Love Elimination (27 page)

There were giant holes where the fridge, ovens and dishwashers were supposed to go, but the cabinetry was mostly in place. Again, the floors and walls and ceilings were done. It looked just like she’d imagined when she planned it. She could hardly believe that Ben and her tradies had got it so right.

‘Anna, this is incredible.’ The sound of Luke’s pride filled the room.

Anna took a deep breath, savouring the smell of brand new cabinetry. Her heart swelled and her grin grew wider. There were taps and sinks. Counter space. Anna knew exactly where she would stand, how she would move about the kitchen, perhaps with a whole team at her command. For now, it was Luke by her side.

‘That’s one order of mud cake and two cherry tarts!’ he said, positioning himself on the opposite side of the counter.

Anna laughed, picking up the piece of paper he’d slapped down. It was a faded receipt for a coffee from his pocket. ‘What is this?’

‘That’s your first order, chef. How would you like to proceed?’

With only a moment’s hesitation, Anna raced around the kitchen to pick out the invisible ingredients she’d need if she were to cook them a dessert right then and there. She sped through the baking part in thirty seconds and mimed handing Luke a plate. It felt like being a kid again, jumping from imaginary tea parties to smearing the icing on her father’s cupcakes.

‘Waiter! These are ready to go out.’ Anna used her best top chef voice, which was really just a poor impression of Donat Monque. ‘Please.’

‘Waiter? No, no. I’m here to perform a very special duty.’

‘Really? And what’s that?’

‘My job,’ he started slowly, edging around the counter, ‘is to kiss the cook.’

His arm reached out and snagged her waist. Anna let herself be reeled in. Every time he touched her, she felt a twisting in her stomach and a rush of desire through every part of her. She let herself enjoy the moment. None of her newly discovered feelings had faded. A part of her heart was dedicated to the man before her, standing there, looking so handsome in his tight jeans and button-down shirt.

Luke kissed her. A spark of static electricity zapped at her skin. She kissed him back harder than before. He wrapped his hands around her arse and hoisted her onto the counter. Anna wanted to protest the treatment of her cabinetry, but she was too distracted by the bulge in his jeans and the feel of it against her as he pressed between her legs. Anna let her hands run down his back, feeling the coil of muscles and kneading her fingers against them until they loosened. They moved tighter, closer, without knowing who was pulling them together. She wanted to feel him. Every inch of his beautiful, coarse skin. The roughness of his stubble scratched at her chin, but she didn’t care.

‘Cameras,’ Luke grunted again. He nodded towards the door behind her.

Having the cameras there, filming the place and her conversations with Luke, reminded Anna of one of her reasons for signing up to
Love Elimination
in the first place: publicity. So what if her heart was on the line on national television? So what if she had made herself vulnerable? This could be worth it. The café and Luke.

He cared about her more than the other women, Anna was sure. A searing jealousy flooded her each time she thought of him with either of them. She couldn’t bear the thought of more evictions—the show had been drawn out enough already. Luke was never interested in playing their games; he should just whisk her away from the set and the cameras. They could figure out how a relationship might work without the nation watching their fumbled attempts.

With the positive we’ll-be-together-forever vibe the show encouraged it was easy to push aside thoughts of what a long-distance relationship would do to them. Those thoughts were even easier to ignore when his lips were on hers. Or his hands. When Luke was around, Anna simultaneously relaxed and forgot how to breathe.

‘I don’t care about the cameras.’ Anna nipped his lower lip. She slid her tongue into his mouth and a hot heaviness took over her body. Their play-acting in the kitchen had lit something within her: a desire to pull him close and not let go. She forgot everything but the taste of him. He filled her senses, his hands burned trails on her skin. They covered her, exploring every part of her body except the ones yearning to be touched.

The café was everything she wanted it to be, and so was Luke. Being here with him had Anna’s mind flitting through fantasies of them together, in the real world beyond the cameras.

‘Now, how about you take me home?’ Luke said in a deep, gorgeous voice that had her insides tingling.

Anna glanced at the camera crew behind her, then back at the apartment before her. There was no way they could film inside her tiny home. Compared to the
Love Elimination
villa, the apartment she shared with her sister was a cardboard box on the side of the street. With Anna saving all her pennies and Kate spending hers on designer clothes, there wasn’t a lot left over for rent. Besides, Sydney was expensive.

