by Kim Linwood
Now I understand what he means in his note. I’m rich.
Or I could be rich. If I take Hunter’s money.
In my hands is everything I’ve spent the last ten years dreaming of. My whole reason for coming here. Except now it feels like a hollow victory. I can’t imagine being here without Hunter anymore. For all my dreams, I’d never really considered my life beyond moving back, but without him, this would be a very lonely place to live.
His touch is all over the island. Little bits of him scattered across it. Somewhere along the way, I’ve stopped thinking of it as mine, and started thinking of it as ours. I know he says the decision is mine, but I don’t want to make it on my own.
The dusty analog clock reads quarter to ten. Shit. If I don’t want to be late to the final challenge, I need to hurry.
I pluck my bra off Petey, giving the old bird a pat on his head, and gather the rest of my things. Hunter might have upgraded his cave, but there’s still no shower, and after last night, I soooo need one.
Screw it.
Leaving my clothes just on the inside of the cave, I dash for the surf. Laughing like a maniac and probably red as a lobster, I dive in, doing my best to scrub myself clean. For a moment, I float on the surface, looking up into the clear blue sky, tracking the clouds. Slowly the realization that I might be able to stay starts to take root.
Home.
Hopefully home with Hunter. If he’ll have me. If we don’t kill each other.
If he loves me as much as I love him.
I dance across the sand like a wet dog shaking itself dry, and pull on yesterday’s clothes. I’m sure I look terrible, but who cares? Ain’t no shame in my game today.
Blaze is just starting his announcement as I come charging down the beach. He obviously hasn’t spotted me yet. “Good morning! At least to those of you who are here. We seem to be short one, but this game waits for no one. Right, Hunter?”
Hunter’s wearing nothing but bright Bermuda shorts in a tribal looking pattern and a large gold medallion around his neck. His chest looks oiled, reflecting the bright morning sun like a pale bronze, blond-haired native god. He pats Blaze on the shoulder with a smile on his face, then points in my direction. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that. By my clock, she’s got at least ten, even fifteen seconds.”
“What?” Blaze spots me just as I push my way forward to take my place in line with the others. “Well, look who the cat dragged in,” he sneers. “I know we said you had until the next challenge to find your item, Sarah, but you’re sure cutting it close. Did you figure out your clue?”
He looks like he just swallowed something sour, but he can’t spit it out because everyone’s watching. I don’t even care anymore. He can think what he likes about me, because I know who the real cheat is, and so does Hunter.
I wave the note I found in the chest, and one of the assistants comes over to check, giving Blaze a thumbs up.
“Great!” he spits out.
Behind their makeshift stage is a giant rubber volcano with four tracks of lava running down the side like slides. At the top is a platform and at the bottom a big pool of water. Whatever they have planned, it looks completely ridiculous, but on the bright side, no mud.
I need to talk to Hunter, but I know he has something planned for today. I’ll play along until I can get him alone.
“Ladies! The goal of today’s challenge is simple.” Blaze turns and gestures at the plastic volcano. “The man of your dreams will be waiting for you at the top of Mount Heartbreak. Those who make it will get their chance at true love, and those who fail will be sacrificed to the god of defeat!” At his final words, the pool at the bottom of the volcano starts to bubble and churn while water trickles from the tops of the slides. Within seconds the sides of the volcano look like steep Slip ‘n Slides.
Walking regally for the cameras, Hunter approaches the back of the volcano to climb a ladder to the platform while we get in position. The others brought bathing suits, while I’m still in yesterday’s shorts and t-shirt. I can’t wait to hear how they spin that in editing.
There are small bumps and grooves in the plastic surface of the volcano that weren’t obvious from further away. So at least there are handholds, though I’m sure they’ll be as slippery as the rest of it. Amanda, Megan, Bianca and I look nervously back and forth at each other.
Blaze raises his arms. “Ready? Set! G—”
“Wait!” Hunter shouts from the top.
Hunter
She came.
