He wanted to know more about this ex. He’d like to wring the guy’s neck. He’d bet his new house that it was the weasel Derek from the show. If that snake won the whole thing—
“Well, it gets better.”
Liam tensed at the apprehension in her tone. He took a small step back so they could look each other in the eye, leaving his hands resting on her arms. “What do you mean?”
“They’re supposed to call me any day and tell me I have to show up for season two.”
Words didn’t form, because Liam was waiting for Tessa to correct herself. No way she said that right. But when she didn’t, he said, “They don’townyou, Tess.” No reality show could own people the way the military did once that contract was signed.
“Their contract apparently claims that they do.” She shook her head, but the worry lines faded from her forehead and around her eyes. She tried to curl those lips into half a smile, and it almost stuck. “Coming here was the best thing I ever did. If I’d stayed in Vegas, waited it out . . .” She ran a finger along the necklace, moving the heart back and forth. Something she used to do a lot after he first gave it to her. “Cadence found Mr. Jenkins at the festival. I’m going full grizzly.”
Liam finally felt it was okay to laugh. Safe, even. “So, you’re staying?”
“That’s the plan.” She reached for his hands, wrapping her fingers tightly around his. She waited until he locked their gazes. “Liam, I don’t know how that call will go. I might have to go along with what they want. I met with Mr. Jenkins after Cadence hunted him down. He still has to review the document, but he thinks I have a pretty solid defense.”
“That sounds promising.”
“These producers only care about ratings. They’ll play dirty to win. The lodge is one of my assets now. I won’t put it at risk if I have to make that choice.”
Liam could read between the lines. They could try to use the lodge as ammunition against her. And if she lost in court, they might lose the lodge.TheWhitmore familywould lose the lodge. “Wow.”
“Yeah, so there’s that. Liam—”
“I did watch the show, you know. Every episode.” The words blurted before he could rein them in, but it felt good to have that off his chest. He’d hate it if Tessa was forced to go back, but he wasn’t going to leave anything unsaid. “I’ve never stopped loving you, Tessa. All these years, you’re the only one I’ve wanted in my life.” He brushed back a lock of hair, tucking it behind her ear. “I want you to win, but I also want you to lose. I want you to come home. Toourhome.”
Chapter Eighteen
Tessa
Rather than return to the Blueberry Festival, Tessa and Liam opted to hide away at the lodge. They needed to check on Raven anyway—the excuse they gave everyone else. “Plus there’s a rerun on tonight,” Liam said to Tessa, wiggling his eyebrows until she laughed. If time was against them, Tessa would rather spend it alone than with a crowd of people who no doubt wanted a picture or for her to let them in on secrets she couldn’t—and wouldn’t—share.
Tessa dug a crocheted blanket out of the den closet and carried it to the couch. Raven’s tail wagged at the prospect of snuggling with them. “I can think of more exciting things to do than watch my own show.”
“But look at it from my point of view; I get exclusive bonus commentary.” Liam snuck in a quick kiss on her cheek, pulling her toward him by her hands. “You can tell me all the little secrets. I want to know the things the cameras don’t show.”
Tessa rolled her eyes at him. “I’m not supposed to talk about the show. At all. Blame Mr. Jenkins. He thinks they could use that against me.”
“Oh, come on. I have to know about some of these people. I’m invested.”
“Fine.”
They snuggled up together on the couch, wrapped in a blanket. Raven dozed, content to lay on Tessa’s feet and keep them warm. “I can’t believe you talked me into this,” Tessa said.
The episode was from the other night—the one she caught Liam sleeping through.
“Start dishing, sweetheart.”
It felt freeing to talk about the show as if it wasn’t some quarter-of-a-million-dollar threat. Tessa told Liam about the different contestants—their real cooking skills, bad habits, and true personalities. “Barry—that guy is theworstwhiner. I know sometimes they make things dramatic for TV, but I think they underplayed his true potential. He kept blaming the scallops, like they were the ones cooking wrong.”
“How did he make it into the top eight?”
“I think it was sheer dumb luck.” Tessa didn’t tell him that Barry wouldn’t progress beyond this week. The final eight would get a pass at elimination this episode, but Barry would get the boot on the next one. She didn’t want to spoil all the surprises. “I suspect they might’ve rigged a couple of the contests. Not for certain people to win or anything like that. But staged things to go wrong.”
“I’ll never watch another challenge the same,” Liam said overdramatically.
“Barry never seemed to encounter any of those, and I think it saved him.” Tessa found she quite enjoyed talking about the show, as if it was something she’d already put behind her. Two weeks ago, running that restaurant in Vegas was her chief aspiration—it was the only thing that mattered. Now, she didn’t even want it. Under this blanket with Liam, and Raven on her feet, that was what she wanted.
She wanted to stay.