‘This is where you live?’ Luke squinted at the rundown building.

‘I know it’s not much—’ Anna started, immediately defensive of her apartment. Because it was home, even if it didn’t have a jacuzzi or proper heating. Not everyone could afford to travel the world in five-star accommodation. And it had been her refuge since the day she finished her Year 12 exams.

‘No. It’s great.’ Luke turned and took Anna’s hands in his. ‘I want to see where you live. It’s just—did you know there’s a gnome in your window?’

Bursts of laughter spilled from them both. ‘Meet Henry! He’s our security system.’

‘What?’

‘Well, the cracks in the walls and dead plants help too. See, we seem too poor for most thieves to bother with. But we’re also an easy target. That’s why we have Henry. Who would break into a house with a friendly gnome waving at them?’

‘That’s absurd,’ Luke said.

‘Oh yeah? Would you rob us?’

‘Maybe you should show me inside, so I can make an informed decision?’

While they’d been talking outside the apartment, the camera crew had circled, gotten their shots, and grown bored of the conversation. Two of them scurried into the house ahead of Anna and Luke.

Joe appeared from seemingly nowhere, making circling motions with his hands until Luke and Anna moved along the pavement and entered the house. The door was unlocked. There were more camera crew inside than had arrived with them; so many that Anna didn’t recognise the room. It didn’t help that all the furniture in the apartment now was new. Their own couch was so faded and torn it looked like a few scraps of fabric stretched over wooden planks. They also had fold-out chairs they’d bought on sale from Kmart for when people came over. The knot in Anna’s stomach squeezed tight as she peered around the equipment and people dressed in black.

‘Anna.’

The voice sent a cold shock down Anna’s spine. She didn’t want to believe what she was hearing. She closed her eyes tight and gripped Luke’s hand with all her strength. Then she turned to face her mother for the first time in six years.

‘Mum, what are you doing here?’

Her mother looked younger today than she had the day Anna left. Back then, the darkness under her eyes seemed stained onto her skin. Even with the entire room between them, it was clear that hair and make-up had worked miracles on the woman. Her wispy hair had been twisted into thick brown curls and only the folds in her neck gave away the years she’d aged since her husband died.

‘Kate invited me. Aren’t you going to introduce us?’ Leanne asked, like they were a normal, loving family. Like Anna might actually want to introduce the man she loved to her mother. As if nothing horrible had happened between them.

Her mother’s eyes flicked between Anna and Luke. A fierce tantrum of yelling and crying tore its way up Anna’s body and fought against her self-control, almost winning. Only Luke’s tight hold and deep frown kept her from exploding. She wondered if he’d had a hand in this. But no—he couldn’t have known and he certainly didn’t look happy to be meeting the family. This was Kate’s idea. It was her sister’s betrayal that led to their mother standing in their apartment.

Every birthday, Christmas and Mother’s Day, Kate would call their mother. She would send festive greetings and love, then hand the phone to Anna. Kate was still trying to reconcile them. Only now she’d switched the phone for an in-person sabotage. A small part of Anna admired her sister’s determination. The rest of her seethed with hurt and anger. Her whole body tensed and she could feel the pounding of her pulse in her head. Kate had moved to Sydney, deserting their family before the smell of their father’s aftershave faded from the house. Anna had bottled her anger against her sister, just like her anger at her father for dying. She could feel it now, fighting to get out. It sat heavy in her chest. Kate hadn’t seen how their mother had retreated so far into herself that she had no time to ask Anna about her day, or wipe the tears from her face, or stock the fridge.

‘Hi, Anna. Hi, Luke!’ Kate strode towards them, dressed in sleek black pants and a statement yellow top with a beaded collar. Either she didn’t notice the coolness in the air between them, or she ignored it. ‘I was just trying to decide on some wine. Would either of you like a glass?’

Even though they weren’t technically on set, Kate was doing her producer duties: trying to get them drunk or at least tipsy enough to entertain the cameras. Anna’s fists curled at her sides. Kate wasn’t stupid. This wasn’t about an honest attempt to reconcile her family. This was about ratings. About her job.

