I look down at it and smile. “Perfect,” I tell him and the cameras.
He laughs and moves on to the next guy. Ryan goes down the line, asking each of us questions. And then the music changes and its more dramatic. Most would take this as an omen but none of us move.
“Who is ready to meet their match?”
The ten of us clap and smile.
Smile.
Smile.
Smile.
My damn cheeks are starting to hurt.
“In no random order, let’s get started,” Ryan says as he looks at the cards in his hand. One by one, Ryan tells a guy to step forward and then announces the name of the woman whose egg he found. We clap.
Another goes.
And then another.
I’m starting wonder if my name is ever going to be called. I was one of the first ones to return, and yet, I’m second to last. Strike that, now I’m last.
“Hudson Bryant, we like to introduce you to Allison, but you can call her Allie Wood.”
I rock back and forth on my feet, waiting for Allie Wood to step out of the shadows. When she does, I’m struck by how perfect she is. There are flowers in her blonde hair and she’s wearing a pink dress that shows off her long legs. She’s not too thin, which I can’t stand, and she’s curvy in the all the right places. I can already picture my hands on her hips while I help her scale a rock formation, can feel her thighs around my head when we play some couples water game in the pool during filming.
“Hey, Allie,” I say as she steps toward me. I hold out her egg, so she knows I’ve found her.
“Did you hurt yourself?” she asks, almost sounding disappointed because she knows I didn’t.
Her question catches me off guard. I smirk. “Totally worth it to meet you.” I can’t be for sure, but I think she rolls her eyes. There’s something familiar about them.
Allie stands next to me and looks straight ahead. Ryan gives us some instructions on what we’re supposed to do but I’m not listening. When the producer yells cut, Allie starts to walk away. I follow, like a lost puppy dog.
“Hey, so, I’m Hudson.”
“Yep, I know.”
Attitude, got it.
Allie and I walk—well I follow her because I wasn’t listening—to where we are supposed to spend some time getting to know each other. She sits down at a picnic table that has our names on it. There are two plates full of food, a bottle of wine, and twinkling lights surrounding our space. She places her napkin on her lap.
“Would you like some wine?” I ask, hoping to strike up some conversation.
She shrugs. “Sure.”
I pour us each a glass and then place my napkin in my lap. Allie won’t look at me and it bothers the hell out of me. I reach across the table and lift her chin, making eye contact with her. It’s a bold move, but I’m not a subtle type of guy. “You have beautiful green eyes,” I tell her.
“Thanks,” she replies with a scoff.
Okay . . . well I’ve never had a woman not return a compliment or shower me with them. This hard to get act is already old. What the hell? Why come on a dating show if you’re not going to put yourself out there? I sit there and stare. She seems familiar but I can’t place her.
“Do we know each other?”
Her head pops up. “I don’t know, Hudson. Do we?”
She has so much bite in her words, I recoil. “Oh wait, are you the woman I saved last year from the fire, but accidently dropped?”
Allie blanches. “You dropped someone you saved?”
“It was an accident. I was carrying her to the gurney and tripped over the hose. In my defense, it wasn’t supposed to be there.”
She rolls her eyes. “Of course, you would blame someone else for your actions.”
“Hey,” I say, pointing my fork at her. “You don’t even know me,” I pause. “Right?”
She shrugs and I’m already over the nonchalant attitude.
“Okay, what gives? You come on the show and what, thought you’d be a raging bitch? Is this some higher ratings things?”
Allie sighs and narrows her eyes at me. “Nope.”
Finally, it all makes sense to me. “Ah, I get it. You want me to work for your attention. Okay, I can do that. I’m always up for an adventure. That’s why I picked your egg. I should’ve known you’d be hard to get.”
Her eyes go wide, and her mouth drops open. “Seriously?”
I wink and take a bite of my food. Messing with her is going to be fun. “Mhm, this is good. You should try it.”
She shakes her head. “I’m not even hungry right now.”
Shrugging, I reach over and cut a piece of her keshi yena for myself. “I’d hate to see this go to waste then.”