Seeing Liz run up at the last minute is like bursting out of the water just as your lungs start screaming for air. Relief pours through me. I don’t know what she thinks of my proposal, but she’s here, and she doesn’t look pissed when she takes her place.
Just as Blaze starts the competition, I rip the rug out from under his feet. “Wait!”
All cameras turn to me, and Blaze turns a lobstery shade of red.
I smile at him like nothing’s wrong, then turn to the girls. “Before we start, I have a little proposition for the ladies.”
“There’s enough time for that after hours, Hunter,” Blaze snaps.
Ignoring him, I cross my arms over my chest and survey the crowd at the bottom like the tribal king I’m supposed to be. “If I marry, it’s going to be for love.” Liz meets my searching gaze with her contact-free, warm brown eyes. “Everyone standing here today has worked hard, and gotten my attention, but can they love me?”
Is that rattling I hear Blaze’s eyes rolling in their sockets? Is that horrible grinding noise his teeth? It’s amazingly difficult to keep a straight face through this. “If there’s anyone here that doesn’t see us in their future, her and me, forever in love, then stand up now and I’ll send them home with an all-inclusive cruise of their choice for themselves and a guest.”
Bianca glances over at Danny before stepping forward. Her smile is apologetic. “I’m really sorry, Hunter. You’re a great guy and everything, but I have to be honest and say that you’ll be better off with one of the others.” She flips her long, black braid over her shoulder and shrugs at the camera. “I’ll take the cruise. Thank you, and good luck!”
Danny’s grin is so wide it must hurt. He can thank me later.
“Wha—You can’t just... this isn’t...” Blaze sputters in confusion.
And then there were three. This should be fun.
Amanda and Megan grin up at me. Liz looks almost as confused as Blaze, but not nearly as angry. She knows there’s some sort of plan, but I didn’t get the details nailed down until this morning.
“Just Bianca?” I ask. After an appropriate pause to give Blaze a few more seconds of looking like a blubbering idiot, I start the festivities. “Well then...” I throw my hands out dramatically, striking a pose for the cameras. “Show me what you’ve got, ladies!”
They throw themselves at the slides, having to wade through the knee deep pool at the bottom first. The slope starts gradually, but quickly turns nearly vertical. The crew watches and cheers them on as the girls slip and slide; grabbing hand-holds, only to lose their footing and struggle not to fall back to the bottom.
No surprise, Megan is fastest, making it most of the way up before an unexpected spurt of water catches her square in the face. Tumbling to the bottom, she lands with a huge splash and a shriek. She sits up and slaps the water with her palms in frustration, though she’s laughing like she’s having the time of her life. In no time, she’s back up and trying again.
“Let’s make this interesting!” Blaze shouts, just as Liz and Amanda are neck and neck around the halfway point.
What the fuck? I guess Blaze still has a couple of things up his sleeve. Doesn’t matter.
Bubbles form along the top of the volcano and start to drip down the slides. From where I’m standing, it’s clear Amanda’s slide is getting a lot less than the others.
All three of them are struggling, but Liz is having a hard time just staying where she is, let alone making ground. Megan slips
again, rolling head over heels into the pool at the bottom. Only Amanda is making any progress.
Shit. At this rate, Amanda will be the only one who reaches the top. Dropping to my knees above Liz’s slide, I cheer her on while I search under the ledge of the platform with my fingers. With any luck, it just looks like I’m leaning on it for support.
I find a thin plastic tube that’s vaguely vibrating. Hoping for the best, I tear it loose and throw it at the ground, where it continues to pump out green liquid in pulsing spurts. Blaze yells something that doesn’t matter and I ignore him. After that, it doesn’t take long before Liz and Megan’s slides look the same as Amanda’s.
Megan and Amanda might be wearing bikinis, but Liz is sexier than both of them, all wet and sudsy. Her white t-shirt clings to her chest, and her bra’s equally soaked. I can just about make out the dark circles of her nipples underneath. Taking my time to make sure, I must be too obvious, because she shakes her head and rolls her eyes.
