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When they were all on their marks, Lance appeared on the stage in front of the room. A spotlight shone on him and the director yelled, “Action!”
“Welcome to Fairytale Love: Kings and Queens. I am your host, Lance Sparrow and I’m thrilled to be back as your host and guide through this journey to happily ever after. Tonight is our first Fairytale Love Ball. As you saw, our couples just shared their first dance. I don’t know about you, but I saw some sparks flying.”
Keaton wondered if he was talking about Vic and Piper, or he was just trying to hype up the show.
“This season on Fairytale Love, we’re doing things a little differently. You, the viewers, are going to haveallthe power. You will decide what challenges our lords and ladies do. What our matches will be, and most importantly, your votes will determine when a couple will be exiled from the castle and what couples will continue their journey to happily-ever-after.
“The result of your first vote is in. And I can now reveal who you, the public, have chosen to match. Our first match is Lady Piper and…Lord Vic!”
Keaton and the other cast members clapped as Vic picked Piper up and swung her around in excitement. The guy was like a golden retriever puppy. He was loveable, had a ton of energy, and even when he pissed on the couch it would be hard to be mad at him.
The next couple was Harlan and Freya. Then Elijah and Sienna. And Zara and Luca. Keaton was surprised when he ended up being paired with Ariel, whose name he’d written on the card. He wondered if the whole voting thing was a hoax and really, they just paired people up with who they’d chosen since he was one hundred percent sure Vic had picked Piper.
He was still ruminating on that theory when Lance made another announcement.
“Earlier today our lords met our ladies at the first impression mixer. They had to write the name of the lady they wanted to dance with on a card. The lady whose dance card is the fullest, will have a very special power to overrule the viewing public and choose her own match. Or she can stay with the match chosen by the public.
“So without further ado, the lady who had three gentleman’s names on her dance card is…” Lance loved a good dramatic pause, and Keaton was sure it built up suspense for the viewer, but they were getting on Keaton’s last nerve. “Ladyyyyyyy Zaraaaaaaaa!” Lance announced like he was MCing a wrestling match. “Zara, would you join me on stage, please?”
The cast all clapped as Zara walked up the steps to the stage.
“Lady Zara you are currently matched with Lord Luca, but he was chosen by the public. Do you agree with the public’s vote, or would you like to forge your own path of happily-ever-after and match with another lord?”
Keaton figured she would stay with her match. Luca was, objectively, the most attractive out of all the lords. And Zara seemed like someone who would seek the public’s approval. Changing matches would be going against the people she wanted to vote to keep her on the show.
“I would like to rematch.”
There was a collective gasp from the other ladies. Clearly, Keaton wasn’t the only one surprised by her decision.
“And which lord has caught your eye?” Lance asked.
Zara’s eyes locked with Keaton’s a second before she said, “Lord Keaton.”
There was more clapping as she walked down the stage and stood beside him.
“Okay, now that leaves Lord Luca and Lady Ariel without a match. Would you two like to spend the week single or would you like to match up with each other?”
Ariel and Luca both agreed to match up and Lance did the outro of the show. As soon as the lights went out, the men and women were separated to go back to their changing rooms for bed.
Keaton wasn’t sure how he felt about Zara choosing him. He assumed she’d done it because they shared a common past, or maybe she thought they had unfinished business. Which they didn’t.
As he walked back to the north tower, he couldn’t stop wondering what Avery would think about Zara choosing him. Would she care? Would she be watching the show? Would he see her more around the castle? Would she be gone before he was off the show?
When it came to Avery, as always, he had more questions than answers.
13
Water drippeddown Avery’s face as she blindly waved her hand beside her in search of the hand towel.
After finding out that Zara had used her advantage to choose Keaton as her partner, Avery decided to do some self-care in the form of an Australian clay face mask. She wasn’t sure why the news had upset her. Maybe because Zara struck her as a woman who got what she wanted, a force to be reckoned with. If her sights were firmly set on Keaton, there was a good chance she would get her man, which made Avery start thinking.
What if Keaton liked that sort of confidence?
What if she was exactly what he was looking for?
What if he fell madly in love with her?
Instead of wallowing in what-ifs, Avery had slapped some clay on her face. The problem was, after applying the mask, she’d started working and lost track of time. Now, the sucker had basically fused to her skin. She’d spent the past ten minutes dousing her face with warm water trying to remove it. Each time she thought she’d managed to get it all, she’d discovered another clump that was hanging on for dear life.
