Catch Me A Cowboy (18 page)

Wil finished in the shower, dressed and made himself a quick stir fry for dinner. With every breath, Emily was there. She wouldn't leave his thoughts. He was aching to see her again and ten o'clock couldn't come too soon.

Chapter 23

That evening, Emily ate dinner with the other seven contestants. As the group shrunk, the girls grew closer, and though they were nicer now to Emily, she was an outsider—like she couldn't quite open up to these women. Perhaps the feelings she was developing for Wil ensured that she would never let these women in because she viewed them as fierce competition and potential threats to her happiness.

But there were no cameras tonight, and that was a relief. For them all. She could tell by the natural expressions and relaxed banter. Even laughter. Because Emily and Tatiana had gone on dates earlier that day with Wil, they were hard-pressed by the remaining contestants to offer up every last delicious detail.

Tatiana was peppered first with questions. She and Wil had hiked together through a nearby forest, stopping for lunch at a rock pool.

‘Did you kiss him?' asked Daniella.

Tatiana shook her beautiful head, her blonde hair floating around her face. ‘No. It never felt like quite the right moment.' She grinned devilishly. ‘But, boy, did I want to.'

Emily's shoulders relaxed after that. She knew she had told Wil to do what was required of him, but she wasn't sure now, after that lush moment with him today, that she'd react well to hearing about him kissing another contestant.

‘And what did you do, Emily?' asked Tatiana.

She told him about the massage, then the champagne by the lake. ‘It was relaxing.' And super-sexy as Wil's half-naked body laid only a metre from her, then the kiss they shared on the jetty, but she wasn't admitting that.

Becky snorted. ‘He probably felt obliged after your little breakdown the other day. You come up with all the best moves.'

Emily narrowed her eyes. ‘They're not moves. I'm not pretending. It's all me.'

‘No kiss, then?' asked Tatiana.

Emily lowered her gaze and swallowed. ‘No. Not even close,' she said though her words sounded like obvious lies to her own ears.

‘So no one's been kissed yet,' said Daniella. ‘Wil's incredibly courteous, isn't he? Seems like he has old-school manners.'

Emily knew different.

Becky nodded. ‘I agree. I don't think he'll kiss anyone until maybe the third date. Though that doesn't mean I won't be trying.'

Emily ground her teeth as she pictured little Miss Vampire going after Wil. She took a deep breath.
Relax, Emily. You don't have a claim on him.
And if she was stupid enough to freak out every time one of these ladies spoke about getting their hands on Wil, she'd be a blithering mess by the time the two months were up. If she made it that long. Yes, Wil appeared incredibly interested, but she wasn't stupid enough to realise other women in her exact situation have had the rug pulled out from under them.

Excited pangs of anticipation had Emily vibrating as she showered and dressed, awaiting ten o'clock when she would meet Wil by the tree. When the time came, she snuck down the hall and had her hand on the back door handle when Becky came out of her room.

‘Where are you off to?' she asked, an eyebrow raised, though there didn't appear to be any malice or suspicion behind her question.

‘Just getting some fresh air.'

Becky smiled. ‘Mind if I come with you?'

Yes. I mind a great deal.
She resisted looking at her watch to check the time. ‘Fine by me.' Emily opened the door and stepped out into the cool night, Becky following.

She walked only a couple of metres from the house and looked up at the stars. In case Wil was already waiting for her, though he wouldn't be visible that far away in the dark of the night, she didn't want to give his location away. Especially if he'd brought Daisy with him.

‘Beautiful out here,' Emily said.

Becky sighed. ‘So beautiful. I'd pack up and move out here in a second if that's what Wil wanted.'

‘He's charming, isn't he?'

‘Very.'

They both giggled at the sound of her whimsical voice.

‘I can tell you may have some genuine emotion for him?' Becky asked.

Emily looked at her, a brow arched. ‘That obvious, ha?'

Becky nodded. ‘Yep.'

They giggled again.

‘What about you?'

