Love Elimination (29 page)

It took longer to get right than any other line. The director had her deliver the words six times, each time giving her instructions for how to say it, until he was satisfied. She bit her lip, her voice shook and she refused to look Luke in the eye until the final take. But each time she said the words, they stabbed through his chest. He wanted more than anything for them to be true. He didn’t realise how much until she said them.

* * *

The limousine pulled up long before they were finished filming and allowed to step outside. By that time, Anna needed to pee so desperately she might have stopped beside a tree to relieve herself. Doing that could be no more embarrassing than reading Joe’s script.

‘Three more lines,’ the director reminded her as she looked longingly through the window at the hotel. All she wanted to do was run inside for two minutes. Surely they had a bathroom in the ground-level restaurant? Reluctantly, she turned back to the camera.

‘Anna,’ Luke read as they captured Anna’s reaction. ‘Will you stay in my room with me tonight? No cameras. Just us.’

At least the shock on her face was genuine. Her eyes travelled down to the page so fast she felt dizzy. ‘They want to leave us alone?’

‘The implication is that we’ll have sex. Isn’t it, Joe?’ Luke forced the words out like they disgusted him.

‘Yes. We already have some shots of the room all dressed up with candles and roses. We’ll get a shot of you walking in together and kissing as you shut the door. Then we’ll get interviews in the morning, where you’ll both say you had the best night of your lives.’

Anna’s heart pounded in her chest. Of course she’d thought about sex with Luke, but never had she imagined it could actually happen, not even after that night in her hotel room in Japan. It was a television show. They couldn’t even trust a kiss taking place kilometres from the nearest camera to remain private.

‘You want us to say we had sex. On national television?’ Anna asked, unable to keep the fear from her voice.

‘Allude. You don’t need to confirm, or deny, anything.’

‘Won’t the audiences think I’m the worst kind of scum for sleeping with one of my three girlfriends?’ Luke commented.

‘Not if you invite them all in and we keep it vague about who, if anyone, you slept with.’

She had to play the part, go along with the act as long as they were in front of the cameras. There was no other option with the money for her café under threat. She couldn’t pay it back; the whole cheque had already been spent on tradies’ wages and materials. But at least she could control how quickly this torture dragged out.

They continued shooting. Anna had never been so motivated to perform well. She played her part so convincingly that Luke’s eyebrows were permanently furrowed and the director had a grin plastered across his face, stretching from ear to ear. When they got up to the suite, Anna grabbed Luke in a fast, hot kiss. A crew member pushed the door back and Anna and Luke fell against the frame. They shuffled into the room, never breaking contact. Anna’s body heated under Luke’s touch.

Following the director’s instructions, Anna pushed the door shut with frustrating slowness. Surely they could have slowed down the sequence in post-production? But no, they needed Anna and Luke to act out the slow-motion kiss and door slam. Except nothing about their kiss was slow. It couldn’t be, even if they tried. Every time their mouths met, some sort of animalistic desire ripped through her. She bit and sucked his bottom lip, explored his mouth with her tongue and always, always wanted more.

As soon as the door closed, Anna broke contact and sprinted for the bathroom. Luke’s laughter followed her; as did Joe’s outrage when he opened the door again and found Anna had disappeared.

* * *

Three takes of them sitting on the bed looking all cosy. Two of Luke winking at the camera and pushing it out of the room, without damaging the lens or ruining the quality of the shot. One ruined take: Anna giggling in the background of Luke’s close-ups. The crew were satisfied. With the final, resounding click of the door, Anna and Luke were left alone.

‘Are you thinking what I’m thinking?’ Luke asked in a low, gravelly tone. Anna’s body tensed in immediate response.

Now that they were alone, Anna regretted not taking her time with filming. She wasn’t ready for this. What would she do if Luke started kissing her again, his hands travelling lower and peeling her clothes away from her skin? Could she resist him? Did she even want to? The idea of his naked body had keep her awake in the villa. It sent hot flushes down her spine.

Anna followed his eyes as they flicked sideways. There was a radio in the corner of the room. Anna grinned and together, they ran for the object. Luke dropped to the ground and trailed the cord to the power point, flicking it on as Anna’s fingers found the dial. Music. It had been so long since Anna had heard it.

