Chapter 62 Judgments and Bonfires
Judgments and Bonfires
Sloane
The bonfire crackles wildly in the middle of the clearing, but it’s not nearly enough to thaw the frost that’s settled over the couples.
If the first ceremony was a party, this one feels like a reckoning.
We’re all lined up, exhausted, smelling like burnt food, sawdust, and competitive stress.
Cohen stands behind me. He’s not holding my hand this time—he’s got both arms wrapped around my waist, his chin resting on my shoulder.
Aunt Tina climbs onto the stump she uses as her podium. Tonight, she’s not smiling. She looks like a principal about to hand out report cards after the entire class set the gym on fire. She’s wearing a massive fur ushanka and clutching the parchment of scores like it’s a death sentence.
“You were messy,” she begins without preamble. “You were chaotic. Some of you tried to poison us. Others destroyed expensive Swedish furniture.”
Her stern gaze sweeps across the semicircle, lingering on Daisy (who offers a guilty smile) and Brenda (whose mouth is a razor-straight line).
“But…” Tina’s face cracks into a wicked smile. “You made excellent television! And the points don’t lie. The leaderboard has been flipped.”
“Bring out the names!” Pedro croaks, swooping over our heads.
Tina unrolls the list.
“Let’s start from the bottom. And when I say bottom, I mean the abyss. In ninth place: our Fit-Fluencers, Chad and Kiki.”
She pauses dramatically. “Eighty points. Your tree was sad, and your dinner was a biological weapon. Kiki, sweetheart, fewer Instagram Lives and more… actual work.”
Chad doesn’t flex even once. Devastating.
“Eighth place… the Royals! Tiffany and Brent. Ninety points. Tiffany, elegance does not assemble furniture. And Brent… put the phone down or I will confiscate it.”
Tiffany shoots me a look that could freeze hell over. I blow her a kiss.
Cohen chuckles into my neck.
The ranking climbs quickly.
Bernie and Esther are seventh with 160 points—steady, adorable, unproblematic.
Then comes the danger zone.
Joe straightens, confidence radiating off him. He expects to be near the top. Of course he does. He’s “perfect.”
Tina draws out the next name, milking the suspense.
“In sixth place… dropping off the podium with a spectacular thud… JOE & SARAH.”
I feel Cohen’s whole body vibrate behind me.
Joe goes pale. “What?” he blurts, breaking ceremony etiquette.
“One hundred seventy-five points,” Tina announces mercilessly. “Your furniture was crooked and held together with tape. Your dinner was a tension bomb. And your tree… well, let’s call it ‘uninspired.’ You collapsed, kids.”
Sarah covers her face in humiliation. Joe stares into nothing, jaw flexing hard enough to crack.
When his eyes lock on mine, I see pure fury. The fury of someone who’s used to winning—or manipulating his way into winning—and is suddenly plummeting.
I don’t look away.
I hold his gaze.
Look at me, Joe.
Watch me win and tell me again who the weak one is.
“In fourth place,” Tina continues, unfazed by Joe’s meltdown, “our favorite saboteurs—brENDA & STEVE with 190 points! You won Tree Day, but that kitchen sabotage knocked you off the podium. Karma is real, Brenda, and she’s blonde and hosts a reality show.”
The podium.
Three couples remain.
Us.
Lucy and Lars.
Silas and Daisy.
“Bronze medal for the most spectacular comeback—SILAS & DAISY with 210 points! Daisy, you carried the kitchen challenge!”
Silas raises an arm in victory, exhausted but glowing.
Now it’s just us and the world’s sweetest couple.
Cohen tightens his hold. “This is it.”
“In second place…” Tina beams at Lucy. “With 355 points—the embodiment of consistency—Lucy & LARS.”
Lars turns beet red beneath his beard. It’s an insanely high score.
“And in FIRST place…”
Tina turns toward us.
Pedro caws triumphantly.
“They started fiery. They continued provocative. They nearly set the kitchen on fire and decorated a tree in total darkness better than you all do in daylight.”
She raises her voice, arms spread wide.
“With a monstrous total of 360 points, thanks to a rainstorm of Diva Bonuses and Fire Bonuses… OUR CAPTAINS—SLOANE AND COHEN!”
There’s no acting required—we both explode with real excitement.
I turn and throw my arms around Cohen’s neck. He lifts me off the ground, spinning me, and for a few dizzy, bright seconds, the world is nothing but blurred colors and his laugh against my cheek.
“Three-sixty,” he says, lowering me but not letting go. “Told you we’d win.”
“You’re insufferable,” I pant, laughing.
“I’m a winner. And I’m teamed up with the best.”
He winks—and as sexy and cocky as that is… it’s the other part that hits me.
I’m teamed up with the best.
It’s not the first time he’s said it.
He said it the day we made our deal too. That teaming up with me meant guaranteed victory.
My heart stutters.
Cohen has believed in me from the beginning…
We go to claim the giant marshmallow from Tina.
As we head back to our spot, I pass by Joe.
He’s livid.
“It’s just luck,” he hisses when I walk past.
I stop.
Cohen stops with me—towering, immovable.
“It’s not luck, Joe,” I say calmly. “It’s what happens when you focus on your partner instead of watching and provoking everyone else.”
Cohen doesn’t say a word.
He just slips a hand around my waist, claiming me in front of him—and everyone.
A gesture louder than any threat.
We roast the marshmallow in the victory fire.
It’s sweet, sticky, charred—perfect.
Cohen feeds me a piece, then licks his fingers with such intention I forget the cold, the game, the audience. And just like last time… he offers me his half.
“Let’s go,” he murmurs, voice rough. “I need to celebrate this win in a… private setting.”
I glance at the scoreboard glowing with our dominance.
At Joe, defeated in the shadows.
And at Cohen.
“Let’s go,” I whisper.
And as we walk toward our chalet, I realize the real challenge isn’t winning this show anymore.
The real challenge is surviving whatever’s happening between us without falling hopelessly in love with him.
Spoiler:
I think I already lost.
?? Love Goals – OFFICIAL LEADERBOARD (Week One) ??
Sloane & Cohen — 360 Heart Points ?? (Diva Bonuses for days!)
Lucy & Lars — 355 Heart Points (Barely missed the crown + aww points)
Silas & Daisy — 210 Heart Points ?? (The veterinarian and the hurricane rise!)
Brenda & Steve — 190 Heart Points (Saved by tree day)
Roxanne & Dave — 180 Heart Points
Joe & Sarah — 175 Heart Points ?? (Danger Zone)
Bernie & Esther — 160 Heart Points
Tiffany & Brent — 90 Heart Points
Chad & Kiki — 80 Heart Points