Read Online Ineligible Bachelor by Kathryn Quick - Free Book Online Page A

this segment opens, you will be inside the parlor with the ladies. You’ll have ten minutes to make the rounds, and let us get some shots of you socializing. Then the host will bring in Freddy and drop the bombshell that she is really the one to impress.” He turned to Freddy. “Isn’t that delicious?”
    Freddy rolled her eyes. “Divine.”
    A production assistant began to lead Logan inside the parlor when he stopped and turned back. “What were you going to say before Roberto interrupted you?” He started to say something else, but the production assistant had already opened the connecting French doors, and the ladies surged toward it, their voices blending in a loud chorus of greeting.
    Freddy watched as first one and then another ran to Logan’s side when he stepped into the parlor, each one vying for position and attention. Soon beautiful women surrounded him, each one hanging on his every word. How could she ever compete?
    She answered Logan’s question in a whisper, grateful he would not be able to hear her. “Because I can tell you liked Stacy best. I took off a point just because you like her.”

“Smile, we’re on,” the show’s host said as he took her elbow. He led her inside the parlor. “Ladies, if you can tear yourself away from Logan for a moment, I will need your attention.” Glasses clinked as they were set onto trays and everyone’s attention moved to the show host. “This is Freddy,” he continued. The collective intake of breath could have turned the room into a vacuum. “Freddy is playing an important role in the competition, so please listen carefully.”
    As the host revealed her part in the show, Freddy felt the weight of the gazes on her—some like daggers, some in shock.
    “Now I’ll give you all a few minutes to get acquainted.”
    Four of the women gave Freddy a quick sidelong glance before resuming their fixation on Logan. Lori, the war veteran, and Stacy, the teacher, homed right in on her.
    Okay, it looks like the two smartest ones have this figured out
, Freddy thought as they approached.
Guess that will make them among the first to go.
    “Interesting turn of events,” Stacy said, holding out her hand to Freddy. “I’m Stacy.”
    Should I let her know I watched them all come in from the balcony?
Freddy decided against it and took her hand. “Frederika.” She shook Stacy’s hand as warmly as possible, all the while picturingwhipping Stacy into a headlock and body slamming her right into the pricey travertine tile in the entranceway.
    “So Freddy is your nickname then?” Lori asked, not to be shut out of an opportunity to win Freddy over.
    “Only for the show. I don’t like it that much.”
    “Then Frederika it is,” Lori announced. “Why don’t we sit down somewhere quiet and you can get to know me better?” She pointed to a small patio to the right off a set of double French doors.
    Not to be outdone, Stacy concurred. “Know
us
better, you mean. We can all get more comfortable with this new twist.” She stepped between Stacy and Freddy. “I do like Frederika better. It sounds more elegant and regal.” She smiled. “It suits you.”
    Gawd
, Freddy thought.
She can’t possibly think I am going to fall for that.
    Lori glanced over her shoulder. “But since the rest of the ladies haven’t figured out that they should actually be putting their time to good use by getting to know the person who will be eliminating them, how about we don’t tell them about it for a while?”
    Freddy looked at the four remaining women circling Logan now like sharks about to partake in a feeding frenzy. “Why not,” she agreed before looking at Stacy and Lori.
Trying to make alliances already, are you?
They were definitely going to be the first two with their butts in the backseat of limos heading back out the driveway. And as soon as possible.
    What she didn’t need were two beautiful
and
intelligent women in the mix. Suddenly, a pageant-waving beauty queen, a