Unscripted Love: The Complete Reality TV Romance Collection

by Heather Thurmeier

  “I saw Zoe before we left and she looked a little worse for wear. When I asked her if anything she was wrong, she mentioned being nervous about attempting the cache that had landed the firefighters in the water, then in the hospital.”

  Miles cursed under his breath. This had accident written all over it. Damn it.

  He skidded the truck to a stop on the side of the road next to what he assumed must be the girl’s SUV and bolted out the door. He barely waited long enough for Ben to get out of the truck before heading off down the trail in the direction the arrow on the GPS unit pointed.

  “I wish you’d told me sooner. Then we could have stopped them. I just hope we’re not too late.”

  Ben kept pace with Miles but his breath came out a little harsher than it should. “Maybe you don’t need to stop them. They’re stronger than you think they are, you know? It wouldn’t be the first time you’d underestimated someone recently.”

  Miles glanced over to his friend and saw the sheen of sweat already covering his forehead. Miles slowed his pace even though every fiber of his being told him to sprint as fast as he could. Ben was right. He’d underestimated what Ben could do the entire time on the show. Had he underestimated the girls too?

  They walked in silence for a few minutes. The ground was rough with large boulders in some areas and potholes in others. Ben stumbled more than once but Miles resisted the urge to grab his arm and steady him, knowing Ben wouldn’t want the help.

  Please tell me Paige didn’t hike this in heels today.

  Finally they crested the top of the gradual slope they’d climbed. The view was outstanding. A large lake, surrounded by green hills and rock bluffs on every side. Simply a little slice of heaven.

  Or hell if you made a stupid mistake and ended up hurting yourself.

  Or worse.

  The girls’ cameraman Evan stood at the edge of the cliff, a safety rope tied around his waist. He leaned out precariously over the edge with his camera pointed down, a serious expression creasing his brow.

  Shit. They’d done it.

  “Are Paige and Zoe down there?” he asked one of the instructors milling around.

  “Yep,” answered the closest one without elaborating.

  “Well, are they okay? Did they get the cache?”

  “I can’t tell you about the status of the cache or any other team.”

  Miles looked to the heavens for strength not to punch someone in the face. He just wanted answers and all he got was the run around. If they wouldn’t tell him, then he’d damn well find out on his own.

  He walked to the edge then dropped to his stomach before peering over the edge. Paige and Zoe dangled about halfway down. They didn’t appear to be moving but they also didn’t look as if they were searching for the cache. So what the hell were they doing? Having a picnic? Taking in the view?

  He forced in a deep breath. His instinct was to tell them how silly they were for taking such a chance. But he couldn’t do that. Paige hated how overbearing he’d been with her the other day, telling her what she could or couldn’t do. He wouldn’t make that same mistake again. Nor did he want to. He wasn’t overbearing like that normally. This whole process of filming the show and searching for caches constantly was really getting on his nerves. When he’d thought they’d put themselves in danger for a stupid show, he’d lost his better judgment for a minute. But he wouldn’t do it again. He had to play this off the right way or he’d risk making his situation with Paige worse.

  Of course, how it could get worse than her refusing to even speak to him, he didn’t know. But he was confident there was a worse scenario.

  “How’s it going down there?” he called, forcing his voice to be casual and aloof. “Find any big prizes yet?”

  “Miles?” Zoe asked.

  She looked up at him, tears spilling down her cheeks. He’d only seen her cry a handful of times in his entire life and the sight of it brought back terrible, painful memories. Something was definitely wrong.

  “I’m here, Zoe. Are you okay?”

  Stupid question. She was hanging on the side of a rock cliff with only a rope and a few carabineer clips supporting her while she dangled over a large body of deep water. No, of course she wasn’t all right.

  “I’ve been better, actually.” She laughed.

  “I can see that.” He paused while trying to decide whether or not he should attempt talking to Paige now. It wasn’t like she could run away from him at least. “Hey, Paige. How’s it going? Just taking a little break down there?”

  Paige looked up at him with fire in her eyes, not fear. “I’m fine, but Zoe is stuck.”

  “What do you mean by stuck exactly?” Stuck while rappelling wasn’t good.

  “Something’s wrong with the metal thingy. The rope won’t go through it anymore.” Paige touched Zoe’s arm. “I can get down the rest of the way, but I don’t think Zoe can without figuring this out.”

  Shit. No wonder Zoe was upset. She hated not being in control. She was terrified of being trapped.

  “I’m coming down. Stay where you are,” he called, getting to his feet.

  “Where do you think we’re going to go, smart ass?” Zoe snapped.

  Miles stood and faced the instructors, anger bubbling to the surface now that he knew the full extent of the situation. “Why didn’t you go get them yet?”

  One of them shrugged. “They wouldn’t let us.”

  “So go get them anyways. What are they supposed to do, dangle there forever until they magically get unstuck?” How could they be so stupid to just leave them there?

  “If we rescue them, they’re out of the game. That feisty dark-haired one threatened to stick her stiletto heel in a very inappropriate spot if I caused them to forfeit the game.” He shook his head, his cheeks noticeably paler at the mention of the very long, pointy heels. “That’s just not right, dude.”

