Unscripted Love: The Complete Reality TV Romance Collection

by Heather Thurmeier

  Except for one thing still weighing on Paige’s mind: What to do if your partner is a no-show.

  The main reason Paige stood here to begin with was to spend time with Cassidy doing something fun. Well, that and she really wanted a little time away from the chaos awaiting her back home. Seemed every single guy in a fifty-mile radius of her house had seen her get kicked off The One and each claimed to be her perfect man. How could she have a perfect man when she felt like a walking rejection? The bachelor Brad on The One hadn’t wanted her, so why would any of these other guys?

  Cassidy always knew the right thing to say to cheer her up, make her feel more confident, and send her on the right path again — exactly what she needed right now.

  Of course, she needed Cassidy to actually show up before any of that could happen.

  She cautiously raised her hand, reverting back to her Catholic school days of ornery nuns who didn’t take kindly to children who spoke out of turn.

  “Yes, Paige.” Chip smiled one of his famous smiles that could make any woman agree to just about anything, including being on another reality show when she’d sworn she wouldn’t be caught dead on television again. Ever.

  “Um.” She swallowed, her throat feeling dry as all eyes turned toward her. “My partner hasn’t shown up yet. Is that a problem?”

  “We’ll get to that soon.”

  Not quite the response she expected considering he’d said they would start filming in a few minutes. Maybe he’d seen Cassidy and knew she was on her way here. That had to be it.

  “If there are no other questions, then I think it’s time we get started. I’d like to see each of the teams standing together in their groups of two.” Chip turned his attention to the camera crew. “Guys, you can take your places with your team now.”

  Paige glanced around feeling her nervousness escalate. All around her, teams formed, looking eager to get started. She stood alone, quivering in her hiking boots and cursing Cassidy. Her gaze landed on Evan as he took his place a few feet to the left, pointing his camera at her.

  “Where the hell is your fiancée?” she asked in a stern whisper as she applied a fresh coat of mint lip balm. In about five seconds she was really going to lose her calm façade and start to panic.

  “She’ll be here. Don’t worry,” he said, a silly grin breaking his otherwise calm demeanor.

  Great. Evan was laughing at her and the show hadn’t even started yet. Awesome.

  She turned away from his stupid grin and focused instead on Chip who was now standing with Spencer Daley, the host of the show, talking in a hushed voice. Just behind them, movement from one of the production trailers caught her attention. The door to the trailer opened and out stepped Cassidy.

  The butterflies in Paige’s stomach calmed to a flutter instead of a full on frenzy at the sight of her friend walking toward her. Finally, she wouldn’t be standing alone like a chump anymore. She’d have a partner by her side like everyone else.

  She waved Cassidy over. Cassidy returned a weak smile, but instead of coming to stand beside Paige, she joined Chip.

  Maybe she needs to explain why she’s so late to the filming.

  Cassidy chatted with Chip for a few minutes, darting tiny glances back at Paige and Evan. Although a spark of nervousness flashed across Cassidy’s face, she looked calm and happy. In fact, she looked radiant. Her hair fell down her back in giant waves; her light tunic-style blouse flowed loosely over her body, except for where she held her hand to her stomach.

  I hope she’s not ill. Starting a competition like this — one promising to be high-energy with tests of endurance — would be difficult if sick with a stomach bug.

  Come to think of it. Cassidy’s outfit, complete with leggings and ballet flats, didn’t look at all like what the other competitors were wearing. Certainly she didn’t go with Paige’s Lycra yoga tank top, slim-fit jeans with just the right amount of stretch in them to make it possible to actually do more than stand still and look cute, and pristine hiking boots, fresh out of the box and laced tightly up to her ankles.

  Paige stepped toward Cassidy to find out what exactly was going on, but before she could, Chip held up his hand to quiet the bit of talking that had started amongst the teams.

