Pick Me Read Online Free

remain as such. Only her stranger was standing right in front of her.
    “Yep,” Colt said. “Unless Val would rather just go to dinner, and then rock out at some club.”
    She cracked a smile of relief when he didn’t use her full name. “No. I don’t want to rock out any place.” She turned to Danny. “Colt asked me to go shooting for our first date and that’s what we’re doing.” She’d actually chosen Bachelor Number One, er, Colt because firing a powerful weapon gave her an intense adrenaline rush, and had always helped her release the tension and the anxiety. Something she would definitely need now that she had to date Colt on camera.
    Danny sighed. “Okay, Annie Oakley, lemme work out the logistics. You two are free to go. I’ll call you both later with tomorrow’s schedule,” he said, then rushed off, leaving her and Colt alone.
    Rather than meet his eyes, she watched the crew shut down the equipment and exit the stage, then looked to the floor. She caught sight of Colt’s beat-up cowboy boots, and couldn’t help but smile. Who goes on a nationally televised show wearing jeans and dusty boots? She slid her gaze up further and honed in on his belt buckle. Knowing what lay beneath had her fingers tingling with the urge to find out if that big ol’ belt buckle was as complicated as it looked. God, what was she thinking? She had her career, her reputation, and the sake of the show to worry about.
    Drawing in a deep breath, she decided she had to set him straight. Explain that what had happened in Denver can’t, in no way shape or form, happen again. “Colt, I—”
    “Strawberries,” he interrupted.
    She darted her eyes to his, and frowned. “What are you talking about?”
    He moved closer. “Your perfume reminds me of strawberries. I swear, since Denver, I haven’t been able to look at the fruit without thinking about you. How good you smelled. How delicious you tasted.”
    Heat immediately rose to her cheeks, and her already damp panties grew wetter under his gaze. She made the mistake of looking at his mouth, a very talented mouth, and almost had the sudden urge to throw her career down the toilet for just one more taste of his firm lips. Almost.
    “I’d appreciate if you kept what happened between us, quiet,” she said in a hushed tone. “Otherwise we’ll be booted from the show.”
    “So what? We chose each other in Denver, and now that we’re both in Dallas, why do we need the show to date?”
    He had a point. Only he didn’t know what she did for a living or that her career depended on dating him and the other three bachelors—in front of the cameras. Scrambling for an answer, she blurted the first thing that came to mind. “I need the money.” Which was true. She only made twenty-seven thousand dollars a year, and Derek had promised to double her salary when he promoted her to Assistant Producer.
    “You’re doing this for the money?” he asked, and she hated the disappointment in his eyes. “The woman I’d met in Denver didn’t seem the type.”
    “I’m not, it’s just that school teachers make very little, plus I was hoping to meet a nice guy,” she said, sticking to the occupation Derek had fabricated for her. 
    “Wouldn’t an online dating service have been easier?”
    How many times had she thought the same thing about Pick Me’s contestants? But then she realized something. “What about you, why are you on the show?”
    “I lost a bet.”
    “You’re doing this over a bet?”
    “Yep.”
    “But how...never mind. It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that we can’t let anyone know we...you know.” She looked away, afraid she’d succumb to the heat simmering in his eyes.
    “I’m fine with that, but keep in mind that I don’t plan on losing.”
    “The bet you mean.”
    “No. You. ”
    She sucked in a breath. Why now? Of all the times for him to blow back into her life...her career was on the line, the show, her reputation. “I have to go.” She