Love Elimination

by Sarah Gates

  ‘That’s a total lie. You’re just scared.’

  ‘Leave it alone now.’ Anna pushed herself to her feet. ‘It’s done.’

  Kate didn’t argue, she just watched as Anna dumped her plate in the kitchen and escaped to her bedroom. The café would open next week and Anna would have twice the distractions. And hopefully Love Elimination would fade into a distant memory.

  * * *

  Luke skidded to a stop at the bottom of the slope. He was done. Even the new snowfall wasn’t helping to clear his mind, not with the persistent ache in his knee. According to his doctor, it wasn’t going away. Neither were the cameras. It’s not like he was even recognisable with his snow goggles and heavy jacket. He’d even let his beard grow out.

  Stepping off the snowboard, Luke hiked towards the car park and tried to ignore the stares.

  ‘Luke! Why did you walk away from the show?’ someone yelled after him.

  All he wanted was a hot bath, an idea that flew out the window the minute he saw the black sedan, the motor still running, blocking his hired car. He balanced his board on its tip and knocked on the dark, tinted window.

  ‘Excuse me. Can you please move your car? I need to get out.’

  The window wound down and Luke’s father leaned out. ‘Get in the car, son.’

  Luke pushed a hand through his hair and groaned. ‘I can’t. I have my board.’ He moved towards his car, calling over his shoulder. ‘Move the car, Dad. Please.’

  To Luke’s amazement, his father emerged from the car and pulled the back door open. ‘Put the board in the car, Luke.’

  ‘It’ll ruin the seats,’ Luke protested.

  ‘I don’t care about the upholstery, Luke. We need to talk. Now get in the car,’ Tyson Westwood demanded. ‘Now.’

  With no other choice, Luke circled to the front passenger seat and rubbed his hands against the heating emanating from the vent.

  ‘Now tell me why you let that woman get away,’ his father demanded as he guided the car onto the road. It felt a lot like being kidnapped.

  ‘What woman?’

  ‘Anna Hobbs.’

  His heart still jumped at the sound of her name. It fuelled the desire in him, the instinct to jump on a plane and fly to her side. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

  ‘Don’t lie to me, boy. I didn’t need the director’s explanation to work it out. You should never have sent her home.’

  ‘She asked me to.’

  ‘Your mother practically ran away the first time I asked her out, and Becca thought I was trying to hire her. But you fight for a woman like that.’

  ‘Oh, yeah? How’s Becca?’ He was being sarcastic. Mostly.

  ‘She’s too young and beautiful for me. She’s smart, fiery and doesn’t put up with my crap. I know you don’t believe anyone could love this wrinkled old man, but Becca does. She’s not a gold digger. She has more than enough money of her own and thinks shopping is a waste of time.’

  ‘Good for you, Dad.’ Luke pressed his fingers around his injured knee. It ached, even though the slope had been easy and he’d only been snowboarding for a few hours. He needed a new career, had even handed in his letter of resignation two days after filming the finale of Love Elimination. He’d always thought he’d miss the snow and snowboarding like losing a limb, but it had barely been a nagging itch as he spent time with Anna. The feelings he had now, without her at his side, were a hundred times worse than not being able to hit the slopes.

  ‘Where are we going?’

  ‘To the airport. Anna’s café is opening tonight. I’ve booked you a flight.’

  ‘Dad, I’m not five. You can’t control me any more.’

  ‘As if I could ever control you. Not even when you were a toddler.’ Tyson stopped at a traffic sign and looked across at Luke, his gaze harsh. ‘The team doesn’t need you. They have more coaches than there were women on Love Elimination. You need to realise that you can’t go on like this forever.’

  ‘Dad—’

  ‘No, you listen to me. I sat next to your hospital bed for weeks, first thinking you were going to die and then that you’d lost the ability to snowboard. You got through. You’ve had a few more competitions. You’ve coached at the highest level. In all that time, I haven’t once seen you as happy as you were on the show—with Anna.’

