Page 127 of Stupid Matchmaking Love

Ask him . . . what? My logical brain murmurs that I’m experiencing cognitive dissonance, when my hardwired reality is suddenly ripped apart by facts that are too unbelievable to digest.

It feels like my brain not only isn’t working correctly, but it can’t get jump-started to work at all.

“Or”—he leans in and whispers—“keep on believing he’s your boyfriend. Just don’t be surprised when he ends things after the challenges wrap up. Of course you’ll win the money because the whole thing’s rigged.” He scoffs. “You don’t actually think a resort owner would lose, do you?”

I’m literally dumbstruck. My body’s gone numb. My feet and hands tingle like all the circulation’s been cut off.

Jace sneers. “Have a good night.”

But I can’t have a good night, can I? It’s been ruined.

I’ve let magic into my life—not just into it. I’ve let myself believe the magic in this land handpicked Rhett for me. But in reality, this is all just a TV show, isn’t it?

Stop it, Cristina.

Maybe magic can pick soulmates and Rhett loves me. He loves me. He’s told me so. I’ve seen the man sleepwalk. I’ve held him in my arms. For God’s sake, I just had a triple date with him and his cousins.

This is not for show.

This is for realz—yes, the z is intentional.

Rhett loves me and I love him.

And Jace . . . Jace is a loser who wants to rip apart the best thing that’s ever happened in my life. Isn’t it obvious?

Yes, I tell myself, it’s obvious.

Somehow I find myself riding the elevator. I don’t even clock it happening. My body just moves on instinct, on memory. Then I open the door to my suite and find the connecting doors wide open.

I pull Flame from my purse and put her in her cage. She nuzzles my hand as if she senses something’s wrong. “I’m okay,” I whisper, but I’m not sure I believe it.

The shower is running in Rhett’s suite. I head over and step into a cloud of steam.

I let my dress fall and walk into the bathroom. “Is there room for one more?”

“Come on in. I was waiting for you to soap me up.”

A strangled sound comes from my mouth, like a mix between a laugh and a sob. I swallow it back down and shake my head.

Jace is wrong. Yes, the resort’s business has increased since the live streams, but this thing between us, between me and Rhett—it’s the real deal.

I open the glass door, and Rhett pauses when he sees my expression, but then he kisses me gently, tethering my heart to him. He pivots so the spray pelts me, drenching my skin, my hair.

He slowly rubs soap over my body, and I let him. He takes his time washing me, kissing every part, telling me how beautiful I am, but the words bounce right off no matter how hard I want them to stick.

When we’re done, he dries me and folds me into a robe, then we get under the covers and I drop my head to his heart.

“What’s wrong?” he asks.

“Nothing.”

“Nuh-uh. No way are you gonna keep this from me.”

I raise my head and stare into his dark eyes. “What makes you think something’s wrong?”

“You’re kidding, right? The Cristina I said goodbye to downstairs, the one going to get some ice, isn’t the same woman who was in that shower with me. Now, what happened?”

There’s concern in his eyes, as if he can see the walls I’ve erected. “I ran into Jace.”