I pull back and stare at his impossibly handsome face. Fuck me but being a strong independent woman sucks dirty tennis balls sometimes. “I’m sorry, but I do need to ask you something. And I’m not trying to start a row and I don’t want you to think I don’t appreciate you giving up the Abernathy deal for me, because I do. I utterly, completely do. Incredibly romantic grand gesture really.”
“But?” he asks, his hands sliding off my body and onto the arms of the chair.
Deciding it’s far too awkward to have this talk whilst sitting on his lap, I get up and sit down in my own seat again. “It’s just that youdidn’tcome see me when you left Thailand. You came back to Valcourt to do promotional work for the show. And I’m having a bit of trouble understanding howthatwas for me.” As soon as I say it, my hurt starts to bubble to the surface.
“Look,” he says with a deep sigh. “I had a very good reason for coming back here, but I really don’t want to get into the details, okay? Can’t it just be enough that I went zipping all over the world to give us a better life, but then when you made it clear you needed me, I was willing to turn down the biggest opportunity of my life? And Ifully intendedto meet you in Austria, but something really bad happened and I needed to come back and deal with it immediately.”
I stare at him for a moment, trying to process what he’s saying. I nod my head a little, then shake it. “Yes, the thing is, I reallydoneed you to tell me what was so bloody important, because judging a baking contest and going to a football match doesn’t fit my definition of urgent.”
“That’s not why I came back. Somethingelsehappened.” Will rakes one hand through his dark hair, frustration written all over his face. “To be honest, I think it’s better for younotto know about it because it’ll only upset you,” he says, quickly adding, “Now, I know that’s not going to make you happy to hear because you’re an independent woman, but please trust me on this one, okay? Some shit went down, and I dealt with it so you wouldn’t have to.”
I fold my arms and harden my gaze, shivering a bit from the cold and the emotion of it all. “What shit, Will?”
He pauses and looks out in the direction of the water for a moment before answering. “It’s not going to make you feel better.”
“Tell me anyway,” I say in a calm tone that surprises me.
Will looks into my eyes. “They have audio of our entire time in the jungle.”
Every cell in my body freezes while my mind races to comprehend the severity of what he’s just said. “Everything?” I ask in a whisper.
“Yes, but they’re not using it. They wanted to include some kissing and rustling sounds, but I forced them to cut it.”
I search his face, seeing there’s more he doesn’t want to tell me. “I don’t understand. How did you find this out?”
“After you…calledto tell me about the audio of us on our first night, I kept racking my brain, trying to figure out how I could’ve accidentally recorded that. I was so sure I had taken the batteries out of the GoPros. Then, when I was at the airport in Thailand—about to get on a plane to Vienna—I wandered into a store and saw one of those Bearz backpacks. When I picked one up, it hit me. The backpacks aren’t heavy at all. They’re actually surprisingly light. I realized that Dylan had the crew sew recording equipment into them.”
My limbs go numb as reality sinks in. “That skanky ho,” I say, suddenly furious. “Does she have no soul at all?”
“Apparently not,” he says. “And don’t worry, I made sure she knows it. I told her what she did was conniving and evil.”
My mind is spinning so fast, I wish I had skipped that last glass of wine. Memories of our time in the jungle come back in large chunks, each one feeling like a brick falling on my head. “But…everything wesaidto each other out there.” I gasp loudly and clutch my hand to my upper chest. “They all listened to us having sex! The whole production team?!” I feel dizzy with rage and humiliation. “Over and over again. Do you even realize how much sex we had out there? And they…” I stop myself, feeling my eyes fill with tears of embarrassment. “So much sex.”
A light coughing sound comes from the other side of the yard. Will and I both turn to see Bellford walking along with a flashlight. Oh terrific. Now he’s heard about the sex.
Will purses his lips and gives him a look of utter resentment. “Perfect timing. So nice to be surrounded by staff at a time like this.”
I stare at him for a moment, my rage turning toward him. As if I really need to hear him complain about my security team right now. “He’s just doing his job,” I snap.
“A completely unnecessary one if you ask me.”
“Oh really? You don’t think it’s necessary for me to have protection?”
“Not when you’re with me.”
I roll my eyes. “Do you have any idea how many death threats are made against my family each year? Or how many lunatics out there would kidnap me to get at my father?”
“Well, no one is going to get near you with me around.”
Okay, my mind is literally about to explode. “Are you serious right now?” I scoff. “My need for a security team is no reflection on your manhood, Will, so just get over yourself already.”
“Could you please calm down?” Will says, glancing at Bellford, who is now walking along the shoreline. “He can probably hear you.”
“Calm down?” I whisper yell. “Calm down? Sure, of course, sweetheart,” I say, giving him a phoney smile and blinking quickly. “I just found out that several people at a major television network have spenthourslistening to us do it, and that you kept it all a secret from me when I had every right to know. And now you’ve decided I don’t require a security team even though you don’t know the first thing about being a royal, but yes, of course I’ll calm down because I certainly wouldn’t want to be some hysterical female who’s prone to overreacting.”
“Sorry if I don’t like constantly being surrounded by your staff, but in case you didn’t know, regular people don’t live like this. They have something really nice calledprivacy.”
Wow. Just wow. “Sarcasm is hardly going to help things.”