  Paige and her heels. She knew she was trying this cache today and she still wore those shoes. When he got her back on solid ground, he was taking those heels and chucking them into the lake. Barefoot would be safer than rappelling in heels.

  “You’re the one who let her over the edge with those shoes on to begin with,” Miles said as he stepped into one of the harnesses lying on the ground, securing it then hooking onto the rope.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” the other instructor asked.

  “To rescue them.” He paused. “Why? Am I going to get disqualified if I do?”

  “No, you’re free to rescue whoever you want, but your partner has to go too. Teammates must repel together to claim the cache.”

  “But I’m not claiming the cache. I’m rescuing them. I don’t give a shit about the stupid cache.”

  The instructor shrugged. “Rules are rules.”

  Miles turned to face Ben only to find him already harnessed and lowering himself over the edge of the last line. “What are you doing?”

  “Rappelling. Are you going to join me or get me disqualified?” Ben called up, disappearing over the edge as easy as he always did. No fear. No hesitation. No worry.

  Miles grinned and double-checked his work to make sure he was fully clipped before following Ben. He couldn’t help the swell of pride and satisfaction in his chest seeing Ben rappel again.

  Easing his way over the edge, he glanced down to see Paige and Zoe looking back at him. Just waiting and dangling. He could see how this cache would be difficult for teams to reach if they’d never rappelled or done any kind of climbing before. The sheer vertical drop was enough to spook even the person most comfortable with heights.

  Miles climbed down quickly, the cliff posing little problem to him after the others he’d climbed in his lifetime. Ben stayed to the side, out of the way and with an expression of pure happiness radiating out of him.

 
Miles stopped when he reached Paige’s side. “Hey, you. So I’ve been trying to talk to you for days now and you just keep ignoring me.”

  “Really, Miles?” Zoe squeaked. “You’re really trying to settle things with Paige now?”

  He chuckled. “No, I’m only teasing her.”

  “It’s not funny.” Paige turned away, effectively ignoring him again.

  Even on the side of a cliff, she put up a fight. She must be more pissed than he’d expected. But he’d have to worry about her later. Right now he had to figure out how to get Zoe down to the waiting boat.

  “Wearing those shoes while rappelling isn’t funny either. When we get down from here, I’m throwing them in the lake.”

  “The hell you are.” The fire in Paige’s eyes excited him, made him even more eager to get things sorted out with her so they could go back to the way they had been.

  “We’ll see.” He turned his attention back to Zoe. As much as he wanted to deal with Paige now, he had to deal with Zoe’s situation first. “Why didn’t you let them help you?” he asked, evaluating Zoe’s situation as well as he could from his spot a couple of feet away.

  “Because then we wouldn’t just lose this cache, we’d be off the whole show.” Zoe met his gaze.

  “It’s only a game.”

  Zoe pleaded. “Can you get me down now? I don’t care about the cache anymore.”

  Paige faced Miles. “Is that why you’ve been trying so hard to win, even at the expense of your relationships? Nice to know you care so little about people that they mean even less than some silly game.”

  “I could have explained that a couple of days ago if you’d let me.” He focused on Zoe again. As much as he wanted to, he didn’t have time to deal with Paige right now. “I want to talk to you about this, but I need to get Zoe down before she really freaks out. To do that, I could really use your help.”

  Paige sighed but nodded. “What do you need me to do?”

  He gave Paige a few instructions and she started her descent again, stopping when she was a few feet lower — just enough space for him to cross her rope line to get to Zoe. He lowered himself another foot on his line then gripped the wall with his fingertips and dug his toes into the tiny spaces between rocks.

  Miles climbed to Zoe and quickly saw the problem. The hem of her shirt had gotten caught in the rappel device, jamming it so the rope couldn’t pass through.

  “It’s okay. I’m here now.” He might get annoyed with Zoe on a regular basis, but it killed him to see her so upset. “I know how to get you down.”

  She nodded, biting her lower lip, which quivered uncontrollably. It was a rare occasion he’d seen her in this state and it deeply unsettled him. Best to get her down quickly.

  Slipping one hand into the cargo pocket on his shorts, he removed the Swiss Army knife he always carried. “Hold still.” He sliced through the material of her blouse, carefully avoiding touching the rope with his blade. When her shirt was free, he fiddled with the device until he could pull the cut section from inside it and the rope could once again slide through.

  “My poor shirt,” Zoe said softly.

  “It was either your shirt or learning to live on the side of a rock.”

  “I can buy a new shirt.” She smiled and swiped away her tears.

  He smiled back reassuringly. “Let’s get you down.”

  Miles talked Zoe into moving from where she’d been dangling for far too long. She slowly started making her way down the rock face. When they got to where Paige waited, he paused while Zoe carried on.

  “Where are you going?” Paige asked Zoe. “The cache is right around here.”

  “I give up,” Zoe said, shaking her head. “I’m done with this one. I just want down.”

  “You can’t give up. We’re right here. This could win us the show — and what about the prize that could be inside waiting for us?”

