Chapter 10: Carter

Carter wasn't overlyimpressed with the host his superiors had secured for the show. Lainey Crawford was attractive, sure, but her delivery was either too dry or over-acted and she seemed to have a penchant for dramatics on every set she'd ever been on. But Gavin had assured Carter that viewers would see her as a beloved bombshell and tune in just for the chance to catch her on screen, since she hadn't had her own project in nearly half a decade.

It would be fine.

He'd had to make tough choices before, in the moment. And in this moment? He'd made the choice to end this disaster of a week early. He'd actually wanted to end it by the close of the first day, when the tension was still high. He'd wanted to keep that tension strung by changing the couples again and not giving them an opportunity to get comfortable.

And maybe he wanted to get Cora away from Maxon, sooner rather than later.

Regardless, it had turned out that Carter was right. Just two days later and the manor had grown stagnant. The entertainment factor had only lasted that long because they were riding the high of Lainey appearing and delivering uninspiring lines about how the show worked, and then they'd been given formal introductions to their diary room.

What they needed, Carter'd decided, was a challenge.

Which meant he needed to call Lainey back to run the partner swap and ref the challenge. He'd need to make sure their "arena" was ready. He'd need to tell the Honeymooners to decide if they wanted to swap or stay. He'd need to get a crew ready to rearrange the sleeping assignments.

He'd need a miracle to pull this off.

Luckily, Carter was in the business of manufacturing those.

"Earlier today, our boys were asked if they wanted to stay in their couples and continue their honeymoon…" Lainey paused for dramatic effect and Carter was startlingly pleased with the choice. "Or if they wanted to swap and start fresh. As you all know, if even one Honeymooner submits for a swap, then a swap is fair game for all."

The ten contestants stood on the rooftop patio overlooking the side yard, the ladies with their backs against the railing and the men staring them down across the way. Lainey stood between the two, her head whipping spastically back and forth between them every other sentence.

Carter had been pleased with his call to put the Honeymooners without choice each week against the backdrop of the night. It made it more compelling, more suspenseful and dynamic, to have their partners save them from the sky. Now, it felt strangely reminiscent of watching someone walk a plank on a ship.

"I'm delighted to inform you that there has been a request to swap this week. The order you'll all choose has been randomly decided but please remember: if you choose to stay with your original couple, you'll have to prove to us all why you deserve to continue your honeymoon with your current partner.

"If you win, you'll move on to the next week. Lose your challenge and you'll risk expulsion from the manor."

Carter groaned silently from his position just around the corner. Lainey had nailed her lines but she'd said the last part much too quickly to foster any sense of gravity. Now, he'd be forced to have her say it again later and splice the audio over the clip. He'd also clearly have to get creative with producing reactions from these contestants because not a single one of them seemed to give a fuck.

"Are you ready to begin?" Lainey asked.

Had his cast been replaced with dead fish when he wasn't looking? They said nothing, only nodded. Lainey, to her credit, also seemed frustrated by the lack of response from the Honeymooners. She shook out her shoulders and glanced down at the branded card she held.

"Killian," she announced, giving him a brief moment to step forward like he'd been instructed. "Let's start with you. You're currently honeymooning with Willow. How's that been going for you two?"

He cleared his throat and Carter could tell he'd not been prepared for questions other than who he'd like to choose. "Um, good. Yeah. Good."

"Good enough to keep it going, or are you wanting to swap?"

For fuck's sake, was she trying to guilt the boy into staying? It would work out better for Carter if Killian did but he truly didn't appreciate the clumsy attempt.

"I'm wanting to swap, ma'am."

Of course, he was.

Willow didn't seem surprised, necessarily, but her face had gone white. Seemed they hadn't discussed this beforehand.

"Oh?" Lainey gripped the cards to her chest like she might be scandalized. "And which of these ladies are you inviting into your bed tonight, Killian? Tell us, and tell us why."

"I feel like I connected with this girl the moment we met—like we just got each other. I'm mostly excited to spend more time together and see if we can make a good thing even better." Carter counted at least four other contestants who were holding their breath waiting for Killian to make his choice. "The girl I'd like to honeymoon with is…Maia."

Not ideal, but not unexpected. Carter'd seen the footage of the two of them together. He wouldn't have been surprised if Killian'd tattooed the girl's name over his chest, had they had access to an artist.

"Maia." Lainey prompted her to step forward. "How do you feel about Killian's decision?"

Maia swallowed and kept her eyes on her new partner, echoing his words from earlier. "Yeah. Good."

A glowing review, if Carter'd ever seen one.

"Oh-kay," Lainey drawled. "Please join your new partner." The host redirected her attention to the man standing beside Killian. "Leith. It seems your partner's just been stolen."

"Certainly has," Leith answered easily.

"Does that upset you at all?"

The hulking man just shook his head and gave an amiable grin. "Nah, if the two of them get on well, then I'm happy for them."

"Did you plan on choosing Maia tonight?"

"Honestly, Lainey, I didn't."

Lainey, appropriately, dropped her jaw. "Well, then I suppose we'll quit asking about her. Leith, who would you like to steal away?"

