“Really romantic,” Amy said when Lucy joined her at the edge of the court. The blonde looked like she was holding back a laugh. “If you’re not making an impression, I don’t know who can.”
“Shut up,” Lucy muttered, cheeks burning.
Behind her, Alexis leaned in. “Well,” she muttered, her breath warm against Lucy’s cheek. “She’s obviously going to pick you now. Kind of hard to top being smacked in the face by a ball you served. That’s likeThe Sapphic Match101. You probably did it on purpose.”
Lucy’s ears suddenly felt much too hot for her head, and together with her burning cheeks, she was quite sure her face had gone red. Probably even red enough for the cameras to notice.
“Ididn’tdo it on purpose,” she mumbled without glancing back. She didn’t want to give Alexis the satisfaction of a reaction. She didn’t want to tempt herself. One look at Alexis and Lucy would no doubt be ready to smack the smug annoyance off her face.
“If you say so,” Alexis said, her voice bitter.
Marla stepped back behind a camera and lifted a hand, signaling the countdown. “Okay, everyone. We’re rolling.”
Skye moved to stand in front of the group with her hands clasped in front of her. The sun shone brightly on her face as she looked over the semicircle of expectant faces.
Lucy held her breath. She had no idea why she was suddenly so nervous. Just yesterday morning she’d sworn she wouldn’t take any of this seriously. She’d promised herself it was only a game and to have fun with it. Her life in New York was so scheduled, so carefully constructed around deadlines and edits and back-to-back interviews for her lifestyle column. Fun wasn’t exactly built into her routine.Which was why it was imperative for her to let go, let loose.
Besides, the show was a little ridiculous, wasn’t it? The constant cameras, the carefully planned moments pretending to be spontaneous.Lucy had promised herself she wouldn’t care. She had promised herself she’d enjoy the little moments and wouldn’t get hung up on anything. Especially the bachelorette, who had eleven other contestants to choose from, so why would she choose her?
And yet, here she was, standing a little too straight, with her stomach a bundle of nerves.
“And the woman I’ll be choosing…” Skye paused, gave the smallest, unreadable smile while the tension around the semi-circle of women doubled. “Is… Nova.”
Nova gave a little shriek and stepped forward. She brushed sand off her thighs as the others applauded. Lucy clapped too, but her hands felt heavy, not quite like her own.
This was fine. Totally fine.Except it wasn’t. Because somehow, this didn’t feel that fun anymore.
Behind her, Alexis let out a smug little breath that might have been a laugh.Lucy didn’t turn around. She simply continued clapping.
Chapter Seven
Skye adjusted her sunglasses as she stepped off the speedboat and onto the sun-warmed dock. The boards, which were still damp from the morning tide, flexed faintly under her feet. A few steps ahead, Nova was already heading toward the shaded cabana draped in gauzy white linens. Skye had expected Nova to at least wait until she was off the boat before she made her way over to their date setup, but clearly, chivalry was dead.
“Wow,” Nova said, gasping, and turning back to look at Skye making her way onto the sand. “This is amazing.”
“It is, isn’t it?” Skye muttered, joining her. She forced a smile despite the tightness in her chest that had been stuck there ever since the game of volleyball this morning. More specifically, ever since Lucy had whacked a ball in her face and then came running to her side.
She should’ve picked Lucy.But she hadn’t. Because she couldn’t.
The entire point of this date was to show range. To prove both to the audience and to the producers watching from a distance that she wasn’t giving her favorites extra airtime. Not that Lucy was her favorite. Or maybe she was. What was so wrong with that?
But choosing Lucy again, right after the first impression, would’ve looked biased. Or worse, it would’ve looked like she was developingfeelings.
Which she wasn’t.
Lucy was just different. A little more real than the other contestants, a little less rehearsed. And so what if she wanted to spend more time with her? Maybe she wanted to laugh overLucy’s terrible serve, or the panic-stricken expression on her face as she rushed over to Skye’s side to apologize.
It felt so much easier with her. Natural. Which was hilarious given they’d barely spent more than twenty minutes in each other’s company. But she had a knack for these things, for reading people, for sensing when something, or someone, had potential.
Skye had spent years putting out behind-the-scenes fires, rerouting drama, and coaxing sobbing contestants out of bathroom stalls. By now she could tell the difference between an act built for the camera and someone who wasn’t just faking it for the airtime. Lucy wasn’t faking anything. The woman wore her heart on her sleeve. Earlier when Skye had picked Nova for the date, she’d caught a quick flicker of hurt cross Lucy’s face. It was an exhale that looked like it had surprised even her. Yes, everyone else had looked disappointed. But somehow Lucy’s face looked more like a crack she hadn’t meant to show.
“Are we seriously going paddling?” Nova asked, interrupting Skye’s thoughts. She pointed to two paddleboards leaning against a palm tree just off the side of the cabana. “That’s one of my all-time favorite things to do. Do you paddle much?” She looked over at Skye with an eager smile.
Skye forced a smile back. “I like dry land,” she said, but regretted it instantly. She knew Marla would probably delete that response. It wasn’t very bachelorette-y to admit you didn’t like water sports on a tropical island date. She was supposed to be Skye Wilder, the risk-taker, remember? Thrill-seeking romantic who lived for sunset adventures and spontaneous ocean kisses. Not the camera-shy assistant director, who didn’t like strong ocean currents, group activities, or tropical humidity.
“Should we have a seat?” Skye asked, hoping to get Nova’s mind off paddleboarding.
“Sure,” Nova replied.
