Chapter Two
Sienna McKenzie had never been good with first impressions. Or second or third ones either. But this morning she’d really outdone herself.
“Let me go get you some ice,” Elise blurted, already backing away. The horror on her face told Sienna everything she needed to know. There was either an egg-shaped lump on her forehead or there was blood. And lots of it.
She dropped the arm she had extended for the second time to greet Vivian, who, by the way, seemed frozen in shock.
The woman’s lips were parted, her shoulders were drawn tight, and her eyes were big, bulging orbs of white and blue.
Sienna reached up to her forehead with her other hand, praying it wasn’t as bad as it felt.
When her fingers came away slick and red, she winced.
Not because of the pain, though her head was starting to throb, but rather the humiliation.
Not only had she just forehead-planted in front of the Vivian fucking Michaels, but she also had to face the ten contestants later with a literal head wound.
“I can’t believe that happened,” Sienna said when the silence became unbearable. Why the hell was Vivian not saying anything? “I’m so embarrassed.”
Blood was now trickling down her cheek.
Her fingers instinctively brushed at it, but that only made it worse. Where was she supposed to wipe her sticky, bloody hands? On her white dress? And where were the staff? Why hadn’t anyone brought her a fluffy white towel she could ruin?
Vivian finally blinked. “Damn,” she muttered, shaking her head. “That was so bad. How are you standing?”
“Adrenaline,” Sienna offered weakly, trying to laugh, to make a joke of it, but honestly, the only thing it did was make her head pound even harder.
Elise came rushing back, clutching a bright red metallic box. “It’s got antiseptic, Band-Aids, butterfly strips. Oh goodness, Sienna, there’s so much blood.”
Vivian took the box from her and flipped open the latch. She turned toward Sienna, who was standing in a daze, dripping blood down her cheek and possibly even to the floor, and stepped right up to her.
“I can do that myself,” Sienna said and was about to reach for the first aid kit because that sounded like the most reasonable thing to do, but then Vivian was right there with her fingers on Sienna’s chin. It all happened so fast and so unexpectedly. Sienna let out a tiny, pitiful gasp.
“It’s just a small cut,” Vivian said with her eyes on Sienna’s forehead.
She didn’t even need Sienna to tilt her head down to see better because Vivian was at least a head taller.
Which meant Sienna had a perfect view of Vivian’s neck.
And she had a lovely neck. But also, lovely breasts.
Her blouse left them exposed, and Sienna felt unexpectedly grateful.
She was just about to smile at the view when Vivian said, “Doesn’t look deep.
The head has a ton of blood vessels so there’s always more blood than one would expect. ”
Sienna shut her eyes tightly.
“Are you sure?” Elise asked, hovering.
“I’m sure,” Vivian said. “But let’s wait for Maurine to get here, just in case.”
Sienna blinked her eyes open. “Maurine?” The name sounded familiar, but she couldn’t quite pinpoint it in her muddled brain.
Besides, Vivian was still standing close, and now that the smell of the lobby had dulled to the background, all Sienna could notice was the faintly floral scent of Vivian’s perfume.
“Maurine’s the travel doctor,” Elise said. “She’s been with the show for years, but this is the first time she’s had to do any sort of work on the first day.”
Sienna felt extremely guilty but then also unsurprised. It was just like her to trip over literally nothing. She was about to apologize for being a nuisance, maybe even crack a joke to soften her embarrassment, but then something cool and damp pressed against her skin.
Only then did she realize Vivian had pulled a damp antiseptic wipe from the kit and was dabbing gently at the cut. Sienna’s stomach did a weird little flip, and she forgot all about the pain.
“Okay,” Vivian said after a beat, stepping back. “I’ve put a butterfly strip on it. That should do it for now. But you should probably go wash off all that blood before you attract a predator. I swear I heard a lion earlier.”
Sienna laughed. Vivian did not.
Wait, is she serious? Sienna thought.
“Well,” Elise said, tugging a curl behind her ear before three others fell into her face.
“How about I show you where you’ll be staying?
” She glanced back to the lobby where two women in beige uniforms were huddled around a silver tray of drinks.
“They usually have someone do it, but I wanted to show you around so we can get to know each other a little better.”
Something in her voice told Sienna that wasn’t the case.
Which made sense, considering what happened on the last two seasons of The Sapphic Match.