  “If I can have your attention again, please. We’re ready to begin. Camera crew, it’s time to start recording. So without further ado, here is your host for the show, Spencer Daley.” Chip clapped as Spencer turned on his television-worthy smile and waved at everyone to stop fussing over him even though he clearly enjoyed every second.

  “Welcome, everyone, to the first season of Treasure Trekkers, the show that will have you racing for treasures in caches hidden around the New York metropolitan area as well as the lower Hudson Valley.” He paused to smile for the camera a moment before continuing on. “You never know what surprise you’ll find in the next cache. Perhaps you’ll find money, or a fantastic trip for two. Maybe you’ll even find the keys to a new car!”

  The contestants cheered. Even Paige who was normally pretty quiet and reserved cheered at the idea of being able to win really awesome prizes along the way without having to win the whole show. Even with Cassidy as her teammate, the chances of winning the adventure show were pretty slim for two girls who weren’t exactly athletic or outdoorsy. Winning a few prizes could go a long way to making Paige more comfortable in life. Her salary as a freelance graphic artist covered the bills, but little else. But at least she could take time off whenever she wanted.

  “Speaking of surprises, we’re starting off the show with a big one.” Spencer motioned for Cassidy to come and stand beside him instead of off to the side where she had been next to Chip. “I’m sure most of you have already noticed that one of our teams of two is currently a team of one. But not for long.”

  Paige felt her insecurity creeping up into her cheeks. She hated being the center of attention. Why had she ever agreed to come on this new show? Was a free trip, an interesting experience, and time spent with her good friend really worth all this?

  Spencer gestured to her. “Paige has been patiently waiting for her teammate to show up and here she is with me. Cassidy, why don’t you tell everyone why you’re here with me instead of over there with your teammate.”

  Cassidy glanced around the small gathering, smiling as she found the spot where Evan stood filming. Then her eyes met Paige’s quickly before settling back on Spencer. “Well, um, there’s been a little change of plans.”

  What change of plans? No one spoke to me about any changes and I’ve been here all day.

  “I was supposed to run the race with Paige.” Cassidy caught Paige’s gaze again, her expression clearly apologetic for what she was about to say. “But I’m sorry. I can’t run the race with you.”

  Can’t run the race? I can’t run it alone.

  “And why is that?” Spencer asked even though he absolutely had to already know the answer. But America didn’t and neither did Paige.

  How? Why? What could possibly make it okay for Cassidy to think she could abandon Paige at the last minute like this? Her chest tightened at the thought of having to run it alone. Or drop out before they even started.

  Damn. Getting voted out in the third round on The One was bad enough, but now she was about to be kicked off in the first episode of a show where everyone was supposed to compete until the end. This wasn’t fair.

  Cassidy looked away from Paige and back to Evan, a smile coming to her lips. “Because I’m pregnant.”

  Tears instantly pricked Paige’s eyes. Pregnant? Okay, that was a pretty damn good reason not to run a possibly dangerous race. Without thinking, Paige took the few steps separating her from her friend and wrapped Cassidy in a hug.

  “A baby? And you didn’t tell me,” she teased.

  Cassidy nodded. “We just found out. I’m so sorry, Paige. I was really loo
king forward to running the race with you.”

  Paige stepped back from Cassidy. “Don’t be silly. We can’t have you putting a tiny Cassidy/Evan baby in danger for some stupid show.”

  “Hey now.” Spencer laughed. “The show is anything but stupid.”

  “You know what I mean,” Paige said, brushing off Spencer’s comment and focusing only on her friend — her pregnant and engaged friend. Tears blurred her vision. “I’m just so happy for you both.”

  “I wanted to tell you right away, but once I told Chip I couldn’t do the show anymore, he forced me to wait to announce it here.”

  “And now that you have made this wonderful announcement, the show must go on,” Spencer said, nudging Paige back to her spot. He gave a huge smile to Cassidy. “On behalf of the production company, congratulations and we wish you well with everything.” And with that, he motioned for Cassidy to step out of frame.

