Page 39 of Insta Bride
It would be even easier to fall in love.
Of the other seven couples, only Staci and Tony were my friends. Sami could be okay in small doses. Georgia could either be sweet or phyco-bitch and I could never predict which one would greet me.
Campbell and Kenzie, on the other hand, never pretended to be sweet.
“Are we all here?” We heard JP ask the production team, only moving to the front when Bree gave the signal.
“Okay, ten days ago, we paired you up. Some of you have made it,” he said, looking around as if we were a crowd of ten thousand, instead of sixteen. “Others have left the island without finding love.”
His gaze rested on me, and I would have believed his smile to be genuine, a week ago. Now it served as a warning, “Elena, how’s loved-up coupledom with Kye?”
Campbell and Georgia sniggered.
“A lady never kisses and tells,” I replied sweetly. My problems with Kye were our business and I wasn’t prepared to spill the beans on camera.
“Is he everything you expected?” The innuendo was clear.
“Like I said, a lady never tells.” The squeeze from Kye rewarded my discretion. Neither of us wanted the others to know how bad things had gotten. Kye wanted to be the last couple standing. I didn’t want to be embarrassed at a public dumping.
“Kye,” JP turned his charm to my man. “Could you be more forthcoming? You and Elena were the last couple to move into a villa. How’s life?”
Kye raised my hand to his lips, and I let him, realizing the reason I enjoyed being a fake couple in public, was because I could give way to all my fantasies. I could allow myself to be loved up in public, because my heart was protected in private.
I enjoyed being loved by Kye, in public.
Then, behind closed doors, I could hold the moral high ground.We were becoming friends, but a line had been drawn down the middle of our bed, and Kye no longer tried to cross it.
“I’ve got absolutely no complaints,” Kye said, kissing me again. “Elena is a breath of fresh air.”
“More like a hurricane,” Kenzie spat out.
“Kenzie, I’m sensing you don’t approve?” JP was quick to take her bait.
“I think they’re so fake. I mean Kye could do so much better than her.”
“Hmm, that brings us to today’s challenge.” JP adopted his gameshow host persona. “If Kye can do so much better than Elena—your words, Kenzie—then who are we to stand in his way?”
“Not gonna happen, babe,” Kye whispered into my neck when I’d tensed. “You’re stuck with me.”
“Today, all couples have been dissolved.”
“Is this an individual challenge?” I asked, needing clarity. The whole purpose of the island was to be a couple.
“No. This is an opportunity for you to correct the record. You’ve all been paired up by our experts, but what if we got it wrong? Today, you’ll all experience a speed date with the other seven partners.
At the end, you will each silently and secretly write down who you would prefer to be paired with.”
I glanced over to Seb, who also looked my way. We would have been a natural fit. In hours spent talking poolside while Kye hung out with Benjamin and Harris, we’d talked about everything from politics to gardening.
Each of the women were sent off to different parts of the island, with the men rotated around us.
A sun lounger had been set up on the beach for me, with a shade protecting me from the harsh sun. A cooler box filled with beer, water and a fruit platter meant at least I had something to offer Matt when he arrived.
“Thanks,” he said, taking a beer. “But I’m gonna have to pace myself if you’re all gonna be offering me one of these.”
“So, you and Campbell. How’s it going?” With no intention of flirting with the other men, I decided to play journalist. Give them the opportunity to throw out sound bites about their relationship. Bree could thank me later.
“She’s feisty.”