Dandelions on the Road by Brooke Williams Read Free Book Online

heels. She casually placed her arms behind her back and crossed the fingers on one hand.
    Brian appeared at her shoulder moments later. “Good evening, gentlemen,” he greeted. “Sorry to interrupt.” Levi continued his story without taking a breath. “Eva, could I borrow you for a moment?”
    Eva nodded at each man standing in the circle and made her exit. “Thanks,” she muttered as Brian escorted her off the set to a darker part of the studio.
    “Everything okay?” Brian asked.
    “Fine. I just wanted to test our sign to make sure it worked.”
    “I saw the signal loud and clear.”
    “I know. I think you arrived about five seconds after I crossed my fingers.”
    “Hey, when a damsel in distress calls…”
    “I wasn’t exactly in distress.”
    “No, I suppose not. But one woman in a room full of men all vying for her affection…you never know.”
    Eva laughed. “Okay, so the reason I called you in was because I think I know.”
    “You know?” Brian raised his eyebrows.
    “What I want to do about the men. You know, for the ceremony.”
    “Oh, yes, of course. So you’re ready to move on with the eliminations?”
    “Yes. Can you let Mike know?”
    “Absolutely. Why don’t you hide out here while I take care of that.”
    “That’d be so great. I could use a break.” Eva had no idea how exhausting dating twelve men at once would be.
    “I’m on it. But don’t forget…” Brian held his crossed fingers out before him.
    “I won’t. It worked like a charm the first time. You better watch out or I’ll be using it every five minutes.”
    “Any time.” Brian backed away, holding eye contact. “Any time at all.”
     

CHAPTER SEVEN
    BRIAN WRAPPED UP his interviews with the remaining men after informing Mike that Eva was ready for the elimination portion of the evening. Mike busied himself preparing the set after sequestering Eva in the green room the reporters used to fix their hair and makeup.
    Brian was relieved Eva was out of sight. He could concentrate on the men he needed to interview and not watch her for the signal they worked out. Plus, having her out of the room improved his concentration in general.
    “So, Pete, tell me what it is about Eva that you find attractive.”
    Pete leaned forward in his chair. “Urraaappp. Excuse me.” He beat his fist against his chest.
    Brian tilted his head. Men burped, that was all there was to it. But on TV?
    “You were going to tell me what you found attractive about Eva,” Brian reminded.
    “Yeah, Eva. She’s got some legs on her, am I right?” Pete threw his elbow out in Brian’s direction looking for commiseration.
    Brian hoped Pete would talk about her beautiful eyes or the way her smile lit her face. He wasn’t comfortable condoning the man’s blatant focus on her legs. Granted, they were spectacular, but that was beside the point.
    “Have you enjoyed getting to know her?” Brian asked. A different tactic was better in this situation.
    Pete shrugged. “She’s a classy broad. She’s a woman…I’m a man…you know how it works.”
    The interview wasn’t getting any better.
    “Well, thanks and good luck to you tonight.”
    Pete held his lips tightly together as his cheeks puffed out and a small urp sounded in his throat. At least he held that one in.
    Brian was anxious to see what Eva would do with the twelve men. They weren’t all like Pete, but there were definitely a few gems like him in the bunch. Brian wondered if the staff threw them in for the TV factor. She had to eliminate someone, right? Maybe the audience would get laughs from the losers before they were shown the door.
    If it were up to Brian, there would be more than two men going home that night, but nothing was up to Brian. Any decisions regarding Eva were past due. He could’ve leaned over and asked her out dozens of times during the past year when they chatted over a cute little puppy or an older tomcat, but he lost his chance. And now, he had to help her choose