The next morning, Stone woke to a torrential downpour. He still had a couple hours before they were supposed to leave, so he packed his suitcase and went to the inn’s tiny workout room.

Back in his room, he took a quick shower. As he was toweling off his hair, someone knocked on the door.

“Who is it?” If it was Jordy, he could come back later.

“It’s me.”

Gina.

He opened the door for her. Her eyes went wide at the sight of him, wearing nothing but a skimpy towel around his hips, and her gaze traveled down the length of his body. Warmth flooded through him at her perusal.

“Can I help you?” he asked in a low voice.

She snapped her mouth shut and met his eyes. “Um . . .”

He raised an eyebrow, amused at her reaction.

“I came here to tell you something.”

“Okay.”

“I can’t remember what it was now—oh!” She snapped her fingers. “We’re stuck here. Too much rain, tiny airplane can’t fly in it, and even if it could, I won’t chance it. So, we’re stuck. Here.” She swallowed hard and glanced down at his hard-on poking through the wet terry cloth.

“Come in before someone sees you.”

She hesitated, then nodded.

The second the door was shut, she ripped away his towel. A chuckle rumbled through him, cut short when she dropped to her knees and took his dick into her mouth.

Ho-ly shiiiiiit.

The sight of her pursed lips swallowing his cock sent a shiver down his back. His skin erupted in goosebumps.

She slid off him with a pop and tilted her head. “You cold?”

“No.” He sank his fingers into her hair, twisted up in a messy bun. “It’s you. You make me shiver.”

Her lips, wet and glistening, pulled to the side in a smirk. “Good. You do the same to me.” Then she opened her mouth and drew him in once again.

Throwing back his head, he gave himself over to the surprise blow job. Sensation streaked through him like lightning, making his toes curl and his pulse pound in this throat. When she cupped his balls with one hand and jerked him off with the other, he locked his knees to keep from falling over.

His worries melted away, replaced by the hope that Gina’s willingness to set aside her rules for him would soon extend to going public with their relationship. He was tired of hiding, tired of pretending he didn’t feel the way he did. He loved her, and he didn’t want to lie about it anymore.

She smiled up at him, sweet and sexy and utterly perfect. Stone gritted his teeth, and his body tightened, the orgasm coming out of nowhere. Quick as a wink, Gina clamped her mouth over the tip and swallowed.

Once she’d milked him dry, his legs finally gave out. Staggering to the bed, he fell heavily onto the edge and sat for a while, catching his breath. Gina sat beside him, brushing his hair away from his face before putting her lips next to his ear.

“Good morning, Stone.”

He huffed out a laugh and swung an arm around her. “It sure is.” When she curled up against his side, he kissed the top of her head. “We’re stuck here, huh?”

She sighed. “Yeah, but we can’t laze around in bed all day, as nice as that would be. This place has a party room. They’re putting down the dance floor so we can practice, but since it’s such a low-budget affair Jordy isn’t even going to bother filming it. He’s giving everyone else the day off.”

“Practicing without cameras?” Images of dancing naked with Gina flitted through his mind. “That could be fun.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “We still have to work. We have two dances to perfect for the semi-finals.”

“We will.” He got to his feet and snatched the discarded towel from the floor. “Don’t worry, Gina. I’ll get you into the finals.”

She smiled, but didn’t answer.

* * *

Stone entered the Glacier Valley Inn’s small ballroom to find Gina staring out the big windows, which offered a view of the rain pelting the inlet. Tall trees swayed in the strong wind and clouds crowded the sky.

“I do see why you love it here,” Gina said, glancing over her shoulder at him. “It’s beautiful, even like this.”

“More so when you’re here.” He came up behind her and nuzzled his face in her hair.

“You’re going to give me a toothache being that sweet.” Smiling, she took his hand and led him to the twenty by twenty dance floor laid out over the ugly ballroom carpet.

“What did you think of my family?” he asked before she could launch into an explanation of their jazz routine.

“I liked them,” she said. “I have a big family—even though I only have two siblings, I grew up with lots of cousins. Holidays and birthdays were always a mess of relatives piled into a house too small to fit us all.”

