Love Elimination (22 page)

Yvette let out a small whimper as her name was, once again, not called, and Anna’s nerves grew stronger. It took ten more minutes for Luke to call the final two names: Jessica and Yvette. Each time a name was spoken, the woman in question moved to Luke, embraced him, said a few words, and left the room. Then Mason said his line and the process started again. Until there were two people left.

Anna and Rachel were instructed to stand side by side. The stunning redhead held unusually still. They hadn’t been close in the villa after those first two weeks, but Rachel was one of the first people Anna had met. So when she reached out and grabbed Anna’s hand, holding onto it as they faced Luke, Anna squeezed her hand back.

This time Anna let her gaze run free. If all went to plan, this was the last time she’d see Luke Westwood in person. Photos in magazines or on the internet couldn’t compare to what he was actually like. In real life he commanded the attention of every woman in the room. It wasn’t just the fact that he was on a dating show. Even Kate, who Anna had come to suspect was sleeping with Joe, looked Luke over appraisingly.

Mason adopted a sombre expression. ‘It’s time to choose. Who will be saying goodbye and leaving
Love Elimination
today?’

‘Rachel. You are a beautiful firecracker of a woman. I have loved getting to know you. You make me laugh and always keep me entertained.’ He nodded at her. Rachel clutched Anna’s hand like it was a lifeline. ‘But I feel like there’s something missing.’

‘Anna.’ Luke turned his hypnotic eyes to Anna. She took a sharp breath. ‘You are gorgeous, natural and kind. You are the person I can open up to, even when I’m not in a camera-friendly mood.’

Anna closed her eyes and took a breath. This was the moment she’d been waiting for.

‘But I’m worried we want different things,’ he said.

It was nothing she hadn’t thought a million times over. Though it surprised her that it had occurred to Luke. Their romantic relationship was always false. He never had to consider her as a serious prospect. Nevertheless, she nodded and tried to look devastated. Strangely, it wasn’t difficult to act the part.

‘The person I’m saying goodbye to today, is …’ Luke settled his eyes on each of them, one after the other and back again. When he looked at Anna, she felt her resolve breaking. She would miss him. Maybe she would ask if they could be friends after the show. Even if the cameras caught her doing it. Even if he rejected her request.

‘Rachel.’

Rachel burst into tears. Anna froze. All thought of what she was supposed to do if her name wasn’t called fled her mind. She’d only prepared for the possibility of dancing with Luke and trying not to crinkle the luxurious fabric of his suit with her hands, trying not to cry as she gave her farewells. He had put her in the final two for the first time. Surely that had meant she was going home? Had he changed his mind at the last minute? Had he seen the regret on her face and decided to keep her on the show?

‘Anna. Please exit the room,’ Mason said softly, as though trying not to spook either woman.

It only occurred to Anna after she spun on her heel and left that she hadn’t acknowledged Luke. Unlike every other woman, she hadn’t hugged him and whispered her thanks. It would be just another thing for the viewers to analyse. Another piece of evidence to suggest that she wasn’t a real contestant. That she didn’t care about winning the heart of the hot, one-time international athlete and mega-rich bachelor that was Luke Westwood.

‘Anna! Oh, I’m so glad you’re still here.’ Hadie rushed forwards. Anna nodded as her friend embraced her. She was in a daze. The air around her was an impenetrable fog.

‘That’s everyone. You can all head back to your rooms now.’ Joe rubbed his hands together. ‘We’ll send a runner for you in the morning. Tomorrow will be another full day so you should all get some sleep.’

‘It’s going to get harder to predict from here on,’ Jessica said quietly. They all glanced around the room, eyeing each other. For Anna, it was always hard to guess who was leaving and who was staying. Luke hadn’t fallen for any of them. The producers had their own favourites. The whole thing was a sham.

* * *

A knock on the door sidetracked Anna’s thoughts. Anna sighed. It was late. Company was the last thing she wanted, but clearly she couldn’t be trusted by herself. Without any distractions, her mind kept returning to the moment when Luke’s lips touched hers. How his rough, unshaven chin chafed against her skin. How his tongue traced her lower lip and slipped into her mouth, burning a fiery trail that she felt all the way down her body.

