But there was no answer.There was only another snap of a twig somewhere close by.
“You know this is a bad idea,” Skye said, despite mentally willing Lucy to follow her. She wanted to kiss her again. In fact, she wanted to do more than that, but she was also terrified of being caught. “You know we shouldn’t keep sneaking around like this, right? We have to keep whatever is going on between us strictly in front of the cameras.”
But still, there was nothing. No sign of Lucy. No sign of anyone.
Skye waited a beat and then another. She counted to five, and when she was sure she had just made up the sounds, or worse, a creature had made it and had probably scurried away, she turned back around.
But not before a figure stepped forward out of the shadows. A figure with blonde hair. A figure with a smug smile on her sharp, pointy face.
“Alexis?” Skye said, feeling like her heart had just leapt into her throat.
The blonde was half-smiling, half-smirking as if she’d caught Skye in the middle of something, which technically she had. Her hands were shoved in the pockets of her pajama shorts, and her hair was tied up in a low pony. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to spook you,”she said.
Skye’s shoulders dropped. “You didn’t,” she said quickly, which was a lie. A big, fat lie. Her stuttering pulse could attest to that. “I just thought you were—” She cut herself off quickly.
“Lucy?” Alexis finished for her, raising an eyebrow.
Skye blinked, knowing she had been caught red-handed. She tried to recover with a thin smile and a little white lie. “Why would I think you were Lucy?” she asked.
But Alexis didn’t look convinced. And why should she be? Clearly, she had heard Skye calling Lucy’s name out loud and that they shouldn’t be sneaking around. There was no mistaking what Skye was talking about.
Alexis’s smirk turned sharp, as if she’d just put together a puzzle no one else had noticed was missing pieces.
Skye’s mouth went dry. Her instincts screamed at her to do damage control. Her thoughts pleaded with her to laugh it off and to insist there was nothing going on and that there was no secret at all. But before she had the chance to even think of what to say or how to say it, Alexis stepped forward and closed the space between them. She leaned in and kissed Skye on the cheek, and then stepped back.
“Goodnight, Skye. Sleep tight,”she said, her smug smile curling with the weight of a secret.
Chapter Eighteen
Lucy had one foot propped on the edge of a yoga block and the other crossed underneath her. She carefully dragged a thin streak of coral polish across her toenail and squinted at her handiwork. “If I ruin this, I’m blaming the humidity,” she muttered grumpily.
Behind her, Amy, who was also sitting on the bedroom floor, stared at two outfits she had laid out in front of her. One was a bold red jumpsuit that hugged every curve, and the other was a floaty sundress covered in hibiscus prints with buttons down the front.
“This is torture,” Amy mumbled, picking up the jumpsuit. She held it against her chest and directed her gaze at the standing mirror leaning against the wall. “What do you think of this one for the cocktail party tonight? Is it too in-your-face, or do you think I can get away with it?”
“Itisbright,” Lucy replied, barely looking up. “But you can wear a potato sack and still look good. So go with the jumpsuit.”
Amy jumped up, yanking both items with her. “I’m nervous about tonight,” she said, walking to her bed. She plonked down on the edge and toed a pair of heels lying on the floor beside it. “Why are we doing the lei ceremonybeforethe cocktail party? Doesn’t it make sense to do it the other way around?”
“Who knows what makes sense anymore,” Lucy muttered, more to herself. She was pissed. More than pissed, actually. Four days had crawled by since that kiss on the beach. And it had been four days since Skye had shown up at thevilla unannounced, and in all that time there had been nothing. No one-on-one dates. No kisses. No sex. Skye was ignoring her again, and this time Lucy had no idea why.
Their hammock date had gone well, hadn’t it? She’d flirted. They’d kissed. So then why was Skye acting like Lucy didn’t exist?
“You’ve been in a foul mood all day,” Amy said, frowning. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” Lucy replied quickly. “I’m fine.”
“Really?” Amy asked, standing up. “Because all you’ve done is mope around the pool today. Is it because Priya is gone? Do you miss her too?”
“Yes,” Lucy lied. She didn’t miss Priya. In fact, she’d been glad to see her go at last night’s ceremony. Just like she’d been secretly relieved when Charlotte had gotten the boot the night before. Now they were down to seven, and it was finally sinking in for everyone that there weren’t enough leis to go around. “I guess I do.”
Amy flopped back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling fan. “I honestly don’t know what Skye’s type is anymore. I was so convinced she was going to send Alexis home.”
“If only,” Lucy said. Alexis was beginning to get on her nerves. She was acting extra smug lately, like she knew something the rest of them didn’t. “Have you noticed anything strange about Alexis?”
Amy frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Is she acting extra superior lately? It’s like she’s got some big secret she doesn’t want to share.”
