Payne: A Bad Boy Romance: (With bonus book Mine)

by Kim Linwood

  Way not good.

  He lifts one shoulder in a lazy shrug. “Not for long. We were just—”

  “Wrong Campbell, Sarah!” Blaze announces to the great amusement of the crowd as Hunter stalks across the room to my side.

  Hunter glares at the two of us. He grabs my hand, and I have to hustle to keep up with him as we move to the center of the dance floor. Instead of a gentle waltz where I might have the chance to whisper to him, they start playing an upbeat tango. Crap. I can barely tango on the best of days.

  It’s bad. Like, really bad.

  Imagine all of the awkwardness from Bianca’s dance, but without the sensitivity on Hunter’s part. He nails it. Maybe he wouldn’t win any competitions, but he’s totally comfortable. Me, I’m barely keeping up.

  We pull together, cheek to cheek. “Stop it,” I whisper.

  “Dancing? The song isn’t over yet.”

  “Punishing me for whatever you think I’ve done.”

  Hunter’s hand is hard on my waist. “Have you done something, Sarah? Is there something you forgot to tell me?”

  I can understand why he might be pissed, but I need the chance to explain. I haven’t actually done anything. He’ll understand that, right? “Can we just finish the dance? We can talk about it later. I promise.”

  “Oh, don’t worry. We will.” He twirls me away, only to reel me back in, staggering on my heels. “But maybe you should’ve thought about talking earlier. Like before we fucked.”

  I can’t keep doing this. I know he deserves to hear the whole truth from me, but I’m not going to let him make a fool of me in front of the cameras. I can do that all on my own. Yanking free of his grasp, I stop and look him in the eyes.

  “Screw you, Campbell.”

  Blaze lights up like it’s Christmas morning, and the cameras circle, sensing blood in the water. Hunter looks shocked that I’m not willing to stick around for his public humiliation. I rush off the dance floor and push my way through the crowd before my bravado runs out.

  Once I’m through the double doors, I lean against the wall and slide to the floor. Tears well up and run down my cheeks, wet tracks of heartbreak, anger and frustration. I knew this was too good to last, but that doesn’t stop it from hurting.

  I’d started letting myself believe this could work out. That all my pathetic scheming wouldn’t matter since it didn’t amount to anything.

  That it was safe to fall in love with him again.

  A camerawoman follows me out the door to film my breakdown for posterity. Great.

  “Well, that was exciting!” Blaze’s voice carries from the other side of the double doors. “The course of true love never did run smooth. Eh, Hunter? Good thing for you there are multiple courses to choose from tonight. Have you made your decision?”

  “Megan.” A single word, short and clipped, like he doesn’t really care.

  Right now, I don’t either. At least she deserved it.

  Megan squeals, and there’s a lot of cheering and clapping from the audience. I stand up, feeling less like Cinderella and more like a girl stood up for the prom. The camerawoman films me leaving, but doesn’t follow.

  One foot on the stairs to my room, I stop. Everyone is in the ballroom.

  Everyone but me.

  Taking a chance, I rush to the game room. If someone finds me, I’ll just tell them I wanted to return the dress. If they don’t, no matter what else happens, I won’t be going home empty handed.

  38

  Liz

  “Why do I have to work out front?” I hold out a tray so Amanda can dish out the soup.

  Bianca snorts. “Because you’re the only one who speaks Spanish. It could be worse. You could be on washing duty.” She holds up her hands and wiggles her gloved fingers.

  I like helping out—I swear I do—but if I can’t talk to Hunter, I’d really rather be eating ice cream and feeling sorry for myself. Whether or not I deserve it.

  “How do you not speak at least a little Spanish? Aren’t you from New York City?” Speaking two languages has never seemed like a big deal to me, not when I grew up with it.

  “Because I don’t need it to order from the taco truck?” Bianca shrugs. “I took French in high school and my parents are Chinese and Scottish.”

