“I’ll survive, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Not that you’ll like it?”
He glanced at her. “What’s to like?”
“You’re not really a go-with-the-flow kind of guy, are you?”
“What gave me away?”
“Something tells me we’re going to be seeing a lot more of those two,” the host said cheerily.
Finn had yet to meet the man. He didn’t know his name, but he knew he didn’t like him. He couldn’t imagine having to listen to him for ten or twelve weeks, or however the hell long the show lasted. Although disliking the host was the least of his problems right now.
Sasha and Lani linked hands and stepped to the side of the stage. The host put his arm around Stephen. “Guess you’re next. Nervous?”
“More excited than nervous,” Stephen said.
The host nodded to the girls waiting behind them. “Got a favorite?”
Stephen smiled. Unlike his brother, he didn’t feel the need to charm the world. He’d always been serious. More studious. He had a sincerity the girls had always liked. If Sasha was the flash, then Stephen was the substance.
“Do I have to pick just one?” his brother asked.
The host chuckled. “You need to leave some for the rest of the contestants. How about if I pick one for you?”
Steven turned back to the camera. “Whichever one you pick is fine with me.”
The host called for quiet. Finn wanted to point out that no one was talking but knew his comments wouldn’t be appreciated. Once again the host removed a card from his suit pocket and held it up for the camera.
“Aurelia.”
The camera panned across the girls, then paused as one of them stepped forward. Finn frowned. It wasn’t that the girl was unattractive, or even badly dressed. She was just…different from the other girls. Less polished, less sophisticated. Plain.
She wore a navy dress that fell past her knees, low-heeled shoes and no makeup. Her long hair fell in her face, making it hard to see her eyes, not that she looked up as she approached. When she finally stepped next to Stephen and glanced at him, her expression was more one of horror than anticipation.
Finn studied her for a second, then frowned. “Wait a minute. How old is she?”
“Aurelia?” Dakota shrugged. “Twenty-nine or thirty. She was a year or two ahead of us in school.”
He swore. “There’s no way this is happening. I’m going to crush Geoff. I’m going to leave him bleeding and broken on the side of the road.”
“What’s wrong?”
He spun toward Dakota and glared at her. “Can’t you see it? She’s what? Nearly ten years older than Stephen. There is no way in hell I’m going to stand by while my brother is devoured by some cougar.”
The corners of Dakota’s mouth twitched. “Seriously? You think Aurelia is a cougar?”
“What else would she be? Look at her.”
“I am,” Dakota said. “You look at her. She’s mousy. She was always like that in high school. I don’t know her whole story but I’m pretty sure I remember she has an awful mother. Aurelia never got to do anything. She wasn’t allowed to go to school dances or football games. It’s kind of sad. You don’t have to worry—she’s not the type to trap him by getting pregnant or something.”
“Cry me a river. I don’t care about her past, I care about her being with my brother.” He froze. “Pregnant?” He swore. “She can’t get pregnant.”
Dakota winced. “I shouldn’t have said that. Stop worrying. She’s no danger to Stephen. Come on, Finn, she’s a nice girl. Isn’t that what you want for your brother? A nice girl?”
“Sure I want a nice girl, but I want a nice girl who’s his age.”
Dakota grinned. “It may seem like a big age difference now, but when he’s forty-two she’ll only be fifty.”
“You’re not making me feel better. I don’t think you’re even trying.”
Finn was done talking. Bad enough that his brothers had come to Fool’s Gold to be on the stupid show. Maybe he could learn to live with that, but he was not going to stand here and let his brother be set up for a fall.
But before he could stomp down to the front of the stage and disrupt the live broadcast, Dakota stepped in front of him.
“Don’t go up there,” she said firmly, staring into his eyes. “You’ll regret it, but more important, the boys will be humiliated on live television. They’ll never forgive you. Right now you’re an annoying older brother who wants to keep them safe. That’s a livable condition. I’m serious, Finn.”
He could see the truth in her eyes, and as much as he didn’t want to believe her, he knew he had to. But the thought of leaving his brother alone with that woman…
“He doesn’t have any money.”
“Aurelia isn’t after his money.”
“How do you know that?”
“She has a great job. She’s an accountant. From what I’ve heard, she does amazing work. There’s a waiting list to be one of her clients.” Dakota grabbed his arm again and stared into his eyes. “Finn, I know you’re worried. Maybe you have reason to be. It would have been great if your brothers had stayed in college like you wanted them to. But they didn’t. Please don’t make this worse by going out there and acting like an idiot.”
“I know you’re trying to help,” he said, realizing he sounded frustrated.
“Look at it this way. If she is as boring as I think she is, they’ll get voted off early.”
“If she’s not, he’ll be in trouble.”
She dropped her hands to her sides. “You’ll be here to make sure nothing bad happens.”
“Assuming he’ll listen.”
He glanced toward the stage. Aurelia stood next to Stephen. If her body language was anything to go by, crossed arms, averted gaze, posture so stiff it was as if she were made of steel, she really wasn’t happy about the situation. Maybe he would get lucky and they wouldn’t last a date. He was due for some luck.
“You’re quite the tough guy,” Dakota told him. “Is that an Alaska thing?”
“Maybe.” He took a deep breath and looked into her dark eyes. “Thank you for talking me off the ledge.”
“I’m a paid professional, it’s my job.”
“You’re good at it.”
“Thank you.”
He continued to stare into her eyes, mostly because he liked it. She was easy to be around. And his body couldn’t help but be aware of the smoothness of her skin, the shape of her mouth.
“I need to get going,” she said. “Can I trust you to stay here on your own?”
“Sure.”
“Have a little faith,” she said, stepping back. “It’s going to be okay.”
She couldn’t know that, he thought. But for today, he was going to believe her.
He waited until she had left before walking out of the sound studio. After pulling his cell phone out of his pocket, he dialed the number for his office in Alaska.
“South Salmon Cargo,” a familiar voice said.
“Hey,