Win, Lose...Or Wed!

“Do you want some water?” Jace asked.

Millie’s eyelids sprang open. Wounded green eyes stared at him. “No. Thanks. I’m fine.”

Yeah, right. Less than an hour into the race, Millie looked liked she’d dragged herself halfway around the globe already. Her skewed backpack was ready to topple her slender frame at any moment. She couldn’t stand up straight.

This race would chew her up and spit her out. He didn’t want to see her hurt again.

“I’ll carry your pack,” he said.

She adjusted the straps, straightening the backpack. “I’ve got it.”

But she didn’t. Not really. That put him in an awkward position.

From the first day Jace had met her, he’d felt drawn to her. She was kind and insightful and smelled like grapefruit. But the more he got to know her, the more he realized how different their lives were. How different they were. Sure, she was an incredible woman, but she wanted more from a relationship than he could give her. He’d saved them both a lot of pain by not choosing her at the end of The Groom.

Still he liked her and appreciated her wanting to win, but he had to be realistic. She, like his mother and sisters, was the kind of woman who needed to be coddled, cared for and protected. He didn’t want to take on vulnerable Millie, too.

Maybe that’s what the producers had in mind, pairing up opposites and seeing how they would get along or not. He could only imagine how this “twist” would be used once filming finished. The editing room was where hit reality television shows happened. He’d learned that lesson on The Groom and wasn’t about to make the same mistakes again.

That was why Jace wanted—needed—a different partner.

He needed a teammate who would meet challenges head-on, never give up and do whatever it took to win the million dollar first prize. Jace couldn’t afford to lose.

He stabbed the down button again. “What’s taking so long?”

“It hasn’t been that long,” she murmured.

The elevators opened as if on cue.

He and Millie entered followed by the two camera crews. The doors closed, making it a tight fit with the backpacks and production gear, and the elevator descended.

Tension filled the static air. Darting glances, unspoken words, an uncertain future. The first two things didn’t bother Jace, but the third needed to be dealt with. Now.

“You know, Freckles, the show will be challenging,” he said, mindful of the cameras mere inches from them. “You can always stop if you think the race will to be too much for you.”

“I can handle the race,” Millie said as if she were discussing a parent-teacher conference and not a race around the world. “The clue said working together was the key to success.”

Success wouldn’t cut it. Jace had to win to put the money back into his struggling money management firm. His family relied on him for their paychecks and pretty much everything else. He wouldn’t let them down. “I came here to win.”

She raised her chin. “So did I.”

“I’m not going to lose.”

“Neither am I.”

She still didn’t get it. He had to make her understand. Hell, he needed her to quit.

“I trained for this.” He’d trained as if his life depended on this race. In a way it did. If he lost, his family would pay the price. Success at all cost. That was his motto. “Trained hard.”

“So did I.” She met his gaze dead-on. “This pack is lighter than the one I wore when I trained.”

“You wore a backpack when you trained?” he asked.

“Of course, didn’t you?”

“Yes, but…” He hadn’t assumed she would take this so seriously. “You said you weren’t very organized.”

“Let’s get something straight, Jace,” she said. “I didn’t enter this race expecting to be teamed with someone, but I didn’t enter to lose, either. I plan to give a hundred and ten percent. I expect the same from my teammate. That’s you.”

Seeing her determination stirred something inside Jace. He’d never thought of Millie Kincaid as competitive. Her words, full of strength and fire, surprised him. Intrigued him. Turned him on.

Maybe he’d missed that part of her during The Groom. Maybe he’d better just forget about that part of her altogether. He was here save to his company—and his family—from financial ruin. Period.

Jace might still be drawn to Millie, but he wasn’t about to put his foot in that trap again. She expected a white picket fence future with two point three children, a dog, a cat and a minivan parked in the driveway. He wasn’t the guy to give her all that. He would only end up disappointing and hurting her.

Again.

Millie pursed her pink lips, accentuating their fullness. “So what do you say?”

He’d forgotten the question, but he remembered the first time he’d kissed her. A soft, gentle kiss full of promise during a moonlit walk along the beach. He’d thought the darkness would give them a rare moment of privacy, but watching the show when it aired he realized the cameras had caught everything.

The way they were doing now.

“Jace?” her voice rose. “You can’t rely only on your charm this time. Are you willing to give one hundred and ten percent?”

“Yes.” He might have deserved her jab, but he sure didn’t appreciate it. “As long as you’re not going to be all distracted.”

“Distracted?” Her forehead creased. “By what?”

Her clear green gaze made him shift uncomfortably. He was the one distracted. “By…you know. What happened before. We need to focus on the race to win.”

“I’m focused.” She tugged her backpack straps. “You’re the one who keeps bringing up the past.”

He cleared his throat. She was right. Damn it. “Let’s come up with a strategy then.”

“What was your strategy before?” she asked.

“Every man for himself,” he admitted.

“We’ll have to amend that or we won’t get far.” She bit her lower lip. “I have a game plan we can use.”

“You?”

“Yes, me.” Millie drew her brows together, and he could imagine her looking like that when she stood in front of the chalkboard to teach her students. “Too much is at stake to shoot from the hip.”

The elevator stopped.

“So what’s your plan?” Jace asked.