Flaming Hearts (Beyond Reality Book 2) Read Free Page B

night was her answering questions about Marissa and who she thought Marissa liked best. He’d been watching Becky over the last few weeks and had seen her grow less and less animated.
    When he’d first seen her at the introductory meeting of the show and to let the contestants meet the camera operators, she’d seemed at ease with herself and she smiled a lot. She was certainly excited to be on the show and for it to start. She was very friendly with all of the camera operators and joked around with them. At that point she hadn’t realized they weren’t allowed to really talk to her much, and she’d spoken freely about how glad she was to meet them all and how happy she was to be there.
    Now her smile was forced and Jonathan knew she gritted her teeth a lot. She had bags under her eyes and it was obvious she wasn’t sleeping well. She no longer tried to engage with the camera operators and any time she met their eyes, she’d look away in consternation. 
    He could sense her frustration, embarrassment, and sadness. It went against Jonathan’s nature to allow any woman to be disgraced like Becky was, but there was nothing he could do but watch through his lens. He thought he’d been jaded by Hollywood before starting this job, but this was the last straw. He was so thankful he only had one more show to get through after this one before he could start working with his brother. He wanted out of show business for good.
    That night after going off duty on the set, Jonathan was sitting at Dean’s dining room table, talking with his brother. He’d be working for the next three nights, so all he wanted to do was sit around and talk to his brother tonight.
    “I can’t believe what they’re doing to her,” Jonathan told Dean. “Seriously, they’re making a fool out of this woman and she knows it. There’s nothing she can do, but try to pretend everything is okay.”
    Dean looked at Jonathan carefully. “Why do you care, bro’?” he asked seriously. “It’s not like she’s actually being harmed, if she’s experiencing a little embarrassment, she probably deserves it for agreeing to be on the show in the first place.”
    Jonathan looked at Dean and answered as honestly as possible. “I know. Intellectually, I know she brought it on herself by signing the contract, but you taught me to watch out for people, Dean, and I’m watching and she’s hurting. I can’t do anything for her and it’s awful. It’s like she’s on an island surrounded by water and dying of thirst. I don’t know.” He paused, then continued, “There’s something about her. She almost feels like…” His voice faded off.
    “Feels like what?” Dean asked, honestly perplexed. He’d never seen his brother like this. He was the one in their family who usually had the need to protect others, not Jonathan. “There had to have been situations like this in California that you’ve seen before in the industry. Women who are being taken advantage of, who are making bad choices. Why is this so different? Do you think she’s your One ?” Dean asked seriously, sitting up in his chair with an expectant look on his face. “It’d explain the feeling…”
    Every man in their family had been quick to fall in love. It was as if there was only one person in the world for them, and as soon as they saw that woman, they knew it immediately. This was the case as far back as any of them could remember. Their parents were cases in point. Both Jonathan and Dean had been told over and over the story of how they met and how their dad knew instantly their mom would be his. Of course, the women usually didn’t feel the same way at first and required some wooing and courting. It was a tough thing to believe and while Dean wanted to believe he’d find his One just like all of his ancestors did, it was a farfetched idea. But the hope that he’d really meet someone and know on the spot she was the one for him was why he’d never been married yet. He was