“Yeah, I know a bit about what that’s like.”

She squinted at him. “Did all nine of you really live in that one little hut during season one?”

Shit. A direct question. He was supposed to lie. He was supposed to say, Yes, we did, but the Nielsons stick together, or some nonsense like that.

Except he was so tired of lying to Gina.

“Ah, no. Not really.”

Her eyes widened. “No?”

He shook his head.

“Where did you stay?”

In for a penny, in for a pound. The urge to come clean welled up inside him like a tidal wave. He glanced at the door to make sure they were truly alone.

“Right here in town,” he said.

Gina’s hand flew to her mouth. She stared at him.

This was it. His fears come to pass. She wouldn’t understand, and she’d judge him for it. Gina, who was so aligned with integrity that she wouldn’t fake a relationship with him—despite really having one—even though she wanted, needed, to win.

“I’m sorry. I’ve wanted to tell you since the beginning.” He was tripping over his words but couldn’t stop them from tumbling out. “I couldn’t, though. There are contracts, and rules. My family—they’re counting on me. I’ve gotta keep this a—”

She shook her head and he shut up. Her hand dropped from her mouth, and he saw the beginnings of a smile.

“I’m just shocked because . . . this makes so much sense. All the questions I asked my TV—or Natasha—while watching episodes of Living Wild make sense now.” Excitement shone in her gaze. “Where did you live, if not in that hut?”

He shrugged, then spread his arms wide. “In the Glacier Valley Inn.”

“Shut the front door.” She let out a delighted laugh and clapped her hands. “For real?”

“Yep. It’s the worst-kept secret in town.”

“I love hearing behind-the-scenes gossip like this. So, wait, none of this stuff is true?”

She was handling this better than he could have expected. “I mean, we stay out there sometimes, if we’re filming at night. We still build and haul stuff around.”

It was a relief to finally have someone know the truth, and even better that it was Gina. He’s been so worried about her reaction.

“I feel like I’m meeting you for the first time.”

He swallowed. “I wanted to tell you. I hate lying. It’s why I’m terrible at interviews. I’m scared I’m going to slip up. My family . . . the show offered a package deal. All nine Nielsons, or no show. I had to join.”

“I understand.” She laced her fingers behind his neck. “So, who are you, Stone Nielson? If that’s even your real name.”

He chuckled and rested his hands on her hips. “It is. My parents really are crazy nature lovers, and Nielson is Swedish.”

“I want to know all about you.” She smiled up at him. “I was watching your show to try to understand you better, but now, I can just ask.”

“I feel like myself for the first time in . . . years,” he admitted. “I had to cut ties with all my friends when we started the show.”

Her eyebrows dipped in compassion. “That must have been hard.”

“It was.” He tugged on his beard. “I didn’t have this before the show started. Or the long hair.”

Her eyes sparkled. “I want to see pictures.”

“I have a few. Not a ton, since the fire that destroyed my family’s home is a true story. I just wasn’t living there at the time. I was in Juneau.”

“Doing what?”

“Working. I was an engineer for a construction company. I quit to join the show.”

Her eyebrows rose. “Why does that sound so hot? Maybe because I’m picturing you in a toolbelt and nothing else.”

He touched his forehead to hers. “That can be arranged. I do own a few toolbelts.”

He kissed her, tasting passion and heat. Telling her the truth eased the weight he’d been carrying since Living Wild hit TV. They were still from different worlds, and they still had a dance competition to win, but maybe they could figure out the mess reality TV had made of their lives and find some kind of happy ending.

And maybe his mother’s nosy question wouldn’t end up in the behind-the-scenes package.

The truth seemed to have unlocked something in Gina, too. She clung to him, kissing him hungrily and gripping handfuls of his hair. Her mouth was warm and tasted of ginger. She was desperate for him and he couldn’t deny her anything. He grabbed her ass, molding her tight against him, and she moaned.

A soft noise had his eyes flicking open just in time to see the lens of a camera disappearing before the door to the ballroom shut without a sound.

His body tensed, but Gina was still kissing him. She hadn’t noticed.

In the split-second that followed, Stone decided not to tell her.