Chapter XIX
Demi
The next evening, I stood as confidently as I could in the foyer of the lodge, wearing a vintage-inspired sundress in pale-red gingham, tied at the shoulders, with a flared skirt that swished when I walked, waiting for my “besties” to join me.
Every camera and every eye was on me as if waiting to see what I would do next.
Waiting for me to defy their expectations, whether about my wardrobe choices or my character arc.
I’d changed the game on them, and they didn’t appear to know what to think.
Some of them feared me, while others thought I was a loose cannon, and not in the way they’d hoped.
They wanted the Wicked Witch, and instead I’d become Glinda.
Believe me, I was just as confused about myself as they were.
This wasn’t my plan. Not that I’d had one to begin with, other than not making a fool of myself in front of the entire world.
The jury was still out on whether I was succeeding on that front.
Especially now that I wasn’t in the Love Unscripted crew’s good graces.
Jazzy was no longer fawning over me and telling me this was going to be the best season yet. I wasn’t her star anymore.
No doubt Tasha, their social media specialist, was just waiting for me to slip up on camera so she could crucify me in each week’s promos.
I probably should have thought all this through before I’d declared myself everyone’s best friend and promised to find love for them. But after the fireside chat the night before, I was more determined than ever to make good on that promise.
I could do it, right?
Half of me sure thought so. She’d never been happier, and she couldn’t wait for me to unleash her full potential.
Although it bummed her out that Roman had been keeping his distance.
Oh, he’d been around, but only in his role as executive producer and host. No more running with me in the mornings or tossing pebbles at my head in the middle of the night like we were in some tragic rom-com.
I didn’t know why she was so upset. It’s not like we’d seen him all that often before this ridiculous quest. But she was pining for him.
Badly. Even though he was none too happy with me.
He also wasn’t all that happy with himself—he hated that he had the urge to fix things between us.
I wished I couldn’t read people’s feelings and desires.
Especially now, when I was already confused about whether my goddess had lied to me about him being my soulmate. It was really messing with my head.
Cassie was trying, but so far she’d found nothing to suggest my divine side could be wrong about something so important.
“Oh my gosh, what do you think of this, Demi?” Brinley interrupted my thoughts and twirled in front of me like she was auditioning for a country music video—tight booty shorts, tied-up plaid shirt, cowboy boots, and a straw hat that probably had a designer label.
“You look like a hoedown princess,” I forced myself to say, reminding myself that I was everyone’s cheerleader and bestie. And that I was on camera. Always on camera. Except in my cabin.
It was harder than I’d thought—this whole “team spirit” thing.
Having a locked heart didn’t exactly make me the poster child for emotional generosity.
But I was trying my best to fake it until I made it.
“Made it” meaning survived reality TV hell and made sure every woman cast member got what she’d come looking for.
To my surprise, I genuinely liked all of them. Each woman was sincere and openhearted and truly seemed to want real love. Last night had been . . . fun.
You know, aside from the part where I realized I was a monster.
We’d stuffed our faces with s’mores, and somehow I’d ended up playing therapist. My divine half had taken over. She whispered relationship tips like we were running a bootleg Bureau hotline and I knew what I was talking about. She’d turned us into Dear Abby. And she was so here for it.
But the real test of her powers? That would come tonight.
We were finally meeting the male cast members.
And while the rest of the women were buzzing with excitement, Cassie and I were . . . less than enthused.
I supposed I should have been excited. For all I knew, the man who could unlock my heart could be among them.
And I assumed my goddess would know who it was.
But then again, she kept telling me it was Roman, so apparently she didn’t know what she was talking about and I was basically screwed unless one of these guys happened to be my actual true love.
It was a long shot. And one I wasn’t even sure I deserved.
“You’re the best.” Brinley kissed my cheek before prancing off to join all the other besties who’d come walking out in some variation of hoedown couture.
Maggie braved a modern-day Little House on the Prairie dress with puffed sleeves.
Jessica rocked a mini with a plaid crop top that said, Yeehaw, Cowboy.
Paloma went hoedown glam with a corset top and rhinestone cowboy hat.
It was enough sparkle to blind a bull. And then there was Cassie—dressed in a pink plaid jumpsuit with rolled sleeves and a cinched waist, paired with snakeskin ankle boots that looked ready to stomp on some poor guy’s soul.
