Lost Without You (28 page)

Chip laughed. “Okay, I get it. No more shows.”

Zoe snuggled into his side and kissed him on the cheek while everyone else carried on about how strange it would be to go on another show and how they were completely over even entertaining the idea in the future.

“It was a good idea, sweetheart,” she whispered for his ears only, “but it's never going to happen.”

He gazed into the eyes of the woman who had always held his heart in her hand, even when she didn't know it.

The woman he never thought he'd get to share his life with.

“Never say never.”

Heather Thurmeier was born and raised in the Canadian prairies, but now she lives in upstate New York with her own personal romance hero (aka her husband) and their two little princesses. When she's not busy taking care of the kids and an adventurous puppy named Indy, Heather's hard at work on her next romance novel. She loves to hear from her readers.

Heart, humor, and a happily ever after.

Website:
http://heatherthurmeier.com

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Paige Anderson stood on the outskirts of the staging area under a clear blue sky trying her best not to hurl on her new hiking boots. She'd made a mistake. She didn't stand a chance against teams like Mr. Muscles and Friend — Team Everest, according to the official game team names — or any of the others for that matter.

Speaking of Mr. Muscles, every time she glanced his way — which seemed to be more and more often — she'd catch him staring at her when he was supposed to be engaging in conversation with his teammate. This time when her eyes caught his, she noted his subtle eyebrow raise and a tiny smirk pulling up the corners of his mouth. Combine that with his light brown hair and sun-kissed skin, and it was hard to look away. Not to mention a little twinkle of something interesting in his dark chocolate eyes she couldn't quite pinpoint but found incredibly intriguing nonetheless. She tried to look away but it was difficult when Mr. Muscles stood there with his arms folded across his chest, biceps bulging against his thin cotton t-shirt.

Poor material doesn't stand a chance.

She swallowed the sudden urge to comfort the pathetic t-shirt that looked as if it were a single pushup away from tearing and forced her eyes to keep moving. She couldn't enjoy the man-candy competition fully while her own teammate was still MIA.

Where the hell was Cassidy? She should have arrived yesterday or the day before like everyone else, and yet Paige hadn't heard from her. Nor had Cassidy answered any of the texts or voicemails she'd left before the show's producer Chip had confiscated her phone. How were they supposed to survive on an adventure show if they couldn't even communicate their whereabouts before the show started?

Cassidy and Paige had become fast friends the year before while on a different reality show — one where they'd both vied for a bachelor's attention, along with eight other women. Out of all the women on the show, Cassidy was the nicest and most beautiful and it came as no surprise to Paige when not only the bachelor, but also a cameraman, had fallen in love with Cassidy during the show.

Of course, Paige hadn't made it anywhere near the finale with bachelor Brad. Nope. She'd been sent packing at the third elimination — humiliated and crushed.

Thank God this wasn't another dating show. No chance of major televised rejection to tarnish the experience. No sexy bachelor to distract her and Cassidy from winning the money and prizes.

Her eyes flickered back to Mr. Muscles again as if to prove her theory wrong right from the start. Damn. He was built to climb mountains. She'd like to climb his mountain.

Yeah, right. In my dreams.

Paige let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding when she spotted Evan, Cassidy's new fiancé, chatting with a few other cameramen. If Evan was here, that had to mean Cassidy was here too. And when Paige finally found her, Cassidy would get a solid reminder about how you're supposed to tell your friend and teammate that you've arrived in one piece so said teammate doesn't worry.

“Gather around everyone,” Chip Cormack, the show's producer said, waving the contestants over. “In a few moments we'll start filming. After a brief introduction by our host, Spencer Daley, the competition will begin. Now is your last chance to ask any questions you might have after reading the information packet you were provided.”

He paused and looked around the group as if he expected an immediate outburst of questioning to begin. No one said a thing. The packet of information had been very thorough. A list of dos and don'ts for the show, legal obligations and warnings, and health waivers had basically covered everything you could imagine.

Except for one thing still weighing on Paige's mind: What to do if your partner is a no-show.

The main reason Paige stood here to begin with was to spend time with Cassidy doing something fun. Well, that and she really wanted a little time away from the chaos awaiting her back home. Seemed every single guy in a fifty-mile radius of her house had seen her get kicked off
The One
and each claimed to be her perfect man. How could she have a perfect man when she felt like a walking rejection? The bachelor Brad on
The One
hadn't wanted her, so why would any of these other guys?

Cassidy always knew the right thing to say to cheer her up, make her feel more confident, and send her on the right path again — exactly what she needed right now.

Of course, she needed Cassidy to actually show up before any of that could happen.

She cautiously raised her hand, reverting back to her Catholic school days of ornery nuns who didn't take kindly to children who spoke out of turn.

“Yes, Paige.” Chip smiled one of his famous smiles that could make any woman agree to just about anything, including being on another reality show when she'd sworn she wouldn't be caught dead on television again. Ever.

“Um.” She swallowed, her throat feeling dry as all eyes turned toward her. “My partner hasn't shown up yet. Is that a problem?”

“We'll get to that soon.”

Not quite the response she expected considering he'd said they would start filming in a few minutes. Maybe he'd seen Cassidy and knew she was on her way here. That had to be it.

“If there are no other questions, then I think it's time we get started. I'd like to see each of the teams standing together in their groups of two.” Chip turned his attention to the camera crew. “Guys, you can take your places with your team now.”

Paige glanced around feeling her nervousness escalate. All around her, teams formed, looking eager to get started. She stood alone, quivering in her hiking boots and cursing Cassidy. Her gaze landed on Evan as he took his place a few feet to the left, pointing his camera at her.

“Where the hell is your fiancée?” she asked in a stern whisper as she applied a fresh coat of mint lip balm. In about five seconds she was really going to lose her calm façade and start to panic.

