Page 131 of Insta Bride

“Keep a wedding dress? What for, my second marriage?” I deadpanned. “Isn’t usually bad form to use the same dress for a second husband?”

Bree shot me a look, her attention back with me instead of her misshapen eyebrows. “What do you mean, second husband? Has Maddox been in touch?”

“I’m sure Maddox has been wanting to do more than touch me, but no. I’ve had my hands full with one husband, I don’t need a second.”

I flicked through the wedding dresses, first. One looked similar to the dress I’d worn on the island. Had Kye loved me back then?

Tonight, I wanted something different.

Kye had made his position clear, and any doubts had been erased by The Flying Monkeys. My turn would be equally in his face.

The production team, Bree, even Kenzie with her faux pity, expected me to waltz out a woman in love. They’d expected me to stand at the fake alter and utter real vows.

Except, I had no intention of marrying my man on television in a dress I hadn’t designed or chosen with help from my friends. I was sick of everybody else taking a piece of our relationship—leaving nothing left for us to hold onto as special.

As far as grand gestures went, I was going big or going home—alone.

How far would Kye go?

Would he see my decision for what it was, or would he fall for the fake?

Back to the dresses, I gave each a cursory and dismissive glance. “Are these the only ones?”

“They’ve all been selected by the stylist and sponsor. They’ve been tacked to your measurements. Each will go with your hair, nails and makeup. We have three pairs of shoes that you can also select from.”

“I’m not really feeling it.” For the first time, I embraced my inner diva. I’d watched each of the other contestants pull this shit. I was counting on being able to get away with it—they had more to lose than me.

“What are you feeling?” Bree asked, swallowing down her exasperation. What the hell had Kye seen in her? What had he seen in any of the nameless women he’d slept with—before me?

Or had he been waiting, for me?

“I’m wanting answers. Like, how many times did you actually sleep with my husband?”

To her credit, Bree didn’t flinch. “Since he became your husband, never. Since he arrived on the island, never. Before the two of you hooked up, none of your business.”

“Okay, then how’s this. When you were together, how did you know that it wasn’t going to be a real relationship.”

Bree laughed, “I always knew.”

“How?”

“Because he’s never looked at me the way he looks at you. I remember seeing you. At the auditions and it’s like all of these other girls were there. They just lit up the room. But when he sauntered over to them, flirted with them, it was the same look he had with me.”

“Like, how?”

“The whole, yep, I want you now, yep, I might even want you for the whole night.”

“How was I any different?”

“Because with you, he paced himself. He didn’t want to go in hard and burn out. It was so fucking obvious he had a thing for you.”

“From when?”

“Even the auditions. When we played through the tapes, we looked at everyone’s reactions when they saw the photos from the top 100. His eyes changed when he saw your photo. He did it again when I showed him the top 50 photos, and when you gate crashed his interview at the mixer. That’s why we paired you together.”

“Because of the way he looked at me?”

“No, because we knew you’d either crash and burn—which would make for interesting footage.”