‘I think he's a great guy. So gorgeous. I knew they'd pick an attractive cowboy, but he surpassed all my expectations. And it's as though he doesn't even realise.'

Emily gazed towards the tree, but she couldn't see anything. ‘Yeah. I know.'

‘Did you ever think you'd end up doing something like this?'

Emily shook her head. ‘Never. I nearly didn't. My best friend nudged me and nudged me until I gave in. Then when Amber insulted me at the auditions, I went through with it out of spite.'

‘She insulted you?'

Emily waved her hand. ‘Long story. Not worth retelling.'

‘I was glad to see her go. When I first saw her, I actually thought she'd be the one to win. Talk about drop-dead gorgeous. I just can't put my finger on his type.'

Emily shrugged. ‘Perhaps he doesn't have one.' She needed this conversation to end. Wil would be waiting for her and here she was, barely two hundred metres from him, unable to leave because of Becky.

‘Perhaps.'

Emily didn't initiate any more conversation, in the hopes it might sway Becky to go back inside. But after a long silence, Becky said, ‘A couple of the other girls and I are going to check out the nearby towns tomorrow if you want to come with.'

That didn't sound like a bad idea. She was only going to be hanging around here all day otherwise. ‘Sure.'

‘We might see if there is somewhere we can go shopping.'

She grinned. ‘I would like some more boots.'

Becky laughed. ‘We're going to leave about nine.' She pointed back at the cottage. ‘I'm going to head back in. It's cold out here. I'll make you a cup of tea?'

Emily shook her head. ‘Oh no, you don't have to do that.'

‘I insist.' She nodded at the door. ‘Come on. I've got chamomile. It will help you sleep.'

Emily smiled, though every part of her was aching to meet Wil.
Damn, damn, damn.
But she couldn't see a way out of this. Swallowing down her disappointment, she followed Becky inside.

Chapter 24

Wil made sure he got to the tree a little early, in an effort to make it up to Emily for his lateness last time. He reached to the branch above his head and broke a leaf off, flipping it over between his finger and thumb as he waited.

Despite it being early spring, the cold weather was lingering this year. He shoved his hands into his jeans pockets, trying to warm them. He hated that he had to meet Emily out here, when he had a perfectly warm, comfortable house less than a kilometre away with a fireplace stoked. He'd be glad when this show was finished and normalcy could find its way to the farm again.

But, also, in a way, the secrecy was exciting. His stomach was tensing with anticipation. He grinned because he'd not experienced this type of reaction to a woman since he was a teenager. Glancing down at his watch, he stopped himself from picturing her face, and those big beautiful breasts and hips, because it made the waiting, and wanting, so much harder.

A few more minutes passed and he checked the time again. It was ten past ten. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked up to the stars. She wasn't coming. Or maybe she misheard the meeting time. What if she came here earlier and he didn't show? He shook his head. No, the time was clear between them. She must be held up somehow. He'd wait another twenty minutes.

If he had the number to that smuggled-in second phone, he could find out what was going on. That would really break the rules. The studio made it incredibly clear that all interaction between the contestants had to take place in front of a camera, or at least when the microphones were hooked up and recording. He snickered; it couldn't break the rules any more than sneaking out at night to meet under the darkness of night with one of the contestants.

Twenty minutes came and went. Wil pushed his hands through his hair and sighed as he took one more squinted look through the blackened gloom towards Emily's sleeping quarters. He listened for footsteps, but only heard the chirp of crickets.

His chest was heavy with disappointment as he headed back to the house. And his mind raced to cling onto an explanation for why she didn't show. His irrational, insecure side told him he'd done something wrong, said something that Emily grew angrier about as the night progressed, and she changed her mind about meeting him. But his rational side suggested that something happened, preventing Emily from showing and it had nothing to do with her emotions for him.

It was a head-to-head battle. And one that would continue for days.

 

GET REAL—THE HOME OF REALITY TV

Catch Me a
… not-your-everyday
Cowboy

Wattle Valley local, and third-generation farmer, Wil Parker, is set to become the seventh series cowboy in the hit reality dating show,
Catch Me a Cowboy
. But Parker is a different brand of cowboy to those chosen in the previous seasons.