I wink and shrug. She can’t blame me for looking. Right?
Amanda is first to the top, and I give her a big, wet hug. “You sure you’re okay with this?” There’re mics along the platform edge, so I keep my voice to a whisper.
She nods.
Liz is next, slapping a hand down on top of the volcano and hauling herself up. She’s laughing as she does it, arms and legs shaking. The most beautiful drowned rat I’ve ever seen.
I pull her into a hug as well. “I want to kiss you, but I’ve never had my mouth washed out with soap before, and I’m not about to start now.”
She laughs and shoves me away, her fingers slipping on my skin. Some ideas that are extremely inappropriate at the top of a plastic volcano surrounded by cameras cross my mind. Depending on how this goes, I might need to add bubble bath in the hot-tub to my list of fantasies.
Megan finally vaults over the side, grinning and bouncing in place. I give her a double high-five while she bursts out, “I still get an honorable mention, right?” Turning to the crowd she raises her hands high above her head. “Right?” They cheer.
Blaze clears his throat. “You’re all winners in my book, but in the end, there can be only one. The race is finished, and there’s no doubt about it. First to the top was Amanda!”
“Stop!” Amanda yells, turning to face the crowd. “I can’t do this.” She looks at me and smiles sadly. We both know what she’s going to say, but I’m sure it doesn’t make it any easier. “I’m a fraud. Blaze only planted me in this show to win because we’re supposed to split the money you’re going to offer us.” She turns back to Blaze. “This is where it ends. I’m not going to do this, and you don’t deserve it. The game’s up.”
I try to look appropriately shocked, but even if I don’t, there are more than enough jaws dropping to make a good cut. It takes guts to stand up in front of all the cameras and admit to the world that you’ve screwed up. I don’t like what she did, but I respect Amanda for trying to set it right. Unfortunately, the producers will spin her as a villain, and she knows it.
Blaze sputters, shaking his head in denial. “I have no idea what she’s talking about. I’m just the host.” His eyes widen as two uniformed members of the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force walk out from behind an equipment tent, looking grim. Holding his hands up, he backs up. “This is ridiculous. She’s crazy! You don’t have any proof.”
Amanda bats her big blue eyes and taps her chin. “Hmmmmm. That’s right. None. Oh! Except for the recording I made of our last conversation before today’s challenge.” She stops and cocks her head like she’s trying to remember something. “What was it you said? Something about Sarah being out of the way and you taking care of the challenge?” She sounds sugar sweet but her words cut like a knife. “And you don’t think I actually deleted those emails, do you? I’m sure the officers can confirm they make for some very interesting reading.”
Not watching where he’s going, Blaze catches his heel on the edge of the platform and like in slow motion, his arms spin and his face goes slack as he tumbles over the side. His back hits the water with a splash, and he disappears under the surface of the very soapy water. He bursts out, spitting and coughing, his head a pyramid of foam.
The officers fish him out and drag him to his feet. He shouts and swears loudly all the way off the beach as they drag him away. For once I’m glad Dad got his way. This is going to make amazing TV.
Nodding with an expression of approval, I turn to the crowd. “Well then. It looks like they have everything well in hand. Let’s have a round of applause for Tortola’s finest, shall we?” The spectators, few of whom have any reason whatsoever to like Blaze, burst out in cheers and clapping. I give them a little time, before I hold up my hands. They quiet, nobody sure what I’m going to do now.
I turn, my eyes locking squarely on Liz’s. “Now, where were we?”
Liz
“I... we...” I look around for help from Megan and Amanda, but they do little fingertip waves and throw themselves at the slides, bumping and laughing their ways down to the pool at the bottom.
Traitors.
“I guess it’s just you and me now.”
Hunter looks at me with a maddeningly cocky smile and drops to one knee.
My jaw drops and I grab for his shoulders and pull. “Stand up!”
“No.”
“Seriously! Stand. Up!” What the hell does he think he’s doing?
