Royal Chase

“Something like that.” I could hear the disappointment in his voice. A disappointment that I wanted to soothe and make better, but I couldn’t. I shouldn’t. I wouldn’t.

At some point I really would figure out how to be in control of my feelings and my reactions to him.

“I can’t believe you liked fairy tales.”

“You didn’t?”

“Not so much.” Now I was the one who sounded disappointed. “They’re totally unrealistic. I mean, except for that one time my best friend fell in love with an actual prince and is living a real Cinderella story. But other than that, no.”

His face looked like he was struggling with something, and then he gave me one of those smiles that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Have you had a chance to speak with any of the other women so far?”

“I like Genesis. She seems sweet. Sincere. Normal.”

“She does,” he agreed thoughtfully.

Jealous, stabby pangs.

Voices came up over the ridge behind us, and the high-pitched, excited sounds that followed when the girls caught sight of Dante caused a small frenzy among the horses. It was all the handlers could do to calm the animals down.

I was annoyed that we’d been interrupted.

“You could probably talk to them easier if you weren’t glowering at everyone.”

“I am not glowering. I do not glower.”

“You’re not going to be much of an inside woman if you keep ignoring everybody. If I didn’t know any better I’d say you were jealous.”

He very smartly rode off before I had the chance to smack him with my reins.

Before the party started, I would see if I could call Kat. And Sterling. And I would remember why I was here and what I needed to accomplish.

I hoped that getting back in touch with reality would put me in the right headspace.

But I wouldn’t have bet on it.

There would be a nightly cocktail party before each elimination, giving everyone another chance to talk to Dante and make an impression. It would also give everyone another opportunity to get embarrassingly drunk and make a fool of themselves on national television.

Win-win either way for the producers.

Just like I’d thought, several of the girls were complaining about saddle burn, and some medics were brought in to clean their wounds, leaving the women to walk around bowlegged.

It would have been really wrong for me to laugh, right?

But pain didn’t stop anyone from getting ready for the party, which reminded me of my beauty pageant days. There was boob tape, Vaseline, flat irons, makeup, and enough fake eyelashes to outfit a millipede with a whole set of prosthetic legs.

I had just finished putting on a knee-length, dark blue cocktail dress with matching beads that made me shimmer, and applying my dark red lipstick, when Genesis came back into our room.

I gasped.

She had on neon green eye shadow, coral lipstick, and a hot pink shade of blush. Not to mention bronzer that made her face and neck different colors, and mascara tinged with purple that was layered onto false lashes so long and so thick I wasn’t sure how she could see.

“Who did this to you, sugar?” I really, really hoped she hadn’t done it herself. She looked like a cross between a televangelist’s wife and an unskilled drag queen.

“Abigail.” That actress. “She said she knew who I was and wanted to make amends. I’m such a fan that I was flattered, you know?”

I did know, and apparently so did Abigail.

“I don’t really know anything about makeup, and she offered to help.” Yeah, Abigail was going to help Genesis the same way that a snake helped a mouse.

By swallowing it whole.

I wondered if Abigail had unhinged her jaw before she made this mess.

“Do you like it?” She sounded so hopeful.

“Let me just lighten it up a little. You have to remember that Abigail is an actress and they tend to put it on a little heavy for the cameras.” I took out a makeup remover cloth and scrubbed everything off. I started from scratch, putting a pale violet eye shadow on her lids to make her green eyes pop, and using a dark brown eyeliner to give her a soft cat eye. I removed most of the lashes, and put black mascara on those that stayed. After some light powder and a light pink lipstick, she looked gorgeous.