  “The show must go on and go on it will. But not with Paige as a solo team.”

  Paige felt her pulse race again. So this was it. The moment she was asked to join Cassidy on the sidelines where she could watch the show with the rest of America. Kicked off on day one. And she thought getting rejected by Brad was bad. This was a new low point for her life.

  Yippy.

  “Paige, we can’t let you race alone. It wouldn’t be fair to you or the other teams and honestly, it would be dangerous considering some of the caches we have hidden for you.” Spencer paused, his hands clasped, fingers intertwined as if he were going to pray for help.

  She swallowed the lump in her throat and prepared to take her exit with as much grace as she could. She didn’t want to run the race alone anyway. It would be too hard. Too lonely. Too embarrassing. She’d much rather sit this whole game out and be able to keep Cassidy company while Evan was filming the show. They could talk about baby names and buy little tiny clothes and have an excuse to eat outrageous amounts of ice cream.

  “So, we’ve made a decision,” Spencer spoke, capturing her attention again. “And we’ve picked a new partner for you.”

  Say what now?

  Just then, someone stepped out from behind the production trailer. The moment Paige glimpsed platform stilettos and long golden hair, she knew she’d died and somehow gone to hell because there was no way this was really happening.

  No. Fricken’. Way.

  Chapter Two

  “I’m sure you all remember Zoe Oliver from The One and from her appearance on the game show she almost won before that,” Spencer continued without waiting for a response. “Zoe, please join your new partner. Zoe has graciously accepted our invitation to be a part of the show on such last minute notice and we’re thrilled to have her here.”

  Jack Miles eyed the petite brunette now standing next to Zoe and wondered if he would have to catch her before she hit the floor since she suddenly looked as if she might faint. He wouldn’t mind catching her. She was tiny, tight, and hot — just the way he liked his women. Add to that her porcelain skin in contrast to her long brown hair and her dark eyes, and it was enough to make him take a second look.

  Of course, he also liked his women to be confident, which by the sheepish look on her face, she was anything but. She didn’t seem too happy to be in the spotlight for this interesting turn of events. Maybe her lack of confidences was just nervousness from starting the game with a twist like a new teammate.

  He couldn’t imagine losing his teammate Ben either. Ben had been his hiking buddy since college and they’d seen some of the most amazing places in the world together. He couldn’t imagine having him bail last minute and being stuck with a new partner with no notice or prep time before the show started.

  And to end up with Zoe Oliver as your partner, well, that might just be too much for the most even-keeled person to handle. Zoe wasn’t exactly known to be a nice girl. Or a team player. Interesting choice on Chip’s part to put her on the show.

  But from the amount of nodding from the other teams, everyone else knew Zoe as well. It was hard not to. It had been Zoe who’d stood beside Cassidy in the finale of The One. It was Zoe who had ended up on the cover of tabloid magazines for months after the finale aired.

  And it had been Zoe who’d played the part of villain and had made it her mission on the show to make the other girls’ lives miserable. No one — who’d seen the show or tabloid news — would want to be forced into a partnership with Zoe after how she’d acted on that show.

  “Now that everything is settled with the teams,” Spencer said, “it’s time to kick off our show. At the sound of my whistles, these ten teams will race down the hill behind me to the marked vehicles with your names on the windshield. Inside each vehicle you’ll find your backpacks, a cooler of cold water and energy snacks, and a state of the art hand-held GPS unit, which has been specially equipped with a camera and internal server for our game. You’ll use your new GPS to find the five hundred treasure boxes — or caches, as we like to call them — we have hidden around the area.”

  Miles smiled, feeling sure of himself and his partner. With all the supplies they gave them, this challenge would be a breeze. And with a vehicle to get around in, it would be easier for Ben — because of his limitations with his leg, physical fatigue and long-term mobility were probably going to be their team’s biggest personal challenges.