  Amanda sighs. “You’re so lucky. This”—she waves around with her ladle—“is the most exotic thing I’ve ever done in my life. In my house growing up? Our idea of foreign food was spaghetti.”

  I serve the next person in line, noticing that her stomach looks rounded with pregnancy. Looking at the woman’s worn but clean clothing, and the way she carries herself with pride, I feel guilty for complaining about my life. My apartment isn’t much, but I’ve always been able to afford a roof over my head and at least something to eat.

  An hour later, I’m on break and take advantage of it to eat a small bowl of the soup. The outside steps are still warm from the sun, even though it’s just disappearing over the horizon. I breathe in the clear evening air. Somewhere out there, Hunter and Megan are having their date. I’m not jealous of Megan, not really, but I can’t help wondering what they’re up to.

  If I could go back in time, I’d tell him everything on our first date. The one at the restaurant with Chef Dominguez. I close my eyes and lean back.

  He’d have forgiven me then. He knew who I was anyway, and I hadn’t talked to Hollister yet. I could tell him about my mom, and how shitty my life has been since we got kicked off the island. He’d have understood.

  That night in the water, we could’ve made love for the first time.

  Hindsight is 20/20.

  I’ve been so dumb. Even in the beginning when we were bickering like cats and dogs, he’d cared. My face is wet with tears I didn’t know I was shedding.

  The door opens behind me. I try to gather myself, but it’s too late. Amanda looks down and sees everything.

  “Sarah? Are you okay?”

  “It’s Liz.”

  She looks at me, not surprised, but confused.

  “You already knew. Didn’t you?” I wipe the tears off my face and laugh sadly. “I bet you all sit around and laugh about it. The stupid girl with the crush.”

  “Liz—wow, saying that’s going to take some getting used to—nobody’s laughing at you.”

  “Really? Because they should.” I stand up and spin slowly in a circle. “Take a good look. I had everything figured out, but it all fell apart because I let myself dream too big.”

  Amanda doesn’t laugh. She sits down just like I was and kicks at the dirt. “You aren’t the only one.”

  “What do you mean?”

  The sun is gone, but birds are still calling to each other, and the buzz of insects never stops. It makes the silence between us all the more obvious.

  “Promise not to hate me?” she asks finally.

  “No, but I can promise not to judge too much, because if this is a competition about who’s fucked up the most, I’m probably still winning.”

  We look at each other and grin.

  “Blaze and I made a deal.”

  My jaw drops. “No way.”

  “Yes, way. It was dumb, alright? So dumb. Before the show started, I got an email…”

  As it turns out, I’m far from the only one on the island with ulterior motives. Blaze made a deal with Amanda to keep her around and help her win, if she was willing to split the cash prize at the end. On top of that, he promised to help her get a job at the network.

  Five-hundred thousand dollars and an opportunity to do something more than just help her father run his local paper was too much for her to turn down. Much like me, she justified it by telling herself that nobody was really getting hurt. The money was going to be given out anyway, right? Hunter can afford it.

  And besides, people don’t fall in love on reality TV.

  She looks over at me, the tension between us from the last couple of weeks is gone. “You really care about him. Don’t you?”

  “I wish I didn’t.�
�

  “Why? He’s rich and gorgeous.” Amanda hesitates. “And I think he really likes you. Maybe it makes me a bitch, but if I didn’t think you guys had something real, I probably wouldn’t be saying anything.”

  “He likes the person he thinks I am. I’m not sure he likes the real me.” And there’s one of my biggest fears. That Hunter will hear everything, forgive me, but that the woman I’ve turned into won’t match up to the fantasy in his head.

  “How can you know if you don’t give him a chance?”

  I have no answer to that, aside from wondering if I deserve one.

  The door flies open and Bianca comes out, hair up in a net. “Guys? Get your asses back in here so I can get back to washing. I’m running out of ways to say I can’t speak Spanish.”

  39

  Hunter

  Megan stiffens as I carefully move my hand. The evening started awkwardly, but she loosened up eventually, at least until now.

  “Don’t you dare!” she growls.

