“Oh, you have to get her to talk about it,” Jazzy gasped, beside herself. “We need to find out who he is, stat. We should bring him in during Temptation Week.”
Temptation Week was when I introduced a few new contestants—some of them old flames. I did this for the ones I knew weren’t meant to be with anyone in the initial cast. I obviously had a gift for knowing these things. That was, after I had the chance to get close enough to touch them. Innocuously and innocently, of course. All it took was the touch of my finger and I knew a person’s heart.
“Yeah,” I agreed aloud, though my mind was elsewhere. I hated how curious I was about who Demi had fallen in love with.Poor bastard.
“How would I define love?” Demi said, her tone flat. Bored, even. Like the question insulted her intelligence. “I suppose you want a flowery answer.”
“I love her bite,” Jazzy swooned.
Demi’s bite could give you rabies.
“The truth is . . . love can be miserable. Crushing,” Demi continued, her gaze shifting upward. Then softer, she added, “But my mom once told me that true love is when two people come together and the other person’s happiness becomes more important than their own.” She paused for a beat. “Do I think I’ll find this kind of love onLove Unscripted?” She laughed a condescending laugh. Her snarky attitude was back. “I highly doubt it. I think the premise is ridiculous and maybe even dangerous. Throwing people together and manufacturing romantic situations.Or ‘architecting love,’ as your host would say.” She used air quotes and said “host” as if I personally made her sick.
“Honestly, I don’t think he or this show cultivates love. What they do is more like pimping it out, if you ask me.”
I paused the video, pinching the bridge of my nose. I’d seen enough. This was going to be a train wreck.
“Seriously, she’s golden.” Jazzy laughed uncontrollably. “She’s obviously not fond of you or your show. A rarity for you, our fearless and handsome leader.”
I didn’t respond, although it was true. Most people liked me. Damn it. I was a decent guy. And I didn’t pimp out love. I didn’t care what Demi thought. My father had taught me that love was the most important element in a mortal’s life. That it was sacred. And that I should use my gifts accordingly.
“It’s only going to make our audience more obsessed with her,” Jazzy continued. “They’re going to want to know how she went from being America’s sweetheart to a snarky siren.”
“Siren” was one word for her. At this rate, she was going to lead me to an early watery grave. But Jazzy was right. The spotlight was coming for Demi. And it was going to glare on her—brightly, relentlessly.
Part of me hoped it made her squirm.
But as I stared at her on my screen, the boy inside me wanted to know what had happened to the girl whose poster used to hang on my wall. Did that girl ever exist?
It was probably best not to find out.
Some truths were best left undiscovered.
Chapter VII
Roman
“Youcan’tbeserious,”I growled into the phone lying on my cluttered desk and chucked a wad of crumpled paper across my home office. The last two weeks had been a blur.
My godfather—once one of my favorite people—was rapidly becoming my least favorite.
“I don’t see what the harm is in letting Demi and Cassie arrive how they wish,” Eros said, maddeningly calm.
You heard that right.
Demi and her witchy assistant slash best friend Cassie were both now cast members on my show. All in the name of making Demi feel more comfortable. Not sure I could even call it my show anymore, considering Eros was calling all the shots this season. Including forcing me to cast Cassie alongside his daughter.
And now? Now he was telling me they didn’t want to fly into Jackson Hole like the rest of the cast. What—were they too good for a private jet and luxury accommodations? Not to mention, cast members were supposed to arrive separately and remain isolated from one another until filming began. But I’d already been informed that where Demi and Cassie were concerned, that wouldn’t be happening. Eros sworethey would be discreet and not get caught, but they refused to isolate themselves from each other.
“The problem is that we can’t control the variables if they make their own travel arrangements.”
“Demi doesn’t wish to be seen by anyone until she arrives at the resort. Given her past fame, I would think you would understand why this is important to her—and me.”
“What you’re saying is I don’t have a choice in the matter?”
“I wouldn’t exactly say that,” Eros laughed, like this was all some game to him.
“Whatever.” There was no sense in arguing. I knew how it would all end anyway. Eros would get his way. He always did.