“She'll be here. Don't worry,” he said, a silly grin breaking his otherwise calm demeanor.

Great. Evan was laughing at her and the show hadn't even started yet. Awesome.

She turned away from his stupid grin and focused instead on Chip who was now standing with Spencer Daley, the host of the show, talking in a hushed voice. Just behind them, movement from one of the production trailers caught her attention. The door to the trailer opened and out stepped Cassidy.

The butterflies in Paige's stomach calmed to a flutter instead of a full on frenzy at the sight of her friend walking toward her. Finally, she wouldn't be standing alone like a chump anymore. She'd have a partner by her side like everyone else.

She waved Cassidy over. Cassidy returned a weak smile, but instead of coming to stand beside Paige, she joined Chip.

Maybe she needs to explain why she's so late to the filming.

Cassidy chatted with Chip for a few minutes, darting tiny glances back at Paige and Evan. Although a spark of nervousness flashed across Cassidy's face, she looked calm and happy. In fact, she looked radiant. Her hair fell down her back in giant waves; her light tunic-style blouse flowed loosely over her body, except for where she held her hand to her stomach.

I hope she's not ill.
Starting a competition like this — one promising to be high-energy with tests of endurance — would be difficult if sick with a stomach bug.

Come to think of it. Cassidy's outfit, complete with leggings and ballet flats, didn't look at all like what the other competitors were wearing. Certainly she didn't go with Paige's Lycra yoga tank top, slim-fit jeans with just the right amount of stretch in them to make it possible to actually do more than stand still and look cute, and pristine hiking boots, fresh out of the box and laced tightly up to her ankles.

Paige stepped toward Cassidy to find out what exactly was going on, but before she could, Chip held up his hand to quiet the bit of talking that had started amongst the teams.

“If I can have your attention again, please. We're ready to begin. Camera crew, it's time to start recording. So without further ado, here is your host for the show, Spencer Daley.” Chip clapped as Spencer turned on his television-worthy smile and waved at everyone to stop fussing over him even though he clearly enjoyed every second.

“Welcome, everyone, to the first season of
Treasure Trekkers
, the show that will have you racing for treasures in caches hidden around the New York metropolitan area as well as the lower Hudson Valley.” He paused to smile for the camera a moment before continuing on. “You never know what surprise you'll find in the next cache. Perhaps you'll find money, or a fantastic trip for two. Maybe you'll even find the keys to a new car!”

The contestants cheered. Even Paige who was normally pretty quiet and reserved cheered at the idea of being able to win really awesome prizes along the way without having to win the whole show. Even with Cassidy as her teammate, the chances of winning the adventure show were pretty slim for two girls who weren't exactly athletic or outdoorsy. Winning a few prizes could go a long way to making Paige more comfortable in life. Her salary as a freelance graphic artist covered the bills, but little else. But at least she could take time off whenever she wanted.

“Speaking of surprises, we're starting off the show with a big one.” Spencer motioned for Cassidy to come and stand beside him instead of off to the side where she had been next to Chip. “I'm sure most of you have already noticed that one of our teams of two is currently a team of one. But not for long.”

Paige felt her insecurity creeping up into her cheeks. She hated being the center of attention. Why had she ever agreed to come on this new show? Was a free trip, an interesting experience, and time spent with her good friend really worth all this?

Spencer gestured to her. “Paige has been patiently waiting for her teammate to show up and here she is with me. Cassidy, why don't you tell everyone why you're here with me instead of over there with your teammate.”

Cassidy glanced around the small gathering, smiling as she found the spot where Evan stood filming. Then her eyes met Paige's quickly before settling back on Spencer. “Well, um, there's been a little change of plans.”

What change of plans? No one spoke to me about any changes and I've been here all day.

“I was supposed to run the race with Paige.” Cassidy caught Paige's gaze again, her expression clearly apologetic for what she was about to say. “But I'm sorry. I can't run the race with you.”

Can't run the race? I can't run it alone.

“And why is that?” Spencer asked even though he absolutely had to already know the answer. But America didn't and neither did Paige.

How? Why? What could possibly make it okay for Cassidy to think she could abandon Paige at the last minute like this? Her chest tightened at the thought of having to run it alone. Or drop out before they even started.

Damn. Getting voted out in the third round on
The One
was bad enough, but now she was about to be kicked off in the first episode of a show where everyone was supposed to compete until the end. This wasn't fair.

Cassidy looked away from Paige and back to Evan, a smile coming to her lips. “Because I'm pregnant.”

Tears instantly pricked Paige's eyes. Pregnant? Okay, that was a pretty damn good reason not to run a possibly dangerous race. Without thinking, Paige took the few steps separating her from her friend and wrapped Cassidy in a hug.

“A baby? And you didn't tell me,” she teased.

Cassidy nodded. “We just found out. I'm so sorry, Paige. I was really looking forward to running the race with you.”

Paige stepped back from Cassidy. “Don't be silly. We can't have you putting a tiny Cassidy/Evan baby in danger for some stupid show.”

“Hey now.” Spencer laughed. “The show is anything but stupid.”

“You know what I mean,” Paige said, brushing off Spencer's comment and focusing only on her friend — her pregnant and engaged friend. Tears blurred her vision. “I'm just so happy for you both.”

“I wanted to tell you right away, but once I told Chip I couldn't do the show anymore, he forced me to wait to announce it here.”

“And now that you have made this wonderful announcement, the show must go on,” Spencer said, nudging Paige back to her spot. He gave a huge smile to Cassidy. “On behalf of the production company, congratulations and we wish you well with everything.” And with that, he motioned for Cassidy to step out of frame.

“The show must go on and go on it will. But not with Paige as a solo team.”