“There you are,” Wynona interrupted us. She pushed herself against Grayson’s side, blinking up at him with her bedroom eyes. She looked like she’d stepped out of her house instead of finishing a fifteen-hour day. “Ready to get out of here?”
Reality smacking you in the face never felt great. But when it came to Grayson, it felt like a slap with a burned sponge cake.
Needing to put distance between us and not wanting to put him in the position to have to choose between her and me, I retreated. “I’ll see you later.”
My quick exit was made easy by Wynona. She stepped in front of him, her hands on his abs, and continued chattering.
I turned, not in the mood to watch the happy couple. As much as I hoped I was going to be here until the end of the show, I also missed Humptulips more than I ever thought I would.
And I didn’t think I could take too much more of this friendship. It had been hard staying away from him when we were teenagers and my hormones were running rampant inside my body. As an adult who finally recognized her feelings for what they were, it was even harder. Though this time there weren’t only my feelings at stake but also my place in the reality show.
I changed out of my dress and back into leggings and a large jumper.
Charlie was already waiting at the curb when I got there. “You heading back?”
“Yeah. You?”
“Me too. I’m beat.” He shot me a tired wink. “Want to share a taxi?”
“Sounds great.”
A taxi pulled up shortly after, and when I couldn’t stop myself from looking back at the house, I saw Grayson and Wynona emerge. His attention was on the taxi I was in and not on his girlfriend. I couldn’t help but feel satisfaction at the minor victory. I knew it was petty, but I let myself have my little moment anyway.
“How did you do today?” Charlie shifted next to me, drawing my attention away from what was sure to be the reason I’d end up ten pounds heavier than when I first started the show. Stress eating wasn’t just something my niece liked to do.
“Not too great.” I sighed, remembering my pathetic cupcakes. “But I hope it will be enough to get me to the next round.”
Tomorrow was another elimination day. They came in quick succession now that we were nearing the end of the show.
He put his hand on mine that was resting on the seat. “I bet that’s not true. You’re too hard on yourself.”
“I wish that was the case. But the egg white just wasn’t complying, so I had to improvise.”
“That’s the good thing about this segment. Nobody knows what the recipe should look like. You might get away with it.”
I shot him a grateful smile, since that was exactly what I needed to hear. “Maybe you’re right.”
“I’m always right. Remember how I told you that being on this show is going to get in my ex’s face and she’ll want to get back together?” He released my hand and pointed at himself, wiggling his brows. “She called me last night and told me she wants more of this.”
I laughed, not something I thought I’d be doing tonight. “So you’re taking her back?”
He scoffed, affronted. “Hell no. That ship has sailed. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t want her to realize what she threw away.”
“I’m sorry.” It was my turn to take his hand.
“Don’t be. We were never right for each other. And her cheating on me only sped up our breakup.”
The taxi pulled up to the hotel, and we got out. I stretched once I was standing up straight again, my muscles cramped and sore. Standing in the bakery ten hours a day had nothing on filming for hours.
I couldn’t relax a muscle when the camera was in the room, constantly making sure I was standing straight and my facial expression didn’t resemble an angry troll’s.
Charlie followed me to the elevators at the back of the lobby, yawning. “You heading to bed?”
“Definitely. But maybe we can grab a drink on our next day off.”
“If we get another day off before filming finishes.”
I nodded, since we both knew chances of that happening were slim. But it was what I’d signed up for, after all.
