Out of Sight, Out of Heart Page 4

  Not wanting to waste any time, Peter got out his clothes for the next day and began packing his suitcase. He tucked his belongings neatly by the end of his bed. Then, he brushed his teeth and curled up under the covers.

  He sighed a happy sigh. He was going home tomorrow.

  Chapter Nine

  Brielle

  Shea: Just checking in. How are you?

  Brielle: Tired

  Brielle: Haven’t heard from you all day. What have you been doing?

  Shea: Sorry...honestly I played video games for like 6 hours and lost track of time.

  ◆◆◆

  Brielle looked at the clock on the wall. It was 9:30 and Laura and James still hadn’t come to the apartment to film her watching Damien say whatever he needed to say on his way out. She was exhausted and was ready to barricade the door and try to get some sleep. Stacey would be there by 8 the next morning and she wanted to be fresh for their full day of planning.

  She tried to quell her anxiety by flipping through the wedding magazines again. The entire situation seemed surreal like she was planning a wedding in the far distant future for a woman she didn’t even know. Every time she found a dress or decoration she liked, she tried to picture it at her wedding with Carl or Asher or even Brandon and just couldn’t conjure a convincing image.

  As she thumbed through the pages of the magazines, Brielle thought of her conversation with Peter. She was a bit taken aback by his question but relieved. Obviously, she knew she wasn’t into every guy who was messaging her but in her head, they were all very infatuated with her. It was a good reminder that she had to put in a little effort too.

  Peter was different. Brielle was sure he was a nice guy but he was absolutely right, they had nothing in common and no chemistry whatsoever. She was glad he gave her an easy out. It allowed her more time to get to know the other guys in the group.

  Even though it would make Mark and Abigail happy, Brielle was seriously considering going on a date with Peter. They both would know it was just as friends and it would be nice to get a feel for what the experience was like on the other side of things. Plus, Brielle hadn’t spoken to a friend in a few days and was getting a bit stir crazy.

  She was busy thinking about her options when a knock came at the door. She opened it and Laura and James were standing there.

  “It’s about time you guys were here.” Brielle moved out of the way to let them in the apartment. “Let’s just shoot it on the couch.”

  Laura looked down at the floor and whispered, “We’ve been trying to come up for three hours. Abigail wouldn’t let us.”

  Brielle softened. She felt bad for being so rude to James and Laura all day. They had very little creative direction over the show, they were simply operating the cameras. Brielle realized they were getting the brunt of her anger when they deserved none of it.

  “Sorry guys.”

  James tucked his chin to his chest. “If we angle our heads away from the wall cameras and whisper, they don’t know we’re talking to you. Your mic won’t pick us up. Just don’t say anything that could tip them off.”

  Brielle didn’t know what to say or how to say it. She was relieved when Laura walked across the living room to set up for a shot on the couch. Brielle sat down and waited for James to cue up the video.

  Laura gave James a thumbs up and Damien’s face filled the screen. Brielle was surprised. Despite his hideous goatee, he was more attractive than she thought he would be. His hair was neatly parted and he looked like he took good care of himself. She was picturing a pasty nerdy type who followed around the bully in high school.

  The video started rolling and Damien was fidgeting with his leather jacket. His dark brown eyes suddenly looked directly into the camera.

  “Hey, Brielle. I don’t blame you for sending me home but just know I think you made a mistake. None of those other guys can defend you like I could. They’re all wusses. You’d be safe with me and probably happy. And ignoring me all day? What a low move. How about you talk about your problems? Anyways, I’m glad I’m leaving. You seem superficial anyways. Bye.”

  Brielle stared at the blank screen and locked eyes with Laura. “Seriously? How many more of these guys are there?”

  “I can’t tell you that. But I hope, for your sake, that there aren’t many more.” James and Laura gathered their equipment and made their way to the door.

  “Thank you, guys. Sorry about yesterday. And today. This is more...stressful than I anticipated.”

  “Hang in there. We’re rooting for you.” James patted her on the back as he and Laura made their way out the door. Brielle flipped the security lock on after shutting the door and finally started getting ready to go to bed.

  She sat on the couch and started to french braid her hair. She looked at the profiles on the wall and began to reassess her potential husbands. Asher was still at a five out of five but Carl wasn’t far behind him. Brandon was edging up on her list, there was something about him that seemed strong yet gentle. Peter was obviously out. That left Matthew and Shea, who Brielle had barely spoken to that day.

