The Husband Hunt - Kat's Season (The Bachelor Series) by Kiki Abbott, Kim Hornsby

           “That’s just it. We think he might still have someone back home but we aren’t 100% sure.”
                 “Well if you’re not sure, then tell me, and I can ask him.” She needed to know.
                 Tony stepped forward and touched her arm. “Just be careful and don’t keep anyone around unless you feel genuine feelings from them, Sweetie.”
                 If Tony hadn’t been telling her this, she’d guess it was him but now he seemed more intimate, approachable. Real. “This is strange, to have you come here to tell me someone isn’t being honest with me, but you can’t tell me who.” Another camera had arrived and both were rolling.
                 “Just choose wisely,” Sam said.
                 That was all they’d say. Kat saw them out and closed the door behind them. What the heck? She looked at the producer but Mary and the director were already setting up the shot for Kat’s reaction to her visit from Sam and Tony, with an excited gleam in their eyes. These people didn’t care about Kat or if she ever ended up with the love of her life.
     
                She tossed and turned in bed all night but rose with a new attitude. She’d go with the flow of the day. Whoever it was that Tony and Sam were talking about, would be flushed out soon enough. Kat’s best friends from San Francisco would fly in that night and interview the remaining men the next day. Jackie and Elizabeth would see through anyone’s bullshit on her behalf.
                 And today she had a one on one date with Pierce. She’d asked for him specifically to tour the Lahaina art galleries. Afterwards there’d be a picnic lunch up in the pineapple fields of Kapalua.
                 By the time she finished breakfast in her room, Pierce would’ve read the date card and know they were going to spend the day together. Hopefully he’d be as excited as her. She could hardly wait to stare at him all day, get to know him better and see if the fantasy she had of them living in New York after this could be a reality.
                 The date started off with the anticipation of a fantastic day. Pierce and Kat set off on their tour, arm in arm, joking that one whole section had been closed on Lahaina’s busiest main street to accommodate their date. “It’s like we’re spoiled royalty,” Pierce said, kissing the back of her hand.
                 By the last gallery, Kat was astounded with Pierce’s perception and knowledge of art. He had a fine arts degree, he said, and sounded like a man who’d studied for years. “Do you miss creating, being here on the show, without any way to sculpt?”
                 He smiled, looking off at the ocean to their left. “I do. But I brought a sketch pad and I’m working, which I think is actually very symbiotic to my clay work. I’m loving the sketching. Do you draw?”
                 “Yes, I have a sketch pad in my room and filled one already since the show started.” Talking art with Pierce made her feel like someone shared the most important part of her life and by the time they reached the pineapple field in Kapalua for the picturesque picnic, Kat was wondering why Pierce hadn’t kissed her yet. They’d certainly spent enough time together, getting to know one another. She wanted him to but all he seemed to do was hold her hand or kiss her hand after she said something funny. She considered pulling her hand to her face at the last minute to substitute the object of his affection.
                 They sat on a pretty picnic blanket, in the postcard-perfect area of Kapalua, with Ponderosa pines towering over them, and fed each other fresh pineapple, mango and papaya. When Kat giggled that she was dribbling pineapple juice all over her chin, Pierce leaned in. She thought he was going for the kiss, but then stopped himself after he