Chapter 34
“Introducing: April Lilian Farah!”
I take a deep breath, smooth the fabric of my dress, and take a step into the large ballroom.
The bright lights momentarily blind me, forcing me to squint.
When my vision clears a little, I behold the entire room, and butterflies explode in my belly.
Everyone in the room has their eyes on me, staring in awe. I feel like Cinderella at the ball–gorgeous, stunning, and completely unrecognizable.
With curious eyes on me and my magnificent dress, I move further into the hall, feeling like I’m floating.
My eyes scan everyone in the room, searching for Nathan.
I see him at the same moment he sees me. He’s leaning against the far side of the hall, talking to Valerie, who has her hands all over him.
The minute our eyes lock, the lights in the hall dim, and suddenly, a spotlight is shining on him–on us.
It’s like we’re the only two people in the room. He’s all I can see, and he’s looking at me like nothing else matters in the world.
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He shrugs Valerie’s hands off him and starts to walk towards me. The music and chatter fade into the background, and all I can hear is the loud thumping of my heart in tune with every step he takes closer to me.
He finally stops in front of me, and my breath hitches.
“April,” Nathan says, sounding breathless. “You look…” He shakes his head and runs a hand through his hair. “Wow.”
I curtsey slightly. “Thank you,” I whisper.
He stretches a hand out to me. “Would you like to dance?”
I place my hand in his, and sparks of electricity originate from that point and shoot through my entire body.
“I would love nothing more.”
A knock on the door jolts me awake.
For a second, I don’t know who or where I am. Then June stirs on the bed, and it all comes rushing back.
The competition. The Ashford Manor. Drool all over the notepad I fell asleep on.
I groan softly, pressing my face into the mattress. Out of all the
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dreams I’ve had about Nathan Ashford, that was by far the best.
There was no embarrassing twist at the end, no humiliation–just pure magic.
Like something out of a fairy tale–or a John Hughes movie. And God, the way he looked at me…
I know it was a figment of my imagination, and Nathan will probably never look at me like that in this lifetime, but it felt so amazing.
The knock on the door sounds again, louder this time, and I turn to June to make sure she doesn’t wake.
I push off the bed gently and pad to the door in socks–clad feet.
It’s probably Jessica or Lucy. They’d promised to return in time to get us ready for dinner. I open the door as a yawn hits me. “Is it already time f-”
The rest of my sentence dies in my throat when I see who’s standing at the other side of the door.
“Nathan.” My voice sounds like a small squeak, and I inwardly curse myself. I’ve been here for too long, had too many encounters with Nathan to be still having this kind of reaction to him.
He’s still dressed in his riding breeches from earlier, and his gorgeous head of hair is tousled in a way that makes him look sinfully sexy.
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dreams I’ve had about Nathan Ashford, that was by far the best.
There was no embarrassing twist at the end, no humiliation–just pure magic.
Like something out of a fairy tale—or a John Hughes movie. And God, the way he looked at me…
I know it was a figment of my imagination, and Nathan will probably never look at me like that in this lifetime, but it felt so amazing.
The knock on the door sounds again, louder this time, and I turn to June to make sure she doesn’t wake.
I push off the bed gently and pad to the door in socks–clad feet.
It’s probably Jessica or Lucy. They’d promised to return in time to get us ready for dinner. I open the door as a yawn hits me. “Is it already time f-”
The rest of my sentence dies in my throat when I see who’s standing at the other side of the door.
“Nathan.” My voice sounds like a small squeak, and I inwardly curse myself. I’ve been here for too long, had too many encounters with Nathan to be still having this kind of reaction to him.
He’s still dressed in his riding breeches from earlier, and his gorgeous head of hair is tousled in a way that makes him look sinfully sexy.
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“Hi,” he says quietly, looking unsure–like he might have gotten the
wrong room.
“Um…” I swallow tightly, very aware of my lazy clothes and messy hair–and, oh God, the dried drool on my cheek. “Can–can I help
you?”
He clears his throat, his eyes darting around awkwardly. A thought suddenly occurs to me, and it’s so ridiculous that I have to fight the urge to laugh.
Is Nathan Ashford…nervous?
“I came to check up on you,” he finally says.
My eyebrows shoot sky–high.
“You came to…check up on me?”
He nods. “After this morning, I didn’t get a chance to make sure you were okay. I got distracted.”
I grit my teeth. “Yeah, I remember.” How could I ever forget the show that Valerie, the attention–hogging bitch put on?
Nathan clears his throat again. “Right. So, are you okay?”
I smile softly, unable to believe he came all this way to check up on me. “I’m fine. And it’s all thanks to you for saving me.”
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My eyes widen slightly when his cheeks slightly tinge pink. “So, um, I’m guessing you don’t need this?”
He stretches out a small first aid box to me, and my eyes widen fully. “You brought this for me?” I ask incredulously.
He shrugs. “In case you had any injuries I didn’t notice earlier.”
I gape, momentarily speechless. What the hell is happening? Is this the same Nathan Ashford who could barely look at me during the banquet dinner or the one who practically threatened me on the balcony?
He seems to notice my surprise and quickly adds, “Of course, we have to make sure that all the contestants‘ needs are taken care of and nothing negatively affects their general well–being.”
I purse my lips, feeling my mood plummet. Yeah, that sounds about right.
He runs his free hand through his messy locks, and before I can stop myself, I reach forward and catch his wrist.
Nathan stiffens, and so do I. What the hell did I just do? When I did that earlier on the field, I could blame it on the adrenaline of almost dying, but what is my reasoning now?
Deciding I’ve already jumped and might as well continue falling, I tug his hand towards me. The back still has the scratches and cuts from earlier, and the blood has already dried and caked up on his skin.
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My eyes widen slightly when his cheeks slightly tinge pink. “So, um, I’m guessing you don’t need this?”
He stretches out a small first aid box to me, and my eyes widen fully. “You brought this for me?” I ask incredulously.
He shrugs. “In case you had any injuries I didn’t notice earlier.”
I gape, momentarily speechless. What the hell is happening? Is this the same Nathan Ashford who could barely look at me during the banquet dinner or the one who practically threatened me on the balcony?
He seems to notice my surprise and quickly adds, “Of course, we have to make sure that all the contestants‘ needs are taken care of and nothing negatively affects their general well–being.”
I purse my lips, feeling my mood plummet. Yeah, that sounds about
right.
He runs his free hand through his messy locks, and before I can stop myself, I reach forward and catch his wrist.
Nathan stiffens, and so do I. What the hell did I just do? When I did that earlier on the field, I could blame it on the adrenaline of almost dying, but what is my reasoning now?
Deciding I’ve already jumped and might as well continue falling, I tug his hand towards me. The back still has the scratches and cuts from earlier, and the blood has already dried and caked up on his skin.
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“Why haven’t you had this treated?” I ask sharply.
He tries to pull his hand out of my grip, but like earlier, I hold fast. “It’s nothing.”
I huff. “You keep saying that.”
I stretch out my free hand for the first aid box in his other hand.
“Give that to me.”
His eyes widen slightly. “You have an injury somewhere?”
It takes all of my willpower not to roll my eyes and even more mental strength not to give him a scathing, sarcastic answer.
Without letting myself properly consider what I’m about to do, I pull Nathan Ashford into my room.
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