28. Harlan

28

HARLAN

"Okay, we're almost ready. Just stand on your mark, and she'll come around the corner." Lydia instructed.

I moved to the taped mark she pointed to, and she walked down the park's path beside the library, where Daphne had been getting ready.

When Ernie asked what I'd like to do for my date, I told him I would set it up. I didn't like giving other people the reins. Plus, the date I'd come up with was personal, and I'd wanted it to be a surprise to Daphne. Even though Lydia assured me that they would not tell her any details, I wasn't convinced. But they'd insisted on final approval. Apparently, they had to get permits, shot lists, and clearances, especially considering one aspect of my date involved animals. So much went into production that I had no idea about.

Honestly, the entire process had stressed me out. If it were anyone but Daphne, I would have bowed out. But I knew if I did that, they'd recast me, and she'd go out with someone else. Since I'd rather eat glass than sit at home knowing she was on a date with another man in my town, I decided to push past my control issues and work with Lydia and the production team.

It had been two weeks since she'd told me that she didn't think it was a good idea for us to see each other since she was dating other people. And even though it had almost killed me, I'd kept my distance. It hadn't been easy. Every day, I'd had to stop myself from going over to her aunt's house and telling her that I couldn't stay away. That I missed her. That there was definitely something between us, and we owed it to ourselves to find out what that was.

Several times every day, I picked up my phone to message or call her. I wrote out several texts but then deleted them. I scrolled through my contacts, and my thumb hovered over her name, but I always put the phone down.

She'd made it clear that she wasn't interested in any sort of relationship with me. I didn't have a choice but to respect her decision. Even if I didn't agree with it. Even if I thought she was going to regret her decision. Even if I thought it was the worst decision in the world.

I did show up at the drive-in movie theater last Thursday to observe , not spy on her and Dawson's date, only to find out it was a red herring. He lied to me. He'd actually taken her horseback riding and on a sunset cruise.

Dawson thought his misdirection was hilarious.

I didn't think it was that funny.

As I stood waiting for Daphne to come around the corner, my stomach felt like I'd eaten month-old sushi. I thought I might be sick. I felt beads of sweat forming at the base of my neck, and my pulse was racing.

"Hey," Phil greeted me as he approached. He'd been standing behind his camera, and I wondered why he was coming over. "We're getting some interference with your mic. I just need to change its placement."

I nodded as he moved the clip-on from the front of my collar to the side.

"Turn your head back and forth and talk for me," he instructed.

"What do you want me to say?" I asked.

"You can just say that but move your head back and forth."

I looked from side to side as I repeated, "What do you want me to say?"

"Yeah, we're good." He dipped his chin in a curt nod, then walked back over to his camera set up. As soon as he was behind the tripod, I noticed him give Lydia the thumbs up, indicating we were ready to go.

My heart was pounding so hard that I was sure that they would be able to pick it up on the mic. I took a deep breath in through my nose and wiped my hands on my jeans. I wasn't sure where my anxiety was coming from.

I'd never been nervous with women. That's not to say I'd never faced any rejection; I had, but I had never taken it personally.

This wasn't a blind date. I'd already slept with Daphne. Twice. So why the hell were my palms clammier than an otter on a slip-and-slide?

As soon as Daphne walked around the corner, I momentarily forgot all of my anxiety. I was transported back to the first morning on the farm when I'd seen her walking out of her aunt's barn. The same feeling swelled in my chest. It was like I was seeing a real-life angel. An ethereal creature. A goddess.

Today, she was wearing a pair of blue jeans, sneakers, and a white V-neck t-shirt. Her long, silky blonde hair fell down around her shoulders in soft waves. Her makeup was light and natural, but it highlighted her bright blue eyes and full cherry lips.

With every step she took toward me, my heart beat faster. Aside from our dance at the masquerade ball, our interactions had mainly been in private or witnessed by only one other person, like Grandad when she dropped off Dini or Dawson when we kissed in the hallway. As happy as I was to see her, I wasn't sure exactly how to speak to her with an audience. Obviously, I wasn't going to say or do the things that I did when we were in private.

Her smile was wide as she approached me, and her voice trembled as she said, "Hi."

It was obvious I wasn't the only one battling nerves. Seeing her anxiety instantly erased any fear or trepidation I had. All I wanted to do was take care of her and make sure she was okay.

"Hi, good to see you again."

Lydia had prompted me that because the photo of us dancing had gone viral, we shouldn't introduce ourselves like her dates normally did. At least we didn't have to act like we didn't know each other at all.

Daphne reached her hand out, and automatically, I went in for a hug. Her body tensed, and I realized that might be too familiar.

Shit. I was already fucking this up.

"Sorry," I apologized as I leaned back. "My family are huggers."

"Oh, no, it's fine." She waved her hand, then dipped her head down and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. When she looked back up, she asked, "So, what are we doing?"