  Luke kept his eyes glued to his knee. With his dad’s words echoing between them, he couldn’t help thinking about the pain in his muscles. He’d already quit, but he hadn’t worked out his next step. And honestly, that had been the big question his whole life: what would he do after his snowboarding career?

  ‘I’ve already handed in my resignation.’ It was the first time he’d said the words aloud. His father was the first one to know and Luke couldn’t shake the idea that it should’ve been Anna.

  ‘That’s good. I’m proud of you,’ Tyson said. ‘Now what about Anna?’

  ‘How do you know about her café opening anyway?’

  ‘Twitter.’

  The world had certainly changed while Luke had been on set if his father was now tweeting.

  ‘Becca’s teaching me,’ Tyson added, by way of explanation.

  Luke breathed deeply. ‘She doesn’t think it will work,’ he said without bothering to clarify who he meant. His father didn’t get where he was by being slow-minded.

  ‘Then you’ll have to show her she’s wrong. You have the whole flight to figure out a plan.’

  ‘What about my rental car?’

  ‘I’ll get someone to return it,’ his father replied easily. The perks of being massively wealthy.

  Even if Luke wanted to argue, he doubted his father would turn the car around. And he wasn’t sure what he wanted. Except for Anna. He thought of her when he woke up in the morning, when he was snowboarding, and when he fell asleep. He knew he’d never stop thinking about her.

  CHAPTER

  22

  Opening night was everything Anna dreamed it would be. It was the first time she had seen the sign, Desserts For My Father, lit up. A permanent grin stretched across her face. Even if Kate had to drag her out of the kitchen to watch it be switched on. Anna and Ben had cooked for a week, preparing desserts that a team of waiters would serve on wooden platters. It would be standing room only.

  Two hours later, there was a line around the block. Reporters crowded around the door and the red carpet Kate had laid out on the ground. The noise was unbelievable. Anna’s mouth hung open as she stood at the entrance and people started arriving. Reporters yelled questions about Love Elimination from all sides. They wanted to know whether Luke had contacted her, what she thought of the finale and whether she’d ever wanted to fall in love on the show. Accusations flew about her not being on the show ‘for the right reasons’.

  Kate had it the worst. Instead of questions, it was abuse. They demanded her resignation, not knowing she’d already been fired. Her bias hadn’t been popular with the public. Under LOVE ELIMINATION FINALE, the second highest ranking news story, was LOVE ELIMINATION CASTING SCANDAL. The weirdest part was, Anna didn’t seem to be universally hated. Her Twitter followers were in the hundreds of thousands and when she’d started sharing Instagram snaps of her newest creations, her @DessertsFor account grew at the speed of her personal account. Only this time it wasn’t Ben’s quick wit that had people following, it was her own pretty pictures and recipes. Of course, they always wanted to know about Luke Westwood and the show. But just as many seemed genuinely interested in the food.

  At exactly 8 pm the café’s doors opened. Anna should have been able to breathe easily, since her part—the cooking—was done. Now she got to watch as her friends and customers tasted her desserts. The room was soon packed, people were eating, and the food was not going to run out. She was surrounded by happy chatter, compliments on the food and groans of satisfaction. Everything was perfect.

  ‘The food is delicious, Anna!’ Hadie raised her voice above all the chatter. ‘And this place looks fantastic.’
>
  Anna’s face glowed from the praise and the heat of the room. ‘Thanks, Hadie. I’ll come talk to you in a second. I just need to check the kitchen …’

  Her fingers itched to help out. The only way she could stay calm was to check on the kitchen every fifteen minutes. So she did. She darted around an emphatically gesturing man and barely kept from bumping into a tall, hard body. The scent of the figure’s aftershave washed over her as she dodged him. Her body recognised the scent and her heartbeat increased before she looked up to confirm what her senses already knew.

  ‘Hi,’ Luke said.

  Anna just stared at him, her mind completely blank. The café was so crowded she couldn’t step back. Her body was pressed against his, and it didn’t mind one bit.

  ‘What are you doing here?’

  ‘I’m getting you back.’

  Anna stopped breathing for just a second. He was here. For her. It was like lucid dreaming.

