Page 105 of The Summer Show
“Anything you need from us can wait until tomorrow.”
* * *
Nick took me back to his room. On the way there, I texted Ana to let her know I wouldn’t be back tonight. She sent back a winking emoji and one word.
Good.
Now that there was no risk of an audience, Nick and I took our time. And when we were done—again—he wrapped me up in his arms and held me to his chest like he finally had the one thing he’d been yearning for his whole life.
Truth be told, he was everything I ever wanted, too. My gut announced that Nick Merrick was The One, while my heart fluttered around my chest, waving its hands and freaking out.
Steroids, I tell you.
They were the reason I was sure I would never sleep tonight, and yet somehow I conked out in Nick’s arms, only to wake up hours later still coiled up against him, with my face stuck to his chest. Drool: nature’s glue.
“Sorry.”
He laughed and his whole chest rumbled as he brushed my hair back from my face. Strands of my hair were stuck to my cheek, too.
Over breakfast—thank you, room service—Nick delivered more details about how he’d gone to the show’s production team as soon as he stepped off the Athens-to-Nera ferry, prepared to persuade them not to go through with my mother’s wicked suggestions.
“They wouldn’t budge,” he said. “I even offered to give back every cent they’d paid me up until that point. They laughed and told me this whole season was destined to be ratings gold, thanks to us. Your mother’s ‘help’ gave them the perfect plan for the finale.” He rubbed his hand across his face. “I couldn’t stop them. I tried. Shit. The things I said to you … I’m sorry. I reacted instead of acting. All I could think about was them submitting you to burning books and you being absolutely terrified. I pictured you having another asthma attack and me not being able to save you. I couldn’t do that to you.”
I shook my head. “What you said to me … coming from you that hurt more than my own mother trying to use me to get followers.”
“In the moment, I didn’t know what else to say, any other way to shove you out of harm’s way. I panicked. I was scared, and I was wrong. The moment the words came out, I knew I’d screwed up. But I had to get you out of there.”
“Next time just tell me. Use your words, as I tell my students. That’s what words are there for.”
“I’m not that good with words, but … When I close my eyes, all I see is the look on your face. I wish I could take it back, but only thing I can do is promise that next time I’ll open my mouth and tell you what’s going on. I’m not defending what I said, but I’m swearing to communicate and never hurt you again.”
I blew out a long sigh. “My mother destroys everything she touches. The only time I’ve ever heard my father curse was when she was up to her usual shenanigans. But I need to hear you say it again, that you don’t mean the things you said.”
He folded my hands in his. “Not one single word of it was true. The day we were seated in the same row was the luckiest day of my life.”
The handsomest man I had ever laid eyes and hands on in my life looked contrite. He had hurt me and he knew it, and when his words came out, I believed him a hundred percent.
And if he screwed up again, his family’s women would whup him with wooden spoons and shoes.
“You get a free pass—this time. You deserve it. Especially since you braved literal heights for me.”
He hugged me tight on his lap. “I think I’m gonna be okay now. At least I can see where I will be, in time. I sent Bryan’s wife the money I’ve made from the show. She didn’t want to accept it, but I told her it wasn’t optional.”
“And when you win the grand prize?”
He shook his head. “Not going to happen, and whatever happens with GTH, I already found the best thing the show had to offer.”
Our phones buzzed at the same time.
“Well,” I said. “This is it. We get to find out who won. Are you ready?”
epilogue
The big winner of this season of Greece’s Top Hoplite was everyone who profited from the highest ratings in the show’s history. All of Greece and a chunk of Europe were invested in the romance between me and Nick Merrick, and they sat glued to their televisions and phones every week to watch our growing attraction.
By the time it aired, Nick and I were both back home in Oregon, spending our nights Netflix and chilling until the show’s finale aired.
Combined, we were the second-biggest winners. I’d like to say Mairi and the producers felt guilty about exploiting our trauma and declared us co-winners to compensate. That wouldn’t be true. What was true was that they pretended to feel deep, soul-crushing guilt about exploiting our trauma and declared us co-winners to compensate.