Seven Roses (Haremworld)

“Yes.” He nodded and smiled. “I’m sorry that I’ve been such a jerk to you all. I had some things I needed to work out and Lyn helped me through it.”

“You’re on board!” John let out a sigh of relief. “I was pretty worried about that—especially after I finally came to terms with it myself.”

“So, you go on your date with Charles tonight and if he doesn’t scare you off, we will officially become a family devoted to you after we leave here.” Markus sat down on the edge of the bed.

“I don’t think Charles is going to scare me off...” I shook my head back and forth. “This was his idea.”

I spent the rest of the day learning how amazing it was to be pampered by six men who wanted to make my every need their ultimate desire. They gave me a full body massage, but they left the craving between my legs to be satisfied when I went out with Charles. I was bathed in a bubble bath which came with a scalp massage and a long soak. When it was done, they took care of drying and combing my hair. The experience relaxed me so much that I felt the need for a nap once it was done. The enormous breakfast definitely didn’t help. It felt like I slipping into a food coma even before I spent time in the tub. They helped me into bed and Anders slid in beside me, putting an arm across my waist. A yawn spread across John’s face and he crawled into bed on the opposite side. I lay there between them as others joined us. There wasn’t enough room for everyone, but it was nice to have so many of them nearby. Brando and Markus decided to go downstairs and watch a football game that was starting but

the rest remained behind. My whole body felt wonderful and there was a bliss that settled into my thoughts as I considered the future. Everything was perfect.

WHEN I WOKE UP SEVERAL hours later, I had lunch in bed and another round of massages came. Markus and Brando returned, taking turns on the bed holding me for a little bit in an embrace while some of the others had their lunch downstairs. The constant flurry of hands had made me already get excited and I felt like I was probably going to jump Charles the second I got him alone if he was the only one I was going to get that night.

I had no idea what kind of date he had lined up for me. When the afternoon came, Adrian and Dawson helped me get ready for my final date. I had a purple dress for my date with Charles and a red dress similar to the one I wore when I arrived that I would wear to the finale. It was the first date that I was going on where I felt absolutely overjoyed. I walked down the stairs and saw Charles waiting on me with a smile, but as I got closer, he took a step back. I tilted my head as Henry Bennett walked into the room with a microphone.

“Before you go on your date with Charles—we’ve got a twist!” Henry gave his line directly to the camera that was perched beside the stairs as I got to the bottom.

“A twist?” I looked around the room and saw confusion spread on everyone’s face except Charles.

“You came to Seven Roses hoping to find love and we’ve decided to give you a chance at it—the traditional romance you always wanted.” Henry Bennett smiled as he took a step towards me.

“Huh? What do you mean?” I looked around the room.

“When you were in high school, you were absolutely head over heels in love with Jordan Steele, were you not?” Henry grinned from ear to ear.

“Uh... I mean—yeah.” I nodded, still unsure what it had to do with anything.

“It is time to meet our eighth contestant, the man who captured Lyn’s heart before she even knew what was love was. Ladies and gentlemen—Jordan Steele!” Henry pointed to the doorway where I had seen all of the other contestants emerge from and the lights came on.

There he was. Jordan Steele. He was the high school quarterback, the hottest guy in school, and the one who made all of my teenage hormones go crazy when we walked the same hallways for four years of our lives. His smile could melt a cheerleaders panties right off her thighs and his arm took our high school team to the state championship. The last time I had even heard his name was when he was injured on the football field in college. As far as I knew, he never went pro after that injury. He looked every bit as delicious as he did when we graduated and age had only made him more handsome. He was dressed in a suit and his purple tie matched my dress down the intricate details in the threads. I felt my heart jump straight up into my throat when he got close. He took my hand and lifted it to his lips, kissing it lightly before taking a step back. My hand fell back to my waist and I looked around the room again. Brando’s brow was pulled together in a scowl. The rest looked to be locked in a state of confusion.

“Jordan? What are you doing here?” I tilted my head and felt his dark eyes drawing me in like he did when he came to me for help with his homework—helping meant I just did it for him.

“Lyn.” He exhaled sharply and smiled. “I used to have such a crush on you.”

“What?” My mouth fell open. “No way...”

“You were simply too good for me. I was a teenager with only one thing on my mind and you were my forbidden fruit. I knew I could have you, but I knew I would never be true to you.” He shook his head. “I had a lot of growing up to do and now that I am at that point in my life, I want the one girl that I never stopped thinking about.”

“Is this a cruel joke? You only talked to me when you wanted me to do your homework! You never even looked at me otherwise.” My face twisted to a stare of confusion.

“Oh, I looked.” He smiled again. “You just never saw me.”

“So what do you think, Lyn?” Henry Bennett stepped forward with the microphone. “Do you want another chance with the man you always dreamed about?”

“None of us will blame you if you do.” Charles stepped forward. “When I was processing your information, I came across Jordan’s application in the system.”

“I never found the right woman.” Jordan shrugged and sighed.

“He didn’t fit the criteria for what I was looking for this season, but one phone call was all it took. He was over the moon at the idea of coming on the show when he heard you were the contestant.” Charles took my hand. “I offered you this arrangement because I believed it was what you needed, but I wouldn’t feel right to take you away from someone who really does care about you.”

It felt like time was moving in slow motion as my emotions flooded through my head. There was a time when all I wanted was to have Jordan’s attention. Hearing that he also wanted me, even after all those years, was enough to make my knees go weak. Ms. Lynette Steele—Lyn Steele. I wrote that over and over when I was a teenager. I even named our children. Jordan was everything I had wanted—in the form of the exact person I wanted.

I shook my head in confusion as reality started to come back into focus. Jordan Steele and I never had a chance. Just when I thought he might be interested in me because he asked me to help with his homework, Jessica swooped in and gave him her virginity. She was nothing to him and he was nothing to her, yet she knew how much I wanted him. It took me months to forgive her for that.

No. Jordan was a teenage girl’s dream—he was no longer my dream. The traditional romance was so far from what I wanted at that moment that even though he took my breath away once, the time for us was over. He had four years to show interest and if what he said was true, then he blew it.

“I’m sorry, Jordan.” I shook my head back and forth. “There was a time when you would have had my heart with just one touch, but that time is over. I’ve found something that is so amazing that I could never give it up—even for the fantasy I once had about our life together.”