Chapter 1 #2
I school my features so that I look as unaffected as Colton. Perfect, poised, unbreakable. A look perfected by every Downing that ever grew from his family tree.
“Shannon, y’all couldn’t have found me a better partner. If anyone knows how to sabotage, it’s Colton Downing.” I see the tiniest break in Colton’s features, and my smile widens at my reference to an event from nearly a decade ago that he and I know all too well.
Oblivious to the virtual daggers Colton and I are hurling at each other, Shannon continues to talk about how, as partners, Colton and I will be expected to work together to complete all the challenges on the island, because, after all, if we win, each of us will be bringing home $500,000 in prize money.
And even though Shannon referring to us as partners makes me want to go deep-sea fishing using Colton as bait, I keep my perfectly sunny smile intact.
No, not even Colton will ruin my chances of winning this game.
For years, I’ve had my eye on buying The Red Curtain—a beautiful red-brick building in the heart of Pine Lakes.
It was built in the 1940s as both a theatre and a community center.
Half the building is a fully functional theatre with a stage, and the other half is a long hallway with several large rooms. Over the years, it’s served as host to many plays, council meetings, and was even a temporary school at one point.
But then the new Pine Lakes City Center was built, which included its own theatre and community center, and now, it’s only a matter of time before The Red Curtain gets bulldozed for some fast-food chain restaurant.
But I can’t let that happen.
The Red Curtain practically became my home when my real home was ripped away from me at the ripe old age of fourteen.
It was at The Red Curtain that I took my first steps into the pageant world, gained back my confidence, and finally saw something in myself worth rooting for.
And it’s there that I’ve taught as a pageant coach for the past three years.
And now that the owner is ready to sell, I know deep in my bones that The Red Curtain is meant to be the home of Something to Glow About.
My eyes flick up to the small rectangular screen framing Colton’s face.
Shannon is rattling through the logistics of all that will happen in the next three weeks leading up to the show; all the while, Colton dutifully nods along to everything she says like a bobblehead on the dash of a monster truck.
Watching Colton on the screen triggers an unwelcome thought, one I get so lost in that I can hardly grasp a word Shannon says. What in the world am I going to do if this partnership turns into a dumpster fire?
Feeling anxious, I finger the simple silver bracelet on my left wrist. The tiny strand gets rubbed raw as I mull over the facts before me.
Fact number one: I am so broke, I aspire to be a poor church mouse. That isn’t to say I haven’t loved my job as a pageant coach, but the pay covers groceries, rent, and not much else.
Fact number two: I did not qualify for a bank loan to purchase The Red Curtain, which makes me currently broke and loan-less.
Fact number three: In order to remedy facts one and two, I need to win $500,000 ASAP—even if that means being Colton’s partner.
Fact number four: I hate Colton.
“It was great talking to you both. And I look forward to seeing you on Sabotage Island.” Shannon’s voice feels too bright for how I feel.
After a forced smile and a chipper goodbye, I snap the laptop shut and bury my head in my hands, accidentally smearing lip gloss on my palms.
There is utter silence in the room for three whole seconds before Ji, Miles, Paige, and Jordan burst the quiet bubble. I’m not sure who says what, but there are a myriad of phrases ranging from “Maybe this is just what you two need” to “He’s got to be pranking you.”
Pranking me? Could Colton have set this up just to spite me?
Sounds like him.
But he just graduated from Yale Law School.
Why would he ever go on a show like this?
I doubt he’s watched more than a handful of episodes.
There are a million other ways he could spend his summer.
Like celebrating his educational successes with a trip to the Maldives or vacationing on his family’s yacht while people feed him grapes.
But no, instead he gets his amusement from crushing my dreams. Rich kid problems. I guess when you have enough money, monetary things hold less excitement and you have to look elsewhere for your entertainment.
I shake my head and sigh. “Colton—of all people. How did this happen? I’m even wearing my Lucky Louis.”
I wiggle my toes in my sparkly, secondhand Louis Vuittons that Ji and Paige gifted me before I competed in the Miss Teen Colorado State pageant.
The Louis had come into my life right after Colton lost my very first lucky charm back in high school—a glow-in-the-dark star that had been a boon to me during one of the most difficult times of my life.
Losing it was like losing a friend—a friend Colton had taken from me.
Fortunately for Colton, my Louis did a good job of filling the void. I’d won both Miss Teen Colorado State and Miss Tennessee State pageants while wearing them. They are my lucky little babies.
I try my best to channel any negative energy down my body and out through my shoes, but to no avail. Colton and our impending partnership stay firmly planted in my mind.
“Oh no, maybe the luck of the Louis is … wearing off.” Ji’s voice drips with sarcasm as she brushes a wisp of shiny black hair behind her ear.
I skewer her with a look, and she replies with an innocent smile.
“If something bad happened in the Lucky Louis, then there must be a reason for it,” Paige says, echoing the words I said to her after she’d borrowed the Louis nearly two years ago, only to have a terrible day …
a terrible day that ended up propelling Paige and Jordan further into their feelings for each other.
Paige gives me a knowing look, and Jordan wraps an arm around her shoulders, kissing the crown of her head.
“I think they’re pretty lucky.” Jordan smiles warmly at his wife.
“Dare you doubt the Louis?” Miles says, looking back and forth from me to the cuteness explosion that is Jordan and Paige.
“If you’re thinking that Colton and I being partnered together is some stroke of luck, then you’re a few cards short of a deck.
Unless that luck includes Colton accidentally falling off a cliff in the US Virgin Islands.
” I cross one leg over the other and lean back in my chair with my arms folded across my chest. A small smirk curves my lips. A girl can dream.
The sound of tires on pavement breaks through my fantasy. The kitchen blinds aren’t even open, but I don’t have to see Colton’s fancy Beamer to know that he’s here. I stifle a groan and ready myself for war.
Ji leans over and peeks through the kitchen blinds. “It’s Colton.” She stands and leans toward me before starting for the front hallway. “Play nice. I want a fair fight.”
“If you’re thinking that Colton and I being partnered together is some stroke of luck, then you’re a few cards short of a deck.
Unless that luck includes Colton accidentally falling off a cliff in the US Virgin Islands.
” I cross one leg over the other and lean back in my chair with my arms folded across my chest. A small smirk curves my lips. A girl can dream.
The sound of tires on pavement breaks through my fantasy. The kitchen blinds aren’t even open, but I don’t have to see Colton’s fancy Beamer to know that he’s here. I stifle a groan and ready myself for war.
Ji leans over and peeks through the kitchen blinds. “It’s Colton.” She stands and leans toward me before starting for the front hallway. “Play nice. I want a fair fight.”