"This girl made some comments on the first day wanting to know what kind of man I am. I thought I'd take this opportunity to show her. So, I'd like to honeymoon with Willow."

"Oh wow, that makes it easy, doesn't it?" Lainey asked, swiveling to Willow. "Willow, your old partner has just chosen another girl in front of you and now her partner wants you instead. How does that make you feel?"

Willow crooked her lips up in tandem with her shoulder. "Kinda like a consolation prize, can't lie."

Carter didn't doubt that, at all. But if those two swapping meant he could keep his challenge in place for the others, then he'd let her sit in that feeling for the next week.

Oblivious, Lainey kept pushing. "Are you not excited about coupling with Leith? Don't you think he's handsome?"

"Definitely handsome," Willow answered.

"Then you'd better go stand next to him."

Willow's approach was more akin to a strut but Lainey had already moved on. "And what about you, Maxon? Are you happy with your current partner?"

That was where Carter started to lose his cool. When he'd thought the rest of the couples staying together was a good thing, he'd just been running the numbers. He hadn't been thinking about what that'd mean for Cora and Maxon.

Carter'd done his damnedest the past few days to ensure Maxon stayed far away from Cora. If he chose her tonight, he'd have to watch him kiss her. He didn't know that he could. But if he didn't choose her, that would leave another couple forced to swap, at best.

And that challenge down there?

Well, it didn't really work if only one couple was participating.

He had banked on that extra ten grand being more enticing to these contestants. He'd thought they would, at least, stick with their first match for the first week and give it a real shot. His brain buffered, like a GPS continuously rerouting as he tried to preemptively solve the problem they were about to face.

"She's gorgeous, for sure," Maxon answered. "I mean, look at her."

Carter certainly was. He hadn't stopped looking at Cora, really.

"Then let's hear your choice. Tell us if you're sticking or swapping."

Maxon rubbed his hands together. "Cora, you're great. But I think I want to see what I've got with Danica."

Carter nearly fucking fainted.

"To clarify," Lainey said, "you'd like to swap and honeymoon with Danica instead?"

Maxon nodded and flashed a smile at the fallen socialite. The smile was just as unsettling as the man behind it.

"Danica, how does that make you feel?"

"I guess we'll see."

Lainey blinked and, as bad as it was for camera, Carter didn't blame her. He didn't quite know what to do with that comment, either. "Alright, please join your new partner."

Despite the strange response, Danica didn't shy away from Maxon as he put his arm around her waist, tucking her into his side. All Carter could manage was relief that it wasn't Cora.

"Silas," Lainey trudged on, growing agitated at the time this was taking. "Your partner's just been stolen. "Were you planning on sticking with Danica tonight?"

"Can't say that I was."

"Well, who did you have your eye on?"

"I've got both eyes on her, actually."

And he did. Silas stared intently across the patio, tracking Eloise's every breath. Carter had watched the footage from the parlor—he knew that the two of them were coupling just for show, given Eloise's crush on Killian. But, damn, if Carter wasn't convinced in that moment that Silas's choice was a genuine one.

"Are you looking at Eloise?" Lainey asked.

"Always."

He was a smooth motherfucker, too.

Lainey just wasn't ready to let it go. "I understand you two had a disagreement the first day. Are you surprised he chose you, Eloise?"

Eloise flushed and glanced down at her feet before meeting Lainey's interrogation. "We worked it out."

"And how'd you do that?"

Stop pressing, Carter wanted to warn. These were reunion-level questions. Not something you make the contestants give up the very first time you talk to them.

"That passion had to go somewhere," Silas answered for his new partner. He held an arm out in offering. Or, perhaps, it was an order. "Now get over here, maneater."

"Well," Lainey huffed. "I guess that leaves Foster, doesn't it."

Foster, the little freak, licked his lips. "You wanna come share my bed, sweetheart?"

The question wasn't directed at Cora—wasn't directed at the only contestant left standing against the railing. Rather, it was directed at Lainey.

Good god.

"Maybe if I weren't engaged," the host answered, pointing at her gaudy engagement ring.

"Shit, he can come, too."

Lainey's response came out quite tight. "I'll pass along the offer. Are you not interested in Cora?"

"Not sure who wouldn't be."

"Are you excited to share your bed with her tonight?"

"Course."

Bloody hell was he making this hard. Lainey apparently thought so, as well, because she turned to Cora. "What about you, Cora? How are you feeling with your new couple?"

"Intrigued," Cora laughed. "I mean, how many others is he going to invite to our bed?"

His girl was everything she said she'd be in her introduction. Easy to get along with. Positive. Funny. Carter had known she'd be good for the show. But she didn't stop at the joke and her next words had all his motor functions stalling.

"Foster wouldn't have been my first choice but I'm sure he'll be a fun time."

Not her first choice?

"Not your first choice?" Lainey repeated like she'd plucked the question from Carter's brain. "Who would have been?"

"Oh, come on." Cora waved the woman off. "I already have cameras on me all the time. Let me retain at least a little bit of intrigue."

Over Carter's dead fucking body. He'd find out who her first choice was and he'd?—

Fuck, he didn't know what he'd do. But he had to know who it was. It was the least she could give him, considering his show was falling apart.