Page 48 of The Wrong Bachelor

“Well, Laurie may have taken you down, but it looks like you’ll live,” she said, before she turned and skated off without me.

I half considered chasing after her, but I noticed Angus waving me down again. He was behind a different camera now, and as soon as he caught my eye he started pointing over at Maria and Willow, gesturing for me to skate with them. The two girls were struggling almost as much as Zoe had. I wanted to go after Madi, but I knew I needed to follow Angus’ directions.

Still, I couldn’t stop myself from glancing after Madi as I went to join the girls. I knew I couldn’t pay her more attention than the others while the cameras were watching, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t hard.

After a few more laps, Angus called us all into the middle of the rink.

“So, tonight you will all be racing for some one-on-one time with Cole,” Angus said. “If you feel like your relationship with him is skating on thin ice, this is your chance to solidify your bond. So, do not underestimate how important this challenge is.”

I tried not to cringe at his commentary. I swore it was getting worse as the night wore on. Some of the girls were lapping it up though and looked eager to compete.

“For the first race, you will be skating from one end of the rink to the other,” Angus continued. “The first four to cross the finish line will be through to round two. The last four will be eliminated for the night.”

I watched the contestants as they reacted to the news. Several were glancing uneasily at Madi, while Laurie had her arms crossed over her chest and was shooting Angus a death glare. Everyone knew Madi was the best skater by a long way.

Madi also looked uncomfortable at the thought. Her eyes were nervously flickering between the other competitors and her lower lip was gripped firmly between her teeth.

I quickly decided I needed to say something before anyone voiced their concerns out loud. “We’ll make the first round a pairs race,” I stammered, pausing for a brief second as I tried to figure out how I could make it work. I suddenly remembered they kept small plastic sleds in the shop out front, and I had an idea. “Each pair has to take one turn pulling a sled with their partner on it around the rink before they swap. The first two pairs to complete two laps around the rink win.”

Angus flicked an annoyed look at me, but I shrugged. I knew if I didn’t make the race fairer there was every chance Madi wouldn’t compete at all.

“I’ll go with Madi!” Laurie yelled, clumsily staggering her way over to Madi and linking arms with her. Madi gave only the barest hint of a frown in response but didn’t object to being Laurie’s partner.

“Yes, everyone pair up,” Angus said. “We’ll start the race in a few minutes.” He turned and told one of the film guys to go find some sleds.

I stood back and watched as they arranged the competition. Laurie hadn’t let go of Madi’s arm since the moment she’d announced they were partners and was ready to tell anyone who asked that they were about to blitz the field. An air of excitement and anticipation filled the rink as the bright red plastic sleds were carried onto the ice.

“Good suggestion on the sleds,” Angus said, patting my shoulder as he came to stand at my side. “They add an element of danger the race didn’t have. Should make for some excellent viewing.”

He walked off to join the contestants before I could respond. I felt deflated as I watched him leave. Putting the contestants in danger was the last thing I wanted, but considering some of them struggled to skate on their own I could see how adding a sled and a partner to the mix was asking for trouble. I knew there was no putting Angus off the idea now though.

“All right, contestants, one of you needs to be on the sled, while the other will be pulling it," Angus called out. "Once you have completed one lap, you will swap places. I want you all lined up and ready to go on my whistle.”

Madi looked distinctly uncertain as she followed Angus' directions and sat on her sled while Laurie took the reins. Her eyes were wary, and she couldn’t seem to tear them away from Laurie as she teetered uneasily on her skates. Laurie had already knocked me over tonight; I guessed that Madi thought she was going to be next. I really hoped she wouldn’t be.

“Remember, contestants, this might be your last chance with Cole. Skate like your relationship depends on it!” Angus’ voice boomed across the ice. “Now, on your marks…get set…go!”

Shouts and screams echoed across the rink as partners started yelling directions at each other. The slap and scrape of skates clashed against the ice as everyone took off.

Evan was pulling Teagan, while Maria was pulling Zoe, and the two pairs shot out in front of the other teams quickly. Laurie barely made it a meter before she stumbled to her knees, and Brooke wasn’t doing much better as she attempted to pull Willow along.

There was a look of determination in Laurie’s eyes though. Even though she kept falling down, she continued to pick herself back up and push herself harder as she attempted to catch the two pairs ahead of her. Evan fell into a comfortable rhythm as he drew ahead of everyone else. Teagan was clapping him and cheering brightly as he crossed the halfway mark in the lead.

Brooke didn’t seem to share the same resolve as her sister and had pretty much given up after a series of falls. It didn’t matter that Willow was sweetly encouraging her. Brooke simply sat on the ice, refusing to continue.

By the time Evan finished his lap and went to swap with Teagan, he had extended his lead even further. Teagan wasn’t a great skater, but I knew she’d have to really mess things up not to win at this point. She was almost halfway around the rink by the time Maria swapped with Zoe, and three-quarters of the way around by the time Laurie finally passed the starting point and swapped with Madi.

My heart skipped a beat as Madi took the reins of the sled. The others had a huge head start on her, but Madi could move like lightning on the ice when she wanted to. She took off like a horse out of the gates, skating down the rink with so much speed it was like she wasn’t pulling anything behind her. I held my breath as I watched her move.

She overtook Zoe quickly and her eyes narrowed as she saw Teagan up ahead. When it came to skating, Madi was competitive as hell and I grinned as I saw her racing after Teagan.

“Go Teags, she’s catching up!” Evan called.

“You’ve got her, Madi!” Laurie shouted with glee.

Teagan glanced over her shoulder, her eyes widening when she saw Madi streaking toward her. She was close to the finish line but Madi was too fast. Teagan tried to skate quicker, but Madi overtook her in a blur of motion and cruised through the finish line with a massive smile on her face.

I jumped up and briefly punched the air before quickly pulling back my hand in case anyone noticed. Laurie clapped excitedly, pushing up from her sled to give Madi a high five. Teagan pulled Evan across the finish line shortly after them. They may have come second, but they were both smiling broadly. Madi raced over to give them hugs, crashing into the two of them and nearly pulling them to the ground.

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