The format was the same for each one of her dates. She'd show up, they would introduce themselves, then she'd ask what they were going to do. There was an activity planned, followed by a dinner. I was given several options when it came to this date, but I'd chosen the gazebo because she'd said it was her favorite place to come when she was young since it reminded her of the gazebo in Gilmore Girls . But the location wasn't the real surprise.

"Do you trust me?" I asked as I stared into her eyes.

A flush lifted on her cheeks, and I realized I might have just had strike two in my time up to bat. My intention hadn't been for the question to sound as intimate as it did, but when I saw her reaction, I realized that it had.

She licked her lips and took in a shaky breath.

Knowing that I needed to dig myself out of this hole, I grabbed the blindfold out of my back pocket. "It's a surprise."

Her smile widened, and she nodded. "Yes, I trust you."

Relief washed over me. "May I?"

She nodded and turned around so her back was facing me. I placed the fabric over her eyes and then tied it in the back. We were mic'd up, there were several cameras on us shooting from all angles, and there was a small crew of people around. My brain knew that, but my cock was convinced that the act of blindfolding Daphne was an erotic one. It stirred behind my jeans, and I willed it to go down. The last thing I wanted was to embarrass myself on national television by popping wood like a horny teenager. In fairness, that is what I always felt like when Daphne was around.

Leaning down, I whispered against her ear, "I'm going to cover your ears so you can't hear."

"Okay." She nodded.

Trying to ignore my body's response, I motioned to Donna Lamb and her team, and then put my hands over Daphne's ears. Donna, whose daughter Brianna took my Farm Strong classes, ran a children's party business, and after spending a couple days trying to come up with the perfect date for Daphne, I knew she was the woman I had to call.

I could feel Daphne's excitement radiating off of her as we stood in silence while the date was prepared. Or maybe it was nerves since she was blindfolded and couldn't hear.

When Donna finished her setup, she gave me the thumbs-up, and I took my hands off of Daphne's ears.

"What is it?" Daphne asked at the same time there was a tiny bark. "Is it a puppy?"

"No." I took the blindfold off her eyes. "It's eight puppies."

"Oh my gosh!" Daphne's face lit up when she saw the litter of golden retriever puppies.

They were in a large puppy playpen that spanned the gazebo. I held Daphne's hand as she stepped over the side railing. Her smile was from ear to ear as she sat in the center, and the puppies crawled all over her. The date went by so fast, I completely forgot that we were mic'd and that there were cameras on us. We were just laughing and talking and playing with the puppies. There was one in particular that she fell in love with and who fell in love with her. His name was Cowboy, and he curled up and fell asleep on her lap.

When Lydia came up and called cut, Donna came out to gather the puppies. It broke my heart when she lifted Cowboy from Daphne's arms. I could see that she didn't want to let him go. After the puppy party, the next segment was dinner. I'd arranged pizza, which Daphne had said was her favorite food, and had wine on the gazebo and watched Daphne's favorite Gilmore Girls episode where there was a 24-hour dance marathon projected on a large screen I'd rented. The puppies hadn't been difficult to get cleared, but Lydia had almost nixed the show because they needed to get the rights to the Gilmore Girls episode. Ultimately, they decided to cut around it.

Once the show ended, we had to change into different clothes and take photos for our "second date." I wished that there was going to be an actual second date, but I would take what I could get. We wrapped, and Daphne and Lydia immediately started walking back to the library, where Daphne had been getting ready.

I followed behind them. "Daphne."

She stilled for a moment, and I thought she might ignore me. But finally, she slowly turned around. When her eyes met mine, I could see that they were guarded. They'd been more open when the camera had been on us. We'd just spent hours together, and her walls had been down, but now they were back up.

It's not real. That's what she'd said about the dates. I didn't know why I thought ours would be any different.

"Can we talk?"

"Um." Her eyes cut over to Lydia, then back to me. "I actually have a meeting with my boss right now. I'm sorry."

"Just five minutes?" I knew that she was leaving town now that the show was over. I didn't know when exactly, but since this was the last date she was going on, it could be anytime. There was a possibility she might fly out tonight.

"Um..." She licked her lips, and I could see the indecision in her eyes.

"Daphne!" The woman who did her makeup called out from the doorway of the library entrance, holding up her phone. "It's her !"

"Sorry, I have to go." With that, Daphne turned around and walked into the library.

My heart broke as I watched her leave, knowing it could be the last time I saw her. I had no idea how long I stood there before I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw it was a message from Dawson.

Dawson: It looks like your girlfriend has a boyfriend.

There was a link attached with a headline which read:

Kale Butler Caught Dining with Mystery Blonde After Jessica Knight Seen with Massive Rock on Her Left-Hand Ring Finger

These past few weeks had felt like I was in the ring taking hits, but this, this was the knockout punch.

Daphne was dating Kale Butler.

Whatever I thought we had was just like the show. It wasn't real.