Colby cuts him off. “And for the record? I like knowing who I’m talking to before I decide they’re worth my time. Not some fake picture and a bio written like a ransom note.”
Dex scoffs. “Hey, I don’t mind fake. And some of those profiles are very… prolific.”
Mason nods solemnly. “Inspirational, really.”
Dex continues. “Anyway. The important thing is, Sloane, I would like to formally apologize for the kiss cam.”
I pause. “You… would?”
Dex nods solemnly. “Yes.”
Colby’s brow lifts like even he doesn’t believe this.
Dex continues, completely serious. “I should’ve warned you earlier that it has magic powers."
"Really?" I ask, amused.
Dex beams. “See? You're holding hands. Magic. You're welcome.”
Colby pulls me past him, still muttering, but I’m laughing now.
Not the tight, managed laugh I used to use.
A real one.
And that’s when it hits me.
Not like a lightning bolt.
Like a simple truth I stopped arguing with.
Back when that whole ridiculous “dating game” started, I told myself it was strategy and optics.
Yet, if I’d been doing my job the way everyone expected, I would’ve picked the safe choice.
The easiest.
Mason.
He’s charming. Clean. Camera-friendly. He would’ve smiled for every photo and never once made my heart do that stupid skidding thing.
Instead, I ended up with the one man on the roster who refuses to play along.
The one who made me feel seen instead of packaged.
The one I couldn’t control.
Colby glances down at me, like he feels the shift.
“What?” he asks.
I shake my head once. “Nothing.”
He narrows his eyes. “That was not nothing.”
I squeeze his hand. “Later.”
He studies me for a second, then nods like he’s filing it away.
