Chapter 3

The next day, the producers arranged a group Q&A session. All four of us were seated in the lodge' s main hall, a massive room with a stone fireplace and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the mountains. The contrast with our dingy motel room was jarring.

The questions from the online audience were projected onto a large screen. Most were for Nathaniel and Gabrielle, fawning over their "rekindled romance."

Then, a question for me appeared.

[Jocelyn, who was your first love? What was he like?]

Nathaniel visibly preened, a smug smile spreading across his face. He leaned into his microphone, ready to bask in the reflected glory of what he assumed was his story.

I took a deep breath, my eyes finding Ethan' s for a brief second across the room.

"He was... my greatest love," I said, my voice clear and steady. I let the words hang in the air, knowing exactly how Nathaniel would interpret them.

His smugness inflated. He looked like a peacock showing off its feathers.

Then, the next question appeared on the screen, this time for Ethan.

[Ethan, you' ve never talked about your personal life. What was your first love like?]

Ethan leaned back in his chair, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips. His eyes, however, were fixed on me.

"My first love?" he said, his voice a low, gravelly drawl that sent a shiver down my spine. "She was annoying."

The room went silent. Nathaniel' s smile faltered.

Ethan continued, his gaze never leaving mine. "She had a habit of marrying someone else, and then going on national television to claim that I was her greatest love."

The air was sucked out of the room. The producers' jaws were on the floor. Gabrielle looked confused, but Nathaniel' s face was a mask of fury and disbelief. He looked from Ethan to me, the gears in his narcissistic brain grinding as he tried to process what he' d just heard.

The online comment section exploded. A new hashtag started trending: #Jethan. The shippers were born.

Later that day, we were all packed into a large SUV for a drive to the next filming location. Nathaniel and Gabrielle were in the front, still trying to project an image of romantic bliss, though the tension was obvious. Ethan and I were in the back.

My phone buzzed with a message from the producers. A secret task.

[Jocelyn: Hold hands with Ethan for at least 10 seconds without the other couple noticing.]

My heart hammered against my ribs. This was a game, a stupid, manipulative game. But as we entered a long, dark tunnel, plunging the car into near-total blackness, I saw my chance.

I reached out, my fingers brushing against his. But I hesitated. Was this too much? Would he pull away?

The moment was lost. The car emerged from the tunnel, flooding the interior with bright sunlight. I had failed the task.

I leaned back in my seat, disappointed in myself.

Then, I felt it.

Ethan' s hand deliberately, defiantly, found mine. He didn' t just hold it. He interlaced his fingers with mine, a firm, possessive grip that sent a jolt of electricity through me.

He did it in plain sight of the front-seat cameras, in the bright light of day.

Nathaniel, too busy gloating to Gabrielle about some new sponsorship deal, didn' t even notice.

But the cameras did. And so did the millions of people watching at home.

My hand was in his, our fingers locked together. It felt like coming home.