  “Each day you will get to race from eight in the morning until eight at night, during which time you are free to find as many caches as you can. But be warned. You will be turned away from some caches if you arrive too late to complete them before the end of the day. By eight P.M. sharp, every team will be expected to have checked in at the base camp where you’ll all be staying. If a team fails to check in at base camp before time is up, they will receive a two-hour time penalty for the next day’s hours.”

  The rules didn’t sound too tricky, but it may be a lot to think about once the game got rolling and adrenaline started pumping. Although, Miles didn’t expect adrenaline to be a problem for himself or Ben. They lived for the rush. Always had.

  “The game is simple,” Spencer continued. “Find as many hidden caches as you can in the next twenty-eight days. Be the first to find the cache and you may find more than just game points. Many caches have prizes to collect but only for the first team to find them. At the end of the race, we’ll tally the points you’ve collected with each cache you’ve found, and the team with the most cumulative points will win the grand prize of … half a million dollars!”

  The teams cheered. Even Miles couldn’t help but cheer for that kind of money. He’d do whatever it took to win. Then he’d give his portion to Ben to help right his wrongs.

  “Oh, and I’d expect a few surprises along the way too.” Spencer winked. As if sensing a growing concern among the teammates, he raised his arms over his head to get them to quiet down so he could finish his speech. “Okay, everyone. I’ll see you at base camp for our first check in. Teams, start searching!” With that, he dropped his arms as if he were starting a drag race.

  Teams on every side of Miles bolted past Spencer and down the hill. Two of the bigger guys — Team Firefighters from New York City, if he remembered correctly — were the first to find their vehicle. Not surprising since guys like them were trained to be fast. And efficient. He made a mental note to keep them in his sights.

  A cluster of three or four teams reached the vehicles next. The team of sisters was fast, but Kent and Kyla, the dating underwear models, were even faster. They had sprinted the entire way. They were definitely faster than he’d expected. For being incredibly thin, they were also in amazing shape. Team Models might actually be more of a threat than he thought at first glance.

  Miles and Ben ran too, but at a slower pace. Still, they made it down the hill and to the vehicles only moments later than the rest of the teams. Well, not including Paige and Zoe’s team. It appeared those girls were i
n no real hurry with Zoe in her four-inch heels and Paige still looking shell-shocked from the early twist in the game.

  But Miles couldn’t sit around wondering how the girls would do in the race. It was their business, not his. His priority number one was getting Ben to the end of the game with the most points and prizes in hand. And proving to him they could still take on any challenge together. And succeed.

  Miles and Ben found their SUV easily since there were only two left. A quick glance at the name on the windshield and they pulled open the doors. Miles hopped into the driver’s seat while Ben jumped into the backseat behind him. Their cameraman rode shotgun where he could film facial expressions of both men.

  He handed the GPS unit to Ben and ripped open the folder of information they’d been given to start the race. Inside he found a logbook with a series of numbered GPS coordinates listed. Pages and pages of longitudes and latitudes stared back at him. Even for an experienced hiker, it was overwhelming.

  “Wow. Look at this.” Miles showed the logbook to Ben. “The other teams aren’t going to know where to start.”

  “Good. Because I think we’ve fallen behind already,” Ben said, looking out the side window instead of at the logbook.

  “No worries. This is a long race and where we lack on speed, we’ll make up for by being able to use the GPS better than the others. Let’s just pick one in the middle and get started.”

  Ben shook his head. “I hope you’re right. But I’m pretty sure we’re due for last place.”

  “Well, I think you’re wrong and it’s about time you started believing in yourself again. You’re just as able as any of the other teams here.” He glanced down at Ben’s leg, already stretched out along the backbench seat, unable to stop himself from reliving the injury again as if it were his own.

  “Well, I’m definitely as able as that team. Can you believe they only just now reached their vehicle?” Ben said, sounding marginally disgusted.