If you hadn’t guessed already, we were attending an actual hoedown. Oh yes, this show was going full spectacle. Our mode of transportation to get to said hoedown? A covered wagon pulled by horses. Because apparently nothing said “modern love” like frontier cosplay.
Could this thing get any weirder? Probably. Mostly likely.
Cassie flitted my way, grinning at my very nonblack attire. I’d had to fight Marcie and her glam squad every day to keep them from dressing me like a funeral director. Not that I didn’t miss the comfort of hiding behind the black. But there was no turning back now.
“Look at you,” Cassie trilled.
I bit my lip, feeling a little ridiculous and a whole lot exposed.
Cassie wrapped her arms around me and whispered, “You got this. You’re doing great. Or at least you’re faking it well.”
I laughed and clung to her.
“Thank you.”
She’d been my rock for the past few weeks. Honestly, for years—I just hadn’t noticed. I wanted to change that. I didn’t want to just keep going through the motions of life. I wanted my heart back.
Could tonight be the night that nudged me one step closer to fulfilling this quest and, hopefully, feeling fully alive again?
Would Blaine, Jax, Carter, Todd, Diego, or Braden be the key to unlocking my heart?
Oh yes, I already knew all the male cast members’ names. Cassie had made good on her promise to find out everything she could about these potential disasters, I mean true loves.
She’d given me the rundown like she was briefing me for our morning team meeting. I wondered how my team was doing. Never mind. No time for thoughts of the Bureau. The Bureau I may never see again if one of the following men wasn’t my true love:
Blaine: trust fund kid
Jax: model
Carter: former NBA star
Todd: accountant
Diego: archaeologist
Braden: model airplane designer
Not one demigod among them. Just six mortal men, each with a past, and a persona I was yet to discover, and maybe—if the stars aligned—a piece of the puzzle I’d been missing.
But what I wanted to know was how long it took for true love to work. I mean, I had to fall in love on this forsaken quest and couldn’t fall in love if my heart remained locked. And would I know who had unlocked my heart? What if true love found me but I missed it?
All these thoughts made me squeeze Cassie tighter.
“Everything okay?” she whispered.
“I’m going to a hoedown. How okay can I be?”
Cassie laughed. “I could set the wagons on fire. Just say the word.”
She was seriously the best.
“Unfortunately, I think they would still make us go,” I grumbled.
“True,” she sighed. “But I do love a good fire.”
Sometimes she scared me. But who didn’t need a scary best friend?
“I’m pretty sure there will be a bonfire tonight.”
“Good. We can sacrifice that one into it.” Cassie nodded over to Roman, who had just strutted in looking like every woman’s cowboy dream.
Oh. My. Titans.
I leaned away from her and did a poor job of averting my gaze. I wished I could blame it all on the part of me who was a huge fan of the demigod. But no—this was all of me.
He looked mesmerizing.
Vest over a form-fitted shirt, sleeves rolled up to reveal muscular forearms. And those jeans—fit-me-right, ruin-my-life jeans. Had my heart skipped a beat? I didn’t know it could do that anymore.
Holy Hades.
I meant “hell.”
Sorry, Hades.
Roman unfortunately caught me staring at—more like ogling—him. At first, he narrowed his broody gray eyes at me, but then his gaze drifted over my dress, and, oh yeah, he liked it. Hated himself for it but loved it all the same. What he hated the most was knowing I could tell.
He threw me a look that said, Stay out of my damn mind.
But it wasn’t his mind I was reading. I could only read emotions and hearts. Which honestly was probably more invasive. But it’s not like I had asked for an all-access pass to him and everyone in the room—I was just stuck with it.
And for the record?
Almost every woman in the room—and a guy or two—were having sultry thoughts about Roman. Like, they wanted him bad.
Cassie, of course, was just enjoying the idea of sacrificing him to the gods. Or at least that’s what I figured from the giddy vibes I was getting from her.
Roman tore his gaze away from me and cleared his throat.
“Gather around, ladies.” His voice was smooth and commanding. Not going to lie—it was sexy.
Brinley, Maggie, Paloma, and Jessica all ran toward him. Jessica and Brinley squealed as they went. They were the biggest squealers in the bunch. Paloma grabbed Cassie and me on her way.