Colton woke up feeling better than he had in… well, forever. For the first time in weeks, he had a path forward. He jumped out of bed and took a quick shower, anxious to meet with Gavin. He was glad Van had made the trip up after all. Better that he could tell both men together that he'd be breaching the contract. They could slap him with damages, and he'd gladly pay.

His failed foray into television would end up being a very expensive lesson.

Feeling like a new man, he hurried through the mansion on the way to the kitchen. The smell of her heavenly cooking greeted him before he even hit the first floor. Not for the first time, he admired the home they'd been renting, surprisingly sad that his time there might be coming to an end sooner rather than later.

He heard the voices as he came down the back stairs. Joking… laughing… He turned into the kitchen to find the room full of the production crew, plates stacked high with fluffy pancakes. And at the center of it all was a glowing Harper. He didn't care for the fact that it had been the cameramen and not him whom had put that joyful smile on her face.

"Good morning," he said, a bit too loudly.

The room fell into a hush as all eyes turned his way. The men, having been filming him for weeks, wished him a quick hello before going back to their breakfast.

But Harper stood frozen, unable to look away. He was a jerk for being relieved that she looked excited to see him. It stroked his ego to see the effect his arrival had on her.

Not wanting to tip their hand to the men in the room, Colton walked to her location, stealing a strip of bacon from the plate in front of her before whispering in her ear, "You're burning the pancakes, baby." He let his hand brush her curvy ass, cupping it lightly before stepping away.

Flustered, the chef got back to work, barely salvaging the last batch of flapjacks just before they could be called burned. Colton took a seat at the island where he had a perfect view of Harper preparing more food. He ate his hearty breakfast, anxious for the crew to leave them in some relative privacy.

Only Van had other ideas, arriving in time to sit next to Colt before he finished.

"So have you seen Gavin yet this morning?" Colt asked his agent between bites.

"He left me a note. Something came up. He needed to go into the city for a day or two. I can't believe he didn't tell you."

An uneasy feeling came over Colt, hoping the producer hadn't gone looking for him the night before only to find him MIA. But his disappointment was more than that. He wanted to get this game over with—once and for all—so he could move on with his life. With Gavin gone, it would drag things out. The crew wouldn't accept a shutdown of production without the producer.

Things went from bad to worse when Maya and Cleo, the shortest and the tallest contestants, arrived in the kitchen. It looked like they intended to take a seat next to Colton until he gave them the evil eye. They instead each grabbed an apple from a bowl of fruit and headed into the dining room.

"That's weird. Why didn't they sit down?" Van prodded.

Colt sat silent, but one of the crew was nice enough to answer for him.

"Colton banned the contestants from the kitchen earlier this week."

His friend and agent eyed him suspiciously, "And why would you do that?"

Colton and Harper looked at each other nervously.

"I think I see." His friend glanced pointedly between Colt and Harper before throwing his napkin onto his still half-full plate. "I'd like to speak with you in private, Colt."

"I'm not finished."

"Oh, I think you are." The men glared at each other, Colt understanding the real meaning of his friend's assertion.

Now that he'd made his decision to shut down the fiasco, he felt liberated. He didn't need to play nice with the women who were only looking for their fifteen minutes of fame and a chunk of his fortune. And he sure as hell didn't need to take shit from his agent.

"Actually, I think that's a good idea. Let's go out to the pool house. We can talk in the hot tub."

* * *

Van's tires spun on the loose gravel as his Audi tore out of the driveway. Their long, impromptu meeting had not gone well. Besides the fact his agent thought he was throwing away an important opportunity for his career, his friend hadn't understood why America's most eligible bachelor wasn't enjoying the carte blanche he'd been given to sleep with six beautiful women.

Since Colton barely understood it himself, he hadn't done a good job of explaining it either.

He just needed to get through today. Then Gavin would return, he'd nix the show and then… what?

The thought of returning to the mansion and pretending for the rest of the day repulsed him. The producers had set up an off-site adventure to New York City for the following day and he was supposed to be using today to discuss the options on camera. Since he alone knew he wouldn't be making that trip, at least not with the contestants along, he didn't feel the need to interact with the women further.

It was already two o'clock. He'd missed lunch, spending time arguing with Van instead. As tempted as he was to find Harper in the kitchen, he headed towards the stable instead. It was a beautiful day for a ride… sunny and warmer than in previous weeks. He needed to be alone so he could think.

The Finnegans were not to be found, but Colt didn't need Charlie's help. He saddled up Prince and headed off in the direction he and Harper had gone the night before.

In the light of day, he admired the peaceful landscape. Rolling hills, forests and pastures dotted the land. Opulent homesteads, like the one they were on, sprinkled the horizon. This was the kind of place men like him came to raise their family, not bang six women they barely knew. He even bet the schools were phenomenal, and the crime rate was non-existent.

He chuckled to himself. Since when did he start thinking about such things?

