Fever Dream (Emerald Lake, #1)(72)

I am just as much the problem as he is.

“Emmett? Do you agree?”

He stares at me for several seconds before he speaks again. “I agree it’s too risky, but I’d be lying if I said I thought it was for the best.”

My chest goes hot, and I try not to fixate on his words. There’s a lot left unspoken between Emmett and me. Things that need to stay unspoken if we plan to make it through the remainder of this show unscathed.

I just nod, because anything I say would betray my real feelings and I’d rather gloss over the sentimental parts of this conversation. The alternative might hurt too much.

“You need to keep Evelyn in,” I state bluntly, killing the moment.

His mouth draws back in a grimace of disgust. “Evilyn, you mean?”

I stifle a chuckle, because I feel the same. “Yes, Evilyn.”

“Why? That woman is fucking awful. Did you hear the shit she said to Cookie tonight?”

I arch a brow at him. “It’s not like Cookie had lots of nice things to say either.”

He scoffs. Everyone on set knows that Evelyn is not popular in the bunkhouse.

“Who did you eliminate anyway?”

He gives me a sheepish look. “Cookie. I knew better than to make it Evelyn, and you were right. No grown man can moan that name. But really, it could have been any of them.”

I snort and look away, not wanting to fixate on what he might mean by that.

“Just keep Richard happy. Keep him off your back. And just make it through.”

“So keep Evelyn?” he asks flatly. “Through to the final episode?”

“You don’t have to like her. You just need to pretend like…” I grimace and shift in my seat. For some reason, I can’t stomach finishing that sentence. “I don’t know. Keep Richard happy. That’s the name of the game. And Evelyn’s presence makes Richard happy, so…”

Emmett nods as his finger swipes over my hand.

Several seconds of silence pass before he hits me with a blunt statement of his own.

“You should go on that date.”

Panic courses through me, my body snapping to attention. “What?”

“That Riley set up for you.” He nods, swallowing a couple of times before he speaks again. “I think that would be good. Safe. I don’t want you risking your future for… something that can’t happen.”

I regard him, recognizing he’s pushing me away. We both know this blind date isn’t what I want. But maybe it’s what I—we—need to do. To keep us both from crashing out and blowing up our lives.

“I don’t want to—”

“Jules, just go. Even once this charade is all over… per my contract I can’t publicly date anyone for a year. Until every episode has aired. And you deserve more than that. Better than that.”

I swallow. “But what if I—”

“We’re in the same shitty boat here, doll. You don’t have to do anything. You just have to try. Who knows? Maybe you’ll fall for how sweet he is.”

Emmett hits me with a smirk.

A sad smirk.

I only offer him a wooden nod. Hating this conversation, hating the way it feels, and kind of hating what it all means for us.

“Well, maybe when this is all over, I could try to kiss you again.”

Emmett just laughs. It’s a dry, brittle laugh. “Jules, that’s sweet of you, but I know how this goes. By the time I see this thing through, you’ll be over me. Hell, you might even hate me. For your sake, I hope you move on to someone better.”

His words are a punch to the gut. Not because they’re true. Not for me. But for him, they are. He believes there is someone better than him for me.

And that kills me.

We eat our omelets in uncomfortable silence. And when we depart from the front steps of the diner, he pulls me in, wrapping me in a tight hug. He drops a quick, polite kiss on the top of my head and leaves without a single backward glance.

It feels an awful lot like goodbye. Like closing the door on something that never got a chance to properly start.

I should be relieved, but I drive home with tears in my eyes, gutted over how a man as deeply good as Emmett could ever believe that moving on from this—from him—will be that easy to do.





OFFICIAL MEMO




To: Richard Wadsworth From: Teri Baker

Subject: Third Elimination Ceremony

This week we filmed at a local country bar. Cookie was eliminated after getting into a physical altercation with Evelyn.



The spin right now is that Evelyn is our bachelor’s favorite.



Tension in the bunkhouse is at an all-time high with every woman remaining disliking Evelyn and making no effort to hide it.



Loads of good footage, though very Evelyn-centric. Next week we will work on bringing some other women into the fray to have our bachelor appear more torn and confused on who he is connecting with.



Top choices right now for character variation: Akira, Catherine, Jada.



Please let me know if this strategy meets your vision for the show.





Sincerely,

Teri Baker

Story Producer





OFFICIAL MEMO