One To Watch(39)

“YEAH, I do!” Marin beamed. “Okay, so actually, I first came here three days ago, but we kept it secret from you.”

“What! Where was I?”

“I don’t know, filming your confessionals or trying on gowns or however you spend your time here.”

Bea nodded—none of that was wrong.

“While you were doing that, I was meeting your suitors.”

“Excuse me?”

“I know! I got to grill them about who they are and what they want in life and, best of all, what they think about you.” Marin sat back in her chair with a satisfied smile, while Bea felt increasingly anxious. Had the guys been honest with Marin? Did they say terrible things behind her back—and on camera?

“How, um. How did the conversations go?” Bea stuttered.

“Really well,” Marin reassured her. “I felt like I got a great sense of who the guys are. And that’s why I’m so excited that I got to choose which two guys are going on your one-on-one dates this week!”

“Wow.” Bea’s eyes widened. “You finally found a way to be in charge of my love life.”

“It’s like when you let me swipe your Bumble, but on TV.” Marin grinned.

“So Bea,” Johnny said, his voice low and dramatic, “are you ready to find out who you’ll be dating this week?”

“Do it to it, Johnny.” Bea matched his movie-trailer tone, and Marin snorted.

One of the PAs scurried over with two small pieces of poster board, which Marin placed facedown on the table before delivering a speech Bea was sure she’d rehearsed with Lauren.

“Bea, I think you have a lot of terrific guys here, but two of them really stood out to me as perfect matches for you. The first guy I chose is sweet, funny, and has a great attitude about life in general and this show in particular. You should have seen how excited he was when I told him I’d chosen him for a date with you—I hope you’ll be just as excited. Your first date this week is … Sam!”

Marin flipped over the poster board to reveal Sam’s face. Other than the fact that he was the youngest guy in the house and that he’d accidentally poked her during the premiere, Bea knew absolutely nothing about him. He was definitely attractive—and if Marin liked him, he must be fun to spend time with. Bea chalked this up as a win.

“Are you excited?” Marin looked at Bea expectantly.

“Totally!” Bea enthused. “Great pick!”

“Okay, Marin,” Johnny went on, “who gets to join Bea for her second date this week?”

“This guy and Bea have a lot in common—they’re both super smart, both keep up with the news, both a little bit argumentative, but in a really charming way.”

Hmm, this didn’t sound like any of the guys Bea had met. Had Marin unearthed a gem?

“Of all the guys in the house, this is the one I could most see you ending up with, and I’m hoping you’ll come to agree with me on that. So I really hope you’re excited for your date … with Asher!”

Marin turned over the second poster, and Asher’s smug face stared back at Bea, looking like he saw right through her even in two dimensions.

“Bea, you and Asher had a little bit of a disagreement last week,” Johnny goaded. “Do you think Marin made a good choice here?”

“I—um.” Bea didn’t want to embarrass Marin; she figured it was best to err toward tact. “I haven’t spent much time with Asher. It will be interesting to get to know him better.”

After they finished filming their segment, Bea and Marin had a few minutes to chat before Bea needed to film producer interviews to discuss her thoughts on her upcoming dates, so they holed up in the empty wardrobe room, where Marin immediately made herself comfortable on a green velvet sofa.

“So, you having fun on the show so far?”

She gave Bea a pointed glance, and Bea sighed. It was no use faking anything with Marin.

“I know, okay? I already had a whole talk with Lauren this morning—I’m gonna try harder to seem happy this week.”

“Try harder to seem happy? You’re kidding, right?”

“No?”

Marin exhaled in frustration. “Bea, I know that doing this show is about your career, but if you spend this entire time avoiding making connections with really great men who came here specifically to meet you … that would be pretty colossally self-sabotaging, even for you.”

“Wow, have you been talking to my mother?”

“I’ve got to tell you, I’m with Sue on this one.” Marin grabbed Bea’s hand and pulled her down onto the sofa beside her. “Babe, why should millions of Americans care about your ‘journey to find love’ if you don’t?”

Bea sank down into the sofa as Marin put her arms around her, realizing how grotesque this whole experience had made her feel, how much it stung to put on a happy face around all these men while steeped in the knowledge, every waking minute of every single day, that none of them were remotely attracted to her.

“I don’t know,” she said. “I thought pretending would be easier.”

“Don’t you see?” Marin snuggled up against Bea. “It’s good that it’s not easy. If it were easy, that would mean you didn’t care about finding love. But I know that’s not true, Bea. I know how badly you want this. And I know how close you came to having it.”