Chapter 28: Willow

It wasn'tthe lights that startled Willow awake this time—it was the damn baby. And if she didn't think it might get her kicked off the show, she'd smash it like an old-timey alarm clock.

Or maybe that was just her tired brain talking because she was instantly soothed by a pair of lips on her forehead and a whisper of, "Go back to sleep. I've got this."

Honestly, though, how could she be expected to sleep when, right in front of her, there was a beast of a man cooing at a crying piece of plastic? And she found it…sexy. God, there was something about a man with paternal instinct that truly, truly revved her engine.

She'd been scared when the challenge had begun and there hadn't been a single pair with a checkmark but, seeing Leith with their baby, she couldn't remember what there was to be worried about.

He hadn't been the first to return with a bottle, though Foster's hardly counted, considering his was piping hot and would have burned the utter shit out of their baby's mouth. And then, through the night, Leith hadn't hesitated to hop up and soothe their little Earl the second those cries started. If she ignored the very first and believed that the last two challenges were setting the precedent, Leith would be up for Father of the Year.

Against her will, something nasty leaked through her veins. An intensive, chilling jealousy of whoever would get to see this side of Leith, for real. She wanted it all, sometime down the line, but knowing he might choose someone else first had her entertaining ideas of moving up her timeline.

Which was silly. Because everything between them was for show. And she needed her focus on raising money for her niece. And he needed his focus to get away from his family. And probably a lot of other reasons she couldn't think of, at this very moment.

She didn't know a lot about love—not that she loved him—but she knew enough to know people liked denying its existence. They ignored the signs and explained away every errant feeling. They got mad at the prospect of unchecked emotion. It was in every book she'd ever read.

She'd do that, then, for just a little longer.

Willow's inability to fall back asleep didn't end up mattering as, only moments later, the lights of their rooms began to blare, the speakers announcing it was time to meet Lainey in the backyard. They were permitted ten minutes to brush their teeth or wash their faces or do whatever sort of morning hygiene required but they were not to shower or dress or do their hair. Willow guessed they wanted this portion of the challenge to be filmed like they were all haggard parents.

Lainey was put together even more than usual when they finally made it to the backyard, beaming at the Honeymooners from her spot behind a row of changing tables. Sitting a few feet behind her were the easels holding each couple's challenge board. A single check so far for Willow and Leith, and Maia and Maxon, while the other couples boasted none.

"Good morning, Honeymooners," Lainey trilled. "How'd you all sleep?"

Her question was met with only groaning from the bleary-eyed contestants, which merely served to put a rather malicious smile on Lainey's face. The host eyed Danica and Silas, where Danica was absently bouncing the baby up and down while pressing it into her chest.

"How did you two fare last night?" Lainey asked.

Silas scowled but Danica's eyes shone when she looked up at him. "I slept great," she admitted. "These two tried their best to keep me up but Silas was great with The Thing."

Everyone, including Leith and Willow because they weren't dead inside, snickered at the name Danica and Silas had given their baby. Honestly, Willow was surprised that Silas had gone to such effort the night before when he hadn't bothered even finding a human name.

"And what about you two—Cora, Foster?"

Cora glanced back at Foster, who had somehow managed to hold the baby upside down, and winced. "We've had better nights."

Lainey only clicked her tongue and addressed the group. "Well, not to worry, guys. We won't take your word for it. We've already had the footage from last night reviewed. If you managed to soothe your baby within five minutes of crying last night, you'll receive a checkmark for this challenge." Lainey spun, producing a fat dry erase marker and positioning it over Eloise and Killian's board. "Eloise. Killian. Success."

The marker squeaked, a check mark appearing in their box.

"Danica. Silas…Success."

Squeak.

"Maia. Maxon…Fail."

Willow glanced over, finding Maia glaring at Lainey's back with Eminem on her hip. Maxon shrugged, looking suspiciously well-rested.

Lainey kept going. "Willow. Leith…Success!"

Another blessed squeak. One that meant they only had to pass one more challenge to be safe for the week.

"And Cora and Foster…you were correct when you said you'd had better nights. You've, unfortunately, failed."

Eloise gasped and clapped her hands over her mouth, staring at Cora and Foster's board. At Cora's loopy handwriting and at the five blank boxes, three of which they'd not get another opportunity to fill.

Willow hated to see it. Maybe Cora and Foster weren't a love match but they were good people. She knew she should be excited about the prospect of another couple leaving, about the significant increases in her chances to go home with the money she so desperately needed. But she just couldn't produce that feeling.

Leith shifted the baby to his other arm, the one closest to her coming around to rub circles on her back. God, he was probably feeling the same way. He was a better person than she was—she was sure this was like a punch to the gut, especially with how close he'd grown to the surfer.

Whatever emotions ran through them all, though, Lainey gave them no time to process. In her normal, chipper voice, she said, "Don't count yourselves out, yet! Failures in these challenges only put you in danger of leaving the manor; they don't guarantee it."

