“It’s a pleasure.” Valerie grinned.
Adrienne rolled her eyes. “If I had known you’d be nicer to me, I would’ve kissed you ages ago. Maybe even aboardThe Valentine. Maybe then you would’ve fixed my Wi-Fi faster.”
Before she could stop herself, Valerie let out a laugh so loud she heard it ricochet off the craggy rocks behind them. But instead of snapping her head back to camp to check if someone had heard, an image landed in her head. An image of Adrienne kissing her in the lower-deck cinema room ofThe Valentine. Or the eucalyptus-scented steam room. Or to Jess’ shock, if she ever found out, in the dry store pantry where the smell of vanilla pod paste covered absolutely everything. And the image only landed so easily because she’d imagined it all before. Multiple times.
“Well, I wouldn’t have let you kiss me,” she teased. Though that wasn’t the truth at all. She absolutely would’ve. “So, there’s that.”
Adrienne laughed a little too loudly, and Valerie pushed herself up.
“Come,” she said, yawning. “We should get some rest. Tomorrow there’ll be another reward challenge, and I want to win this time.”
Adrienne looked as if she wanted to protest. She always looked like she wanted to argue the last word out of everything. Instead, she exhaled dramatically into the night sky and hopped down from the rock. “Fine.”
“EVERYONE READY TO HEARwhat the reward is?” Vivian called from the beach while all ten competing contestants were positioned on squares just beyond the breakers. Isla stood off to the side near Vivian, arms folded against the wind, watching from the shore. As the ghost, she couldn’t compete until the next Sending. The next challenge was an endurance challenge, and although Valerie was accustomed to pushing her body to the limit, even she had to admit that this challenge sucked.
“YES!” she shouted, but not nearly as enthusiastically because she was too busy concentrating on maintaining her balance. Each square was bolted to a marine foam pontoon to keep it buoyant and anchored to the seabed to prevent it from drifting off. But that didn’t make them stable. On the contrary, the wooden squares rose and dipped with the push of the sea, and if Valerie were prone to seasickness, she’d have painted her square with stomach acid two minutes ago.
“The winners of this challenge will experience an afternoon of pure luxury at the Overlook Spa,” Vivian continued. “We’retalking deep-tissue massages, mud facials, and a spread of buttery grilled lobster, fresh watermelon salad, and limoncello spritzers.”
UGH! The reward was worth the suffering. A spa day. Valerie had always wanted to win the spa reward, and it seemed Adrienne did too, because she was moaning like a woman stranded in the desert being shown a glass of ice water. Which, in a way, was true.
“Oh please, Val,” Adrienne muttered, her voice almost pleading. No, it was definitely pleading. The look she gave Valerie was utterly desperate. “I might die if we don’t win this reward.”
“Alright, contestants,” Vivian said before Valerie could reassure her that she’d do her best. “Take your positions.”
Valerie stared down at the two small pegs on opposite sides of the square that they were supposed to stand on and balance. Cursing whoever thought up this challenge, she exhaled, engaged her core, and pushed herself upright. Then she carefully slid her left foot, then her right, onto the narrow pegs and kept her arms out for balance. Immediately, her calves locked up, and adrenaline rushed through her veins. Standing like that, split-legged over the open water with nothing to hold on to made her body feel like a human tuning fork. She was literally vibrating with every tilt of the ocean. How on earth were they supposed to do this?
“EVERYONE READY?” Vivian shouted over the rising wind. Of course, the wind was coming up just as the challenge started. “AND THE CHALLENGE STARTS NOW!”
Valerie squeezed her toes onto the pegs and focused on a spot on the square that looked just like a rusty old anchor. If she could just lock her eyes onto it, she could pretend this was easy.
All of a sudden there was a shriek, then the sound of splashing water. Out of the corner of Valerie’s eye, she spotteda head emerge from the surface, but before she could figure out who had just fallen, Tamera’s arms windmilled aggressively, and bam, she fell chin-first into the sea.
It didn’t stop there. Contestants were dropping like flies. Stevie simply vanished off the side of hers, disappearing out of Valerie’s line of sight. Valerie didn’t dare whip her head around to look for her. And then Safiya screamed as her foot slipped off the peg. Her hip hit the side of the square first before she landed in the water. Right next to her, Sienna didn’t even make a peep as she tipped over sideways, and then somehow her splash sent an extra wave tumbling over to Carmen’s square, because the next minute Carmen was down.
“SIX CONTESTANTS ARE OUT BEFORE THE CHALLENGE EVEN STARTED!” Vivian called, looking absolutely delighted. “ADRIENNE, VALERIE, AMY AND HALLIE ARE THE ONLY ONES LEFT.”
How could Amy, the librarian, still be one of the ones standing? Valerie bit down hard and focused. She wanted that reward not just for herself, but for Adrienne too. After The Sending, Adrienne needed a pick-me-up.
Valerie caught herself. Was she seriously hoping to win this reward for Adrienne? The same woman who had messed with the fate of her game, the same woman who would probably throw Valerie under a bus at the chance of winning.
The answer, shockingly, was yes.
“TEN MINUTES DOWN!” Vivian called.
Only ten minutes? Valerie was struggling. Her foot was going to cramp any minute, and her calves were screaming. Not to mention the sweat was tracking a salty path down her nose, but she couldn’t scratch it because her arms were locked out to the side. She risked a glance to her left, expecting Adrienne to be in tears, but instead, Adrienne was staring at the beach, her eyes terrifyingly focused. She didn’t wobble. She didn’t even flinchwhen a spray of water splashed in her face. In fact, she looked remarkably solid.
“JEEPERS!” Amy cried as she went down with a splash.
Valerie caught sight of her swimming toward shore and prayed Hallie would go down as well. And soon, that near cramp in her foot wasn’t just impending anymore. She could feel the tiny muscles of her feet protesting in pain.
“ADRIENNE, HALLIE AND VALERIE!” Vivian barely had the words out before Valerie felt a wave swell beneath her square.
Then her foot seized up, and her balance evaporated completely. With an exasperated gasp, she tipped backward and hit the water like a heavy anchor. The only relief was that the cramp had gone. She spluttered to the surface and immediately jerked her head toward Adrienne’s platform. Adrienne was still up. Ha! Who would’ve thought?
“You’ve got this,” Valerie muttered. “You’re doing amazing.” She didn’t wait for Adrienne to answer before she swam back to shore. She didn’t want to break her concentration. Once she’d dragged herself onto the pebbled beach, Sienna patted a spot beside her. “I’m shocked Adrienne is still in it. I honestly thought she’d be the first to drop.”
“Me too,” Tamera muttered grimly.
