The Golden Bachelor featured Jesse Palmer, Cindy Angelcyk Cullers, and Peg Munson all challenging an "undecided" Mel Owens to open up in the Fantasy Suites during the Season 2 penultimate episode that aired Wednesday night on ABC.

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The Golden Bachelor broadcast with Mel and his Final 2 bachelorettes in Antigua.

Mel's Final 2 women were Cindy, a 60-year-old retired biomedical engineer from Austin, TX, and Peg, a 62-year-old retired firefighter and bomb tech from Las Vegas, NV.

Mel said Cindy had told him that she's falling in love but Peg hadn't yet.

Mel was therefore looking forward to deepening his connections with the women in the Fantasy Suites, and he noted it was very possible he could be engaged in a week.

When speaking to The Golden Bachelor host Jesse Palmer, Mel shared how he felt an emotional connection with Cindy, who is intelligent, affectionate, beautiful, and never wasted a minute with him.

As for Peg, Mel gushed about how she's a badass who is full energy and has a great sense of humor. Mel also liked Peg's flirtatious nature and the fact she felt comfortable in her own skin.

Mel said there was a "razor thin" line when comparing his feelings for both women, but he explained how expressing love -- which was a "heavy and loaded" word -- to someone was a huge deal.

Mel told Jesse that he wasn't messing around, but Jesse pushed Mel to open up more and tell the women how he was feeling.

"You don't have to be in love to tell someone how you feel, and I think they both deserve to hear how you feel about them," Jesse told Mel.

"And I feel great about them," Mel confirmed.

Mel said he wanted events to unfold naturally in the Fantasy Suites but he wasn't going to say, "I love you," until he truly meant it, beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Peg told the cameras that if Mel could communicate and tell her how he felt, it would be easy for her to fall in love with him and get engaged. Cindy, for her part, pretty much already loved Mel and was anxiously reassurance and validation.

Peg's date was up first, and she and Mel took a dune buggy ride.

Mel hoped Peg was going to lower her walls, but he acknowledged how she was his vibe and they had so much fun together. He called her charismatic, joyful and tough.

Peg explained to Mel how she struggled to open her heart in relationships because she can't fix and rescue in them.

Peg had been cheated on before, and so she admitted it was hard for her to be vulnerable and trust a man with her heart. She was apparently afraid of getting crushed again.

"So how is this thing going between us? Good?" Peg asked Mel.

"Good," Mel replied.

"How are you feeling about it?" Peg asked.

"Good," Mel responded. "How was the dune buggy?"

Peg, clearly surprised by the sudden change in subject, told the cameras that Mel deflected and it gave her some concern. She wondered if Mel was emotionally unavailable or simply guarded.

That night, the pair had dinner on the beach, and Peg needed Mel to go deeper and be honest with her.

Peg joked with Mel that she could picture marrying him cut he'd have to sign a prenup.

Mel told Peg that he felt lucky to have her on the show and being around her. Mel said he liked her a lot and their romance almost seemed "too good to be true." He said he loved being around her and the way she talked to him and made him feel.

Peg said she could tell that Mel was into her, and then the couple agreed to explore their connection further in the Fantasy Suite.

Mel explained how Peg was strong-willed, strong-minded, loving and compassionate.

"The way she talks to me and the way she looks at neck that's love," Mel said in a confessional.

After touring their suite, the pair kissed on a bed and then closed the doors.

The next morning, Mel said his night with Peg exceeded expectations but he didn't want Peg revealing too much on-camera.

"Peg and I connected on a whole bunch of different levels, and knowing her a little bit better obviously brings me close to her. I have a better understanding of who she is, and we are quite compatible," Mel told the cameras.

Peg claimed Mel was able to let his guard down off-camera and be emotionally intelligent. She said he made her feel safe, seen and heard.

Cindy, meanwhile, said she had imagined Mel down on one knee proposing to her a million times but it bothered her that she loved him and she didn't know how he felt about her in return.

Mel claimed his feelings for Cindy were growing stronger and they had a great chemistry and energy between them.

For their date, Cindy and Mel went on a boat ride to swim with stingrays.

Mel seemed a little scared of the stingrays and refused to touch them, which made Cindy laugh. Cindy was trying to coach Mel but he wanted nothing to do with them.

Finally, after complaining a bit and refusing to participate, Cindy convinced him to pet a stingray.

Cindy told Mel afterwards that he was charismatic and drew people towards him, and Mel told her that he liked her a lot but there was still a process.

Cindy was hoping Mel would ask her deep and significant questions that night to show that he was considering her as his forever person.

Cindy said she was "falling deeply in love" with Mel and she had confidence he was "feeling it too" for her.

"I could be engaged at the end of this week! I'm so ready," Cindy gushed.

That night, Cindy confirmed that she was "crazy" about Mel, and she said she couldn't wait to hear how he felt about her.

Mel called Cindy loving and caring, and he admitted he was "undecided" between the two women at this point.

During the couple's dinner on a dock lit by candles, Mel thanked Cindy for sticking around.

"Where is your heart?" Cindy asked.

"It's just a difficult [choice]. I've never been in this position before," Mel replied. "I'm still working it out in my head and my heart. I know time is quickly coming to an end, but that's the truth."

But Mel told Cindy that she was smart, beautiful, caring, energetic, spiritual and he loved spending time with her.

However, Mel reminded Cindy that there was still another woman in the picture and so he couldn't tell her that they were going to live happily ever after.

Cindy pointed out how Mel didn't ask her questions and was seemingly holding something back. She didn't think he was freely expressing himself.

"I hate to push because it's unfair, but I really would like to know," Cindy said.

"Push me how?" Mel asked.

"Do you see a future with us?" Cindy asked. "How do you feel about us? How do you feel about me? For me, the chemistry with you is off the charts."

Mel replied, "It's difficult. It just takes time. I want to make educated choices. I'm not going to take the leap of faith, so to speak, and say, 'Okay, this is going to work out.'"

Cindy explained that she personally viewed the process as a leap of faith.

"But I'm smart enough to know that that's not how my life operates," Mel explained.

"So you knew when you agree to be the Golden Bachelor that this ended in a proposal. Is that not a leap of faith for you?" Cindy asked.

"No it wasn't," Mel said. "You're searching for a partner. That's what it is. And if the partner is at the end of the journey, there it is."

Cindy asked Mel why he had waited to get married, and he said timing was everything for him and it's not something he'd do casually.

Cindy explained how Mel had waited a long time to get married the first time, putting a lot of effort and thought into the decision, but it didn't work out for him.

"Yeah, but for 25 years, it did," Mel argued of his marriage. "It's not like you proposed and then six months later, 'Guys, I really didn't mean it.' So when I got married, I meant it."

Cindy asked Mel if he wanted to take his time getting married for the second time, and he said he didn't know.

"It has to develop over time", Mel noted.

Mel reiterated how he liked Cindy a lot but he didn't know where they were going to go as a couple.

Cindy wondered if Mel was afraid to get hurt. She noted how he was a "reserved" man but this wasn't the time to seize up.

"Is it me? Is it because he has a tighter relationship with Peg? Or is that just who he is?" Cindy questioned in a confessional.

Cindy said she wanted to feel like her partner was excited to move forward with her and share a life with her.

"So what do we do from here?" Cindy asked.

"If there is a will, there is a way," Mel responded.

"So that begs the question: is there a will?" Cindy asked.

The Golden Bachelor episode then ended on a cliffhanger.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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