Reed snickered. “People like her are bear bait.”
They teased him a bit more, and Stone tuned most of it out, like he always did. When the cameras shifted away to follow Reed and Wolf’s antics, Jimmy sat on Stone’s other side and spoke into his ear, even though the lavalier microphone he wore picked up everything. The editors would cut out whatever didn’t match theLiving Wildnarrative.
“Don’t get too close to that dancer,” Jimmy said. “And keep your mouth shut. You’re a terrible liar. If you let something slip, this whole house of cards is gonna fall. I’d send Reed if I could, but they wanted you.”
Stone’s guts turned to ice at his father’s words. Still, ice was better than red-hot fury, which had grown harder to ignore as of late. He’d done everything they’d asked of him forLiving Wild,including leaving behind the life he’d built in Juneau. And since when was being a bad liar something to be criticized for? Sure, Reed was better at acting the role of the cool off-the-grid survivalist, but he also struggled with addiction. Sending him to Los Angeles would be a disaster.
Stone kept his tone mild. “Gina and I have nothing in common. We won’t have anything to talk about, aside from our dances.”
“Make sure of it. We got a good thing going here. Don’t need you screwing it up.” Jimmy heaved himself to his feet and ambled off to steal the spotlight.
Pepper patted Stone’s knee. “Just stay quiet, honey. You’re good at that.”
“Yeah. Sure.” He was “the quiet one,” after all.
Miguel gestured for Stone to get up. “Let’s get some shots of you practicing those waltz moves with the girls. And try to look excited about this, okay? We’re going to do a lot of cross-promo to build ratings from the network exposure.”
While the camera operators buzzed in the periphery like all-seeing, ever-present gnats, Stone summoned a smile he didn’t feel and twirled his sisters around the bonfire in the gathering dusk.
In a few short days, he’d be in Los Angeles, twirling Gina. He just had to find a way to apologize for the bear without cluing her in to the truth.
Gina used the helicopter ride to pull herself together. At least it wasn’t a hot air balloon, like she’d joked. By the time the crew arrived at the Glacier Valley Inn, which was advertised as being Alaska Native owned and operated, Gina was ready to film her reaction interview on the inn’s wooden deck. It overlooked sparkling water and an island full of huge evergreen trees. They stood tall and straight, their pointed tops reaching toward the picturesque sky.
Behind her, the sun set over the inlet, painting the sky above the mountains in vivid streaks of orange, pink, and deep purple. It was without a doubt the most beautiful sunset she’d ever witnessed, but after her encounter with Stone, all she wanted to do was hole up inside her hotel room and decompress.
The man must think she was some kind of high-strung urbanite.Notthe image she wanted to project anywhere, on camera or off, and especially not with her new partner. Herhotnew partner.
Once the crew had finally set her free—and removed her mic—Gina retreated to her room. She wanted to call her family, but she’d be too tempted to tell them about her experience, and she wasn’t allowed to divulge the identity of her celebrity partner until the cast reveal in a few weeks.
Still, there was one person she could tell. After washing her face and changing into sweats, Gina initiated a video call to Natasha Díaz, her roommate and fellow pro dancer onThe Dance Off.Propping the phone on the pillows, Gina stretched out on the bed and waited for Natasha to pick up.
After a few seconds, Tash’s smiling face filled the screen.
“Hey, Gina G.” Natasha’s long curly hair was pulled into a high bun and she wore her glasses, which meant she was in for the night. “Cuéntame. Who did you get?”
Gina rubbed her temples. “Girl, you are not going tobelievewhat happened to me today.”
When Gina finished recounting her first meeting with Stone, Natasha’s dark eyes were wide behind her glasses and she pushed her face close to the camera. “Abear? You’re shitting me, right?”
“A motherfucking bear.”
“Where the hell are you?”
“Somewhere in Alaska. Near Juneau.”
“Where’s that?”
Gina shrugged. “Hell if I know.”
“Okay, enough about the bear and Alaska. Get to the good stuff. Is he hot?”
With a groan, Gina flopped over onto her side. “Super hot. Like steam rising in the cold air off his ridiculously huge muscles hot. I’m not convinced he’s a real person.”
“Mm.” Natasha licked her lips. “I can’t wait to meet him. Especially since you won’t make a move. Not after that whole fiasco with dumbass Ruben.”
“Don’t remind me. I think they’re setting me up for a showmance. And we just gave them a ton of footage.”
“Shit, they should have paired him with me if that’s what they want.”
