Love Elimination Page 13

  ‘Good.’

  ‘Are you having trouble with anyone in the house?’ he probed, thinking of the first episode. It only now occurred to him that the date tonight wouldn’t do her any favours with the other contestants. Perhaps he shouldn’t have organised cooking with Donat Monque as a group date, giving the impression that anyone could’ve won—it was rigged from the start. Convincing Joe it was the right thing for the show had been the hardest part, but the director knew it would have the audiences tearing up in their living rooms. Grand gestures always went down well.

  ‘I’m not going to bitch about the others, Luke. You’re going to have to figure out their flaws and failings without my help.’ She raised her head and looked him squarely in the eye.

  ‘I’m not asking about them. I’m asking about you.’ He leaned forwards and took the hand she was resting on the table.

  ‘Well, I haven’t caught anyone bitching about me again. So that’s an improvement.’

  They were interrupted by the arrival of the entrée. The aroma of the soup had him salivating. At the first spoonful, his insides melted. Luke had eaten great food before, but this soup instantly became the best thing he’d ever tasted. Anna seemed to be in a similar state of ecstasy and neither of them spoke again until they almost finished.

  ‘Who are you friends with in the house?’ he asked her.

  ‘Hadie is my best friend on the show,’ she said.

  The short answer didn’t have him convinced. ‘Who else do you chat with most?’

  ‘I don’t know. Liu Kun, Rachel?’ She pushed her bowl away and leaned her elbows on the table. Luke mimicked the movement and a waiter appeared on cue, removing their empty plates and disappearing in the time it took them to say ‘thank you’.

  ‘What about you? Who are your favourites?’

  ‘I’m not allowed to tell you that.’ The waiter swept back to the table with a plate in each hand. He placed their main course in front of them.

  ‘Wow. This smells delicious,’ she said. Her voice was low and husky. Luke watched her closely, trying to decide whether she’d meant it to sound so sexy. When she looked up and caught him staring, a pale blush rose on her cheeks.

  By the time dessert arrived, he’d figured out how utterly out of place she felt in Love Elimination’s women’s prison and was prepared to summon any international chef to make it up to her. But for the time being, the second stage of his plan was about to commence. The door opened again and this time it wasn’t the waiter who appeared. It was Donat Monque.

  ‘Here’s our chef.’ Luke nodded towards him.

  ‘I hope you enjoyed the meal.’ The chef placed dessert in front of them.

  ‘It was delicious. Thank you,’ Anna said enthusiastically. She was going to adore the next part.

  ‘I hope you also enjoyed the company,’ Donat Monque said. ‘But I’m afraid I’ll be taking it from here …’

  ‘You’ll what?’ Her eyes darted from Luke to the chef and back again. A flicker of excitement flitted across her face, but she didn’t seem ready to believe it.

  ‘As much as I loved our time together, I think you’ll like this even more,’ Luke said. He dragged back the chair and held it out for Donat Monque. The chef sat down and Luke suddenly realised that the thirty-year-old food genius was probably more Anna’s type. His good mood dissipated.

  ‘Have a wonderful night.’ He bent over and kissed Anna on the cheek. She tilted her head into his lips and his lower lip brushed against hers. Not quite a kiss, but enough that his stomach clenched. ‘Hope this makes it all worth it,’ he whispered into her ear.

  Then he left without looking back until after he passed the cameras. She leaned into the conversation with her idol, sliding a spoonful of the dessert into her mouth. The gesture had never looked sexier. He clenched his hands into fists. The only thing left to do was to turn around and leave.

  * * *

  There wasn’t a lot of excitement for Anna upon her return. The scowls she received were enough to scare a small child into tears. They all wanted to know if Anna had kissed Luke and when she said no, the contestants cleared out with Yvette murmuring, ‘Liar,’ under her breath. Jessica nodded as she left.

  When Anna returned to her bedroom, Hadie was waiting on her bed with her chin in her hands. ‘So, how did it go?’ she said.

