Heat Wave (11 page)

Tanner will come. He'll quit and find me and hold me. Tanner will come.
Grinning at the thought of my Beau finding me naked, I fell asleep, the gentle motion of the ship rocking away my worries.

***

Tanner stands under our favourite oak tree, the one where we gave each other the gift of our first times. His face is crumpled. ‘Leaving? When?'

Tears pour hot down my face; they track over the curve of my chin and along my neck. ‘In two weeks. Tanner, I'm so sorry. I told my dad I want to stay, see out the year, but he won't listen.'

He pulls me close, his arms like a blanket, hugging me tight and scaring the monsters away.

‘I can't leave you,' I say into the soft cotton of his faded shirt.

‘We'll run away.'

There's a determined note in his voice, and I look up in surprise. ‘Tanner, you can't leave. Your dad needs you, we have school to think about
—
'

‘I don't care about anything but you, Maddie-girl.' He wipes the tears from my streaming eyes and says softly, ‘You're my sunrise. I can't get outta bed without you.'

‘You're my sunset,' I say, replying the way I always do. ‘I can't go to sleep without you. But, Tanner, you can't give up your whole life for me.'

‘I would give everything up just to see you smile.'

‘You'd do that for me?'

‘In a heartbeat, Maddie-girl.'

It's a memory, but it changes into a nightmare. As we kiss, the wind picks up, whipping my hair around my head. A tornado filled with water descends from the sky and lifts me up into its watery embrace, dragging me away from my love.

‘Tanner!' I scream, reaching for him.

He cries back, ‘Maddie! Maddie! Maddie …!'

‘Maddie! Hey, Hobo, wake up!' Tanner's voice became Greg's as my dream folded back into reality.

I sat straight up, my head cracking against the ceiling. ‘Ow!
Dammit!'
I pulled the sheet around my nude form, feeling vulnerable.

‘Whoa, watch the swears there, potty-mouth.' Greg flipped the curtain back, his bearded face happy, showing me there were no ill feelings from my many stuff-ups the previous day. ‘You know Maxine won't take kindly to that kind of language.'

My sleepy brain was still waking up. I'd expected Tanner to have already collected me, ready to get us the hell off the ship of stupidity. ‘Maxine?'

‘Your meeting is in twenty minutes.' Greg tossed me a bundle of clothes. ‘Ricky came by with those earlier. You're lucky he didn't see you wearing nothing but a sheet. He would have blown a fuse. And something else …'

‘I don't want to meet Maxine,' I said. ‘I want to leave.'

‘Then you'll have to go and see her anyway. We don't reach port for another two days, so unless you're going to swim for shore, Maxine is the only one who can authorise a helicopter ride off this boat.'

And so, nineteen minutes later, I banged on the wooden frame of Maxine's office door. In my Ricky-gifted gear, I was feeling powerful; white crape pants that draped around my hips and fluttered to the floor, paired with a navy-striped tee. Cute boat shoes had allowed me to run to the meeting, and I'd wound my hair into a hasty bun, aiming for a serious, not-to-be-intimidated look.

My confidence lasted until I heard Maxine call, ‘Come in,' in the same tone a horror movie demon might say, ‘
Enter at your own peril …
'

I entered the office, which was stunning. With floor-to-ceiling windows exposing the magnificent views, the wooden decor glowed in the morning light. Ominous paintings hung from the walls picturing ships on rocky seas, or sailors bailing out small boats, and the whole atmosphere was one of complete oppression.

Maxine sat behind a desk, which had cost the life of at least ten trees. Wearing a pantsuit in a shade of orange that was almost violent, she was as frightening as lava. ‘Good morning, Maddie. Did you sleep well?'

‘Actually, I—'

‘Don't be foolish, girl.' She smiled savagely. ‘I don't actually care. Now, before you speak, I must enlighten you about my conversation with Beau last night. I think you'll find it quite interesting.'

‘Tanner can tell me himself when I see him,' I retorted.

