Chapter Twenty-One
To say that Amy was disappointed was an understatement.
To get that close to the final, to almost taste it with the tip of her tongue and then have it snatched away because she’d gotten distracted, was enough to make her want to hurl herself off a cliff.
She would’ve survived, of course, because it would be just a tiny little cliff.
And she might have done exactly that if it hadn’t been for Savannah.
Seeing Savannah in this clean, showered light was what Amy imagined it was like staring directly at Cleopatra.
Amy couldn’t take her eyes off her. Savannah’s golden hair hung in soft waves to her shoulders, and her skin was smooth and dewy.
She wore a ribbed cream tank top tucked into high-waisted olive-green pants that framed her lovely ass in such a way Amy found herself drooling.
“You know, Brenda was right,” Savannah said, leaning toward Amy. Her skin smelled like fresh coconut cream, and her lips were smeared with something glossy. Amy resisted leaning in the rest of the way.
They were standing backstage at the final Sending, waiting for the camera crew to finish tweaking the camera angles.
In a few minutes, the cameras would roll, and the last six players to be eliminated, making up the Final Council, would enter the clearing where Luna and Kate would already be nervously waiting.
“About what?” Amy frowned.
“About Kate winning this season,” Savannah replied. “Didn’t she say that if we didn’t get her out sooner rather than later, she’d end up beating us all?”
Amy did remember something along those lines.
“Are you voting for her? Is that who you decided on?” After twenty-four hours of pondering who to vote for—although most of that pondering was done under the covers of Savannah’s goose-down duvet or under the thatched pergola beside the villa’s infinity pool, and once in the back room of the glass-walled wine cellar off the main courtyard where they’d nearly gotten caught by Maya Lin taking an afternoon stroll—Amy was no closer to an answer.
Neither of them was, though in her heart of hearts, Amy knew it should be Luna.
Romance rivalry be damned, Luna earned it.
She’d convinced Amy to use the advantage on Ezra and Maya.
Some would say pulling on Amy’s fragile heartstrings was blackmail.
She’d created the Lake Alliance, and she’d even nearly gotten Amy and Savannah voted out because she’d publicly called them out for keeping that pastry buffet all to themselves.
“I don’t know yet,” Savannah said. “I guess I’m waiting to hear what they have to say.”
Amy licked a line across her lip and imagined a parallel world where she was standing on the other side of the room, still sweaty with dirt under her fingernails and her hair caked with mud, waiting to convince the Final Council she was worthy of the title.
But was she? Wasn’t her entire redemption arc built on a selfish, desperate craving for inspiration?
Hadn’t she come here because she was desperate to claw her way out of her writer’s block?
Didn’t that make her less worthy than everyone else out here?
“I think you should’ve won,” Amy said out of the blue.
“If we’d made it and were sitting out there instead of Kate and Luna, I’d want you to win.”
Savannah frowned and smiled at the same time. “What are you talking about?”
Amy turned her body to block off the others behind her.
Maya Lin was showing off her limited-edition Nike Air sneakers Simone Biles had apparently autographed.
Beside her, Avery was fidgeting with the spaghetti straps of her lavender halter top to keep them from sliding off her newly bony shoulders.
Three weeks of eating beans and rice had stripped ten pounds off her frame.
Ezra was telling Jade all about the citrus-marinated, pan-seared salmon she’d devoured last night.
When Amy was sure no one was listening, she leaned in and whispered, “You deserve it more than I do. You came into this game to actually play it, and I came here to get a plot for my new book. To cure my writer’s block. And—”
“And did you?” Savannah interrupted, stepping one foot closer.
She flicked her hair over her shoulder, and Amy was taken back to Barnes & Noble, to that tension-filled moment waiting in line.
If someone had told Amy back then that she might just fall in love with a line cutter, she would’ve gasped and had them institutionalized.
“It doesn’t matter,” Amy said, though she had a sneaky feeling that as soon as she got back to her laptop, words would seep out of her soul. “What matters is that I ruined your chance of winning when I let Luna into my head.”
“Oh, baby,” Savannah said. Her voice was so soothing it was like chamomile lotion on Amy’s regret wounds. “Don’t you get it? You didn’t ruin my chances of winning because, in some crazy way that I can’t explain, I didn’t lose.”
