Blind Love (25 page)

The camera came back on, and Tony talked about JoJo. “She’s a great person, but she wasn’t right for me.”

Morgan smiled. “And your dog didn’t like her?”

“My dog likes everyone. She didn’t like the dog.” He looked down. Riley had come in with Morgan. “Did she, Riley?”

The dog barked twice. “Show off,” muttered Tony, and Riley’s wagging tail knocked a figurine off the table. Tony grinned. “Maybe I should let you choose for me next time.” He scratched the dog’s head. “Maybe not. You’d keep the ones who smelled the best.”

Examining the portraits of the remaining five women, he saw something positive in each one of them, a reason to keep her around for another session. But he also saw a reason to eliminate Rachel, and he wasn’t sure about Fawn.

He wasn’t sure about anything at that moment.

He and Morgan sat in the wing back chairs, with Riley on the floor at Tony’s feet, and talked about the next steps in the selection process. Morgan said, “You’ll spend several hours with each of these ladies, a different one each day for the next five days. At the end of that time, you will eliminate the one you feel is the least compatible with you and your lifestyle. Make your decision wisely.”

Morgan left the room, leaving Tony to talk to the camera again. He hoped they’d edit out the stupid stuff, but he didn’t have any control over the final product.

<>

Tony found DeeNae in the gym early the next morning. After a vigorous workout, he walked out to the pool, where Rachel and Fawn were already in the water. Fawn looked as good in a bathing suit as she did in a formal gown, and Rachel’s bones were a big turn-off. Still, she was a lovely woman. She just needed to eat and get healthy. Did she realize how she looked? No, probably not. If she did, she’d eat.

He and Fawn swam to one side of the pool, and he asked her, “Is Rachel sick?”

“I think she’s bulimic. She binges in the middle of the night and then throws up.”

“Don’t tell her I was asking, okay?”

“Sure, okay,” she teased, “as long as you pick me at the end.”

He dove under the water and pulled her under, like he had Catherine a few weeks ago. Fawn came up sputtering, and when she shoved him, it wasn’t playful.

“Hey, I’m sorry,” he said, and her smile returned. He kissed her, and she wrapped her arms around him.

“More,” she whispered. “I want more.”

He kissed her once more and got out of the pool.

Rachel was having trouble getting out of the water, so Tony grabbed her hand and pulled her up. He wrapped a towel around her shoulders. “Are you okay?”

“I didn’t sleep well last night, but I’ll be okay.”

“Take a nap this afternoon, so you’re well rested for our date.”

“Okay.” She gave him a big smile. She was so beautiful, he couldn’t figure out why she’d want to throw that away by starving herself.

Fawn watched Tony with Rachel. His eyes were filled with pity, which meant he’d probably get rid of her next. That was fine with her, although she’d rather have him get rid of Jenny next. He seemed to be very fond of her. DeeNae wasn’t really a contender. She was an irritating bitch.

Catherine was the one Fawn worried about the most. She was obviously the one who knew Tony before. All those freckles didn’t help her appearance, yet at a distance she didn’t look too bad. She was little, and her breasts were big for a little girl. She’d seen Tony looking at them a time or two, but then he seemed to like breasts. Another reason to be glad she’d had hers done last year.

She was looking forward to the individual dates, a chance to be alone with Tony for an entire day.

<>

Tony’s first all-day date was with Fawn. Cara’s pilot flew them to Reno, where they hit the slots and the blackjack tables. After they’d lost a couple thousand of the show’s money, they had a romantic dinner and saw a show. One-on-one with Fawn was fun and romantic, and at the end of the evening, when they were flying back to the estate, she told him she was falling in love with him. He answered with a passionate kiss, and with the camera on them, she reached inside his pants.

He grabbed her hand. “Oh, honey, don’t do that now.”

She pulled her hand out and he wanted to tell the cameraman to go to hell, because he wanted this gorgeous creature, and he wanted her right now. He looked over at the camera and said, “I hope to hell you plan to edit that out.”

Fawn leaned on Tony’s shoulder and they talked the rest of the way back. She said, “Every man I’ve ever been with has asked me to marry him.”

“Every one?”

“Yes. But I was waiting for you.”

This was worse than the bullshit he used to tell women. He wanted to ask her about Walt Timmons, but he couldn’t let her know that he knew Catherine’s father. Without mentioning Walt’s name, he asked, “What about the last one? Why didn’t that work out?”

“I wasn’t sure he was the right man for me, but he wanted to get married. I thought it was going to work, until his daughter came home. She was so mean, I decided to break it off.”

He knew that was a lie, and it made him wonder what else she was lying about.

<>

Tony’s date with Rachel was next, and he wasn’t sure what Henry had planned. At breakfast, Rachel played with her food. She didn’t even have her customary two bites of eggs. “Where are we going today, Rachel?”

“To a dude ranch to go horseback riding.”

“I’ve never been on a horse.”

“Then it’s time you learned,” she said with a smile.

Catherine’s eyes darted back and forth between him and Rachel, and he knew she was wondering the same thing he was. Did Rachel have the strength to ride a horse?

Tony and Rachel flew to a ranch in Eastern Oregon, where they rode for an hour and then soaked in the hot tub. They sank up to their necks in the bubbly water and he ran his hands around her ribcage. “Honey, you’re starving yourself. You need to eat more.”

“I’ll eat dinner tonight.”

But she didn’t eat more than a bite or two, and she fell asleep on the plane ride back to the estate.

She’d be the next to go, because she couldn’t wait much longer to get medical help.
Three days.

If she made it that long.

<>

While Tony and Rachel were gone and Jenny was upstairs with her brat, Fawn had a spat with DeeNae and Catherine. DeeNae’s talking had gotten on her last nerve, and she’d had enough of the rich bitch.