  A few heads turned. The place was packed with fans of Love Elimination. In a moment of clarity, Anna realised she didn’t want to have this conversation in front of anyone else. She wanted to be alone. Just Luke and her.

  She tugged his arms, pulling him through the café until they were standing in one of the storerooms off the kitchen. She closed the door behind them and flicked on the lights. The room wasn’t exactly small, but it felt claustrophobic with Luke there. He filled up the space. There was nowhere for Anna to escape his smell or warm touch.

  ‘The café is beautiful. Desserts For My Father … It’s really something special, Anna.’ His voice sounded like honey.

  ‘Thanks.’

  He suddenly stepped forward and took her chin between his fingers, tilting her head to meet his gaze. ‘Anna, I love you and I want you in my life. The show is over. The cameras are gone. And I still love you. Please, give me a chance.’

  ‘Long distance?’ she asked. It was never something Anna thought she’d try. She had always thought people with long-distance relationships were kidding themselves. It couldn’t work forever. But now she knew what it was like to let Luke go. The pain was enormous. Insufferable. She wouldn’t be able to come back from it a second time.

  ‘No. I was thinking maybe I could move here.’ He caressed her cheek. ‘I want to see your face every single day.’

  Anna blinked, sure she’d misunderstood. ‘What are you going to do in Sydney?’

  ‘I’m not sure. I was thinking I might do a degree in business?’

  ‘No more snowboarding?’ Anna’s mind spun, producing fantasies of what it could be like for them. Dating like normal people. Seeing each other after a hard day. Moving in together. Waking up with Luke’s arm around her waist, with his naked skin against hers, his lips against her neck.

  ‘Only on holidays—and I’m sure there will be plenty of those. But no. I’m starting fresh.’

  ‘But you love snowboarding.’ She wanted to accept it, but she couldn’t imagine Luke working behind a desk. Not happily. She didn’t want to be the one to destroy everything he’d worked for and all that had defined him for so many years.

  ‘Yeah, I do. But I’m too old and too injured. It’s time to find my second career.’ The hand that had been caressing her cheek moved down to her neck, then her arm. ‘It was always going to happen and I’m ready.’

  Her heart felt like it might burst out of her chest. She gripped his waist to hold herself steady. ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘Yes. You know, by the end of filming, I barely even missed it. I got used to summer and not snowboarding every day. Besides, coaching was never really what I wanted to do—competing was, and I haven’t done that in years.’

  ‘So you’re going to study business instead?’

  ‘And date you, away from the cameras. If that’s okay with you?’

  Anna grinned, flinging her arms around him. ‘It is. It most certainly is,’ she said, completely forgetting about checking on the kitchen, the party outside the storeroom and everything else as she crashed her lips into his. She slipped her hands under his shirt and ran her fingers along his abs. Her breath came in short spurts as he kissed her over and over again. The only time she broke away was to whisper, ‘I love you,’ in his ear with no one listening except him.

  EPILOGUE

  Three years later

  The hotel launch party was just as big as any Luke had attended. Guests were escorted through the luxurious lobby and up the state-of-the-art elevators to reach the top floor. They’d called it The Rooftop and it was just that: the top level of the hotel, enclosed by glass and kept warm by invisible, but powerful, heaters. The hotel sat in the hub of Perisher, Luke’s favourite Australian snow destination.

  Luke scanned the crowd. Every few moments someone would stop and offer their congratulations, and Luke would give his thanks and move quickly away. Speeches were about to begin. Where was she? His chest constricted as the minutes ticked on.

  Finally he saw her, hidden in a corner near the stage and conversing with his father and Becca.

  ‘There you are!’ he called, joining their huddle.

  His father glanced at his watch. ‘What are you doing talking to us? Get up there.’

  Luke grinned, but otherwise ignored his father. Instead he grabbed Anna by the waist and kissed her on the lips. ‘For luck,’ he said, resting his mouth close to her ear. A shiver ran through her and Luke had to force himself to step back, rather than hoist her over his shoulder and carry her caveman-style back to their suite on the level below.

