I can see Aunt Hope weighing the options in her mind. Uncle Aaron was the one who determined I should stay with the younger girls, and she never speaks out in opposition to him. But we all know what Felicity is like when her sleep is interrupted. (Proverbs 21:19—look it up.)
“I’ll speak to Father about it,” Aunt Hope says, giving me a firm look, as if this was all my idea. “Don’t getyour hopes up.”
After she leaves, and Merit goes in search of something to eat, Harmony looks over at me with her trademark mischievous grin. “Don’t ever say I never did anything nice for you.”
I want to remind her that I didn’t ask for this—and that if Uncle Aaron gets irritated by the request, I’m the one who will take the blame. But Harmony looks so excited, and itwouldbe nice to have my own space away from the twins. “You are incorrigible,” I tell her.
She brightens. “What does that mean? Does it mean I’m pretty?”
I roll my eyes, although I can’t totally squash my smile. “Yes. That’s exactly what it means.”
Before too long, there’s a knock at the door, interrupting our unpacking. We all poke our heads out of our respective rooms and go into the common room to see who it might be.
As soon as the man sweeps into the room, I know he is the showbiz type—not just because he’s unusually trim and handsome, with almost blindingly white teeth, but also because he’s wearing salmon-colored pants and glasses that seem to be purely ornamental. “Welcome, Miller family!”
We all look to Uncle Aaron to see what his reaction will be. I’ve heard him give sermons before about “effeminate manhood,” and I have a feeling that we’ll all be getting an earful later about the producer’s “pink” pants.
But for now, to the producer’s face, Uncle Aaron smiles his trademark, golden-boy smile. Even though he’s in his fifties, you can still see traces of the high school quarterback who became a successful salesman who became an even more successful pastor. That smile of his makes you feel like he’s your best friend, like you’re the most interesting person in the room.
Not that I would know from experience; he’s never used it on me. But I’ve seen the effect it has on other people.
“Thank you so much.” He shakes the producer’s hand earnestly, sandwiching it between both of his palms. “We feel so blessed that y’all have welcomed us with such open hearts.”
The producer looks a little disoriented, receiving so much intense focus from Uncle Aaron.Dazzledis what people usually say after meeting him, like they’ve just brushed up against a celebrity. “Of course! I’m Lyle, and I’ll be happy to help you all with whatever you need.”
His tone is perfectly friendly, but he pulls away from what Harmony jokingly calls Uncle Aaron’s “triple-decker handshake,” taking a careful step back as he turns to face the rest of us. There’s nothing rude about what he just did, but he didn’t seem to have fallen for the full Uncle Aaron effect like most people do. I see Uncle Aaron register this, and I swallow as I watch the way his jaw sets ever so slightly.
Then for some reason, Lyle’s eyes zero in on me, and they widen a notch. “Harmony. My God. They told me you were beautiful, but I didn’t know you were so stunning.” He glances back at his assistant, who seems to be writing down everything he says religiously. “Tell makeup they won’t have to do much to make this one camera-ready.”
My face floods with heat—both because of Lyle’s gushing, and because I’m aware of Uncle Aaron’s gaze on me. “Oh, no, I’m not?—”
“I’m Harmony!” Harmony chimes in, entering the room with a good-natured flourish. “And I got chosen for my charm, not my looks, thank you very much!”
She’s being self-deprecating. Harmonyisbeautiful. She’s the wholesome, bubbly, sunny girl next door. People just tend to fuss over my looks because I’m so out of place with the rest of my family. My cousins all inherited my uncle’s height and paler skin, and almost all of my female cousins have dyed their hair blonder to mask the naturally dark hair they inherited from Aunt Hope. As a result, with my dark brown hair, olive-toned skin, and dark eyes, plus my small and compact frame, I’m the odd one out in every family photo.
Lyle moves on easily to Harmony as the lead he should be fussing over. “Of course you’re Harmony! How does the Miller family manage to produce so many beauties?”
It’s a diplomatic way to save face and also include my younger cousins in the compliment. So there’s no reason for Uncle Aaron to clear his throat. “Sheisn’t a Miller,” he says, jerking his chin at me. “She’s a Delgado.”
The mood in the room instantly becomes strained. I keep my gaze trained on the floor so I won’t have to see anyone’s face or how they react to what he just said. Technically he’s right, of course. I’m not a Miller. I have a differentsurname. Uncle Aaron didn’t say anything untrue or even especially unkind—but it still stings, because I know what he’s really saying.She’s not one of us.
“Riiight,” Lyle says after a moment, his voice falsely bright. It’s the voice you use when you’ve accidentally stepped into another family’s mess and you don’t know how to get yourself out of it. “Well, like I said before, I’m Lyle Mortimer, and I’m the producer who’s been assigned to guide Harmony through the turbulence of reality television.”
He’s trying his best to inject some positivity back into the room, and Harmony joins him with an exuberant squeal. “I can’t wait!” She throws back her head and poses dramatically. “I’m ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille!”
Lyle furrows his brow ever so slightly, evidently confused by the reference. “It’s Mr. Mortimer—but please, call me Lyle.”
Harmony’s face tinges with pink. She was quoting the classic Hollywood movieSunset Boulevard;actually, to be technical, she was misquoting it, but it hardly seems like the time to tell her that. Uncle Aaron and Aunt Hope have always highly regulated what we are allowed to watch in their house, but almost anything made before 1960 is fair game, so we’ve watched a lot of classic films over the years. Sometimes it’s hard to remember that not everyone else is as familiar with them nowadays.
“We’ll need to grab Harmony for an hour or so to do a meet and greet with the other Mountainettes,” Lyle continues, “but Miller family and ... uh, others ... please feel free to let me know at any point if you need anything to make your stay more comfortable.”
Lyle has just dropped a bombshell, although he probably doesn’t realize it. I look at Harmony, only to see her face pale. “I’m sorry, did you just sayotherMountainettes?” She does her best to keep smiling. “I thought I wastheMountainette.”
“Thatwasthe original plan,” Lyle agrees, “but then Sienna and Raquel realized they didn’t want to get sued byThe Bachelorette, so we’re shaking things up a bit and have multiple Mountainettes dating multiple Mountain Men. Fun, right?” Seeming to sense that he’s ruffled Harmony’s feathers with this news, Lyle presses on. “You know Sienna Diaz and Raquel Ezra, our executive producers and movie stars extraordinaire?”
Despite her reservations, Harmony can’t help but beam at the name drop of two of the world’s biggest movie stars. EvenI’veheard those names before, though I’ve never seen any of their films, since I don’t get to see too manymovies that aren’t G-rated. “Of course I do!” she gushes, then sees the look on Uncle Aaron’s face and quickly amends, “I mean, notthatwell, but I’ve heard of them. I don’t watch anything that isn’t uplifting to the Lord. Naturally.”
Lyle looks back and forth between Harmony and Uncle Aaron, seeming to fully register just what a land mine he’s walked into. “Riiight,” he says again. “Well, let’s get you down to that meet and greet, Harmony ...”