  ‘It was really great,’ Anna sighed, flopping back onto her mattress. ‘Donat Monque cooked for us and then Luke left us to eat dessert together. I finally got over the fangirl excitement and thought up a billion questions I wanted to ask him.’

  ‘Your date was amazing because Luke left you alone with another man?’ Hadie giggled into her hands. ‘That is probably the weirdest thing to happen on this show.’

  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘But it is also the most romantic thing that will ever happen on this show.’

  ‘It was, wasn’t it?’ The date replayed over and over in her mind, so Anna couldn’t forget her dismay at Luke leaving early—despite the fact that he was being replaced by the Donat Monque. Clichéd butterflies made their appearance in her stomach whenever she saw Love Elimination’s suitor.

  ‘What was your chef like in person?’

  ‘He was amazing. Dedicated, talented, and his knowledge is unbelievable. He grew up in a family of food lovers and travelled a lot as a child. I don’t think he’s ever talked about that in interviews before.’

  ‘Did you talk about your café?’

  ‘Yes. He had a ton of advice. And he even gave me his email address if I have any questions. He said he’d look over any menus or recipes I send through. How great is that?’

  ‘That’s so sweet.’ Hadie smiled. ‘What about Luke? Did you really not kiss him after that?’

  ‘He gave me a peck on the cheek when he left. He brushed my lips. But it wasn’t a proper kiss.’

  ‘Would you have ravaged him if Donat Monque and the camera crew hadn’t been there?’

  ‘Do I still meet Donat Monque and eat his food in this hypothetical situation?’

  ‘Yes.’

  Anna paused and answered honestly. ‘I don’t know … I would never have dated Luke Westwood in the outside world.’

  ‘Why not? He’s gorgeous, kind, a good listener, smart, generous … He’s literally the most perfect human being I’ve ever met. Except for the fact that he’s like a horse with blinkers.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Anna asked, turning over her pillow and pounding it into shape. She slid between the covers and Hadie clapped the lights off. After a few moments, Anna’s eyes adjusted and she could see Hadie by the light of the stars and the full moon.

  ‘Well, he only seems interested in one person here. You.’

  Anna didn’t reply straight away—she couldn’t find the words. There was no way to deny that she’d spent more time with Luke than any of the others. He gave her more attention during group dates. Anna couldn’t tell her the truth—that he only teased her because she wasn’t interested. That he’d tried to make a deal to suit them both.

  ‘So what are you thinking? Do you like him too? Is it true love?’

  ‘Hadie—’

  ‘Just tell me, please. I need to know whether it’s worth sticking around. My son needs me and I miss him more than an astronaut misses gravity.’

  ‘I like him, Hadie,’ she admitted. The words left her like a gush of air. ‘But I don’t think I’ll be the final contestant when the show comes to an end.’ That was as much as she could admit—even to herself. She was allowed to like Luke Westwood. She just couldn’t fall in love with him.

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because I want different things from my life. He won’t be able to give up travelling and I won’t be able to give up my dream. But none of that has anything to do with your relationship with him. Do you like him?’

  ‘Of course I like him. We were all handpicked because he is exactly our type; except you, apparently.’

  ‘So do something about it. I’ll even help.’

  �
�Like what?’

  ‘Get his attention, get some alone time and get him to see what sort of person you are. I bet you were chosen because you’re the type of woman he could fall in love with.’

  ‘Why would you help the competition?’

  ‘I’d like to think we’re friends. And that no matter what happens with Luke, you and me are going to stay friends after the cameras stop rolling.’ It wasn’t just that Anna needed an ally in the house; Hadie was special, she was someone worth knowing. Tonight was revealing a number of things that made Love Elimination an experience worth enduring for Anna, or maybe even enjoying.

  ‘Of course we’re friends,’ Hadie said.

  Anna hid her chuckles in the pillow. ‘Okay. So we’re going to get you on the next single date. And during the group dates, you’re going to sneak away with Luke and have some one-on-one time as often as you can. Meanwhile, I will make the ultimate sacrifice and distract Yvette for you.’