The news should have lifted their spirits but Willow couldn't find a smile on any of their faces.

"Let's move onto the next challenge," Lainey finally said, understanding that no one planned on responding to her reassurances. "Honeymooners, step up to your tables. For this leg of the challenge, you'll have five minutes to change your baby's diaper."

Piece of cake. Willow had changed her niece's diaper approximately a million times when her sister had needed a break. Of course, her relief came too soon.

"You'll need to complete this challenge as a team. One of you will be blindfolded and standing behind your partner. Your partner will then have to use your arms to complete the task rather than their own. Decide now which part you'd like to play."

Leith deferred to her, no doubt noticing her confidence boost when she'd heard the first half of the instructions. She trusted her hands to have the muscle memory of changing the diapers but she didn't know if she'd be able to do it from behind Leith's back. Really, she wasn't sure she could even get her arms all the way around his back. She'd have to settle for using his arms and verbal instructions.

Their baby on the table, Willow leaned back into him. Now really wasn't the time to be comforted by his presence at her back but she couldn't help the way the warmth was spreading through her. Her ass brushed against him as he got into position and his near-imperceptible groan heated her even further.

It was all she could think about, even when the challenge started. She tried to focus on getting Leith to wipe the already-clean plastic. Tried to focus on the wrapping and the adhesive. Instead, she focused on how close they were to one another and how all that really separated them were his thin pants and her tiny sleep shorts.

She didn't even realize they were finished until Lainey slapped a hand on the other end of their table and congratulated them on a job well done before again squeaking her marker across their board.

This was cause for celebration, knowing they were safe. Yet, the only way she wanted to celebrate was rubbing up against Leith a little more. Like a cat in heat.

Maybe he felt the same way because he ripped off his blindfold and gripped her waist, spinning her until she faced him and he could attack her face with his lips. And she leaned into the kisses because she could. Because this was her rule. Her one allowance, knowing they were on camera.

The success wasn't a triumph, necessarily, like it should have been. Willow instead viewed it as a treat. A small reward that allowed her to kiss Leith, guilt-free.

If only the jostling of their bodies against the table didn't wake the baby.

The wailing had her pulling away. Collecting the child and rocking it into silence. She took in the other Honeymooners while she did, noting another success for Eloise and Killian. They'd be fine, if they could just manage to pass the final challenge.

But they were the only ones.

Maia and Maxon and Danica and Silas ran out the timer, none of them even close to the final stages of the change. And when Willow took in their boards, she saw that this was the third loss for them both. That was three couples now that were in danger of leaving.

And again, Willow couldn't bring herself to be happy about it.

"They'll be okay," Leith whispered, his lips at her hairline. "It'll be okay."

"I feel bad for celebrating," she told him.

Leith wrapped his arms around her, positioning his front again at her back, this time with the baby still cradled in her arms. He didn't say anything else and she didn't want him to. They just watched.

Watched the fear in Killian's eyes while he tried to meet Maia's. Watched Eloise's demeanor shift from excited to pouty. Watched Cora and Foster high five one another, a fire apparently lit under their asses and driving them to success this time. And they watched the two couples who'd just entered the loser's circles pretend they didn't care. Watched them avoid eye contact with the rest of contestants and pretend to be engrossed in making their babies decent.

It was sobering.

The abysmal vibe had, clearly, gotten to Lainey, too. She tried to wrangle them back into a competitive mode as she announced the next challenge. "Let's get right into the final challenge, you guys." She began leading them over to the pool, where five strappy baby carriers sat. She announced, "We're calling this one Operation DILF. Boys, after your partner straps you and your babies together, you'll be competing to complete this obstacle course. You won't be timed and the speed at which you complete it doesn't ultimately matter. What we're measuring here is your ability to move and maintain your DILF-ish figures while keeping your babies happy and content. If you can complete this course with under one hundred twenty combined seconds of crying, it'll be considered a pass.

"First, you'll need to circle the pool," Lainey continued, pointing out the route the boys were meant to take. "Then, once you've made it back to the starting point, you'll complete ten squats. After that, you'll grab those weights we've set out and do ten reps of curls. Finally, you'll come meet your partners back at the start and complete five pushups with the babies strapped to your chest and your partners sitting on your back. Everybody understand?"

Maia scoffed somewhere in the line and Willow was tempted to join her, if two things hadn't stopped her. This was convoluted and strange, yes, but there would be no winning America's favor if she didn't act like a good sport. The second reason, she would privately admit, was that she was kinda looking forward to seeing Leith get physical.

"Alright, strap your daddies in!"

Willow was silent as she did what she was told, taking in the snippets of the others around her. Maia and Maxon were already fighting—Maxon insisted that he would do better with Eminem strapped to his back and Maia insisted he was stupid. Danica was telling Silas that he better be careful with The Thing because, if he went down, that baby would have way too far to fall. Cora chanted in Foster's ear, hyping him and Curly up, and Eloise and Killian whispered to one another, perfecting some sort of secret strategy for this as if there was one.

