“By any chance, did you and Adventure Boy happen to see the ads for your little show?”
“Don’t call him that, and no, we didn’t,” I say, feeling my heart speed up. A tiny smile flits across my lips. “We were rather busy.”
“Gross.” He picks up his tablet and hands it to me. “You’ll want to see this because as soon as we arrive at home, you’ve got some explaining to do.”
My gut tightens as I press play. Delicate classical music starts up, paired with footage of me in a blue evening gown walking into a hotel. I almost smile when I realize that was the night I met Will. The scene cuts, and I’m now dressed in a flowy light pink dress at a garden party, nibbling on a scone. The music stops, and a man’s voice says, “This dainty, beautiful princess has no idea what’s in store for her. She’s about to spend ten days out here.”
Footage of the jungle flashes on the screen at the same time as African drums begin to beat. “…with Will Banks, Avonia’s answer to Bear Grylls. They’ll have only each other and their wits to get them out alive.”
The drums pick up pace while a montage of moments from our time in the jungle plays out. “Starting Thursday, September seventeenth, watch as Princess Arabella transforms from this…” An image of me in the blue gown appears again. “To this.” And now the shot of me covered in mud, dragging Will behind me and shoving Dylan in the face plays out.
The drums die down and an eerie violin solo begins. “But even more shocking than her transformation, are the secrets she spills. Lust. Divided loyalties. Betrayal. Survival. One thing is certain, lives will be forever changed. Tune in Thursday at 8 p.m. to ABN’sPrincess in the Wildand be part of history in the making.”
The ad finally ends, and I press pause as my body breaks out into a cold sweat. Swallowing hard, I do my best to put on a nonchalant expression as I hand back the tablet.
“What secrets, Arabella?” Arthur asks.
Shrugging, I say, “Nothing. They’re clearly trying to make it seem scandalous to get ratings.”
“Nothing? Based on this, there must be something. Think hard. What did you tell him?”
I take a long sip of my water, my mind racing at what they might have got on film. Sex. That’s the shocking secret to which they’re referring. My face heats up a bit and I stare out the window, avoiding eye contact with him. “It’s probably because we… really got toknoweach other while we were out there.”
Arthur sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose, something he does when he’s trying to stay calm. “Are you saying you may have accidentally made a sex tape?”
“No!” I snap. “God, no. I’m not a complete idiot. We were very careful about shutting off the cameras before… anything happened.” At least, I’m pretty sure we were. “You know, this is more than a little insulting, Arthur. You show up at the airport unannounced, refuse to give Will a ride, stranding the poor man at the terminal, then you confront me about this stupid ad. Honestly, it’s a rather shit homecoming, if you ask me.”
“First of all, if Will can’t find his way out of an airport terminal, he probably shouldn’t have his own survival show. Second, don’t get snippy with me. While you’ve been off traipsing around on a yacht with Adventure Boy—”
“Don’t call him that.”
“—I’ve been dealing with a very concerned team of lawyers and advisors who—since this ridiculous ad started airing—are up in arms about putting a stop to whatever’s about to happen. I’m trying to help you because, in a few minutes, you’ll be facing a dozen suits, all of whom are waiting for an explanation from you.”
Bugger, I hope it’s just the sex. “Are you serious? All because of a silly ad? I mean really, Arthur, they’re obviously misleading the public. I can’t believe you, of all people, would fall for that.”
He scoffs and shakes his head. “I haven’t fallen for anything, but as your big brother, it’s my duty to protect you. And if there’s any truth to it, we need to get out in front of this thing.”
I instantly see red at the whole ‘duty to protect’ thing and I purse my lips together. “First, I don’t need protecting—something I more than proved when I was out in the jungle. Second, as I already said, there’s no secret. No scandal. Nothing other than the fact that we fell in love out there. That’s what they’re referring to when they say lives will be forever changed. That’s it. Therefore, there’s absolutely no need for a big fuss.”
“You better hope you’re right because we’ve had the legal team approach ABN for an advanced screening, but they’ve refused. And they can do it, too, because you signed one hell of an iron-clad contract.” He sighs, disappointment radiating from him.
My shoulders drop, and I turn my gaze to the window to avoid eye contact with Arthur. What could they possibly have? Nothing, right?
“Don’t hold out on me, Arabella. I can’t help you if I don’t know what we’re up against.”
The car slows and turns left toward the bridge that crosses the Langdon River. On the other side is home—the sprawling one-hundred-acre palace grounds complete with a forest, private graveyard, a lake, and my cozy, warm bed that I am desperate to dive into so I can hide from whatever is about to happen. Actually, I’d much rather grab Will, get back on the jet and go to Paradise Bay because I have a terrible feeling that I am, in fact, about to be embroiled in a horrific scandal, but my brain is far too sleepy to recall all the potential things I did and said four months ago. Did we have sex without shutting off the cameras? I mean, we hada lotof sex out there, so it’s entirely possible. But we wouldn’t have had the GoPros pointed at us, so it would only be… sounds. Urgh. I cannot tell my brother that there is even a remote possibility that the world is going to hear his sister in the throes of passion.
Arthur stares at me, knowing how much I hate awkward silences. He thinks I’ll crack.
Dammit. He’s right.
“Look, Arthur, if Ididsay something on camera, it can’t have been important because I have no recollection of it. Honestly, if I had spilled some big secret, I’d remember, and I’d certainly fess up to it now, but it didn’t happen.”
“So there’s nothing to worry about?” he asks, running his tongue over his teeth.
“Nada. Everything is absolutely fine.”
I hope.
