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“I was joking.” His expression makes me think he doesn’t believe me. “Did you eat?” I offer him a piece of my bacon. “Hey, you can’t refuse bacon. I almost got my brother with a fork when he stole some off my plate once.” Leo’s lips twitch, and he takes the bacon from me. “He’s a quick little shit. I missed, but he didn’t try it again.”
“If I had to get into cages with giant cats, I’d learn to be quick too.”
“Touché.” I laugh. “But we were only seven at the time. We weren’t allowed on the land then. Not many cages unless there is a medical issue or transfer.”
“Must have been interesting growing up the way you did.” I often forget how different my life has been from other people’s. It’s always been so normal to me.
“It was something my dad worried about actually. He thought he was keeping his own kids in cages, so he kicked us out.”
“He kicked you out?!” I giggle when I see the expression Leo is wearing. Even pissed, he manages to be sexy. I’m sure in part it’s his horror in thinking my father treated me wrong.
“That’s what we say when we tease him. That he kicked us out.” I shrug. “Really he made us go to college. Said we needed to see the rest of the world.” I have to admit it feels nice to open up to Leo. He makes it easy, and I hope that he’ll do the same with me.
“And how did that go?”
“I took extra classes so I could graduate faster. The city isn’t for me.” I’d been so pissed when Dad pushed us out into the world, but in the end, he’d been right. While I didn’t love college, attending made it clearer that I knew where I wanted to be.
“City is all I really know.” His offhand comment is a reminder of reality. Crazy since this is reality TV. Leo and I come from two very different worlds. Neither of us would enjoy the other’s.
“I thought city people liked people.”
“Right.” He chuckles.
“Hey,” someone calls before opening the tent door. Caral pops in. He’s one of the people on the production crew.
“You could wait for us to say enter,” Leo snaps.
“Am I really interrupting?” He nods to one of the cameras.
“What’s up?” I cut in before Leo can land another bite.
“We need everyone on the beach by ten. You can dress casually.”
“What are we doing?” I ask. “Will there be another competition for a room switch?”
“Not really allowed to say, but they want to mix people up today to hang out.” His eyes bounce between Leo and me.
“Okay.” I don’t care for his answer. I can tell Leo doesn’t either. He doesn’t speak again until Caral is gone.
“They’re going to try to ruffle my feathers and go out of their way to antagonize me.” Leo runs his hand down his face in frustration.
“What do you mean?”
“Provoke me. Get reactions from me.”
“Oh.” He’s right. “Put us with other people to see how we react.” Leo nods.
I think he’s right in part. They are going to try to provoke him. That’s what makes for good TV. Only I think they’re going to do it to me too. After all, I've already thrown verbal blows with Penelope.
I’ve been raised with cats, after all. We’re rather territorial.
CHAPTER 15
LEO
I need her. That’s really my only thought as I watch Quinn being led away by the other women to a small section of the beach that has been set up with lounge chairs and a longer table filled with snacks. The production crew is using food to lure people into interacting with each other, and it’s working. The women are allowed to get the food and then bring it to the man—or men—they want to talk to.
“You might want to rethink the angry face, brother,” suggests I-don’t-believe-in-leg-day Mason. “No one likes being around someone who scowls all the time.”
“You’d think tech guys would be more easygoing. It’s not like you have a hard job. You sit at a computer all day,” adds Ryan, the athlete. “You afraid someone is going to eat Quinn’s cookies?”
My vision turns black. I lunge forward. Ryan’s face is about to be shredded meat. Two sets of hands clamp down on each shoulder and haul me back.
“Hey, now, no physical contact outside of a game,” reminds Emile in a low-voiced whisper.
“The hell if I care.” I struggle against their hold. Ryan’s face is full of mockery and smugness on the other side of the unlit fire pit.
“You’ll get kicked out, and then Quinn will be here alone. I’m sure that’s not the outcome that you want,” Emile says.
I hate that he makes sense. I clench my jaw and jerk out of their grips. “Fine. I’ll behave.”
There has to be someplace on this island that there aren’t cameras, and when I find it, I’m dragging Ryan there by his scalp and beating him to a pulp.
