Page 65 of Lights, Camera, Love

Cheryl led the whoops and hollers in volume, but the rest of us clapped along politely.

“Last night, the crew brought up a new bed to help house our new participants, and we know you’ll make them feel just as welcome as you’ve made each other feel.”

Trying not to snort, I looked among my housemates. Diego caught my eye, and I found him staring directly at me with a challenge in his gaze.

The sound of a motor tore my attention from Diego. Looking out at the water, a boat emerged from the other side of the cove, and the sound grew louder as it slipped around the edge of the small bay.

A fancy white boat was motoring toward the dock, and a beautiful brunette waved her arms and cheered from the top deck. We all picked up the mantle and started cheering as well.

The only one not cheering was Zander. He was staring at the boat in disbelief. Viv looked up at him curiously but kept clapping.

The boat docked, and one of the crew members helped the new girl onto solid ground.

“Everyone,” Troy started, “this is Nicoletta. She’s a new face for most of you, but she is known to our resident athlete, Zander. In fact, they used to date.”

The clapping slowly stalled as the words landed, shocking us, as the producers had no doubt intended. A quick look at Zander told me he was unhappy about this new development. I reached over and rubbed a hand on his arm while Viv hugged him tighter, as if staking her claim in front of his ex.

The producers couldn’t get enough of this whole bringing up the past thing, could they?

First, they’d brought in all the girls’ exes, and now we had the former flames from the guys. What a disaster. Only on reality TV, amirite?

Nicoletta took her spot beside Troy and blew a kiss at Zander, who just gripped Viv tighter to his side. She perused the other guys, her eyes snagging on Diego for a second too long.

Jess whispered from the side into her walkie-talkie that they could proceed with the next boat. Identical to the first, it came around the cove, and another woman was standing on the deck, cheering and looking over at us collected on the dock as we hesitantly clapped. I didn’t think any of us were looking forward to the other two arrivals now.

I couldn’t tell whose ex she was or if she was even an ex because everyone was still clapping, and no one looked like someone had pulled the rug out from under them.

The woman who looked like sunshine incarnate had an athletic build, like she had just jumped off the pages of a surfing magazine. She wore a neoprene one-piece, and her long, probably naturally blonde hair was arranged in perfect beach waves.

Once docked, Troy gestured over to the new girl. “Housemates, this is Julie—Oliver’s ex.”

Julie hopped from the boat and onto the dock without the help of the crew member waiting beside the boat.

She was tanned and gorgeous and looked like she could finish a triathlon with perfect hair and makeup in place. Her green eyes were vivid, even from a distance, as she smiled at all of us and stood next to Nicoletta and Troy.

Once again, Jess signaled on her walkie-talkie, and the sound of a motor crept up on us.

My brain blanked as the boat came into view, and a dark-haired, tattooed, big guy stood on the deck in black board shorts and a black tank top—looking, for all intents and purposes, like a biker on vacation.

Fucking hell.

I tried to keep my face blank as I took it all in. Aaron moved to stand beside me and took my hand in his, gripping it hard.

After the whole week of Oliver avoiding eye contact with me, I turned in time to see him staring at me with sadness in his gaze. We’d talked about my past with Ryan and how it affected me the days after his last appearance on our little island. He knew how hard this was going to be for me, and he knew just how painful this might actually become. Especially considering Ryan’s last interaction here, when he acted like a caveman in front of the cameras and my housemates.

Of course, they brought him back to the island. He made for good TV no matter what it did to me.

For the first time, voluntarily leaving the island became an attractive option.

Aaron’s hand gripping mine was the only thing anchoring me. Well, that and my stupid determination to see things through. I'd made myself a promise when I got here that I wouldn’t quit halfway through. The producers were playing games, but that didn’t mean I had to play along.

“Our last new addition,” Troy said, “is Sophie’s ex, Ryan. You might remember him from the first challenge, and how could we not ask him back? There’s clearly some unfinished business there.”

I glared at Troy, keeping my eyes off Ryan, as the boat reached the dock. I knew it wasn’t his choice. It all came down to the producers, but it didn’t help with my anger.

Ryan hopped from the boat onto the dock and landed so hard it shook under his feet. And if the Jurassic Park-like tremor didn’t foreshadow what was coming, the following words out of his mouth surely did.

“Hello, Sophie. Ready to stop playing games?”

---