The knock sounded again. She shook her head, as if it would help to clear the memory, and opened the door. That same face looked back at her. Luke. Only this time he wasn’t covered head to toe in snow gear. A loose-fitting T-shirt hung over his body, matched with fashionably distressed jeans. She had a full view of his muscled arms and the sight lit a burning need inside her. She couldn’t look away. Not even to demand why he’d break the show’s rules to sneak to her suite.

‘Hey,’ Luke said.

The word was akin to someone dousing her with a cold bucket of water in an unforeseen and unappreciated ice bucket challenge. She started to close the door, but he jammed a foot between the wood and the frame.

‘Please, I just want to talk.’

‘You shouldn’t be here,’ Anna hissed.

‘Exactly. So please let me in before someone sees.’ When she didn’t budge, he added, ‘Come on, Anna. Before one of the crew decides to wander down this corridor. Or worse, a fan. Once you sign one set of goggles they never stop coming. They’re like sharks that have scented a drop of blood thousands of kilometres away.’

Far from being sneaky, he hadn’t even bothered to lower his voice. There was nothing Anna could do except grab him by the arm and pull him inside.

Only when the door clicked shut did she allow herself to breathe again, or notice how close they were standing. Luke reached up and brushed a strand of hair from where it stuck to her lip and tucked it behind her ear. When his fingers fell from her face Anna shuffled back, feeling as if a trance had been broken.

‘What do you want, Luke?’ She hated that her voice sounded breathy and unsure. It was high time she remembered that this was all an act, an elaborate game show constructed by people, including her sister, to entertain the masses. She was a small-business owner from Sydney and he was an international snowboarding coach. He lived wherever the mountains were tall and the snow was thick. They were never meant to work. Hell, she hadn’t even meant to be on the show. But this man made her want to compete for his attention, to scream and shout when he went on a date with someone else—to beg him to run away with her.

‘I want to know why you ran off after I kissed you.’

Heat flooded Anna’s cheeks. She looked at the ground. She couldn’t be trusted to meet his eyes. Not like this, in the privacy of her hotel room with no cameras or microphones. Not after that afternoon.

‘Why did you run away, Anna?’ he asked again. The quiet, patient tone tied knots in her stomach. She pressed her hands to her abdomen and tried to find the right words to say. As if he knew it would foil her search for an adequate lie, Luke stepped forwards and placed a hand on her cheek. He coaxed her face to turn to his.

‘Why?’

‘Because it was getting too real,’ Anna whispered. ‘Because it felt real.’

‘What if it is?’

Anna felt the words like a blow to her chest. ‘It isn’t.’

‘Why not?’ He was everywhere. His body seemed to surround her, stealing her breath with his intoxicating scent. ‘Because it’s a TV show and the cameras were rolling.’

‘And what about now? There are no cameras. No one to watch us keep up the act.’

‘We’re not kissing now.’

In lieu of a reply, he cupped Anna’s face with his free hand and leaned down.

This kiss was hungry and urgent. Luke’s teeth bit her lip and his tongue fought to consume every inch of her mouth. It warmed her to every edge of her body, and tugged her heart into her throat. His hands dropped from her neck and explored the length of her back. Without her giving them permission, Anna’s fingers traced Luke’s waist and pushed underneath his shirt. They felt along the ridges of his abs as his kiss sucked the breath from her body.

His hands moved over Anna’s arse and squeezed. Just as she squeaked in protest, they dipped further to grab her thighs and lift her. Her hands flew to his neck and her legs wrapped around his waist but she didn’t break away. All logical thought had evaporated the moment his mouth closed on hers. Instead she revelled in the feel of his hair through her fingers as Luke swiftly carried her to the couch. He dropped her onto the plush material and lowered himself onto her, his weight trapping her.

Gravity made his shirt hang away from his body, giving her perfect access to his rock-hard abs. There was a completely separate hardness against her thigh. A hot tingling shot into Anna’s lower regions. She grabbed the hem of Luke’s shirt and ripped it over his head, forcing him to tear his mouth and hands away from her for a second. In that brief moment, she considered the wisdom of sleeping with a man who was dating four other women on national television. But the sight of him shirtless drove all other thoughts from her mind. He was, quite honestly, perfection. If there was a ‘hot athletes’ calendar, he would be featured every single month. And it would cost top dollar.

Their mouths met again and Luke’s hands trailed further down. Every lustful thought she’d had about him resurfaced. She wanted him naked. Now.

Another knock sounded at the door.