  ‘And Jessica! Have you seen her getting clingy as well? I swear the director is manipulating us all to give him more footage of Jessica and Luke together. I bet you my phone privileges they’re going to be the star couple of the next episode.’

  ‘Phone privileges? I’m not your warden,’ Anna said. ‘And duh. She went on the single date, didn’t she? They went to a mud bath and slathered each other’s skin with goo. All that touching on camera. Jessica being the new frontrunner makes total sense.’

  ‘Urgh. I hate the cameras. They make me so self-conscious about my stretchmarks and baby fat. How am I supposed to compete with these perfect childless models?’

  ‘Are you kidding me?’ Anna said. ‘You are beautiful. Do you know how much I regret all the delicious desserts I’ve ever cooked and eaten when I have to wear gym clothes around you all?’

  ‘It’s the others. Not me.’

  ‘Uh-uh.’ Anna shook her head.

  ‘Oh, shut up.’ A pillow flew across the room and landed squarely on Anna’s head. She squealed.

  ‘What are you, five years old?’

  ‘Shh,’ Hadie whispered. ‘I’m trying to sleep.’

  Anna turned over and faced the wall, chucking the extra pillow on the ground. She couldn’t help smiling and replaying the events of the day one more time.

  It wasn’t Donat Monque she was thinking about as she drifted off to sleep.

  CHAPTER

  12

  The dates were starting to blend together. Luke was barely engaged in the conversations with each woman. He kept forgetting which one had a single parent, or six older brothers (she would be getting evicted immediately, as soon as Luke remembered who she was), or a cat she loved more than sleep. A few stood out: Hadie was good fun and Jessica had supermodel looks. But his mind kept slipping back to Anna.

  ‘Luke! Are you listening?’ Kate exchanged a look with Joe and the two other producers. They were gathered in the conference room in the crew’s mansion. Photos of each of the remaining women were laid out on the table. The crew expected him to spill his feelings. It was like a job interview crossed with a therapy session.

  ‘Try to pay attention, yeah?’ The director rapped his knuckles on the table. ‘Next.’

  ‘Yvette.’ One of the other producers pushed a photo forwards.

  A growl escaped Luke’s throat. ‘Can we please send her home now?’

  It was telling that he said ‘we’ when referring to his decisions about the women. How did anyone manage to fall in love on this type of show? Every preference was analysed by the producers, compared with ratings and social media comments, and balanced with the personalities of the other contestants. Even if Luke were experiencing the beginnings of love, it would be crushed as soon as it appeared.

  ‘Yvette? Definitely not. People love to hate her.’

  ‘Well, I don’t. And isn’t this show about me falling in love?’

  ‘Just don’t let the camera see how you feel,’ Joe instructed. ‘She stays. Next photo.’

  ‘Anna.’

  ‘Send her home,’ Kate said.

  Luke frowned. He wasn’t done with Anna yet. She was the only thing keeping him sane. The show would be hellish without her.

  ‘She’s still rating reasonably well,’ another producer said.

  ‘Her social media platform is better than any of the other contestants’. That friend of hers, Ben, has got audience engagement way up.’

  ‘I want her to stay,’ Luke said. Not that anyone was pretending he had a say any more.

  ‘Are you falling in love with her?’ Joe asked. At the question, the others all turned and stared at him. Kate’s head twisted fast enough to give her whiplash. She looked so much like her sister. What had Anna told her?

  ‘No. I’m not in love with her, or any of the others.’

  ‘She has to go sometime. Why not now?’ Joe snuck a look at the photo of Kate’s sister and Luke saw the appreciation there. Perhaps the viewers would get a better result if they turned the cameras on the crew?

  ‘No. Pick someone else.’

  ‘Are you saying you want Anna to be in the final two?’

  For the first time since agreeing to do the show, Luke really thought about what would happen at the end. How was he supposed to go through with it? He didn’t think about proposing to any of the women when he was on a date with them. Outside of the show, he hadn’t dated in years—not that he hadn’t had his share of action. But that was the clincher: he wasn’t interested in casual affairs any more, nor in sleeping with fans or picking up women in any country with snow and a slope. He wanted one woman who made him laugh, whom he could talk to, whom he could have incredible sex with for more than one night.