  In fact, Brielle had almost forgotten they existed. Like Peter, she had formed almost no connection with these two. Brielle made it her mission to find out more about them the next morning and see if they had any chance of being “the one”.

  Before she got into bed, Brielle wanted to send two final messages.

  Brielle: I’m excited to get to know you better tomorrow. Sweet dreams ;)

  Asher: Good night <3

  Brielle felt silly admitting her heart skipped a beat when she saw he was responding right away. It was a small gesture but it meant so much to her. Asher was attentive and didn’t leave her hanging.

  She sent her second message to Carl.

  Brielle: Hope you sleep good! Nite!

  She waited for Carl to respond for five minutes before powering down her phone. Brielle yawned as she got into bed. She tried to convince herself that Carl was already sleeping. It was late after all. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that he might be playing games with her. He had taken a long time to respond earlier that day, too. Would he really do that? With so much at stake?

  Luckily for Brielle, she didn’t have to think about it for long. Sleep came quickly and was filled with dreams of wedding cake, dancing, and the mystery man destined to be her husband.

  Chapter Ten

  “Well, that was a long day.” Abigail carried a bottle of wine to the couch for herself and Mark. He was already in his pajamas, a pair of black joggers and a white t-shirt. Abigail hadn’t yet changed into something more comfortable.

  “Only a few more days. And then we can be done with her and all these idiotic men.”

  “Do you think she’s going to go on any dates?” Abigail was growing concerned that they’d have to edit that entire part out of the show. It would take forever.

  Mark sighed and took a long swig from his wine glass. “I think she will. I just hope we can keep them controlled enough to keep our little surprise a secret until the right time ”

  Abigail snorted. “You’re right. I don’t think anyone suspects anything yet.”

  “I’m trying to keep them in the dark about her little outburst after Jason let it slip that he’d seen her picture. We’ve gotta be more careful. Some of these guys are smart. You never know what they could figure out.”

  Mark looked stressed as he poured himself some more wine. He rested a hand on Abigail’s knee. She didn’t move it away.

  “What did Stacey say today?” he asked.

  “Not much. I think she actually likes Brielle for some reason. She doesn’t have many redeeming qualities so I’m not sure how that happened.”

  He shook his head. “We wouldn’t have picked her if she had no redeeming qualities. She’s smarter than we anticipated, that’s the problem here. Next time we’ll pick someone easier to manipulate.”

  “Please!” She took a sip from her glass and looked at Mark. “But yeah, Stacey seemed prett
y convinced Brielle was going to go through with a wedding if she could find the right man. She said she seemed stressed about the planning. Someone who was planning to screw us over wouldn’t care that much.”

  Mark nodded. “I hope you’re right. What are we going to do about this Peter thing?”

  “I think we just let it play out. I thought he might be a top contender but it’ll be nice to get rid of him easily, narrow the storyline a bit. Focus in on you know who.”

  Abigail stood up, sliding out from under Mark’s hand, and carried her wine glass to the sink. She leaned over the edge of the couch behind him. “I’m going to turn in. I’ll see you in the morning, okay?”

  She turned and walked down the hallway, gently closing the door to her room. Mark spent another hour on the couch, turning over the day’s events in his mind. Would Brielle figure out what they had in store for her? And if she did….what would she do?

  Thank you for purchasing Out of Sight, Out of Heart! This is Book Two in the Sight Unseen Series.

  Book Three: Setting Her Sights on Love will be released June 22, 2020 (preorder by clicking here)! Book Four: More Than What Meets the Eye will be released June 29, 2020.

  To receive special offers, exclusive content (including the prequel to the Sight Unseen Series, Book Zero: Before the Fall), and news about Jill Ferraro’s latest books, please subscribe to her newsletter!

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  Missed the prequel? Check it out to read even more about Brielle’s journey!

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  Sight Unseen Book Three, Setting Her Sights on Love, is available June 22, 2020!

  Find Book Three of the Sight Unseen Series by clicking here!

  Looking for a sweet romance series? Look no further than the Matchmaker Inn Series by Jill Ferraro

  Find Book One of the Matchmaker Inn Series by clicking here!

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  About the Author

  Jill Ferraro wants to be an author when she grows up. She enjoys drinking copious amounts of coffee, reading as many books as possible, and taking photos of her dog, Lady. She lives in Alexandria, VA with her wonderfully supportive husband and the aforementioned dog.