Parker scoffs and shakes her head. The look she hits me with borders on disbelief. “You really going to sit here and lie to us both?”

Yes, that’s exactly what I’m going to do. “What? Like you’re being super forthcoming today? Got something to share with the class, Parker?”

“Funny you should put it like that because remember how I was supposed to graduate after taking this one stupid summer political science course for my last credits?”

“Yes,” I venture carefully.

“Well, I pulled an all-nighter helping Opa with a breech foal delivery, fucked up and slept through my final exam. It was weighted at fifty percent of my final grade. My marks were good going in, but not one-hundred-percent good. So now I’m fucked, and this professor is strict as hell. I swear the man is like forty going on eighty and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t believe me. He just keeps saying the policy is clear in the syllabus. Like some sort of stuck-up automaton.”

My stomach lurches. “Fuck.”

“Yeah. That’s what I said.” She yanks the bottle from my hand. “So it’s looking like I get to do a whole extra semester of school. With Dr. I’ll-scowl-over-my-glasses-at-you-in-disappointment. Like it hasn’t taken me long enough or cost me enough already to finish this stupid program. I was so close, Em.”

I reach across the space between us and give her hand a squeeze as she takes a swig. “When I get paid, I’ll cover the semester.”

“No, you won’t. I’m a big girl. I fucked up. I’ll pay the price. I’m going to talk to him again during office hours. All I want you to do is sit here and wallow with me, please.”

And after admitting out loud that I need to finish the show and that Julia is off-limits, wallowing sounds pretty damn good.

So that’s what we do.

OceanofPDF.com

OceanofPDF.com

CHAPTER 19

Julia

Theo

Honestly, Jules. Can you tell me ANYTHING? What about the title? I’ve been deep diving online, searching for clues, and reading fan theories. But it’s a brand-new show, and there’s zero information.

Julia

You need a hobby.

Theo

It’s the offseason. I’m bored. Have pity on me, sis!

Julia

You’re annoying. Go bug Winter. She signed up for you. I was born into this without consent.

Theo

I tried!

Theo

But she gave me that hot, grumpy look she does and told me to stop trying to make another baby. Apparently, it’s “too soon.”

Julia

Too much information, Thee.

Theo

I told her we could practice so that when the time is right, we’ll basically be professional.

Julia

I genuinely do not want to know this.

Theo

I’ll stop if you tell me SOMETHING.

Julia

Something.

The view from the top of Prickle Point is as beautiful as I remember. Emmett did not lead me astray with this suggestion. It’s the perfect spot for the show to film. As the crew buzzes around, arranging the set, their excited energy filling the air, I’m more puffed up than I have any right to be.

Glowing reference from Executive Producer Richard Wadsworth, here I come.

Ben, our director of photography, sidles up next to me, arms crossed while gazing out over the valley with a smile. “Your pictures didn’t do this spot justice.”

I grin and nod. “Well, Emmett suggested it. I just went digging.”

“It’s definitely the perfect spot for a romantic date,” Ben says dryly before his gaze lands on where Emmett stands. Richard is talking at him, hands flailing at a rapid pace as he explains… whatever he’s explaining. He carries on, moving around the space, acting out how he wants the scene to go.

“Dick Wad’s really micromanaging this one, huh?” Ben says, not bothering to keep the disdain from creeping into his voice.

I turn slowly in his direction, trying not to laugh at the joke. “Wait, do you call him Dick Wad too?”

The man slides his gaze to me. “Girl, we all call him Dick Wad. Because he is one. Why do you think your predecessor marched away from this gig without a backward glance?”

“Wait, really? I thought she got another job.”

Ben tilts his head, giving me a come-now sort of look. “Yeah, maybe one day. When he decides to take her off his Hollywood blacklist for leaving us with a last-minute opening.”

My mouth opens, but no words emerge for several beats. I was the last-minute hire? All I can think to say is, “I had no idea.”

“Just keep doing what you’re doing and you’ll be fine.” He pats my shoulder and traipses away, chuckling to himself, like I’ve said something funny. But this isn’t funny. This development does nothing other than stress me out. Because I do not want to have my career ruined by Richard before it’s even started.

With Ben gone, I try to refocus. He said I’ll be fine, and I’m sure that I will. Still, I stand facing out, my back toward the trees so that I don’t take a dazed tumble into a pile of cacti. I refuse to make that same mistake twice.

Last time, this spot was perfectly peaceful. This time, the crew spreads out, placing lights and microphones while setting up a picnic on a red-and-white-checkered blanket. I watch them place a wicker basket filled with snacks in the center, then a bouquet of flowers, and a bottle of chilled champagne.

It’s supposed to appear to audiences that Emmett went out of his way to set this up. But I know he’s had no hand in it. He’s too busy being coached by Richard.

For a beat, his eyes flash to mine so quickly that I doubt anyone else would notice. He turns his attention back to the showrunner, but I don’t miss the flash of uncertainty in his eyes.

It confuses me. He confuses me.

When I first found out Emmett was going to be the bachelor on Romance Ranch, my first thought was, Of course he would. He’d be perfect for this.

But that was before I knew him.

That was before I’d had a taste of his biting humor or witnessed the streak of tenderness beneath all the hard edges.

There’s no denying that Emmett has been known to get around. But what I’ve learned is that doesn’t preclude him from also being thoughtful and honest and dedicated. And in recent weeks, I’ve made peace with the fact that both versions of him can exist at once.

I’ve also learned that he doesn’t readily share every part of himself. Except with me—or so it would seem. Outwardly, he’s closed off and wrapped up. But when we’re one-on-one, his layers unfurl, and I always look forward to finding out more about who he really is.

That curiosity pulls me closer as I edge along the tree line, eavesdropping on what Richard is saying to him.

“So they’re all going to come up here, right?” Richard’s excitement is palpable, where Emmett’s is… not. His arms are crossed, his tongue popping into his cheek—something I now recognize as a telltale sign that he’s holding back from saying what’s on his mind.

“Right up here, right up the path. And they’re going to come here,” Richard continues, oblivious to the way Emmett’s jaw works as he keeps talking. “And then they’re going to see this beautiful picnic that you’ve set up for one lucky lady.”