  ‘You have lipstick on your face.’ Anna laughed, wiping the smudge off his face.

  Luke couldn’t believe how beautiful she looked tonight. The long red dress plunged to her navel. Her hair was swept up on top of her head, leaving her neck exposed. He had to tear himself away. He gave her hand one last squeeze, mounted the platform and grabbed the microphone.

  The crowd took a full minute to quieten. Luke’s heart swelled with pride—already he’d had several corporate groups requesting more information on the hotel’s packages and facilities.

  ‘Ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to The Westwood.’ He paused as a cheer erupted. Anna’s voice rose above the crowd and Luke grinned, looking for her face.

  ‘I’ll keep it short and sweet tonight,’ he announced. ‘Thank you all for coming and thank you to all those who played a part in its creation.’ He retrieved a list from his pocket and read, then listed the names of the VIP guests and thanked them individually. It was a custom he’d always hated, but he was taking no risks of offending anyone tonight.

  ‘Most of all, I’d like to thank Anna Hobbs for her constant inspiration and support—and also for the most delicious dessert café in the world. You will find Desserts For My Love, the second in the Desserts For franchise after the success of Desserts For My Father in Sydney, on the ground level.’

  He met Anna’s eyes and let himself be caught up in them. That blush in her cheeks made him want to reach out for her once again. He gave the rest of the speech, raised his glass for a toast and climbed down from the podium. With the official part of the evening complete, Luke could finally grab a drink and join Anna for the part he’d been planning for a year. If only he could get past the constant attention. Every third person grabbed his arm to give their compliments or ask a question.

  By the time he made it back to the corner, Anna was gone and Becca was whispering in his father’s ear. Luke pulled a face of disgust, making sure he was in his father’s eye line when he did so. He’d actually grown to adore his father’s fiancée, but mocking them both was too much fun to give up. Becca would always be the child bride of the family.

  Luke steered away and went looking for Anna once again.

  An arm grabbed him as he heard his name called out. It was Anna’s idol, Donat Monque, that had stopped him. ‘Tell your wonderful girlfriend that her food is impeccable tonight.’

  Luke grinned. ‘I’ll tell her you said so.’

  He kept moving through the crowd. It didn’t take long to
find her. Despite strict instructions to leave the carefully selected kitchen staff alone, he found her rearranging webs of sugar over caramel and banana domes.

  ‘I thought you were banned from the kitchen.’

  She jumped at the sound of his voice, spinning like she’d been caught committing a crime. Luke’s chest seized as the dress twisted around her body. She was always going to take his breath away.

  ‘I couldn’t resist,’ she said. ‘Besides, I saw you sneaking away with that sheikh for a private tour of the conference room.’

  ‘He practically owns a country.’

  ‘And you were rearranging the flowers before the guests got here,’ Anna teased. So what if he might’ve fixed one stray petal? Anna couldn’t resist fiddling with every single dessert before it was plated. If she hadn’t touched it, it wasn’t perfect.

  ‘I’ve been thinking about the name of the café …’ he started, letting his voice trail off. He grinned at Anna’s response, the furrowing of her brow. ‘It’s too vague. It could mean anyone that you love.’

  ‘So you’re suggesting we change it to Desserts For Luke? We’re all over the media. I think people know we’re together.’ She gave him a cheeky smile and moved towards him, running her fingers along his arm. She didn’t see what was coming. Although they’d spent the past few years together, learning each other’s expressions, they were still constantly surprising each other.

  ‘Not everyone follows reality television “news”. In fact, these days it’s considered good taste not to know the name or fate of the past reality cast members,’ he said, drawing out the fun.

  ‘Please tell me you’re kidding. That you don’t actually want to change it.’

  ‘I’m not joking.’ Luke kept his tone ambiguous, stringing her along that little bit further. ‘I even have an idea for the new name. I was thinking, Desserts For My Husband.’ Then he pulled the ring out of his pocket and bent down on one knee.

  ‘Anna, will you be my wife?’

  Her beautiful blue eyes widened. For a moment she just opened and closed her mouth like a goldfish. Luke’s hands shook as they held the ring up to her.