Anna wasn’t the type to obsess over music, glued to headphones and playing it at every opportunity like Ben. Her time was more often spent in the quiet of the apartment or talking to customers at work. Music was something she took for granted.

‘What do you want to listen to?’ she asked, setting the radio to her favourite station. A pop song she didn’t recognise filled the room.

‘This will do.’ Luke stood and held out his hand. ‘Anna, will you dance with me?’

She smiled widely and her nervousness fled. She stopped thinking about whether Luke expected them to sleep together and just danced. They waltzed for a few seconds, but it was dance music. Before too long, they were bopping around like complete fools. Anna learned something new about the smooth, sexy man in front of her: Luke was not a good dancer. But his carefree goofiness made it fun. Her sides ached from laughing, especially when he dropped to the floor to show her ‘the worm’, which he’d learned to do on the competition circuit.

‘Ah, shit.’ Luke winced. One hand pushed him up into a sitting position and the other cupped his right knee.

‘Are you okay? Is it your injured knee?’ The words rushed out of her, filled with frantic worry.

‘Yeah, I’m fine.’

The pain hadn’t faded from his face. Anna sat beside him, running her hand down his shoulder and arm. They sat like that for a long time.

‘If you hurt yourself dancing in a hotel suite, how on earth do you manage to snowboard?’ she asked gently.

‘I don’t do so much any more. It’s mostly standing at the top or bottom of the slope, or walking around the gym …’

‘I don’t believe you.’ No one who just sat around giving advice had a body like him. His flat stomach was punctuated by a firm, defined six-pack that Anna could not get out of her mind.

‘Snowboarding is my life, Anna. I don’t know how to do anything else.’ Luke sounded defeated more than defiant.

‘But it’s causing you pain.’

‘I’m twenty-seven. I’m not an invalid.’

‘I didn’t mean that. You’re smart, charismatic, hardworking … you could do anything you put your mind to.’

He didn’t reply for a moment, then Anna felt his muscles relax under her hand. ‘Let’s not talk about it any more.’

He leaned in and kissed her. His lips parted hers with ease and Anna gave in to the sensation. His mouth travelled across her cheek and down her neck and his hand gripped her thigh, pulling her closer. If she let this go on, she would lose herself. All she wanted was him. But it wouldn’t be right. Luke was dating two other women. More importantly, if she slept with him there would be no walking away. Her heart would break and it hurt enough as it was.

‘No. Stop,’ she gasped, pulling her neck from beneath his lips. Instead of raking her hands through his hair, as her fingers wanted so desperately to do, she tugged his head back.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘It isn’t right. We’re on a television show. What we’re feeling isn’t real. It’s what they want us to feel.’ Tears threatened to spill from her eyes. ‘You’re dating two other women and they’re probably in love with you.’

Luke caressed Anna’s face, using his touch to turn her gaze back to him. ‘It’s almost over,’ he said then hesitated. ‘I love you.’

Emotion squeezed at her chest, making it almost impossible to breathe. The shock must have showed on her face, because Luke grabbed her with both hands.

‘Anna, I love you. I’m not reading from a script and I don’t feel this way because of the show.’

‘Luke …’ Anna’s heart betrayed her. It only wanted him. It wanted her to throw herself into his arms.

‘Just tell me if you feel the same way?’

‘We live in different countries!’ She fought to keep hold of reason.

‘We’ll work it out.’

‘How? You’ve made it clear you’re not going to stop snowboarding. Did you expect me to give up my café? You know how hard I’ve worked for it! I didn’t come on this show to fall in love; I came for the money to renovate my café.’

‘I have money, Anna. More than I know what to do with. I’ll buy you a new place, up in a snowfield somewhere. Hot chocolates and desserts are really popular with skiers and snowboarders.’

Anna wanted to scream. How could he possibly understand when he’d had everything handed to him? She’d worked her arse off for her café and it meant more than anything he could buy. She took two steps back, putting some space between them.

‘I don’t want to throw money at the problem.’

‘That’s not what I’m saying.’

‘Luke, I just want to go home to my café. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.’ She forced the words out. Each one cut at her insides. ‘I can’t deal with the cameras any more, with all my vulnerabilities being on national TV.’

