Page 15 of A Chance at Love

Leo

Itext my sister-in-law the minute Whitney and I return to the main house—after giving Whitney another kiss and telling her I love her again, of course. I’m on such a high from being with Whitney that part of me wants to just enjoy it and not think about anything else.

But I also know I need to take care of the problem we have. And I need to take care of it now.

Sara replies to my text within minutes. She tells me to slip out a side door and meet her down the driveway, away from the house.

I quickly change out of my swim trunks, then sneak back out of the house to go meet my sister-in-law. She’s already there when I arrive, scrolling through her phone as she waits for me.

“What’s up?” she says, sliding the phone into her back pocket.

“I need to talk to you about the not-being-allowed-to-win thing.”

She nods. “What about it?”

“Well, hypothetically, if Whitney and I do get to the finale…is there any way she could have all the money?”

“Uh…no?”

My chest sinks. I know I should have expected that, but still. I was holding out hope.

“Wow. You really want to win, don’t you?” Sara says, studying me.

“It’s not about winning,” I say. “And it’s not about me.”

“It’s about Whitney, then?”

I nod.

Sara smiles. “You really fell for her, huh? And now you want to help her win. That’s sweet.”

“Come on. Isn’t there anything you can do?”

“Sorry, Leo.” Sara shakes her head. “To be honest, the other producers weren’t even that on board with you coming on the show in the first place. I had to convince them that it wouldn’t be a big deal, as long as you were secretly exempt from winning.”

I sigh. “There really isn’t anything you can do?”

“No,” Sara insists. “If you really want Whitney to win the money, you need to get her paired up with someone else before the final vote. That’s the only way it will work. Sorry, Leo. I honestly wish I could help, but I can’t. My hands are tied.”

* * *

I head backto the house and sneak in. I find Whitney hanging out with a group in the living room. She immediately notices me when I walk in and gives me a sweet little smile. I smile at her, too, but then nod my head toward the other room and she takes the cue. She says something to the girls she’s sitting with on the couch, then stands up and walks over to join me.

“Hey, hottie,” she says, sidling up beside me.

“You’re the hottie, Whit,” I toss back at her, and give the side of her hip a light squeeze. We walk through the next room and I push open a door that leads outside. Whitney and I walk out into one of the manicured gardens. Thankfully, there’s no one else outside right now.

“So, I just talked to my sister-in-law,” I say, keeping my voice low as we take a seat on a stone bench. “Unfortunately she can’t budge about the agreement I have with her.”

“I kind of figured that would be the case,” says Whitney, sighing.

“If it comes down to it, you’re going to need to partner up with someone else to win.”

Whitney frowns. “I’m not exactly eager to do that, but…if I have to, I have to.” She thinks a second longer, then groans. “Oh, God. What if I have to spend the night with someone else in one of those one-on-one suites?”

The very thought of it makes my blood boil. But I know right now I need to be the voice of reason.

“It’s just a room, Whit. The show’s not forcing you to hook up with anyone.”

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