Chapter Fourteen

Eight women remained after Elliot sent home Hailey and Jess. He’d attempted to eliminate Amanda, sick of her attention-seeking, but The Panel stepped in to rescue her at the end of three long days in the great outdoors. As his limo wound its way up the Hacienda’s steep driveway, he grew uneasy about what was in store for him. He’d had one day away from the set, away from Ginger and Matt and the beautiful women remaining, but it wasn’t like he’d gotten to fly back to Chicago, spend a night in his own home, and get his head on straight. No. The show had put him up in a hotel room in Malibu, leaving him to ruminate on what he remembered about his contract and jerk off to thoughts of Ginger in the redwood forest.

The sight of her standing at the bottom of the patio steps, a look of tight-lipped impatience on her face and her iPad in hand, sent electricity charging through his body. She mumbled something into her headset, but as he stepped out of the limo, her eyes locked on him, and she gestured for him to hurry up.

Grinding his teeth, he put some pep in his step. As usual, her presence had an unbalancing effect on him. There was the anxiety mixed with dread, and then there was the drooling lust. Made his head spin. She’d downplayed her looks that day in more old, baggy clothes and the barely contained mop of clean but unbrushed hair tied on top of her head, but the part that always yanked his insides through his navel—was her bare face. The rest of her might not have been naked, but when her mouth was, it sent his desire careening into the deep end.

“We need to get you out of these clothes,” she said.

He was already hard. “Where do you want me?”

For the briefest second, a spark of her own interest flared as she slid her gaze down his body, but she doused it with a quick shake of her head. “Go change into something more casual.”

“Can you tell me what I’m doing today?”

“Go.” She pointed in the direction of the guesthouse.

According to the schedule Ginger messenger him that morning, they’d be shooting at the Hacienda for the next two days. As he headed away from her, he thought about what she’d meant by what she told Matt when he’d caught them coming out of the woods—whether she was determined to put their past behind them and force him to move on with finding a wife. He swore there was something in the way she’d touched him the other night—something that hated the idea of losing him as much as he hated the thought of losing her. Each time he was close to her, he wanted her more than the last time. The dread of losing her forever grew exponentially with each kiss, each lingering look.

Never again, she’d said.

He wasn’t buying it.

Once he’d changed clothes and given himself a quick shave, Elliot found his way back to the living room where everyone had assembled. Included among the production team and crew were Amanda and Cassie, The Panel, and Davis. Elliot greeted them all with what he hoped was casual ease.

Davis laid out the rules of a tag-team cooking challenge. Elliot glanced over at Amanda and Cassie warily. He was no home chef, so he hoped they’d brought their patience today. After Davis explained the rules, he dropped a bomb. “The winner of the challenge will be decided by The Panel.” Davis turned to face the ladies. “And will be guaranteed to move on to next week.”

Elliot sensed the nearest camera zooming in on his face. He gave Davis a curt nod in acknowledgement. The Panel shouldn’t have this much say so early on, but he’d promised to play by the rules.

“The Panel is looking for teamwork—who works together best, who has more fun, who clicks. In short, this is a compatibility challenge. Are we ready to get started?”

Michelle had told him he needed to open up. Share his heart or some shit in order to get closer to finding what he was truly looking for. Unfortunately, all her pep talk in the woods had done was convince him to go hard and fast for Ginger. It had paid off in the moment, but now he was back where he started, with no clue how to create a happy ending from here. Maybe he needed to do what everyone else kept telling him to do for once and trust the process.

Ready to get on with it, he took his place behind the kitchen island.

“Amanda,” Davis announced, “since you were The Panel save last week, you’ll have the first half hour.”

Since he’d tried to eliminate her, anyone could have guessed his time with Amanda wouldn’t be pretty, but no one would have predicted she’d rush out of the kitchen fifteen minutes later in tears.

Elliot wasn’t trying to be a dick, but when she got snippy about seasoning the roast, he got quiet, and it was all downhill from there. Cassie, on the other hand, was great—fun, funny, cute, easy. She was exactly who he’d said he wanted. A teammate. A pal. She didn’t make his heart pound or anything, but it didn’t matter how many times he reminded himself attraction was never the point of returning—the lack of it stood out.

If a life with no spark was all that was left for him at the end of this, he’d need to get a few more things out of his system first.

Davis cornered Ginger on the garden path when the crew broke for lunch. She was on her way to the control room to give Marlon an update on Amanda’s breakdown when the eager host backed her into a large terra-cotta pot. He spoke in a whisper.

“She’s in town.”

“Who?”

“Jenna. She agreed to lunch. Think we can get away for an hour or so?”

“We’re in the middle of production.” Ginger’s smooth words belied the riot of conflicting emotions in her brain. “You can’t leave.”

“You can, right? Look, I think this is a maybe, leaning yes. She needs to be sweet-talked a little.” Davis spoke with his hands. It looked great on TV, but up close it overwhelmed.

She tried to ease away, but the backs of her knees hit the edge of the planter. “I haven’t spoken to Marlon yet. I don’t know what I can offer her at this point.”

Also, the thought of having Jenna back, while it sounded like an excellent idea a few days ago, now seemed like overkill. Elliot had plenty of women to pick from, right?

Except she’d promised Matt. Shit.

Davis held up one finger, like an idea had struck. “Maybe we get her onboard first, then go to Marlon with it.”

Ginger hesitated. “Wait. What’s in this for you?”

He balked at her suspicion, hands up in his own defense. “Hey—I want this to be a great season, too. You sold me. And beyond that, you’re right. Jenna never wanted Eric. She wanted Elliot from day one. She chickened out. Bringing her in now is exactly what the show needs. Let’s light this fire.”

Davis was right. Ginger needed to think like a producer. Her instincts were good. Therefore, the idea to bring Jenna back was a solid one, and sure to keep her at the top of the list for the job she wanted. And wasn’t that what Elliot had come back for in the first place? To find a future like the one he’d missed out on with Jenna?

So why the fuck was she hesitating?

“Give me her number,” Ginger said. “I’ll do the meeting.”