None of the other Honeymooners were as loud as Leith's silence. Willow tightened a strap around Earl's middle and looked up to find Leith chewing the inside of his cheek.

"Hey," she attempted to soothe. "We're good. We already passed three."

He jumped at the sound of her voice but calmed when he met her eyes. "I know."

"You've got nothing to worry about."

"I know."

The tight set of his mouth did not convince her.

"Ladies, step back!" Lainey called. "The gauntlet is about to begin."

Before she could lose her nerve, Willow pushed onto her toes, careful not to jostle Earl. She'd been going in for a kiss. Foolishly convinced her lips would be the cure to his worries. She didn't know why. Maybe just because she wanted to. Maybe because that would be what she would want, if her nerves were eating at her.

Leith, though, adjusted his head so minutely that the cameras or the viewers or whoever the hell was watching might think that she'd been going for his cheek the whole time.

She stamped down her disappointment and the bolts of stinging rejection. Giving him one of her practiced smiles, she said, "Good luck, babe."

As Willow stepped back, Lainey fished a small whistle from her cleavage and blew it to signify the start of the race. That strategy that Eloise and Killian had been hush-hush about was apparently to just speedrun the whole thing so the baby had less of a window to cry. It wouldn't work. The gasps from all the other women made it clear it wouldn't work. So Willow threw an arm around Eloise's shoulder, knowing this challenge had been her last opportunity to come out of this successfully.

Oblivious, Killian held Sunny's hand to his chest and gave Eloise a thumbs up.

Maxon's strategy, as Maia had so accurately predicted, also failed. Eminem flounced around on his back and the cries almost drowned out Maia's frustrated mutterings.

They were back at the edge of the pool before Willow could bring herself to look at Leith and she wished she hadn't. In front of her, he performed the squats with ease. His back muscles rippled, his ass straining the confines of his pants. She nearly whimpered at the pure power of his form. The hard, massive body hiding the softness of his heart.

She wasn't really into the whole breeding kink thing but Leith was the type of man you made a baby with.

She couldn't tear her eyes from him when he moved to the weights, her focus shifting from the expanse of his back to the bulging muscles of his arms. He performed the curls like he could do them in his sleep even though Willow had never even seen him pick up a weight when the other guys were working out.

Beside her, Danica gave the whooping and hollering that was probably expected of the ladies, cheering Silas on and calling out whenever one of the boys did something particularly attractive. Willow joined in, the enthusiasm catching and erasing the snub of the kiss. She cheered louder when Killian dropped to the ground to allow Eloise access to climb on his back. Sunny, now crushed under the weight of both her parents, cried harder.

There wasn't a clock out here but that had to have been more than two minutes of tears.

Leith and Silas returned, their longer legs allowing them to travel faster without as much turbulence. Leith formed a triangle on the ground, and wordlessly, Willow mounted him. Straddling him to evenly distribute the weight but tucking her feet so they wouldn't hit the ground when he dropped. As a precaution, she held herself an inch or so off his back so she wouldn't be tempted to rub against him and so he couldn't feel whatever was going on in her shorts.

"I'm not getting on your back, Maxon," Maia snarled, allowing Willow a reprieve from staring at her partner. "The baby's there."

"Just get on next to it."

Maia laughed. "You must think you're bigger than you are."

Willow thought Maxon may have been trying to be seductive when he flopped on his side—miraculously, this did not make Eminem cry louder though that may be attributed to the fact that she was already crying as loud as her speakers would allow. "You haven't seen how big I am yet, baby."

"Do not talk to our daughter like that," Maia warned.

"I wasn't?—"

"Hey." Leith's voice broke Willow from her people watching. "I'm finished."

She beamed at the back of his head. "I didn't hear Earl cry at all."

"I was careful."

All her life, Willow had never been the type to feel insecure. She knew she was kind. She knew she was intelligent. She knew she was hot. She'd never given herself leave to care what others thought of her because she'd always felt like the one pulling the strings. Even with the show, though it felt like dipping her toe into the pool of public opinion, she still felt in control.

But this…attitude from Leith had her grappling with unsurety for the first time. Last night—and this morning—he'd been his usual self. Sweet and goofy and a calming, safe space for Willow. Now, it was like something had just switched off. Like he no longer wanted to be close to her. To even be seen with her, really.

Had she done something?

"You can get off now," he told her. Short. Not mean. But also not like Leith.

She scrambled off his back, reaching down to help him to his feet. He did not take her hand.

"Um." She fought for something to say, something that might bring back her Leith. All she could come up with was, "Congratulations."

"Thanks."

Should Willow help him with Earl? Unstrap him? What if he didn't want her to touch him? The way he shooed her off his back and his rejection of her kiss might indicate as much.

It was all she could think about, even while Lainey proclaimed the end of this whole fiasco. Willow inched herself away from Leith, determined to create the physical distance he'd already initiated. And maybe she just wanted to see if he'd pull her back.

He didn't.