‘Well, that might be a while. You see, he's rather busy …'

Maxine flipped a tablet towards me and clicked an app marked
Live feed, Beau cabin.
The screen was suddenly filled with four images arranged in a square formation. It was camera footage from four angles inside Tanner's room, showing the man in question sitting on a chair while two women, Sassy and Serenity, were performing a synchronised striptease.

‘Beau has decided to stay.' Her voice was smug.

‘I don't believe you.'

‘You may ask him for yourself, but I assure you, he is committed to seeing
Ship of Lust
through.'

I narrowed my eyes at her, trying to ignore the four winking nipples shimmying on the screen. ‘What did you say to him?'

‘Nothing. Unlike you, Beau is a clever individual who understands how much he has to gain by being here.'

I had never wanted to tear someone's hair out before. I literally wanted to climb over the desk and clutch her perfect sleek bob in my fists and rip the strands from her scalp while she squealed. I settled for clenching my jaw and saying, ‘I'm going to see him, right now. Then, we will be leaving.'

‘Don't be so certain. It only makes you look more asinine when you turn out to be wrong.'

I spun and took a step towards the door, but her next statement stopped me. ‘I believe your favourite director is David Fincher.'

He wasn't just my favourite director; he was my freaking idol. Every film I'd ever worked on had been an attempt to make it onto one of his. Hell, the only reason I'd taken
The Hobbit
shoot was because Fincher and Jackson had been photographed playing golf together and I was hoping for an in.

Maxine had found the one topic that could prevent me leaving the room. ‘He is,' I said, cautiously turning to look at her.

‘Did you know he's starting pre-production on
Invisible Monsters
in a few months?'

‘The Chuck Palahniuk novel?' Fincher's work on
Fight Club
, also a Palahniuk adaptation, was one of the reasons I went into the industry. After I'd seen the film, I'd read
Fight Club
and everything else Palahniuk had written
. Invisible Monsters
had changed my world. ‘They said it could never be made into a movie; it would be too hard.'

‘Well, Dave is doing it,' said Maxine casually. ‘He's a poker buddy of mine, you know. I've been known to recommend crew members to him from time to time. I'd be prepared to forward your name directly to him, if you're interested.'

‘I am,' I said. I wanted to play it cool, but my hands were trembling. I stuffed them into my pockets. ‘What's the catch, Maxine?'

‘Nothing much. Just see out the next three weeks here with us on the Ship of Lust.'

‘Done.' I could do anything for three weeks if it meant a job with my hero and the redemption of my career.

‘You didn't let me finish.' Her eyes flickered in warning, and she smirked wickedly. ‘You will finish your time on board not as a crew member, but as a contestant.'

Chapter 10

Blindly, I stumbled from the office, barely registering Maxine's final words about having twenty-four hours to decide. The only thing reverberating in my skull was her statement, ‘This was Beau's suggestion.'

How could he?
Dizzy with stress and betrayal, I lurched down the plush corridors, on a missile path towards the man who'd put me in the worst position of my life.

As I reached the door of the Sunset suite, it opened, spilling Sassy and Serenity out into the hall. Giggling, they pulled their skimpy kimono robes around their clearly nude forms and skipped off in the opposite direction.

Scalding liquid fire poured through me as I slammed inside Tanner's room. The man himself was chatting pleasantly with the three-man crew who'd just finished filming the synchronised strip tease. He looked up, his face bright. ‘Hey, Maddie-girl!'

‘Get out,' I said to the crew. My voice was low and seething, changing the easy atmosphere in the room to sinister. ‘Now.'

‘Uh … you're a production assistant, right?' The cameraman tried vainly to stand his ground. ‘Shouldn't you be filming—'

‘
Out!
Get the hell out!' I flailed my arms and charged, and the three men scattered, piling out the door.

There were a few beats of silence before Tanner approached me, treading softly like a man nearing a dangerous animal. ‘Maddie? Are you okay?'

‘How
could
you?' I stared into his soft eyes, tears welling in my own. ‘How could you put this show before us? Why would you let her trap me like this?'

He reached for my hand. ‘Slow down, little darlin'. You've got it all wrong.'