‘Ignore it,’ Luke growled in her ear.

The knock came again. This time it was accompanied by a voice.

‘Anna?’ Hadie called. ‘Are you there? I could really use a friend right now …’

‘Anna …’ Luke whispered in her ear. But all her doubts had come rushing back when Hadie’s voice had drifted through the door. Hadie had left her son to come on the show. She deserved better than this. The other women were emotionally invested in him. It wasn’t a game to them.

Shame flooded in. ‘Put your shirt on and stay quiet,’ she told Luke under her breath, then she went to the door.

Anna only opened it up a few inches. Enough that Hadie could see her; not enough for Hadie to see Luke.

‘You okay?’ Anna asked.

Hadie’s eyes were puffy and red. Her cheeks were swollen and her arms were wrapped tight around her waist. ‘Not really. Matty is sick, he has a bad cold, and I’m homesick.’

‘Aw, Hadie.’

The woman nodded tearfully and pushed the door, walking into the room before Anna had a chance to register what had happened. She would have made a terrible bouncer.

Anna turned to see Luke pulling his shirt back on. If only he’d been a little faster. There had been plenty of time for him to fish his shirt from the floor and cover himself up before Hadie had come in. They could have avoided the look of shock and hurt on Hadie’s face.

‘Nothing happened. I swear.’ Anna held up her hands. The other women had probably gone just as far as she had with Luke. Probably further, as much as the idea had her blood burning and bubbling. Hadn’t a bikini-clad, almost naked Yvette climbed all over Luke at the catamaran date? That had been way more skin-to-skin contact than Anna and Luke had ever achieved. Not that the justifications kept the blush from Anna’s cheeks.

‘Anna’s telling the truth. Nothing happened.’

Hadie’s narrowed eyes met Anna’s. ‘It didn’t look like nothing.’

Anna panicked. ‘We were just talking.’ Even if Hadie had been a completely impartial, trusted friend who was not in any way affiliated with
Love Elimination
, she probably couldn’t admit to or explain what had just happened.

‘About what?’

They paused, each waiting for the other to speak. Finally Luke took a step towards Hadie, his shirt still askew.

‘I knew Anna was having a hard time being away from home right now. Homesickness, you know?’

‘He was just checking up on me,’ Anna added. The moment she saw Hadie’s face, she knew they’d made a mistake.

‘
You
are having a hard time?’ Hadie almost screamed. She jabbed her finger in Anna’s direction. ‘Try being away from your two-year-old son for the first time. Try leaving him with your aging mother just to go on some stupid TV show to find the man of your dreams, only to find out that he’s only had his eyes on one girl from the very start.’

‘Hadie—’

‘I should’ve never done this. It’s all a setup, isn’t it? You were chosen before the show even began, or you knew each other already, or you’re an actress who’s just happened to start shacking up with him on the side? Are there cameras in here now? Is this all part of your scripted drama?’

‘No! It’s not like that. None of that is true.’ Anna’s heart beat erratically.

‘Hadie, it’s not like that,’ Luke said.

‘And that’s why you have a phone. And why you keep sneaking away for long periods of time. Just tell me, are you meeting with the producers or Luke? Or both?’

‘I’m not.’

‘Tell me the truth, Anna! Just tell me the truth. Have I been wasting my time, being here? Do you even want a relationship with him at all?’

‘Okay, fine!’ Anna took a deep breath. ‘Luke, you should probably leave now.’

‘Maybe I want to hear what you have to say,’ he replied, dropping back into the couch. He tapped the pillow beside him, gesturing to Hadie. Anna waited until Hadie was sitting on the couch where she and Luke had been getting hot and heavy only moments before.

‘Do you want a coffee, tea, hot chocolate?’ she asked, more to buy time than out of hospitality.

‘No.’

‘Okay then …’ Anna sat down, the plush couch adapting to her shape, and tried to figure out how to tell Hadie the truth but not get herself, or Kate, in trouble. Not to mention dealing with Luke’s reaction.

Their only hope was Hadie keeping her mouth shut. A few days ago, Anna would have trusted her. At this point, Hadie was her third closest friend—after Ben and, weirdly, Luke. The thought caused Anna to pause, distracted from the situation in front of her. She shook her head. Hadie was the only female friend she had that she wasn’t related to—and right now, Kate didn’t feel like a friend at all.