‘I’ll help you pick one,’ she said. Without waiting for her sister to agree, Anna stalked from the room and into Kate’s bedroom.

The walls were thin, so they didn’t usually have a lot of privacy, but a cameraman and Joe following them into the room was on an entirely new level. Anna spotted the microphone on her sister’s collar. Anything she said would be recorded and played on screens around Australia within a week. Anna cursed under her breath. Why even bother having the encounter in a separate room? Luke, their mother and the rest of the crew would see it soon enough.

‘What do you think you’re doing, inviting Mum here?’ Anna growled. Even with the audience, she couldn’t hold back. Her anger burst through her.

‘This is a family date. The whole point is that Luke meets your immediate family. As much as you try to forget, she’s
your
mum too.’

‘I haven’t spoken to her in six years.’ Anna spoke the words slowly, as if by buying time she’d keep the angry tears from her eyes. ‘And I’m not a real contestant, remember?’

‘Anna, you are on camera. We’re not live, but you cannot refer to your unusual start on the show,’ Joe cut in, looking deeply regretful to have to interrupt what was otherwise a dramatic scene for the next episode. ‘Besides, I think you can drop the idea that you’re just a fill-in. You’re not an actress and even if you were, I’d still believe your chemistry with Luke Westwood is real. So cut the crap.’

Anna shot him a look of pure fury. Was he even allowed to speak to her like that? No wonder they made everyone sign non-disclosures.

‘Now, play by the rules ladies. And … ACTION.’ Joe ducked back behind the camera.

‘You need to get over your silly, teenage hurt feelings. She didn’t pay enough attention to you. So what? Mum was grieving. She lost the love of her life.’

‘That’s what you think of me? She didn’t speak to me for
months
at a time. We never had any food in the house unless I bought it. I had to coax her to eat; make her have a shower; force her to get off the couch or out of bed. I thought she was going to die, except for the fact that she answered your calls and pretended to be a normal person. Only you didn’t call very often, did you?’ Anna’s voice grew louder with each passing sentence. ‘Once a week at the start. Then it became once a month, every two months.’

When Kate didn’t react, Anna ploughed on.

‘That happy family home you remember? It didn’t exist after Dad died. You want to know how I got so good at saving and budgeting? If it weren’t for Dad’s life insurance, I would’ve gone hungry. We would’ve lost the house. Mum didn’t care.’

‘Why didn’t you tell me?’

‘I told you Mum was depressed. I asked you—no, I
begged
you—to come home for the holidays. But you said you needed to do work experience if you wanted to get a job after graduation.’

‘I would’ve come home if I’d known how bad it was.’

‘You knew I was unhappy. I told you that I had no friends. That they all ditched me—didn’t know how to deal with the poor sad girl who lost her father. I told you that Mum stopped going out with friends, quit her job, stopped her yoga classes, spent her life watching daytime television or staring at the walls.’

‘But you didn’t put it like that! You didn’t beg or scream or cry like you are now!’ Tears flowed from Kate’s eyes. ‘This is the first time you’ve ever been angry at me leaving you alone with Mum. Why, Anna? Why didn’t you tell me at the time?’

‘Because you were happy! You were achieving things.’ Uncontrollable sobs tumbled from Anna’s mouth. Tears spilled down her cheeks. As fast as she wiped them away, more followed, rolling off her chin. ‘You were top of your class! You hadn’t even graduated and you were working for WestMedia!’

The door squeaked as it opened. Their mum stood in the doorway, her eyes glued on the crew and not her two daughters in the middle of the room. ‘Anna, stop. You’re on camera. We can talk about this later.’

‘I don’t want to talk about this later.’

‘She was probably depressed, Anna. It’s not her fault,’ Kate pleaded.

‘Don’t you think I’ve considered that? I want to just forgive. I want to stop carrying around this anger at her and—and this mistrust of love.’ Anna took a deep breath. ‘You weren’t there, Kate.’

‘I’ve changed, Anna.’ Leanne twisted her hands together, pulling them into herself. ‘We can talk about it after they finish filming.’

There was no way Anna would be speaking to her mother, who’d had years to talk. When her father died, he didn’t have a choice in leaving. But Leanne had pulled away, only ever making an effort for Kate. It hurt her heart.