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She kept looking forward, but he knew that she’d heard him because a tremor rolled through her body as he squeezed his hand on her hip. He was so happy that tonight, he’d be sharing a bed with her. Even though they would be filmed, so obviously nothing would happen, he just wanted to be as close to her as possible. He loved falling asleep with her in his arms and knowing that he was going to wake up with her there.
Once all the couples were in their places, Lance Sparrow walked in sporting a tux and mask of his own. He started to do his spiel, but there was an issue with one of the cameras, so filming had to pause while they switched some parts out on it so they could reshoot his entrance. Thankfully, they shut off the bright overhead lights while they did, which made it more comfortable.
Keaton waited patiently, something he’d gotten used to doing over the past four weeks. It was a lot easier to do when he had Avery at his side. He’d happily, blissfully do nothing with her every day, all day for the rest of his life. He’d never felt that way about anyone before, not even Camilla. He always needed to stay busy, to keep moving, to be planning, to keep himself occupied.
But not with Avery. All he needed to do was be near her and he was calm, he was centered, he was at peace.
Beside them, Vic whispered something to Piper who giggled.
“No talking guys,” a voice came over the PA system. It sounded like Heather, but he couldn’t be sure.
It was so strange to him that it was actually someone’s job to make sure the contestants, grown adult people, didn’t talk because it was a rule. A rule that he himself was finding very hard not to break.
He wanted to ask Avery how her off day had been. Zara had been pretty cold to her. He knew Avery could handle herself. He knew that she was more than capable, but he just wanted, noneededto make sure that nothing had upset her. And if something had, he was prepared to kiss her and make it all better.
The lights flicked back on, and Keaton watched as Lance entered the ballroom again. “Welcome back to Fairytale Love: Kings and Queens. At the last ball, we saw two members of the court leave the castle, four new members arrive, and three new matches were made. Today, some of our matches will be with some new members of the court that might be familiar to them. That’s right. It is Rekindled Romance week onFairytale Love. We want to give our matches the best chance at making it to happily-ever-after, but how can they think about a future, when they still might have some unfinished business in the past.”
Beside him, he felt Avery tense up. He wasn’t feeling too thrilled about the news either, but he was much more worried about her. His only ex was Camilla, and she was engaged. So whoever walked through that door for him would just be someone he’d dated a few times.
“For the next twenty-four hours, our matches will be reunited with an ex-lover and then we will all reconvene for a special mid-week ball where you, the public, will decide which lords and ladies of our court will stay matched with their current partners and which lords and ladies will have a relationship rematch with their blast from the past.”
Keaton looked down at Avery, who was looking over at the cameras. If he had to guess, he would say that she was looking for Sabrina to make sure that Jude wasn’t going to walk in.
“First up, this lady was with her lord for nearlytwentyyears.”
Twenty years.That was how long he was with Camilla, but he knew it couldn’t be her.
“That’s right folks, this lord and lady met at the tender age oftwelveat a roller-skating rink.”
Oh fuck. It was Camilla. Why would she be there? She was supposed to be getting married.
“Lords and ladies, please join me in welcoming, Lady Camilla.”
The doors opened and even though he knew who was going to be walking through them, Keaton couldn’t believe his eyes. Camilla walked into the ballroom.
He looked down at Avery, but she was staring straight ahead. And if he wasn’t mistaken, there were tears in her eyes.
“Lord Keaton, please join your Lady Camilla.”
Camilla wasn’t his lady, Avery was. He was about to tell Lance and the whole crew to go fuck themselves when Avery patted his chest and smiled up at him. “Go. I’m okay.Go.”
Knowing that she would hate it if he made a scene, Keaton did what she asked. He walked away from her. But he promised himself, that would be the last time he would ever walk away from her.
* * *
Avery was mad, confused, angry, in shock and disbelief as she stood next to Jude. As soon as Lance had announced that exes were coming, she’d known that he was going to walk through those doors. Helovedthe spotlight. Being on a reality TV show was something he’d always talked about wanting to do.
Why had she thought that things were actually going to work out for her? How naïve could she possibly be?
Of course, Camilla, Keaton’s long-time love, would show up right after she and Keaton had reconnected. Of course, she’d be even more stunning in person than she was in her social media posts which Avery had looked at/cyberstalked. Of course, they were going torekindletheir romance.
Keaton had made it clear five years ago that he’d moved to Whisper Lake to prove to Camilla that he could settle down. That he could give up competing in the sport that had dominated his life.
Maybe a better person would be happy that he was getting the chance to be with the love of his life, but Avery wasnotthat good of a person. She was pissed. She was confused. She was angry and in shock. She couldn’t believe what was happening.
Jude placed his arm on her lower back, but she moved away from his touch.
How could Sabrina do this to her? She knew what he had done to her. She didn’t want to think her friend would sell her out for ratings. In fact, shecouldn’tbelieve that she would do that. But the proof was standing next to her with a smug smile on his face.