Alone on his ride, he had the time to evaluate the interesting question. He admitted it was hard not to think about settling down when every other member of the starting line-up was married with a family. He was the hold-out. The anomaly. Hell, at thirty-six, he was an old man in baseball. If he were lucky, he'd get two, maybe three, more seasons to try to break the doubles record, but then what?

The one thing he knew he didn't want was to continue stoking the fire of his notorious bachelor lifestyle. Like an old, comfortable shirt, that existence used to fit him perfectly. But this failed experiment had proven it had gotten too tight. Playing the field just didn't fit him anymore.

Looking out over Connecticut, he admitted the country felt ironically more like home than the dance clubs he used to haunt; a major revelation to be sure.

The one question he avoided the most was where did Harper Gardener fit into his new reality? He'd hoped a kiss and a quickie would work her out of his system, but that had backfired spectacularly. He'd lain awake for hours after returning to his room the night before, reliving how beautiful she'd looked pleasuring herself.

If their physical attraction had been all there was, he wouldn't be panicked, but more importantly, he'd had to face how much he loved just talking with her. Sparring with her verbally. As he'd pondered it in his bed the night before, the best adjective he'd come up with to describe her was real. She didn't put on airs to try to impress him. Hell, she barely even acknowledged his fame or fortune, let alone pandered to it.

The snort of another horse drew his attention. Up ahead he saw Dolly tethered to the same tree he'd used the night before. Where there was Dolly, he hoped there would be Harper.

Prince seemed to know where to go on his own, stopping right where he'd been the previous evening. Colt searched the area for the woman in question, finally finding her several hundred feet down the shoreline where a larger inlet had created the perfect picnic spot.

She obviously hadn't heard him approaching as Harper sat in the middle of the spread out blanket, her arms hugging her bent knees as she gazed out over the placid lake. He took a moment to observe her undetected. She'd let her hair down and long strands blew in the light breeze. He wanted to reach out and run his fingers through it.

Colt searched at his feet, picking up a half dozen small rocks, before making his way to her. He knew the second she heard him coming, swinging around, a panicked look on her face.

"Oh for crying out loud, you scared the bejesus out of me."

"I can't help it if you weren't paying attention. I did arrive on a half-ton animal, after all."

She looked annoyed at his answer. "I didn't expect anyone. You should have called and warned me."

"I'd love to, but since I don't have your number…"

"A likely excuse," she countered, flustered, recognizing the truth.

Only now that he was closer did he see the small open basket on the blanket next to her. "Mind if I join you? I skipped lunch."

"I only brought enough for one."

"Hmm, well then you'd better get eating. That looks like a lot of food."

Were they really arguing over food?

Colton stepped in front of her, standing at the water's edge and pulled out one of the flat rocks he'd slipped into his pocket. The first one barely skipped even once, crashing into the water on the first bounce. Her soft laughter wounded his pride.

Trying again, his second attempt was much better. The rock bouncing twice before sinking farther out from shore.

"Is that the best you got?" she teased.

"I'd like to see you do better," he turned, holding out a flat stone for her to take her turn.

She looked conflicted until he smiled down at her, taunting her. She snatched the rock in a huff and pushed to her feet. Winding up, she let it go. Her rock bounced an impressive six times before sinking near the center of the lake.

"Okay, what gives?"

She smiled. "I grew up on a farm in Illinois. We had a lake on our property. I'm the unofficial queen of skipping rocks. Just ask my cousins."

"Prove it. Do it again." He held out the selection of rocks, and she chose again, this time increasing her skill set to seven skips.

Colton whistled. "Impressive."

He was tempted to reach out and pull her into his arms, but refrained. She was acting prickly again, and he'd need to bring down her defenses first.

Instead, he turned and took a seat to one side of her blanket, leaving space for her to sit next to him. Harper hesitated, but finally sat, careful not to get too close. A flock of wild geese flew overhead, late on their trek to the warmer south. After a few minutes of silence, they both started talking at the same time.

Him with, "I'm so glad I stopped by your place last night."

Her with, "Last night was a big mistake."

They both chuckled, easing the awkwardness of the moment.

"I've decided to pull the plug on the show," he declared. She glanced at him, surprised before he added. "I'd have already done it, but Gavin pulled a disappearing act on me."

"Colton, you don't have to do that just for me. I'm a big girl. I understand."

"I'm glad somebody does."

"Seriously, Gavin is gonna be really pissed, not to mention the rest of the crew who will get sent home early."

Colt was surprised by her objection. "I thought you'd be relieved after all the crap you've had to put up with from the women."

It looked like she was biting her tongue to keep from saying something. He waited her out. "Obviously, I'm not sorry to see the contestants and cameramen leave. It's just…"

She'd stopped short of saying what he'd been thinking about on the ride there. Once the show ended, what happened to them?

The topic was too heavy for the sunny afternoon. He diverted the subject to the remaining food packed in the small basket between them. "I'm starving. What do you have to eat in here?"