Steamy Kisses: A Reverse Harem Romance (Matchmaker Book 2), page 9
Finally, Cat and the cameramen stopped chatting and stood in position. “Are you all ready?”
Thomas said what we were all thinking: “Been ready.”
“Good. One of you talked to me earlier today about leaving the show.” Had I heard her right? “Look…this is…unorthodox. We probably won’t handle things like this in the next season, but, as you know, we’re learning as we go.” She turned her focus to the man on my right. “Darius, you had mentioned that you had concerns about signing up for the show even before you signed with us, so we knew you were worried about a family member.” This was no huge surprise—he and I had had a long conversation about it last week, because he’d been worried about someone in his family…but I thought I’d convinced him to stay. If he’d talked to Cat about it, then he was serious.
“In retrospect, we probably should have passed. No offense, Darius. But you scored in the top one percent of our compatibility index, so we felt compelled to put you on the show—and we probably pressured you to do it. That said, we do have a show to run.”
I doubted she really cared. It was all about the fucking ratings. I knew, though, that they might have a harder time airing the show for four weeks as planned if they lost a guy. Would they bring in a replacement? That would be so weird, not to mention unfair to the other guys. Yes, we were kept away from true reality and our relationships weren’t exactly natural, but I at least felt semi-comfortable around these guys. Someone else in the mix wouldn’t feel right.
Of course, the producers might not mind that so much.
Really, though, we’d made it through week two. They’d probably just not have the audience vote—but then that would ruin one of the game’s main premises.
“So we’re trying to feel our way around, figure out what works. Darius, if we allow you to make a phone call, will you stay?”
All our eyes were focused on Darius. I sensed from the other guys that they didn’t care. If Darius left, then the other three would move on, one step closer to the end.
My heart clenched in my chest. As I honestly considered him leaving, it made me almost want to cry. For some reason, I felt like I cared about him more than the other men at the table—which might not have been true, but I was thinking that.
He looked at me then, and I sensed that he was going to tell me he was sorry—and I knew what that meant.
“Claire, do you have anything to say to Darius?”
My eyes searched his deep brown ones. On impulse, I grabbed his hands in mine. His were warm and firm and reassuring, reminding me that we indeed had a real connection.
“Darius, I know you’re worried about someone in your family—and I get that. I don’t want to stop you if you have to leave…but I’ll miss you.” I was afraid of saying what really dwelt in my heart: what if I marry the wrong guy? What if Darius really was the one for me? If he left, I’d never know for sure—and I was afraid I’d always have that notion in my heart.
“No matter what I decide, Claire, I want you to know it’s not because of you—because we have something, you know?”
He was right. Spencer? I’d already forgotten about him, despite the things we’d done with each other. I doubted I could forget Darius as easily.
“Okay, guys. Sorry to cut this short.” Bullshit, Cat—but I wasn’t going to say it aloud. “Darius, we need you to decide. Do you want to make that phone call and stay? Or would you rather walk out of here and lose your chance with Claire?”
It wasn’t until she’d asked that question and Darius took a deep breath that I realized there was a grandfather clock against the wall behind Cat—and now I could hear it ticking. Each second seemed to get louder and louder and each second seemed to grow longer.
Cat arched an eyebrow, her gaze fixed on Darius.
He looked at her and then again at me, squeezing my hands. Then he nodded, ready to give his final answer.
TO BE CONTINUED IN MATCHMAKER #3:
FIRST COMES LOVE
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jade C. Jamison was born and raised in Colorado and has decided she likes it enough to stay forever. Jade’s day job is teaching Creative Writing, but teaching doesn’t stop her from doing a little writing herself.
Unfortunately, there’s no one genre that quite fits her writing. Her work has been labeled romance, erotica, suspense, and women’s fiction, and the latter is probably the safest and closest description. But you’ll see that her writing doesn’t quite fit any of those genres.
And Jade is a-okay with that!
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You might also enjoy these
BOOKS BY JADE C. JAMISON
STANDALONE TITLES
My Boyfriend’s Dad
Dream Guy
All I Want for Christmas is the Hot Guy in the Santa Suit
Picture Perfect
Charade
Heat
To Save Him
Savage
Substitute Boyfriend
Finger Bang
Quickies: Sexy Short Stories and Other Stuff
Old House
Then Kiss Me
MADversary
Laid Bare
Fabric of Night
Crossing the Line
TANGLED WEB SERIES
1 Tangled Web: A Steamy Heavy Metal Novella
2 Everything But
Punctured, Bruised, and Barely Tattooed (companion novel)
3 Seal All Exits
BULLET SERIES
1 Bullet: An Epic Rock Star Novel
2 Rock Bottom
3 Feverish
4 Fully Automatic
4.5 Christmas Stalkings
5 Slash and Burn
6 Locked and Loaded
FEVERISH SERIES
1 Feverish
1.5 Boiling Point
2 Scorched
NICKI SOSEBEE SERIES
1 Got the Life
2 Dead
3 No Place to Hide
4 Right Now
5 One More Time
6 Lost
7 Innocent Bystander
8 Blind
9 Fake
10 Lies
11 Dead Bodies Everywhere
CODIE SNOW SERIES
1 Fool Me Once
WISHES SERIES
1 Be Careful What You Wish For
VAGABONDS TRILOGY
1 On the Run
2 On the Road
3 On the Rocks
MATCHMAKER
1 Looking for Love
2 Steamy Kisses
3 First Comes Love
4 Then Comes Marriage
NONFICTION
Indie Writer Companion
COMING IN FALL 2018:
Wake Up (Nicki Sosebee #12)
Jade C. Jamison, Steamy Kisses: A Reverse Harem Romance (Matchmaker Book 2)