‘There’s only a week left of the show,’ he said. His breathing was uneven. He covered the two steps towards her. ‘Just give us a chance to work this out. You are the only woman I’ve ever wanted in my life.’

‘Please. I’m done. Okay? I need to go home.’

‘Anna—’

‘Promise me, Luke. Promise you’ll send me home at the next eviction.’

‘That’s what you really want?’

It killed her to say it, but she did. ‘Yes. Send me home.’

* * *

‘I’m sending Anna home at tonight’s eviction,’ Luke announced as he walked into the boardroom. He leaned on the back of the chair instead of taking a seat. The director and producers sitting around the conference table looked up at him. He wanted to get back to the pool and swim laps until he forgot what he was about to do.

‘That’s fine,’ Joe replied.

Luke just stared. After all these weeks of fighting for Anna to stay, Joe changed his tune without an argument? Luke didn’t understand it.

‘She’s still rating relatively well. Shouldn’t we keep her until the finale?’ one of the producers asked.

‘No. It’ll drag this whole situation on longer. We need to cut her loose.’ Joe shuffled the papers on the table.

‘What situation? What’s going on?’ Luke demanded.

‘People put two and two together,’ another producer answered. ‘They know Anna’s sister is a producer and they’re not happy; they’re saying Anna cheated to get on the show.’

‘She didn’t ask to be on the show.’

‘We know. But she’s getting paid a lot more than the other women,’ Joe replied. ‘It’s better if she leaves now and we redirect the hype towards the finale.’

‘Anna will still get the money, right? She hasn’t done anything wrong.’ Luke thought of the fear and pain in her eyes when she thought that cheque would be taken away, and compared it to the joy of seeing her café for the first time after renovations.

‘She will if she leaves now, as instructed.’ The director nodded. ‘Take a folder. Read the schedule. Memorise it before tonight. We don’t need you here.’

* * *

Even though there were only three of them left, the elimination ceremony seemed to take longer than any that had come before. Not that any of them could know for sure without access to a clock. The absence of time still made Anna anxious, made even worse because she hadn’t seen Luke for a week. The producers had kept them all separated—interviewing the women every day about how they felt. Anna saw it working on the others, saw them growing more agitated and insecure as the time apart from Luke passed. It worked on her too. There was no way for her to know whether he’d stay true to his promise.

‘Tilt your head, Anna!’ one of the crew members called out. ‘Just a little more to the left.’

Apparently if you were side-on to the camera, only the whites of your eyes showed. Why they would tell her this at the very end of filming, Anna couldn’t fathom. She only hoped that she hadn’t looked like a zombie in earlier episodes.

‘Jessica, you’re slouching! Pull your stomach in. You have a beer gut.’ Only in television could the director yell at one of their cast members for looking fat. Anna’s anger churned in her stomach, hurting no one but her. If only she could yell back, scream, quit.

‘Everyone look nervous.’

Twisting her face into the requested emotion took what felt like hours of trial and error. It wasn’t just nervousness. The director also wanted hope, fear, sadness, joy … By the end, he was getting honest-to-God pain from the six-inch heels she’d been forced to wear, exacerbated by the uneven sand under her feet. Anna kept reminding herself that she’d be going home that night. That she wouldn’t have to endure it any longer.

Finally, the director motioned at the tree line. ‘Mason—you’re on!’

They were shooting with the women lined up in front of the inky black ocean with the palm trees behind Mason, standing opposite. It was sometime after 9 pm, long after the sun had set. The only light came from the industrial spotlights set up in the trees and behind the cameras, illuminating the entire area and confusing every bird in the vicinity.

‘Good evening, ladies,’ Mason began. ‘My, what a journey. Jessica, we’ve seen you get down and dirty with our suitor. Liu Kun, audiences have watched you take risks outside the pages of your novels. And Anna, we’ve watched you open up your fragile heart to our suitor.’

A surge of annoyance flashed across Anna’s face before she could stop it. Who wrote these lines? Anna wanted to slam a cheesecake in their face. It was simultaneously nauseating and humiliating.

‘This week, Luke Westwood has met your nearest and dearest. He knows where you come from and what you want from your life. With some of you, he even knows how you fit under the covers.’ Mason winked and Anna didn’t have to pretend to be angry or jealous.