DeeNae said, “Go to hell.”

Catherine motioned toward the door. “Let’s go play pool, DeeNae.”

Angry at the whole bunch of them, Fawn went through purses, helping herself to whatever they had that she wanted. Jenny and DeeNae didn’t have much money, but Jenny had a new package of birth control pills, the same kind she took, and DeeNae had a Visa card.

She hit the jackpot with Catherine’s purse. She had credit cards, a checkbook, and a bunch of cash.

Fawn took it all.

<>

Tony and Catherine flew to Montana the next day. They hiked in the mountains, ate pizza, played pinball, and she even watched a Rambo movie with him. He appreciated the sacrifice, because he knew she was watching it to please him, but she kept covering her eyes.

“I thought I could learn to like this, because you do, but I hate it. How can you watch this crap?”

He shrugged. “I guess it’s a guy thing.”

“I guess.”

He could always count on Catherine to tell him the truth instead of pretending. She was a refreshing change from the others, who would say or do anything to please him. Still, the entire date was to please him, wasn’t it? The Rambo movie definitely was for him. It sure as hell wasn’t for her.

Halfway back to the estate, she snuggled into his shoulder and fell asleep.

Tony talked to the cameraman. “What is it with me? I keep putting them to sleep.”

<>

Tony’s date with DeeNae took them to a dinner show in LA and then to a country dance club. She looked cute in her fringed red and white shirt, and Tony had to admit that he had a good time with her. The more he got to know her, the more he liked her.

If only she wouldn’t talk so much.

<>

Jenny’s date was last, and they took Jessie to Disneyland. When Jessie pooped out, Tony carried her. The little girl was a strong plus in Jenny’s favor, as if she needed any help. Aside from knowing the kid’s father could come back into the picture, he couldn’t find anything negative about this woman.

And he didn’t put her to sleep.

<>

After they put Jessie to bed back at the estate, Tony showered and dressed in his tux. It was nearly ten, but he had to do this tonight. Rachel was too sick to wait another day. Before he went downstairs, he called Mr. Pettibone and asked if there was a doctor in the house.

“Yes, he came in moments ago. An ambulance is standing by.”

Tony took a deep breath and blew it out. He waited for his cue, then walked out on the patio and smiled at the five remaining women standing on the steps by the fountain. “Good evening, ladies. I hope I’m not keeping you up too late. I had a great time on our dates this week. I’d never been country dancing, but thanks to DeeNae, I learned how this week. With Fawn, I learned not to gamble, at least not with my own money.”

The women smiled or laughed.

“I learned to ride a horse with Rachel, and my behind is still sore. Jenny let me share her daughter’s delight at Disneyland, and Catherine sacrificed her evening to watch a Rambo movie with me. She didn’t see much of it with her hand over her eyes.”

Catherine shook her finger at him, and he grinned.

“Ladies, this elimination gets harder for me every time I have to send one of you away, because there’s not one of you I don’t feel something for. I wish we could spend another five days getting to know each other, but one of you must go tonight.”

No sense dragging this out. “Rachel.”

The look of horror on her face said this would be the hardest one of all, but she collected her composure and walked down the steps toward him. It was a warm evening, but her hands felt like ice. “You are a beautiful woman, Rachel. I’m crazy about you, but you have some things in your personal life to take care of before you’re ready to make a commitment to any man, including me.” He kissed her and held her while her frail body shook with sobs. “I’ve enjoyed every minute I spent with you.”

She walked almost all the way off before she faltered, and two men helped her to the waiting ambulance. This one wouldn’t go upstairs to pack and say goodbye, and from the sadness in the four women’s eyes, they all knew it.

Morgan was waiting for Tony in the library.

“That was a tough one,” said Tony. “I don’t know if it’s nerves or what, but she isn’t eating. I’m concerned about her health.” He stared at the camera. “Don’t put that on the show. People don’t need to know that.”

Tony sat beside Morgan and stared at the four portraits remaining on the wall. “So, what’s up for tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow the girls are going to help you build an arbor for the garden. Your brother, Alessandro, provided us with a design, and the materials and tools are in the workshop.”

“Hey, something I actually know how to do,” he said, thinking about the horseback ride and trying to line dance this week. He’d spent most of his working life building things, renovating houses, and doing carpentry work.

<>

The mood in the suite was subdued that evening. A bed had been removed, but Rachel’s clothes remained.

At a time when Catherine really wanted to be alone with her thoughts, she was forced to stay in a room with three girls she was beginning to hate. This much togetherness couldn’t be good for anyone, except Henry. The conflict should pull some good clips for the show.

The ever-present cameraman was waiting in the sitting room. This time Catherine went last. “I’m here with three blondes. Does that tell you something? Tony must like blondes.” She tugged at a curl. “Wrong color, and I’m too short. I don’t have any idea who he’s going to chase out of here next. I just pray it isn’t me, because the more time I spend with Tony, the more I want him to choose me.”

“What about the other girls?” the director off camera asked. “Tell us about the other girls.”

“Fawn is beautiful on the outside, but her character leaves a lot to be desired. If Tony picks her, it won’t last a month. I don’t know about DeeNae. There could be a steel magnolia behind that charming accent. I think Jenny might be what he’s looking for, but I’m not giving up. I want Tony.”

The camera turned off and the director stuck his thumb in the air. “Good job, Cat.”

As soon as she realized what he’d called her, she froze, but Jenny was upstairs with her little girl, and the other two were fighting over the bathroom. Nobody heard him.

Catherine had an incredible urge to pack her bags and get the hell out of here, but she was committed. If she left now, it would ruin the show, and Henry would never forgive her.