Not bothered by my panic, he forges on. “Elizabeth Lindsay Bissette, recently known as Sarah Dreyer, will you—”
“Stop!” My face burns and my heart is being torn in a million directions.
He grabs my shaking hands and holds them between his own. “Will you do me the honor of—”
“I won’t marry you!” I blurt out. “Not like this!”
Do I love him? Yes, absolutely yes. I’ve loved him since I was too young to even understand what that means. Do I want to get proposed to in yesterday’s clothes without even talking to him first, while on top of a giant fake volcano, in front of fifty people I barely know, surrounded by cameras?
Oh, hell no.
“Elizabeth Lindsay Bissette, frustrating as you might be, will you do me the honor of buying my island?”
I fall to my knees in front of him, nearly hyperventilating. “What?” I whisper.
He scoots forward, cupping my chin and looking straight into my soul. “Will you buy my island?”
Buy his island? He’s not asking me to—
But—
I close my eyes, trying to will my heart to slow. I want to call him a jerk, but this... it’s too much, and at the same time it’s exactly right.
“Yes!” Is there a ring for that? There should totally be a ring for that. But it’s not just the island I want. Not anymore. “But on one condition.”
“What’s that?” He raises a curious eyebrow.
It’s funny. Even knowing exactly what I want to say, it’s difficult to get the words out. “That you never leave.” If I have to be here all alone, I don’t want the island anymore.
His lips quirk. He taps his chin with his index finger, looking like he’s considering something. And making me wait. Then he nods. “I think we can work something out, but Liz? That sounds suspiciously like a proposal.”
God damn it. It kinda was.
“Shut up, it wasn’t.” I hide my face in my hands.
He laughs. “Well, just in case it was, my answer to your non-proposal proposal is yes.”
Cheering starts up from below. God, the crew. Amanda, Megan and Bianca. Danny. Hunter’s dad. There’s got to be a way to sacrifice myself to the volcano and melt away. Hunter stops me before I can go anywhere. Taking my face in his hands, he pulls me towards him until our lips meet.
He tastes all the sweeter now that I know he’s mine.
We break apart, but not far, his nose rubbing against mine.
“Liz, when you left, it was like the sun set on my heart,” he murmurs. “When you came back, it rose again, even
brighter and more beautiful than the first time. Flying too close to you is bound to get my wings singed now and then.” He laughs as I whack him in the arm. “But the last few weeks have been the best fucking roller coaster of my life, and all I know is that I never want to know what if feels like to lose you again.”
Liz
“This had better be worth putting on clothes for,” I grumble.
Hunter keeps his eye on the horizon. “The view isn’t enough?”
I give him a sexy smile. “It was better from the bed.”
“Trust me, okay?”
“If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be up in this flying death trap.”
The time since the show filmed has been amazing. Summer has gone, we’re well into fall, but around here you hardly notice. You just sweat a little less at the beach. With everyone gone, our little island became our own little clothing optional resort. If we hadn’t had to eventually let the staff move back to the island so they could start working again, I might still be walking around naked. Best sort-of honeymoon ever. Minus the wedding.
Plus an island.
Our—yes, our!—plane starts circling, getting ready to come in for a landing. “No! Did you get reservations?”
“Mmmhmm,” he answers, concentrating as he skims along the water.
“You’re getting lucky later, you know that?”
“I already did.” He’s unable to keep the smugness out of his voice.
I’d hit him if he wasn’t the only person between me and a plane crash.
Chef greets us at the door, pulling me in for a huge bear hug. “Welcome back, our Lizzie. I knew it was you.”
Maria calls out from the kitchen, “Let the poor kids in! Tonto.”
He sweeps his arm inwards and steps aside. “Come. I have the perfect menu tonight. You’ll love it.”
Being able to totally be myself is a luxury I won’t take for granted again. I’ll never regret my decision to come back, not just because of the island, or because I can afford the best treatment for my mother, but because it brought me here. Finally, I’m exactly who I’m supposed to be.