Page 44 of Heart to Heart
The cameraman’s face lit up when he caught sight of us, looking as though he’d just won the lottery. Next to my horse throwing us down a cliff in the middle of an episode, Tristan and I, in a compromising position, was footage gold. I pictured our tandem horseback ride making it to the promo footage being aired nationwide. Kiki would lose her ever-loving shit, beaming like a proud parent after watching their child take their first steps across a room without falling on their face. Maybe it would even translate into enough votes to help keep me here another week.
“Do you ever get tired of being watched?” I asked, looking over my shoulder at Tristan.
At first, he seemed confused, as though I’d just asked him the strangest question he’d ever heard, but then he caught sight of the camera, his understanding deepening. “I guess I’ve gottenso used to it over the years that I just don’t even notice them anymore. Although it is a bit unnerving to turn a corner just to be met with a camera in my face, or to slip up and have the whole world know about it.”
I recalled the article I’d read about Tristan’s run-in with the paparazzi. He’d looked so distraught, so unlike the image that had been fed to us by his PR team over the years. Something must have happened to set him off like that. Something that could happen to any of us. We all had bad days, days we weren’t ourselves. Days where the image complete strangers see isn’t an accurate reflection of our true selves. I couldn’t imagine having to be on point twenty-four-seven, and it wasn’t fair to expect others to be, either.
“You didn’t deserve what happened to you with the paparazzi,” I said, “And I can’t imagine how hard the last few years must have been on you.”
Tristan smiled warmly, his eyes softening. I hoped this wasn’t how he’d looked at Bianca right before they’d kissed, because I wanted to claim the way he was looking at me now as my own, not to be shared with anyone else. “That means a lot, Avery.”
Commotion ahead alerted us that we had caught up to the group, and as I turned my head to face away from Tristan, I caught sight of the stunned faces of the women who’d grown silent when they saw me perched atop Tristan’s horse with him. Chins of a few of them were in peril of hitting the ground. Others, including Bianca, glared at me as though we’d all been running a marathon and I’d found a secret shortcut instead of running the entire route like the rest of them.
As Tristan passed by Bianca’s horse, whose expression was somehow just as icy as hers, I made it a point to look her in the eye while resisting the urge to present her with my middle finger. A smirk would do nicely, instead. A smirk, when it cameto Bianca, delivered a more effective fuck you than any middle finger ever could.
“Badass,” I caught Sasha mouthing to me.
Without so much as a word to anyone, Tristan and I rode back to the ranch together, with the others straggling behind us, their shoulders slumped in defeat atop their obedient horses who hadn’t cared about them enough to try throwing them off the side of a cliff.
CHAPTER 23
TRISTAN
“Taylor,”I said, watching the raven-haired woman eagerly separate herself from the others. A big smile spread across her face as she approached me, taking her position at my side, all while every ounce of me screamed,No, not her.
When Avery and I rode back to the stables, I didn’t want to dismount Collin Oates. What I desired was to take Avery on a private tour of the Santa Monica Mountains, her body pressed snugly against mine, taking in the occasional citrus scent of her shampoo whenever a breeze blew strands of her hair peeking out from under her helmet in my face, even if it meant having to adjust myself discreetly to avoid having my erection poking her in the back.
Jesus Christ, I wanted Avery. And that was a colossal problem.
Because as I stood in front of the nineteen other women in this competition, she was all I could concentrate on. Despite my better judgment, I didn’t have it in me to eliminate her. Just looking into her eyes and the hope that transitioned into fear the moment the possibility of me using the veto had been broached, was enough for me to reverse course. I couldn’t bring myself todo anything that would hurt her, even if I intended to spare her the pain that is my life.
Purposely avoiding eye contact with Avery as I scanned the crowd, I forced myself to try to remember the names of the women I hadn’t had much interaction with yet during the competition. There was one that Avery seemed fond of. A friend of hers, maybe. Sasha. Yes, that was it. I hadn’t known who I was going to choose when I made my selections, but when I saw the two of them holding hands, I figured if I were going to keep Avery in the competition, the least I could do was keep someone who would be a friend to her in the competition.
“Sasha,” I called to the petite brunette, who seemed surprised I called her name. It took her a moment to react after realizing she’d been selected, and some of the women, including Avery, laughed as she sprung to life, practically skipping over to join me. Meanwhile, I felt guilty because all I could think about was maybe she’d mention something about Avery during our group date.
Okay, one more. If Wanda were here, she’d tell me to choose the woman who was guaranteed to make waves. The one who would make this competition interesting, adding a little spice to the mix. From what I’d seen so far, that woman was Bianca. But after the last episode, I wasn’t really in the mood for the drama women like Bianca bring to the table.
“Tatiana.”
With my final selection, I noticed the women standing around Tatiana subtly deflate. That was always the thing I hated about these shows. I knew what rejection felt like. It wasn’t a feeling I ever wanted to make someone else feel.
I returned the shy smile Tatiana gave me as she separated herself from the others to stand by Sasha and Taylor.
“Okay, ladies.” Kamila stepped back into the picture, their sky-high heels and sundress a ridiculous choice for a horseranch. “Tristan has made his choice. While Taylor, Sasha, and Tatiana go off on the first group date of the season, the rest of you will make your way back to the mansion, hoping that the impression you made on Tristan today will be enough to save you from elimination. Good luck.”
CHAPTER 24
AVERY
I’ve never beento Antarctica, though I’d be willing to wager the atmosphere there isn’t as frosty as the van ride back to the mansion. Somehow, I’d had the misfortune of landing in the same van as Bianca without Sasha for a buffer, and I could feel a chill in the air that had nothing to do with the van’s air conditioning.
“Is your friend in the other van?” Jay asked after not so discreetly looking in his rearview mirror, searching the vehicle for about the ten thousandth time since leaving the ranch. I noticed this time he was looking directly at me.
He must mean Sasha. I grinned, knowing that Sasha would be pleased that she had a fan in the form of Jay, the Jess Mariano of reality television show chauffeurs.
“She’s on a group date with Tristan,” I answered him, feeling sorry I had when his face fell. “But I’m sure you’ll see her tonight when you return to pick them up.”
“The other driver is doing that. I’m off after I dump you ladies off.”
