She crossed her arms. “Keep talking.”
“Consider the tax breaks the state would give you for filming here. The cost of living is less, so you’d be getting bargain prices on the things you take for granted in Hollywood.”
“Let’s say we could rent a house around here. Two dozen women sharing one, maybe two bathrooms? Even that’s a little too real for television.”
Rick grinned. “And a whole lot of fun.”
Lizzie held up her hands. “Okay. Show me more.”
* * *
BYTHETIMEthey got in the truck and headed back to the diner for dinner, Elizabeth was dog tired. She doubted she’d be awake long enough to eat, much less call Devon with an update. And she had to admit the idea of filming here had started to wiggle into her already clicking mind. It would be a change, something that could spark ratings for a show that was starting to show its age. Rick might be onto something.
Instead of going to the diner, however, Rick turned his truck into the driveway of a large Victorian house with a wraparound porch and pulled around back near the lakefront. Elizabeth looked at the manicured landscape outside and frowned. “We’re having dinner here?”
Rick wiggled his eyebrows. “First we’re going to catch it. Then we’ll eat here.”
Elizabeth groaned. “You’re taking me fishing? Haven’t you tortured me enough for one day?”
“Think of it as part of your Michigan experience.” He got out of the truck and retrieved fishing poles and a tackle box from behind the front seat. “And you haven’t really lived until you’ve eaten something you’ve caught.”
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. This was not what she had signed up for. Still, she was hungry and she’d agreed to do what was necessary to get Rick for the show. “Fine. But I’m not cleaning any icky fish. You get that job.”
“Sure, Lizzie.”
“Elizabeth,” she muttered under her breath as she followed him to the dinghy tied to the dock on the lake.
Rick held out one hand and helped her step into the boat. She spread her arms to catch her balance before taking a seat on the narrow wooden bench. Rick untied the boat from the dock and stepped inside, pushing off. He took a seat, then pulled the chain for the motor. They putted out to the center of the lake while Elizabeth watched the sun lower in the west behind a wall of magnificent trees. She closed her eyes.
“This place is getting to you.”
She opened her eyes. “I’m tired.”
“Mmm-hmm.” Rick steered them out farther and cut the engine. He handed her a pole. “Have you ever fished before?”
“When I was a kid, my mom took me to the Santa Monica pier. Some guy let me hold his pole while he ran to get a hot dog.” She shrugged. “All I did was stand there.”
“So you’re an expert.”
He opened the tackle box and removed a small plastic container. It was full of black dirt and wriggling worms. Elizabeth wrinkled her nose and shook her head. “I’m not putting one of those on my hook.”
“Relax. I’ll bait it for you.”
He removed one long worm and wound it around her hook while Elizabeth squelched a squeal. She wasn’t naive. She understood the circle-of-life thing. Instead of allowing Rick to think she was squeamish, she accepted the pole. “Now what?”
“Cast it out toward the middle of the lake.”
She looked at him and raised one eyebrow. “Cast is something I hire for a show.”
“Ha-ha. Watch me.” He swung the rod back slightly, then flicked it forward, sending his line out in a perfect arc that Elizabeth doubted she could repeat.
In fact, she couldn’t repeat it. After three failed attempts, Rick cast the line for her. She sighed. “What’s next?”
“We wait.” He wound the reel in a bit and lifted his face to the sky, his eyes closed.
Elizabeth watched him. He had a boyish charm that the audience had loved. He was also funny and sensitive. Why he was still single after all this time was a mystery to her. He was the type of guy who should be a husband and father. “What happened after you came home last time?”
Rick opened one eye and groaned. “Do we have to talk about that?”
“I’m surprised that some woman didn’t snap you up the moment you arrived home, single and willing.” She wound the reel a couple of clicks like she had seen him do. “You still want to get married and have kids, right? So why didn’t you make that happen?”
Rick rubbed his forehead with his free hand. “Were you not there when I got publicly humiliated?”
“It’s been five years. People forget.”
“You have hundreds of letters a week that say otherwise.” He turned his gaze on her. “I guess no one wanted to date a loser.”
“You’re not a loser.” Elizabeth pulled her pole back slightly, mirroring Rick’s movements. “You are a catch. And any woman who doesn’t realize that is not only blind, but also not worth your time.”
“Then I live in a town full of the sightless.” Rick reeled his line in and cast it farther out. “Do you know they had a viewing party at the diner for the night of the finale? All my family and friends were gathered together to watch me propose. Instead they saw me dumped and humiliated.”
“I think you’re the only one who’s not over that already.” She glanced at his eyes shadowed beneath his ball cap. “But I do have one question.”
“Only one? You’re slipping.”
“Did you love Brandy?”
He swallowed and adjusted the ball cap again. Then he moved his fishing pole and wound the reel a couple of turns, clearly stalling for time. “Yes.” His voice croaked. “And the crazy thing is I thought she loved me, too. Only, she was pretending for the cameras.”
“You don’t know that.”
Rick looked up at her with troubled eyes. “She chose him over me. How else do you explain it?”
She reached out and touched his knee. Then she quickly removed her hand. “You knew she was dating you both. That there was a chance...”
“But it felt real.” He shrugged. “That’s why I’m conflicted about doing the show. How am I supposed to know what’s real and what’s for the sake of the cameras? How can I trust my heart to someone else who might be pretending?”
She longed to remove the hurt from his eyes. “That’s why you have me. I’ll protect you. Like I should have the last time.” She glanced out toward the lakeshore. “We were friends. I should have...” She looked back at him. “I want to be friends again. And I’ll help you get what you want.”
“How do you know what I want?”
“Because it’s my job to figure it out. With your help, of course.”
He gazed into her eyes until she supposed he could see her soul. If they were any two other people, this would be the perfect moment to kiss. Her lips tingled at the thought.
Rick leaned forward. She closed her eyes. “I think you’ve got a bite.”
Her eyes flew open, and she tugged on the line. Sure enough, something was resisting at the other end. She squealed and stood up. Rick reached out and put a hand on her calf. “Careful. You’re going to capsize the boat.”
She wound the reel and shouted as a long silvery-green fish appeared at the end of her line. “I caught a fish!”
Rick