  Zoe shrugged. “It doesn’t seem so important anymore,” she said, her eyes tearing up again. “I want to be done, okay? Please? I’m asking as nicely as I know how.”

  Miles watched as Paige clearly debated about whether or not she was going to put up another fight. He sighed with relief when she nodded and started down the rocks again.

  “Thank you,” Zoe whispered.

  • • •

  Paige’s feet tingled as they landed on the boat’s small deck. After hanging in the rappelling harness for so long, all the blood had pooled in them and putting her body weight on them again didn’t feel so great.

  She couldn’t say the same about Miles’s hands as he massaged them for her.

  Zoe had insisted her feet were fine in her sneakers and she just looked relieved to be sitting in the boat and headed for shore. She sat next to Ben, discussing something so quietly Paige couldn’t overhear them. When Paige had tried to insist her feet were fine too, Miles completely ignored her, then took her feet into his lap and slipped off her shoes.

  Then he’d thrown her brand new, sexy-as-hell stilettos into the lake.

  She sighed as they sank below the surface, gone forever. Just like her hope of winning the game. Just like her hope of ever proving she was strong enough to conquer anything the show could throw at her.

  Now she’d have no choice but to go back to her hiking boots or sneakers for the finale. And no choice but to go back to being plain, pathetic Paige.

  If she was really being honest with herself, she wasn’t that heart-broken over losing the shoes. Those things were torture devices. Her feet had never been so sore for so long in all her life. But she was sad about everything else.

  “You didn’t have to do that,” she said to Miles, referring to the shoes. “They didn’t do anything to you.”

  He met her gaze, his eyes holding a spark of familiar heat. The same heat she’d seen when staring up at him as he hovered over her in bed. Heat she wasn’t sure she’d ever see in his eyes again.

  “That’s not true,” he said, his voice huskier than it should have been. “Those shoes did more to me than you’ll ever know.”

  If she weren’t so mad at him, she’d jump into his lap and kiss him until that twinkle in his eyes became all out, unstoppable desire.

  But she was mad and she wasn’t going to let him get away with things because he was cute. And sexy. And — oh my God! — expertly massaged the spot on her arch that had been hurting for weeks.

  The boat docked. Zoe and Ben were off of it and onto the shore before Paige had even tried to retrieve her foot back from Miles. He didn’t give her a chance. Once the boat was secured, he scooped her into his arms and stepped out of the boat, starting on the climb back up the path to the vehicles. Zoe and Ben were already so far ahead of them Paige couldn’t see them.

  “Put me down and I’ll walk,” she said, wiggling in his arms.

  “On bare feet? On a rough, rocky trail?”

  Sure. Why not? It was her best chance at maintaining a clear head with Miles around. Doing that while he carried her was a lost cause. Especially when her hand was pressed against his flexed pectoral muscle. “I’ll be fine. It’ll be too hard for you to climb and carry me at the same time.”

  “You really want to walk barefoot on a trail in the wilderness where there might be bugs, spiders, and snakes?” He raised his eyebrow at her.

  She tightened her arm around his shoulders. “Maybe this is okay.”

  He laughed. “That’s what I thought you might say. So, since we’re finally talking, tell me why you really insisted on wearing those ridiculous heels all the time because after the massage, I know it wasn’t for comfort.”

  “They looked cute.” She didn’t offer any more explanation and she knew he wasn’t going to accept her lame excuse. But she didn’t want to tell him the truth. Certainly she didn’t want to tell him while she was in such a compromising
position.

  He nodded. “That they do. They’re damned sexy too. I spent many nights in the last week dreaming of you wearing those heels … and nothing else.”

  She swallowed.

  “And now the real reason?” he asked.

  “I wanted you to notice me,” she said quietly, hating that it was the truth. Hating that she was so weak and unsure of herself. Or at least she used to be. Lately she’d been feeling pretty strong and determined. Confident even. But now she wasn’t so sure it had anything to do with the shoes.

  “You didn’t need fancy shoes for that,” he whispered.

  “No?” she questioned, holding her breath.

  “Nope. I haven’t stopped noticing you since day one.”

  “Really? I’m not sure I believe that. I think you’re just saying that so I’ll stop being mad.”

  He shook his head. “I’ve noticed a lot of things. Seems no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get you out of my head when I wasn’t around you. And when I was around you … well, I couldn’t pull my eyes away.”

  Really? What had he noticed exactly? Did he notice her staring at him all the time when she thought he hadn’t been watching? Oh God, had he noticed that time she’d dropped her water bottle by accident and had checked out his ass on the way back up after retrieving it from the floor? Had he noticed all the times she’d undressed him with her eyes even after they’d been together?

  Her cheeks burned at the thought of being caught by him. “Notice any other interesting things during your studies?”

  “Only that you look great with a messy ponytail, prefer yoga tops over T-shirts, and drink hot chocolate every night. With three marshmallows. I know you prefer minty lip balm because you like the way it tingles, unless you think I’m going to kiss you and then you put on cherry instead because you think I like it better.”

  Those were some pretty detailed observations he’d been keeping track of.

  “And that you like to check out my ass when you think I’m not looking,” he added with a smug grin. “I noticed every time.”