Page 44 of Made for You

“Actually, can I ask one last thing? Question for Andy?” says the woman currently holding Annaleigh.

“Sure,” agrees Andy.

“How does it feel to be with Julia and experience her as a person? Are you able to fully accept her personhood, or does part of you, as her designer, think of her as cogs and wheels?”

There’s an awkward silence. Then, as if realizing her faux pas, the woman turns to me. “I don’t mean that to be offensive. I just genuinely wanted to—”

“It’s okay,” I interrupt.

“I mean, how does a surgeon feel after messing around inside someone and stitching them back together?” Andy is calm, he’s in scientist mode, and yet no one could mistake the passion in his voice. “Do they feel like their patient is less than a person just because they have an intimate understanding of their makeup? I don’t think so.” His gaze turns to me, his tone softening. “Julia has been a person to me since day one. I’m proud of my scientific achievements, but that pride is separate from who Julia is. She’s her own woman. And what can I say—I adore her.” Now he’s grinning, like I’m the only person in the room. “Always have, always will.”

A hundred moments seem to collide with this one as I take in Andy’s intensity, turned toward me like even though he brought me to life, I’m the one bringing him to life, too.

Shit. My husband was right.

Andy is in love with me.

The room bursts into applause. And, on cue, Annaleigh bursts into tears.

THEN

I’m about to meet a surprise guest.

No one was caught more off guard than I was when, immediately following the rose ceremony that brought our number down to nine, the show’s host, Matt, pulled me aside.

“There’s someone who’s dying to meet you,” he said. “This is a little unconventional, but we couldn’t say no. Would you mind coming with me?”

“Who is it?” I ask as he leads me away from the celebratory toasting. Besides Andy, everyone I know in the entire world is here, on the show.

“If I told you, that would ruin the surprise,” teases Matt.

He brings me to the double doors that lead into the house’s formal sitting room.

Cameras, I’m sure, will be waiting on the other side to register my reaction. I smooth my formfitting black sequined dress and close my eyes as a guy from makeup smears some highlighter on my cheekbones. I’m still basking in the memory of how big Josh smiled when he handed me the rose.

We’ve had one more solo date in the weeks since our first, and I’ve been on two other group dates. One started with a competitive obstacle course to determine which team of girls got to spend the evening with Josh; the other was more relaxed, with beach volleyball and grilled burgers. My favorite moment was when Josh was trying to teach me to grill and, after I dropped not one but two burgers in the sand, declared me hopeless.

“Maybe my ineptitude is just a ruse,” I said as he play-wrestled the metal spatula from my grip.

“Oh yeah?” He slung an arm around my neck as he flipped a patty with the reclaimed spatula. “And why would you pretend to suck at grilling?”

“Maybe so you’ll spend all your time trying to teach me?”

“Maybe I want to spend all my time with you anyway.”

“Teaching me to grill?” I teased, pressing my body against his. My bikini was still damp from a dip in the ocean, and I could feel the thinness of the fabric between us, the way my breasts flattened against his chest. “Or teaching me other things?” I leaned up like I was going to whisper in his ear, and trapped his earlobe between my teeth, biting gently, drawing a little grunt from him.

“I have a secret,” I breathed, my senses thundering with desire.

“What?”

I stayed close, allowing my breath to tickle his ear, relishing my ability to stoke his hunger, then whispered, “Your burgers are burning.”

“Shit!” he cried, laughing as I skipped away. “You are trouble, Miss Julia! Don’t think you’re going to get away with this!”

There were bitter comments later that night from the girls about how some people were monopolizing Josh’s attention, but I let them slide off my conscience like water. I told Josh the first night that I wouldn’t make the mistake of holding back again. This was me, delivering on that promise. Exploring the parts of me that were made to tempt him, and using them without regret.

“Okay, are you ready?” says Matt, snapping me back to the present.