  It’s just that there wasn’t a single woman on the show that he wanted in the final two. Except Anna. And there was no way he could keep Anna in the finale. She would poison him with some sort of delicious cake.

  The producers liked Hadie, but he didn’t want to put a single mother through that. It would’ve been a lot kinder to tell her that he wasn’t interested and send her back to her son, only she was Anna’s best friend. The director was also pushing for Jessica and Liu Kun. Perhaps he should just choose them?

  ‘Luke?’ Joe had to repeat the question. ‘Do you want Anna in the finale?’

  She didn’t want to be in the final two. She’d told him over and over. Begged even. And she’d obviously been saying the same thing to her sister. But she was the only woman he wanted, he realised suddenly. Not just on Love Elimination, but afterwards. Filming was coming to an end and he didn’t want to let her go. He couldn’t.

  ‘Yes,’ he said.

  ‘What?’ Kate’s eyes widened.

  ‘Yes. I want Anna to be in the finale.’

  ‘Okay.’ The director rubbed his hands together. All the producers, apart from Kate, continued discussing the pros and cons of each woman like they were characters in a scripted drama.

  ‘We can regroup on this later,’ someone announced and, finally, they were all allowed to depart. Escaping into the open air couldn’t come soon enough. The air conditioning inside the mansion couldn’t compete with the smell of seawater.

  It wasn’t until Luke passed the pool house that he noticed he was being followed. Joe was incredibly light on his feet.

  ‘You realise this means you’ll have to choose one?’ the director said. His voice echoed across the pool. ‘Jessica, Liu Kun or Anna. You’ll have to commit to one of them at the end of the show.’

  No. Luke hadn’t considered that. Just like he hadn’t thought of there being a final two.

  ‘Come on, man. Let’s go get you a drink.’

  The offer was probably a cleverly disguised interrogation plan, but the call of beer was too strong. All the alcohol supplied on set was either champagne or wine. If he’d known there was a pub nearby, he might’ve ventured from his cage much earlier. Maybe even have tried convincing Anna to sneak out with him. She’d already broken the rules to use her phone. Luke saw her hiding in the palm trees between his pool ho
use and the contestants’ villa about every third day. He’d kept her secret.

  ‘Sure. Let’s go.’

  * * *

  Anna was turning the phone over in her hands when it buzzed. Startled by the vibration, she dropped it onto the bed and it was immediately swallowed by the covers.

  ‘Shit.’ Her hands fumbled through the material.

  Hadie popped her head up from the book she was reading. ‘Is it for me?’ she called softly.

  Anna scooped the device into her hands, swiped the screen and read the text that had come through.

  ‘No, it’s for me. Kate is outside,’ Anna said. ‘She wants me to go for a walk with her. Have a chat.’

  ‘You should go. I can cover for you. I’ll say you couldn’t sleep and went to do a workout.’

  ‘You don’t mind?’ Anna rolled out of bed and pulled on a pair of sandals. She was already dressed in shorts and a crop top.

  ‘Course not. Have fun! Get Kate to tell you when and what the next dates are. And the eliminations. Possibly who’s going home next …’

  Anna hid her smile. There was no way Kate would divulge any behind-the-scenes information. Her sister refused to share that type of detail even when Anna wasn’t on the show in question. The suspense was Kate’s favourite part. In the few conversations they’d had, Kate would let her sentences trail off in the hope that Anna would beg her to continue.

  Sneaking outside was easy. Everyone had retreated to their rooms, except for a group drinking in Yvette’s room. The night sky was bright with the moon and stars, providing enough light for Anna to spot Kate’s blonde hair.

  ‘There you are,’ Kate hissed from the shadows.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Anna said. ‘I thought you weren’t allowed to talk to me.’

  ‘I miss you—and you clearly need rescuing.’ Kate pulled Anna into a tight embrace. ‘It must be driving you insane, not having left the house for a week.’

  ‘It has. I’m very close to hitchhiking a ride to the airport.’