CHAPTER ONE
Aaron was anxious as he stood in the front hall of the large house the women would be inhabiting. He was going to meet fifteen women tonight. Fifteen. And they were all in LA to meet him. He wasn’t sure when, if ever, he’d had fifteen women vying for his attention. He’d always buried his head in work, whether it was in school or his actual job. He smiled tightly as he looked at the brown-haired man coming towards him with the camera crew.
“Good evening, Aaron.”
“Hey, Chris,” Aaron greeted, hoping the host couldn’t feel the shaking of his hands.
“Are you ready?”
Aaron chuckled awkwardly. “As ready as I can ever be?”
Chris chuckled. “Each of these girls is going to come down those stairs there, introduce themselves, then go into the living room. You’ll have a chance to talk to them as the night goes on. And, as you know, you’re going to have to send three of them home tonight.”
“Right.”
“Excellent. I’ll be upstairs with the women, sending them down one by one. I’ll see you in a bit.”
Aaron drew in a deep breath as he watched Chris climb the stairs. A few minutes later, a blond came down the stairs with blue eyes and a bright smile. For the first time in a long time, Aaron felt his heart jump. “Hello.”
“Hello Aaron,” she greeted in a soft, melodic voice. “I’m Haley.”
He smiled as he took her outstretched hands. Okay, he could do this. “How are you?”
“I’m good,” she replied. “Nervous, but good.”
“Where are you from?”
“Illinois,” she replied.
He smiled. This was going to be okay. “I’ll see you later.”
“That you will, Agent Hotchner.”
Emily drew a deep breath as she smoothed down her black dress for the millionth time. Her heart was beating at a million miles a minute surrounded by all of the beautiful women milling about the upstairs hallway. They’d had a chance to meet with each other and talk to each other, but Emily felt out of her league. So out of her league.
“Hey.”
Emily looked up with a smile at the redhead that took a seat on the small bench with her. “Hey.”
“I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself to you earlier. I’m Shaena.”
“Emily.” She shook the proffered hand.
“You look nervous.”
“Is it that obvious?”
Shaena smiled. “Come on, we all are. Think of it as just another date.”
“It’s easier to think of it as just another function,” Emily replied absently, watching the women wander about, anxiously awaiting their turn.
“Function?”
Emily chuckled, shaking her head slightly, her curls brushing her cheeks. “I grew up in politics. I’ve been to a few formal functions in my time.”
“Well there you go,” Shaena said, leaning close to whisper conspiratorially. “And think about it, you’re in a room with fourteen other catty women, how much closer to a political function could you get?”
Emily managed to laugh. “How did you get to do this?”
Shaena shrugged. “Got picked off of a pool list? Some of us are just desperate and sick of searching. You?”
“Two best friends. They think I work too much.”
“Then you probably do,” Shaena said. “What made you agree?”
Emily sighed. “I have no idea.”
“It wasn’t the draw of finding your true love?” Shaena asked with a grin.
“Shaena?” Chris called.
The woman in question sighed. “I’ll see you down there.”
Emily smiled shakily.
“You’ve got one more woman up there. How are you feeling?”
“Overwhelmed,” Aaron answered Chris’ question. “Completely overwhelmed.”
“One more woman and then you can go in there, have some fun.”
Aaron nodded, taking another deep breath. It was the same thing he’d done before every woman that had come down the stairs. He watched black heels first, an almost standard uniform for most of the women who had taken the same path. Gorgeous legs were next, until the hem of her obviously black dress came into view. It contrasted with her very pale skin but what struck Aaron the most were the dark eyes that met his.
“Hi,” he said, hoping his voice came out stronger than he thought it did.
She blushed and managed a nervous smile as she walked towards him. “Hi.”
He had to force himself not to watch how her leg muscles tensed and released as she walked. “Aaron.”
“Emily.” She took his hand and he was surprised at her grip.
As much as he hadn’t wanted to watch her legs, he now couldn’t take his eyes away from hers. They were dark and he could see her nerves. Yet she managed to hold the rest of her body relaxed. He was impressed at how, regardless of her eyes, the rest of her body language spoke of someone who was confident.”Where are you from?”
“That’s a loaded question.”
“Oh?”
“I’ve lived in so many different places,” she said with a little bit of a laugh.
“I wish I could say the same. I’ll find you later, I want to talk to you about all of the places you’ve lived.”
Emily blushed and he found absolutely endearing. “Come find me.”
Oh, he definitely would. He couldn’t take her eyes off of her as she walked away. When he turned back, Chris was standing there with a smile on his face.
“So?”
“Doesn’t make it any less overwhelming,” Aaron admitted.
Chris chuckled. “Okay, well, head in there and see which women you have the greatest connection with. There is a First Impression Rose.”
Aaron sighed. A rose already. He had to choose one already. How was he supposed to choose one women out of all of these.
“Don’t look so nervous,” Chris said with a reassuring smile. “Focus on the connection. Who makes the best impression tonight.”
Chris turned back to the camera and though Aaron knew the camera was focused solely on the host, he still had to stand there while Chris addressed the viewers.
“And by the end of the night, three of these women will be going home. Who will stay and who will go.”
Aaron shivered.