“Todd, bring up Marcy’s confessional footage from tonight’s Elimination Ceremony,” Miranda said as she strode into the editing bay. “The part where she recaps all the Meet the In-Laws dates.” She looked at her dead-on-his feet assistant. “And then go get some sleep. The flight to Ohio is early enough to plan strategies for Marcy’s hometown.”
With only three Suitors left after tonight’s Elimination, the hours were getting easier for most of the crew members—though the travel this last week had been hell for anyone expected to be in all four of the Suitors’ home towns, which included Miranda and her personal assistant. At least this coming week they’d spend the entire time in Murphysboro as the Suitors tried to win the favor of Marcy’s family and friends.
Todd pulled up the requested footage and departed, shuffling off to find his bed. Miranda took the chair he’d vacated and tapped a key to roll the confessional reel. Marcy, decked out in an Elimination Night cocktail dress, appeared on the main screen, smiling and poised for the camera. Miranda still hadn’t gotten the tears she’d promised Wallace. Not even close.
“I should have known I would fit right in with Daniel’s family. It was so easy, spending time with them. I can see us spending alternating Christmases with them. Not like Mark’s family. They didn’t make any secret of the fact that they don’t approve of my career. I guess I’d hoped that a family of academics would be more welcoming of someone who writes books for a living, but I don’t think I’ve ever been insulted for writing trash and smut and bodice rippers so many times in one evening before. It’s bad enough that they all think that of me, but the fact that Mark never once rose to my defense—I have to wonder if he agrees with them. If I picked him, would I spend my entire life being denigrated for the fact that I like books with satisfying, happy endings and I believe sex is a natural part of falling in love?”
Miranda flicked the dial, rolling the footage forward.
“Darius’s family was a little overwhelming. I had no idea an impromptu game of touch football could turn so competitive so quickly, but it certainly helps me understand where his drive to win comes from. With Craig, too, I feel like seeing where he came from really gave me a better understanding of him. He’s not just self-obsessed and desperate-to-be-famous. He’s a real person. His mom obviously means the world to him and seeing him with her, you can see how he’s always trying to make her smile, and how that would turn him into the guy who always tries to be funny.” On screen she paused, her eyes growing distant and warm. “It must have been lonely, growing up with just the two of them. And I know he said he wasn’t coming on the show looking for love—but aren’t we all? He’s just looking for love from the audience, the never-ending applause, you know?”
Miranda paused the footage, swearing softly. Craig was still coasting along, cruising through Elimination Ceremony after Elimination Ceremony like he was bulletproof. Predictably, Marcy had gotten rid of Mark earlier that night, leaving the final three as Daniel, Darius and Craig.
Miranda wanted to believe Daniel was the front runner, but she’d seen too much of the confessional footage. It was Craig who still consumed Marcy’s thoughts and tangled up her emotions.
Miranda knew guys like Craig. Guys like Bennett. Charming, persuasive, endearing—yes. But no matter how he weaseled his way into your affections, he wasn’t in it for the long haul. He wasn’t a happily-ever-after guy. Marcy needed to see that.
It was time to make him an offer he couldn’t refuse.
Marcy was falling for Craig now, and she deserved to know what she was getting herself into before it was too late and he ended up breaking her heart in the finale. This was for the best. Even for Miss Right. It might mean tears in the short term—which could only help the ratings—but everyone would be better off in the end. Craig with his shiny new career, Miranda with the ratings gold she needed, and Marcy with a man who would take care of her heart rather than trade it in for a job as a television personality.
Miranda felt a little twinge of what might have been guilt, but she brushed it aside. This was the job. Toying with Miss Right’s heart was what she did. You pushed for the pain because that was what America fed off of. Marcy knew that when she signed up for this gig. And she didn’t regret it. She wouldn’t let herself.
When Craig’s true colors were revealed, Marcy would probably thank Miranda. In the end.
Miranda checked the time. Too late to make the call. Better to do it in Ohio, anyway. She didn’t want him skulking off without having it out with Miss Right for the cameras. And when he bailed on her, Marcy would have her loving family there to comfort her. Then it would be Darius and Daniel on the romantic overnight dates and a finale with a beautiful happy ending. Darius or Mark would do decently well as the next Mr. Perfect, since Daniel would be taken.
And they would all live happily ever after. If Miranda had anything to say about it.
#
“Entertainment correspondent and back-up co-host for the weekend wake-up show.”
For a minute, Craig’s heart actually stopped beating. “I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”
Miranda smiled slowly, turning her tablet around so he could see the offer laid out in black and white on the screen. “Entertainment correspondent and back-up co-host for the weekend wake-up show. With the possibility of moving up to the weekday team or regular co-host if you prove to have a talent for the work.”
His jaw dropped. “Holy shit. You did it.”
“I am a woman of my word.”
This was it. He was going to be a host on national television. Too good to be true. “What’s the catch?”
“No catch. Though there is one condition.”
“Of course there is.” Craig glanced around the hotel café, surreptitiously checking for cameras, but they appeared to be alone. Miranda had asked to meet with him over pancakes before the dressers got a hold of him to prep him for his evening meeting Marcy’s family.
“You’ll have to leave Romancing Miss Right.”
“I wasn’t planning to stay on the show forever,” he said dryly. Miranda just looked at him. “You mean they want me to start right away? Like now?”
“No, they want you to start when the episodes begin to air—you’ll provide insider commentary on the show until the end of the season and then you’ll transition to doing more general entertainment stories.”
“I don’t understand. If I’m not supposed to start for months, why do they need me to leave now?”
“They don’t. I do.” Miranda shoved aside her half-eaten peach crepe. “Craig, listen. You’re bad for Marcy.”
“Excuse me?”
“She likes you, and I think you like her, which is why I’m asking you to leave the show now, before anyone gets hurt.”
“I’m not following you.”
“As things stand now, Marcy might actually choose you—and I think we both know how that ends. You screw her over for your career and she winds up heartbroken and alone—America’s most famous dupe. But if you leave now, she chooses someone else. You get your back-up host gig, and we all live happily ever after.”
He couldn’t argue with anything she was saying. Miranda was just laying out the facts exactly as they were—but he still couldn’t make himself say yes. Leave Marcy. Something in his gut churned painfully. “If I accept, what happens next?”
“You go on your date tonight as planned. Meet Marcy’s family, if you like. You can tell her whenever you like that you’re taking yourself out of the show. It’s up to you whether you choose to tell her why. If you want to leave it to the last minute to make it particularly dramatic, that’s perfectly fine. Just as long as you remove yourself before the next Elimination Ceremony. The offer expires as soon as Marcy starts handing out favors.”
“Right.”
This was it. His big break. All he had to do was break Marcy’s heart. If her heart was even engaged. She knew better than to give him her heart. Didn’t she?