Fever Dream (Emerald Lake, #1)(17)

The thing that ties them all together is that each one is beautiful in her own right.

My stomach turns over, and my palms sweat. I can’t help but wonder if Emmett is feeling the same now that it’s finally go time. I scan the people dashing all over the place, searching for high, stubbled cheekbones and sandy waves.

When I find him, he’s impossible to read. Face blank, eyes straight ahead, posture straight. He looks as though he belongs in a wax museum. Stoic. Possibly even nervous?

I frown as I take him in. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn’t for him to appear as though he’s about to walk the plank into shark-infested waters.

“Heyoo, don’t eye-fuck the bachelor if you aren’t on the show.”

I startle and turn to see his younger sister, Riley, sidling up beside me with a wide grin plastered on her face. Her brown hair falls in a thick ponytail from the back of her ball cap. She’s wearing a T-shirt and navy-blue riding jodhpurs with black paddock boots and colorful socks pulled up to her knees.

I’m no equestrian, but I know the socks make it easier to slide tall leather riding boots on and off.

I shoot her a droll look and scoff. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting all the Brandt siblings since I started on location, and they are all incredibly likable. Down-to-earth, funny, warm. And nothing like I expected.

“I wouldn’t dream of it. I don’t do cowboys. I just wasn’t expecting him to look so…” I search for the word to describe Emmett’s face and body language.

“Constipated?” Riley provides, and I can’t help but chuckle.

“Yeah, that.”

“Not much makes my brother nervous. But the prospect of traditional dating might be the one thing to do it. He’s probably got hives underneath that dorky suit.”

I swallow and smile tightly. I saw enough on the cruise ship to know that thinking too much about what Emmett Bush has under his suit is dangerous territory.

The suit they forced him to pair with cowboy boots and a cowboy hat.

Oh, and a bolo tie.

It had been a whole thing. And Emmett had not been pleased.

“I’d never wear this around the farm. Like… ever. Hell, I’d never wear this anywhere except at a rodeo as a sponsor or if I was being a cowboy for Halloween. Because this is a costume,” he’d forcefully complained to Teri, one of the head story producers, as he sat in hair and makeup a mere hour before.

“Exactly! We’re putting on a show here!” had been her exuberant answer. Like her positivity might trick him into being equally enthused.

I don’t know what he was expecting from a dating show called Romance Ranch, but it was evident to me that the forced cowboy attire was only adding to his discomfort in front of the camera.

“Did he ask you to be on set?” I ask Riley, attempting to make small talk.

She looks around, her hands propped confidently on her hips. “Oh, hell no. He specifically told me he’d kill me if I showed up.”

Then she turns and hits me with a grin. “But you know Em. All bark, no bite. Biggest fucking softie I know. Plus, I have so little blackmail fodder to use against him, whereas I’m the one who’s always fucking up around here. So I wouldn’t miss this for the world. I’m not waiting a year for it to be on TV.”

I try to keep my brow from furrowing as I glance back at her brother. He’s scowling right in our direction. Riley may be confused about his persona, because he looks primed to commit murder.

My brother, Theo, is a softie. A big goofball with a smile for pretty much everyone. Emmett, though? Emmett has a dangerous edge to him, a permanent “fuck off” sort of twinkle in his eye.

Riley waves at him, but his hands stay in the pockets of his silvery-gray suit pants. The muscle at the back of his jaw flutters in response, and that’s it.

Flustered giggles draw my gaze back around the corner as the crew sets the stage to film the first meet and greets.

“Okay, okay. We haven’t got all night, people. Let’s get the cameras rolling while it still looks like this.” Richard points up at the sky, now painted shades of pink and purple as the sun sets over the valley. “It looks romantic and shit, hear me? We want fucking on the beach at sunset, not lights out so no one can see the action.”

As I usually do around the guy, I clench my molars to keep myself from cringing. He’s just so… crass. And blunt. And rude about the whole show and everyone on it.

I went into this project thinking the vibes would be romantic somehow. But that was naive of me, because Richard makes everything he touches sleazy.

Some people chuckle, other people move faster, but everything falls into place.

And then it’s Emmett’s turn in the spotlight. They’ve been showing B-roll with him all day, peppering him with interview questions, hoping to get the perfect sound bite. But now the introductions start.

When someone counts down and then calls “action,” Riley’s hand shoots out to grip my forearm like she’s suddenly nervous.

“Are you ready to meet your future wife?” Brad asks Emmett, and I almost burst out laughing because Emmett forces the cheesiest grin onto his face and replies with, “Absolutely, Brad.”

“Wonderful, let’s get started then, shall we?”

“Can’t wait,” Emmett replies brightly, and it makes Riley slap a hand over her face as her cheeks flare pink. We both know this version of Emmett is too bubbly to be real.