Kiss and Confess (Love Unscripted Book 1) (21 page)

Brittany and Michael were pacing the floor, in opposite directions. Every few minutes, they would stop to face each other and then resume their pacing. Charley suspected they were racking up steps on their Fitbits while fighting.

Marc dropped onto the leather couch, sitting beside her. He picked up her hand and kissed the top of it. “Nervous?”

Hell, yes. But it had nothing to do with Marc. Or the show. She still hadn’t seen Luke. A messenger had delivered her instructions for when and where to arrive at the live taping.

“A little nervous, I guess,” she answered.

“Don’t be. We have the best chance of winning this thing. We’re the only ones who are actually together.”

She turned to him. “Are we?”

His eyes narrowed. “What?”

“Together.”

He shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

She sucked in a breath. It had to be said. “I think Mila still loves you.”

He looked away. “I told you. That’s over with.” His voice was flat.

“Maybe. Maybe not.”

“I won’t be with someone who doesn’t trust me.”

“But that’s the thing. I think she does.” Honesty really sucked sometimes. “You owe it to yourself to find out.”

“I have you now.”

Charley recognized the flicker of doubt in his eyes. “Maybe. Maybe not,” she said under her breath.

The door opened and Luke entered the room, followed by Tasha and Jen. “Could I have everyone’s attention?”

It was a good thing Charley was sitting down. Her legs turned weak while her pulse skittered like a mouse frantically seeking an exit and her hand felt like a lead weight in Marc’s grasp.

Brittany and Michael stopped their pacing to face Luke. Jason walked over to stand by the producers, leaving Trevor in the corner.

“We’re going to have you all come with us now so that we can get everything set up. Rob starts the show in fifteen minutes.”

All the contestants nodded. The instructions they’d received had been detailed, so there weren’t any questions to ask.

“Remember this is live, so watch your language.”

Nervous laughter rippled through the room.

Rob would be onstage first welcoming the TV and live audience in the elegantly restored theater. After, he would introduce the contestants one by one. Each would enter, wave to the crowd, and take a seat next to his or her partner. Rob would talk with each couple about the experiment and show clips from the episodes and filmed dates on the huge screen behind them, chronicling their on-show relationship.

Then he would announce the winners.

For some reason, the experts weren’t included on the schedule Charley had received, which surprised her. Maybe that segment had already been filmed.

Now that they were close to the end, Charley’s nerves ramped up. She smoothed her dress, another that had been sent over by the show. It was a form-fitting black lace pencil dress, with the top giving the illusion that it was sheer except for a band of black across her boobs. Sophisticated, sexy, and far more expensive than she could have ever afforded.

The contestants filed out. Halfway down the hallway, Luke gently pulled her away from the group. Marc didn’t notice; he’d been walking in front of her.

It took Luke a minute to speak. He rubbed the back of his neck and then grabbed her hand, just as quickly releasing it. “How are you?”

She felt the color rise in her cheeks. “Good. I’ve been spending a lot of time with Marc. You?”

He flinched, likely at the stiff formality of her tone. “I’m okay.”

“Good.” She’d meant to sound breezy, as though she didn’t care, but her voice came out unnaturally high-pitched. She cleared her throat and tried again. “I’d better get to the stage. Nice seeing you.”

“Charley. Wait.” He put a hand on her arm.

Her heart made a gigantic leap, lodging in her throat, where it beat out a slow, cautious rhythm, hoping he’d say not to go with Marc.

He smiled, but it wavered and disappeared. He looked down the hallway and back at her. “Things might happen on the show tonight that you don’t expect.”

So it was about the show, not the two of them. She fought unsuccessfully to keep her voice even, to keep sarcasm from poisoning her words. “When has there been
anything
about this show that I expected?”

He bit down on his lip then released it. “Point taken. The thing is… I wanted to say…”

“Hey.” Tasha appeared in the now empty hallway. “Come on. We need you.”

“Coming.” Charley began walking.

Luke caught up with her and said, his voice urgent, “None of this matters. Nothing’s real about a reality show.”

Message received. She stopped and turned to him. “Thank you. I appreciate you clarifying that.” She walked away more quickly now, taking her place in front of Marc as they waited to be introduced.

Charley looked so beautiful tonight, she robbed Luke’s breath. He’d missed her so much during the three months they’d spent apart; it had terrified him. He didn’t like missing someone that much. It’d fucked with his head and his life. For three months he hadn’t dated
anyone
. Booze and his right hand had become his best friends. Aside from Ethel. Who was wonderful, but she couldn’t help. Dutifully, she’d lie at his feet, cocking her head from side to side when he asked rhetorical questions.

Worse still, he replayed every minute of his time with Charley in college, how he’d left without a word and what he’d gone through afterward. He’d told himself then that it only showed he’d made the right decision. Now he wasn’t so sure.

And that fucking paralyzed him. He was not the guy for her, could never be the guy for her. He’d only hurt her again. When he’d been a teenager, his father had told him, “Dean men can’t be tied down, by anyone or anything. Remember that.”

He’d remembered. And acted on it.

The contestants had been introduced and were sitting onstage. Waiting. Marc had taken Charley’s hand, which sent a jolt of jealousy riding through Luke’s blood.

She’d said she and Marc had spent time together. Good. She should fall for him, have well-behaved accountant babies and a mortgage on a house in Bellevue. Another surge of jealousy made him fold his arms across his midsection, pressing hard.

Trevor and Jason sat next to each other, but the wall of tension between them was so thick, it had its own force field. Brittany and Michael sat stiff and straight in their chairs, Michael flexing and admiring his biceps.

The clips of each couple played on the big screen, showing the ups and downs of the relationships. After each, Rob came back to the couple and asked a few questions, which they all handled reasonably well. So far, the experts had been mentioned only a few times, which was a good thing.