  I raise an eyebrow. “You think you can stop me?” Our eyes meet, and my fingers tighten around the tiny red nub. “One. Two. Three… Sorry!”

  “Oh, you bastard!” Megan laughs and whacks me in the shoulder with a pillow from the sofa. “That was the only piece I had left to get home.”

  “I know. Why do you think I picked you instead of Danny?”

  Danny flips me off. “Oh, ha ha ha. Pick on the little guy, why don’t you?”

  After the party, Megan and I were left alone together. The last thing I’d been in the mood for was romance. It must’ve been pretty obvious, because she took one look at me standing there in my suit, and asked if there was pizza in the freezer.

  Things got better from there.

  “I’m done after this round. I refuse to be the token whipping boy any longer,” Danny grumbles.

  “Good thing you picked yellow. Very fitting.” I stand up and make a beeline for the fridge. “Anyone need anything?”

  “Soda, please,” Megan asks.

  Danny sighs. “My pride back?” He follows me to the kitchen, heading for the stairs. “You two going to be alright, or do you need a chaperone?”

  “I think I can manage to keep my hands to myself, thanks.”

  “I meant in case you knock her back to start again and she kicks your ass. I saw her mud wrestle. I think she could take you.” He gives me a warning look. “G’night.”

  “Night, and thanks.”

  He shrugs. “No worries. A night of beer, pizza and board games isn’t exactly a hardship.”

  Thank fucking God for Danny. We haven’t had a chance to talk, so he doesn’t know what put me in a mood this morning, but just like always, he’s there for me when I need him. If it wasn’t for him and Megan tonight, I’d have spent the whole time brooding about Liz.

  Back in the living room, I find Megan flipping through the movies we have available. She’s relaxing on the sofa in a long shirt and yoga pants, hair pulled up in a messy ponytail. Cute, friendly, uncomplicated. I should be flirting with her, but I feel nothing. That insane pull that twists my guts when I hear Liz’s voice or catch even a little glimpse of her, is totally absent.

  “I’m sorry about tonight. Your dance was amazing, and instead of being wined and dined by candlelight under the tropical stars, you’ve had to deal with me and that lug.”

  Megan looks over. One slender shoulder tips up in a shrug. “I didn’t dance because I expected you to fall in love with me. Honestly? After the last few weeks, it’s nice to get a taste of normal again.” She points a finger at me sternly. “Don’t you dare tell them, but I actually miss my brothers.”

  I laugh and hand her the soda. “How many?”

  “Three, but two are enlisted now so I don’t see much of them.”

  “Ah. I guess that explains it.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Her forehead furrows and she looks at me suspiciously.

  I choke a little on my beer. “You, well, don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re tougher than you look.”

  Her mouth curls up in a huge grin. “Why thank you. I ate a lot of dirt to get this way. They couldn’t turn me into a boy, but they tried their damndest.”

  I collapse into a chair while she selects Romancing the Stone.

  “Hunter?”

  “Hm?”

  “Why isn’t Sarah here?” she asks quietly, eyes on the screen.

  Fuck. “You won, fair and square.”

  “I know, but, like you said, don’t take this the wrong way. The rest of us could vanish tomorrow and you’d never notice.”

  I sit up, automatically on the defensive. Both because I’ve tried hard to be fair, and because I don’t like that I’m so obvious. “Sarah isn’t the only one that’s won. I’ve spent time with—”

  Megan holds up a hand. “I know. You’ve been great with everybody, but we aren’t blind. When you look at Sarah, it’s different. The show has been fun, but anyone who paid attention knew where it was going to end. Then tonight… what happened?”

  My silence crushes the ease of our conversation. I grip the bottle I’m holding so hard my fingers slip on the condensation.

  She swings her feet down to the floor. “Right… I’ll just go, I guess.”

  Great, now I feel like an asshole. “No, stay. I should be the one to go. Shit happened, like it always does. Sarah and I, we have a history. Not dating or anything, but it’s complicated.”

  “People usually are.”