“You didn’t?” Amy asked as she searched Savannah’s face.
But if she was looking for bitterness, she couldn’t find a single drop.
The exact opposite. The warmth on Savannah’s face made Amy’s chest ache.
“So, you’re not upset? Because it’s okay if you are.
It really is. You don’t have to put on a brave face. ”
“I know we haven’t exactly had a chance to talk about it.
” That wasn’t entirely true. They’d had plenty of chances.
The problem was that every single one had ended with their mouths far too busy for talking.
Amy rushed on, her words tripping over one another.
“And I just want to make sure you don’t—”
“No,” Savannah muttered, a small yet undeniable smile curling the corner of her lips. “Of course I’m not upset about it. I only entered to prove a point to Abi anyway.”
Amy’s face must have shown her confusion. Who the hell was Abi? And why was this the first time Amy had heard about her? Suddenly Savannah’s hands were on Amy’s cheeks. “I won you,” she said, smiling. “That’s far better.”
A sudden heat bloomed right up Amy’s neck. She felt herself melting into Savannah’s touch. “I know that’s so cliché, but honestly, I can’t think of anything more rom—”
“Get a room, you two,” Maya Lin chimed in from behind Amy’s shoulder. “That’s easily the mushiest thing I’ve ever heard. We get it. You two are in love.”
Amy felt the air evaporate from her lungs.
What? Did Maya know? Did everyone else know too?
She risked a glance back at the others and felt a dizzying drop in her stomach.
Ezra was smirking at her. Avery had her skinny arms folded over her chest and a single eyebrow arched, and Jade was grinning so goofily she looked like a cartoon character.
“Do you ...” she started, but the rest of the words were too thick to get out of her mouth. She looked at Savannah for support, but the book critic looked just as shocked as she was.
“We’ve heard more than enough moaning to put two and two together,” Avery said with a lazy roll of her shoulders. “Specifically, around midnight.”
“The night of that bed reward,” Ezra added, leaning over to rest an arm on Maya Lin’s shoulder. “At first, I thought one of you was doubled over with stomach cramps. You know, from inhaling all those croissants.”
“But it became apparent it was not stomach pain,” Maya said. “The rhythm was too consistent.”
Oh goodness, this was mortifying. Amy didn’t know what to say. Except that they had tried really hard not to make much noise that night. Were they really that loud? “I’m so—”
“Embarrassed,” Savannah finished.
“Humiliated,” Amy added. Her cheeks were so hot they felt like they were on fire. She imagined she looked like a freshly boiled lobster and quickly fanned her face before they had to walk on set.
But it was too late.
“CAN THE FINAL COUNCIL PLEASE GET READY!” Elise called from over by the Jimmy Jib crane. Her blonde curls had more spring in them than a pogo stick. “WE’RE ON IN FIVE... FOUR... THREE...”
“Come on,” Savannah said, curling her arm around Amy’s waist.
Then, one by one, they walked out into the clearing.
The stage lights were so blinding that it took Amy several blinks to adjust her eyes.
Production had spared no expense. The usual clearing had been completely transformed.
There were tall iron sconces crackling with open flames along the perimeter.
Large pedestals were overflowing with orange Heliconia, deep magenta Cattleya orchids, and sweeping fronds of wild palm.
Giant, hand-coiled ceramic urns were piled high with quartz crystals that caught and reflected the stage light, and right in front of them in the center of the clearing, Luna and Kate sat on identical carved rosewood stools.
“Welcome to the Final Council,” Naomi said just as they all took their seats.
She was wearing a backless terracotta jersey gown and a gold collar necklace that made her look like a goddess.
“This game started with twelve contestants, and tonight there are only two left.” She gestured toward Luna and Kate, then focused on the Final Council.
“Tonight, the power lies in your hands,” she announced.
“You’ll hear their final arguments, dissect the game they played, and then decide who has earned the right to the title of Ultimate Outlast Her. ”
Amy’s skin broke out in goosebumps.
“Kate,” Naomi said. “You will get the first chance to make your case.”
You’d think production would’ve taken pity on Kate and done something about her hair. Or maybe they’d left her intentionally bedraggled to play up the heroine angle for the edit. She smoothed back the frizzy strands and focused her gaze on the Final Council.
“Thank you, Naomi,” Kate said with a voice that was softer and silkier than ever before.