculously with them—even her, a little. It gave her the impression that he thought he was the greatest guy in the world. She couldn’t tell if he was really like this or if it was just an act.
She was lost in her own thoughts when she heard Teagan say her name. “Charlie should have washed her face better before she came on TV.” Teagan didn’t bother to whisper. “She’s had her head buried in books for so long, she’ll never get the ink off her nose.”
Teagan and Dominic both laughed. Charlotte didn’t look at them. She could feel herself blushing. There’s nothing wrong with liking books, she reminded herself, pretending she hadn’t heard them. Charlotte turned resolutely to Olivia, determined not to let them get to her. She hoped Dominic only laughed out of politeness, but only time would tell.
Finally after two hours, Catherine called, “Cut!”
Immediately an assistant took Dominic out of the lodge. He gave Charlotte a small smile as he left, and her stomach clenched.
She tried to ignore the tightness in her stomach and wondered if he had a nicer side. She hoped he did, but he hadn’t given her any reason to believe it yet. He hadn’t said much to her—Teagan and Olivia hadn’t really let the other two girls get a word in. Charlotte was just glad the evening was over. Hopefully things would be different one-on-one.