‘Don't,' I hissed, pulling away. ‘Don't touch me and don't call me darling. Do you have any idea what being on a reality show will do to my reputation? I want no part of this freak show, and I don't understand why you do! Who are you anymore, Tanner? Because you're sure as shit not the guy I knew in high school.'

‘You're right, Maddie, I'm not.' I flinched a little at his tone, harsh and cold. I'd expected to yell, but I wasn't prepared for a serve in return. ‘I told you why I signed up here—because I'm still looking for love. But after seeing you last night, being with you even for a few moments, I knew I couldn't escape what we have together.'

He cocked his head to the side in disappointment. ‘I went to Maxine, told her I wanted out of the contract. And she said that was fine, but I'd have to be prepared for the consequences. She told me they'd sue me for every last penny, all my winnings from the first show … Maddie, they'd take my land out from under me.'

The plaintive note in his voice made me pause. I knew how much Tanner's land meant to him; it was family and history and home and livelihood, all rolled into one. But Maxine's words roared inside my head again, and I bit back. ‘So,
you
stay here then. Why drag me into it?'

‘Because, stupidly, I thought you'd want to stay with me!' Tanner raked a frustrated hand through his hair. ‘It seemed like the best solution in a crummy situation. You become a contestant, Maxine gets her show, and we get each other. What's the problem with that?'

‘Are you kidding me? What's the
problem?
How about being paraded around on international television? How about the fact I'll still have to watch you being molested by nine other women for the next three weeks? What if you decide you like one of them better than me, and I end up alone and humiliated?' My voice broke, choked with the horrific realisation that Tanner might not still want me, or that I might be too pissed off to still want him. ‘Maxine is going to ruin what we have; can't you see that?'

‘My papa always told me that true love can't be ruined.' Tanner shook his head sadly. ‘Maddie, you talk about me being a different person from the one you used to know. Do you realise how much you've changed too? You're so negative about everything—yourself, us, this show. Sure, we're stuck right now, but why not make the best of it?'

His words cut me, deep and fine, like a scalpel's slice. I wanted to flare up, but decided to leave instead. ‘Goodbye, Tanner.'

‘Aw, Maddie-girl, come on—'

He stepped forward and I caught a hint of his cologne, a spicy warm waft that made my knees tremble. Steeling myself, I flounced off. ‘I need some distance. Which is hard to find when you're stuck in a floating tub full of idiots.'

I slammed out the door, shoving it hard to make my point, but it connected with something as it swung back.

‘Ow!' A delicate voice cried out in pain. Callie stood on the other side, holding her hand to her brow where the door had struck her.

Beyond caring about anyone's feelings but my own, I muttered, ‘Oh my God, of
course
it's you …'

‘Callie! Are you alright, missy?' Tanner raced forward, concern written all over his features.

‘I'm fine.' She smiled weakly, peering out from under her pretty fringe. ‘It's my fault. I was hoping to catch you for a few minutes, but I heard yelling, so I just thought I'd wait out here. I was probably standing too close.'

‘You think?' I said sulkily.

Tanner cupped one hand under her chin, using the other to gently touch her bruised forehead. I knew he was only being a gentleman, but the way she melted into his touch and stared up at him with absolute infatuation broke me. Those fingers knew me, belonged to me, had been inside me. They didn't belong on anyone else.

My throat tightened in agony, my stomach burbling with jealousy, and my poor heart just rolled over in despair.
I can't watch three weeks of this; I can't watch three seconds of it.

I'd never issued an ultimatum before, and I didn't want to be that girl screaming,
her or me
. Instead, I did something even more stupid; I pretended to give up. ‘He's all yours, Callie. I'm out.'

‘Maddie …' Tanner's voice trailed after me as I swept out of the room and down the corridor.

Any minute now, he'll grab my hand and pull me into him. We'll kiss, we'll make up. He'll make it okay.

At the end of the hall, I flipped my hair over my shoulder, glancing back, expecting him to be hot on my heels.

But the hall was empty and the suite door was closed. My idiotic ploy hadn't worked. The unshed tears dripped out as I fled, alone. Yes, I was the one leaving, but didn't he understand he was supposed to come after me?