Social media went into meltdown after pictures of the twenty-nine-year-old stud were released yesterday by Dream Studios, but his looks are not all that is causing a stir.

Wil Parker has been pioneering methods he says have the potential to ‘revolutionise farming practices in Australia if embraced' and he wants to use the reality dating show to highlight his successes.

Highly educated and outspoken, he is also a proponent for on-shore renewable energy investment and utilisation. Parker says he has seen firsthand ‘the devastating impact climate change is having on rural communities,' and demands we start implementing change now, ‘not only externally by corporations and everyday Australians, but also on farms and stations.' Parker believes, ‘circumventing climate change is everyone's responsibility.'

Before the first episode has even aired,
Catch Me a Cowboy
is already promising all the romance and drama of previous seasons, but with a change. Change is as good as a holiday.

Chapter 25

Emily woke with a strong sense of guilt about missing the meeting with Wil last night. But it wasn't like she had a choice. Surely he would understand. She groaned when she rolled out of bed and wondered how long he had waited for her.

At nine, Emily met Becky, Daniella and Tatiana in the kitchen. Emily made them all takeaway coffees and they set off together to explore the surrounding townships in a car the studio leant to them for the day.

The centre of town in Wattle Valley was one street long. There was an art studio, small café, and a couple of touristy gift shops. The remainder was residential houses set on big blocks of lush land and, in the distance, those beautiful mountain ranges. The other towns were a little bigger but had that same old rural feel, and each with a main street lined with shops, cafés and pubs.

The further away they travelled, the larger the towns grew until they stopped at one that had a small shopping centre. Emily managed to find a cute shoe store that stocked a decent selection of shoes. And yes, a great line of boots. She bought three pairs and didn't bat an eyelid at doing so. She'd found a new love. Stiletto's, at least for the time she was out here in the country, were taking a back seat.

Emily laughed as she swung her shopping bags in her hands and headed back to the car. ‘I've found a new fetish.'

Daniella laughed along with her. ‘We've noticed.'

All seated and buckled in the car, Becky started the engine. A squeal sounded from the backseat. They all looked at Tatiana who was holding up an iPhone. ‘Our profiles are up on the
Catch Me a Cowboy
website.'

‘You have a phone?' asked Becky.

‘Oh please. Of course I do. I'm not going two months without my phone.'

Daniella laughed. ‘I thought I was the only one.' She reached into her purse and pulled out her mobile, holding it up for all of them to see.

‘Fess up, you two,' said Daniella, arching an eyebrow at Becky and Emily.

Becky was first to break. She giggled and admitted she had a phone in her purse too.

‘Mine's back at home in my luggage.'

‘I knew it,' said Becky. ‘I knew that's why you sneak out for so-called “fresh air”.'

‘Busted,' said Emily. If that was the only suspicion Becky had about her late night walks, then so be it.

The girls logged onto the website via their own phones. Tatiana let Emily look with her as she scrolled through all the girls' profile shots, accompanied by some short details about them—age, profession and an interesting titbit.

‘You're a freakin' millionaire?' screeched Becky, her mouth dropping wide.

Emily closed her eyes and groaned. ‘That's seriously what is says about me?'

She snatched the phone from Tatiana to look more closely. But Becky was right:

Emily Wolfe, real estate agent to the Melbourne elite,

Had earned the status of millionairess before she was thirty.

She was going to kill Xanthi for revealing her confidential, nobody-else's-business information. ‘Why the hell would they print that? It's private.'

‘But it's true?' asked Daniella.

Emily didn't answer, instead passed the phone back to Tatiana. Yep, she was going to put her hands around Xanthi's neck and squeeze tight.

‘Why are you even on this show?' Becky's voice was a screech again. ‘You'd be able to get any guy you wanted.'

Emily scoffed. ‘Is that what you think? That money can buy love?'

Becky nodded. The other girls did too. ‘Yes. It sure as hell can.'