Tasha appeared at Luke’s side. “Cake emergency resolved.”

“Good.” He jerked his head.

“How do you think it’s going to go?” She sounded as if she had a pretty good idea, but wanted him to tell her differently.

He couldn’t. “It’s live TV.”

“Right.”

Rob had managed to get Brittany to admit she was attracted to Jason far more than she was to Michael. Jason stared at her, apparently wondering what key part of his story she had missed, and Michael stopped flexing long enough to scowl at her before he started laughing. “She only wants what she can’t have,” he said. Brittany whirled on him, fist clenched, and Rob wisely introduced a commercial break.

Once they had the all-clear signal, Jen hurried across the stage to attempt to calm things between Brittany and Michael, while Tasha attended to Jason, who waved her off but thanked Brittany for the compliment.

Marc and Charley watched in silence. Smart move, as their microphones were on.

They got the countdown, and Tasha and Jen rushed off the stage to join Luke in the wings while Rob welcomed the viewing audience back. “This is the big moment,” he said, taking a card from the pocket of his suit. “We will now learn the winners of $150,000
each
. They are the couple our viewers believe have what it takes to go the distance. Will they use it to pay for a house? Their future kids’ college tuition? Or,” he glanced at Brittany and Michael, “their own personal boxing ring?”

Rob grimaced, which made Luke want to throttle him. Rob knew the answer, and he wasn’t supposed to do anything that might give it away before he announced it. But then Rob was human—or Luke was pretty sure he was, anyway—and maybe he’d also had enough of this whole charade.

“Before I reveal the results, though, I do want to let you know that we learned, after the shows were taped and the voting concluded, that one element of our matching process, the computer program called MATE, did not work
exactly
as planned.” Rob shook his head with a smile. “Doesn’t that just figure? A computer glitch. When does that ever happen?”

Luke held his breath. So far, so good. Not a huge reaction from the theater audience.

“But as I said,” Rob went on, “that was one small part of a detailed process.”

True enough. It just hadn’t mattered much in the end. Luke scanned the faces of those in the audience. Some confusion, maybe, but nothing else. He exhaled. The attorneys would be satisfied.

“Now, let’s get to what’s important. The results.” The envelope, too close to Rob’s microphone, made a crackling noise when he opened it. “Our viewers voted,” he said, “for…Jason and Trevor.”

The audience in the theater broke into applause and sent up whistles of approval. Jason and Trevor looked stunned.

Luke’s gaze darted to Charley, who had dropped her chin and was staring at her lap. Marc put his arm around her shoulders. Luke wanted to slap it off.

With a broad smile, Rob strode toward the two men.

Trevor flung his arms around Jason. “See? I told you. America believes in us.
I
believe in us.” He looked into the camera with a tremulous smile.

Jason stared straight ahead, his jaw set, not moving a single large muscle of his body.

“How does it feel, Trevor, to win it all, to be voted the couple America thinks will make it through life together?” Rob asked.

“I can’t even describe the feeling, Rob. Jason is the love of my life. I was stupid, yes, and made one terrible mistake, but when he finds it in his heart to forgive me, we will be so good together.” Trevor released his hold on Jason and reached for his hand. “This means so much to us. That many people cannot be wrong. They all saw what we have together.”

“Jason?” Rob asked. “What do you think?”

Jason pulled his hand from Trevor’s grasp then shook his head. “I care about Trevor. I think he needs more time to decide what he wants, but I know he’ll find happiness. Someday.”

Trevor’s gasp was audible. As was the combined groan of Luke, Tasha, and Jen. They’d suspected this might happen. Jason was one of the good guys.

Rob blinked. “It sounds as though you’re saying that happiness will not be with you?”

Trevor made a choking sound.

Jason directed his answer to Trevor, his voice low and gentle. “Your happiness will be with someone else, and you will find that person. When you do, I’ll be on the sidelines, cheering for both of you.”

The murmurs of the theater audience grew louder. A few people clapped uncertainly.

Trevor recovered his composure long enough to lean toward Rob and ask, “What about the money?”

“We can’t take it,” Jason said.

“Are you kidding me?” Trevor huffed. “If I don’t get my happily-ever-after, at least I get the money. We’re the couple they voted for. That’s what the rules said.” His voice rose. “Isn’t that right, Rob?”

“We can’t take it,” Jason repeated, this time more firmly. “We’re not together and we won’t be.”

“Are you serious?” Trevor hissed. “We’re talking one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Each.”

The audience’s buzz took on a hostile note.

Rob lifted his hand in a call for quiet. “Don’t worry, Trevor. You’ll get your money.”

Trevor nodded, looking relieved.

“And if you don’t want to accept the money, Jason, we will be glad to donate it to the charities of your choice, on your behalf.”

Jason hesitated, then said, “Okay. I would like that.”

Trevor looked at him in disbelief. “You’re right. We were not meant for each other.”

From the wings, Jonathan gestured urgently at Rob.
Get on with it.

The host’s barely perceptible nod acknowledged the instruction. He turned to the camera. “While it may not have worked out for Jason and Trevor, that’s not the end of our story. We have a surprise in store for you. A dramatic finish to this season finale that even our contestants know nothing about.”

Luke’s stomach dropped.

“Before I tell you what that is, though,” Rob said, “we’re going to take a quick commercial break. Stay with us. You won’t want to miss this.”

The director signaled they were clear. Tasha rushed onstage to hustle Jason and Trevor out of there. No one wanted a reminder of what hadn’t worked out. A production assistant swiftly moved in to remove the couple’s chairs and Tasha returned to join her colleagues.

The four remaining contestants looked at each other and then toward the producers. Brittany raised her shoulders and palms in a question. Marc mouthed, “What’s going on?”