  “More than usual,” I say with an amused snort. “We thought—I thought at least—that it wouldn’t matter, but maybe that was stupid.”

  “Do you love her?”

  Do I? I’ve been trying not to think about it too closely. All I know is, when I picture living here after the show is over, she’s here too. Sunning on the terrace. Exploring the jungle. Sleeping in my bed. The thought of her flying away and never coming back is… inconceivable.

  She’s worth risking my heart for.

  Is that love?

  My role models haven’t exactly been reliable.

  “I don’t know.”

  She gets up to leave, putting a small hand on my shoulder as she passes. “Maybe that’s something you should think about.”

  40

  Liz

  The flatiron sits on the counter, mocking me. It reminds me unpleasantly of my mother forcing me to sit for what felt like hours as she did her best to tame my curls. Ugh.

  Screw it.

  Who am I trying to fool anymore? I think more people on the island know my secret now than not. Curly hair is the least of my problems. Working the mousse through my damp locks, I grin at myself in the mirror. One step closer to being me again.

  To going back to the real world.

  My heart thuds dully in my chest. I’ll survive losing Hunter. I’ve done it once before, I can do it again. Once I’m home, I’ll have my job and the mess with Mom to take my mind off what an idiot I’ve been.

  I wrap a towel around myself and step out of the bathroom. We flew back to the island first thing this morning, and nothing is scheduled for a while. Nobody has told me I have to leave yet, but I’m assuming it’s going to happen.

  “I like the hair. It’s more you.” Hunter’s voice scares the crap out of me.

  “What are you doing in here?” I clutch the top of the towel, holding it tight to keep from flashing him. “I’m almost packed.”

  “I noticed.” He’s sitting on my bed, the soft mattress giving under his solid weight. Resting on the comforter beside him is a familiar yellowing square of parchment. “I’m sure I’ve got something you can put this in. Strange souvenir, but I guess the gift shop was closed. Suppose I should be grateful you’re going with sentiment instead of market value.”

  “What are you doing in here?” I ask again, quietly.

  Hunter sits there, so cool and composed it terrifies me. This is a man I don’t know. I’ve been playing with the grown-up version of the teenage boy I fell in love wi
th, but this is the man he turned into.

  He turns his head, locking me in place with his cold, blue eyes. “So that’s it then? You’re ready to go? Game over?”

  “It was never a game.”

  “Like hell it wasn’t.” He stands up, fists clenched at his sides. “Do you know what’s stupid? For a while, I thought I was playing with you, and I felt bad. The joke’s on me though, because you were playing a bigger game the whole time. You and my father.”

  I shake my head, curls skimming my shoulders. “Me being here has nothing to do with him. I swear.”

  He grimaces, obviously frustrated. “Liz, it’s over. You can stop pretending now.”

  That’s it. “Sit down!” I point at the bed, unwilling to let this go any further. “You want to know why I’m here? I’ll tell you why I’m here. You won’t like it, but it has nothing to do with your father.”

  He stands still, but I don’t back down. After what feels like an eternity of glaring at each other, he finally sits, his back ramrod straight.

  “I want my island back.” I push my shoulders back and stand to my full height, what there is of it, and try to look as serious as I can in a towel with damp hair and no makeup. “Ownership is tied to my father’s family, and my mother had no right to transfer it to your father in the divorce. It should be mine.”

  Hunter laughs. Honest to God, laughs. “And you learned this, what? Watching Judge Judy?”

  I scowl and stomp over to the bed, flipping the map. “Read it while I get dressed. It’s all right there.” Grabbing the first clothes I find, I duck back into the bathroom. When I come back out, he’s holding the paper, a strange, somewhat sad look on his face. I have to catch his attention. “Well? It seems fairly clear to me.”

  “Liz…”

  “No! Don’t look at me like that.” My eyes burn, and I feel a tightness growing in my chest. “I know it’s not that easy. You probably have all sorts of lawyers, and I know I’m just some broke dental receptionist with a grudge, but it’s mine!”