Elise was the executive producer. Without her, the entire show wouldn’t exist. As far as Sienna understood, this little powwow was less about welcoming her and more about gauging whether Sienna was going to do anything stupid that might threaten the reputation of the show.
Would being eaten by a lion count? Considering how things had started, she wouldn’t be surprised if it ended with a life-threatening tussle with the king of the jungle.
“Great,” Sienna said, forcing a smile.
“This way,” Elise said, already walking toward the start of the wooden boardwalk that joined the tented suites to the main lodge deck.
Sienna followed. She touched her forehead gingerly and realized she hadn’t thanked Vivian for helping.
She glanced back over her shoulder to do just that, but the spot where Vivian had stood moments earlier was empty.
Just like that, she was gone. Sienna’s chest tightened for half a second.
But then Elise, who was walking briskly for someone with such short legs, called for her, and that disappointment disappeared.
“This is yours,” Elise said, grinning when they reached a wide canvas tent nestled beneath a thorn bush. “It’s bigger than the contestants’ tents. That’s one of the perks of being the star. And don’t worry, all the tents have air conditioning. This African heat is next level.”
Sienna was grateful. She wasn’t much of a camper.
Not that she didn’t get the appeal. There was something romantic about the idea of sitting under the stars with a crackling campfire.
But in reality, she’d be the one who forgot to zip the tent and wake up with a thousand mosquito bites in the morning.
Or she’d trip over the tent rope and take the entire thing down like a wrecking ball.
She’d learned a long time ago that people like her—clumsy and easily distracted—were better off watching camping from a safe distance.
At least this tent appeared sturdy.
“It’s gorgeous, right?” Elise said, her gaze sweeping the room. She stood with her hands on her hips and a smile on her face. The walkie-talkie clipped to her back pocket crackled to life, and a jumble of voices overlapped all at once.
“It is,” Sienna agreed, taking it all in.
There was a king-sized bed with crisp white linen dominating the center.
A soft honey-colored throw was tossed casually over the end.
Two rattan chairs flanked a teak table with a lamp sitting on top of it.
To the side, a bathroom glimmered with polished stone countertops, a freestanding copper tub, and a walk-in shower with a rainfall-style showerhead that made her knees weak.
Sienna McKenzie appreciated a good shower.
She spun around, taking it all in: the tiny brass hooks shaped like elephant trunks, the handwoven rug, a vintage trunk at the foot of the bed with towels folded into an origami elephant, and a tall potted fig tree in one corner.
“I know it’s hot, but let’s sit outside,” Elise said, gently tugging at her elbow.
They stepped through the large glass doors onto a square deck.
Two wicker chairs with rust-colored cushions sat facing the bushveld that rolled in front of them like a live painting.
Golden grass swayed in slow motion, clusters of acacia trees dotted the landscape, and a herd of impalas grazed in the distance.
It was a view right out of those nature documentaries narrated by the legend that was David Attenborough. Except now she was living it.
“Wow,” Sienna breathed, sinking into one of the wicker chairs.
“That’s the boma over there,” Elise pointed to a circular stone pit before she turned to Sienna and asked, “So, what made you sign up for the show?”
It was a question Sienna knew she would ultimately get asked again, probably during a one-on-one date. She answered as honestly as she could. “I got tired of being alone.”
She left out the part where her mother had sent her the casting link ‘just for fun’ and how Sienna had applied after three glasses of wine she’d finished before Bridget Jones even had time to listen to the song All by Myself in her pajamas.
Or how she’d completely forgotten about it until the producers called her six weeks later.
“I wanted to try something different,” she went on. “I wasn’t meeting anyone in the conventional way, and even dating apps were beginning to feel too predictable. So, I thought, why not try this out? Why not find love in some extravagant way?”
Elise seemed satisfied.
She nodded and stood up. “Well, I’ll let you get settled.” Then she raised a finger to her forehead. “And as soon as Maurine gets here, I’ll send her over to you.”
Sienna thanked her. She watched Elise disappear into the tent and heard the front door click shut behind her.
Then the silence hit. A buzzing kind of silence with the sounds of cicadas and the high-pitched whine of something winged. She sank lower into the wicker chair with her hands pressed flat against her thighs while her stomach fluttered unpleasantly.
She felt sick. Maybe she had a concussion. Actually, she most certainly had a concussion. A glossy bug landed on her knee. She was about to flick it off when the sudden realization of what she was doing in the bushveld finally settled in like the heat.
“I can’t believe this is real,” she muttered to herself.