CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER ONE

One year later...

Hadn’t Millie learned her lesson the first time?

Standing on the granite plaza of San Francisco’s Union Square with the statue of the goddess Victory looming over her, Millie couldn’t believe she was doing this again. She shifted from foot to foot, trying to tamp down her nervousness. She needed to pay attention to Pete Kenner, producer of

Cash Around the Globe,

the reality TV show she’d agreed to appear on.

Appear?

That was what the casting director had called her being a contestant, but if things went Millie’s way, she would spend the next thirty days racing around the world with a cameraman and sound guy at her side. Anxiety crept down her spine.

If by some miracle you’re not eliminated right away, you know they’ll want you to jump out of an airplane or climb a mountain. Neither of which you have the courage to do.

Her father’s words rushed back. He’d called her a coward, saying she was too soft and introverted to compete, let alone win. What if he was right?

“You can only use the credit card for air travel. We’ll provide food in between and after each leg of the competition,” Pete explained. With his coiffed blond hair, tanned skin, and smart clothing, he looked more like a fashion model than the head honcho for the network’s most promising new show. “You will purchase tickets for yourself and your camera crew. You must remain with them at all times—twenty-four-seven. Attached at the hip. Unless you’re in the restroom or shower.”

Did rain showers count?

Mist pelted her cheeks, the dreary June weather adding to her growing apprehension. Doubts surfaced. Her father had predicted she would be the first one eliminated. She could easily make as big a fool of herself on this show as on...

Stop.

Think positive. Be confident.

She could do this.

Millie would prove her dad wrong.

So what if she had vowed never to step in front of another television camera again? After the season finale of the-show-she-didn’tmention, offers had poured in for her to do public appearances, commercials, and to be the star of The Bride. Her fan base had been nothing but supportive and wanted more of her, but Millie had turned everything down. That was, until someone made an offer she couldn’t refuse.

For the next thirty days, no one could call her unless it was an emergency. No one could remind her of what happened a year ago. No one could ask if her broken heart had healed.

Face it, the idea of being secluded and seeing the world appealed to her in a way she’d never imagined. Her travels would provide interesting tidbits and stories to share with her students. Plus, she couldn’t deny how much was at stake. The prize money had pushed her to say yes.

Millie wasn’t a reality TV contestant junkie. She was only doing the show to help her students at Two Rivers Elementary School. Whatever money she won would go directly to her school to keep upcoming budget cuts from affecting the students. The show’s participation fee would save the after-school track and field program she’d founded and coached for special needs students. That alone made up for whatever she faced over the next month.

And if she kept saying the words, she might come to believe them.

As Millie zipped her fleece-lined blue windbreaker to the top, she tried to remember her cameraman’s name. Zack? Zeke? And her sound guy. Ron? Maybe Ryan?

Names usually stuck with her, but right now her mind was as blank as a chalkboard on the last day of school. Not a good thing when the two guys would film and record everything she said and did.

“Bathroom breaks won’t give us much privacy,” an older woman said.

Her jacket resembled Millie’s except for the orange color. Each contestant had been assigned a color and given clothes to wear during the race. Even their backpacks, lying on the other side of Union Square, coordinated to their colors.

Pete’s bright white teeth contrasted with his dark tan. “There’s no such thing as privacy on a reality television show.”

Millie caught herself nodding. Even if she was the only former reality TV contestant, she didn’t want to appear to be a know-it-all.

A passing car honked its horn. Men in three-piece suits and women in raincoats stared at the lights and cameras. A construction worker yelled, asking if they were filming the new season of

The Amazing Race.

No.

Oh, no.

She wouldn’t want to be on that show. Relying on a partner, a teammate, to win or lose didn’t appeal to Millie in the slightest.

Cash Around the Globe

would be different. Better. Or she would never have agreed to do it.

“Any questions?” When no one spoke up, Pete clapped his hands. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

Millie took a deep breath, the cold June air chilling her lungs. Goose bumps prickled her arms and legs.

A red light glowed on the cameras. Showtime.

She pasted on a smile, resigning herself to the role she would play until she was eliminated from the race or crossed the finish line.

Colt Stewart, with war correspondent good looks and a charming smile, stepped forward. “I’ll be your host as you race around the globe. Are you ready for the adventure of a lifetime?”

“Yes,” Millie said along with the others.

“I didn’t hear you,” Colt said in a loud voice. “Are you ready for the adventure of a lifetime?”

The contestants shouted a hardy, “Yes!”

Colt flashed an even wider toothpaste-ad smile at a camera. “Welcome to

Cash Around the Globe.

This is the most exciting, most adventurous, most dangerous race you’ll see on television. You won’t want to miss a single episode.”

By the time the show finished airing next season, her life would—she crossed her fingers—be back to normal. No more marriage proposals from strangers. No more early morning phone calls from talk show hosts. No more reality TV.

She couldn’t wait for the peace and quiet. Fame was something she’d never wanted. Unlike her father.

“Racers, prepare yourselves!” Colt yelled.

The contestants around Millie postured themselves for the best possible start. She did the same. A clanging rang out, the sound of a cable car bell.

Ding. Ding. Ding.

“Go!” Colt shouted.

Two guys, one in black, the other wearing green, sprinted to the line of backpacks. Millie ran after them, adrenaline rushing through her veins. She would not fall behind. Her last reality TV stint had driven out her softness. She wasn’t the naïve contestant she’d been. She was ready—more prepared—this time.

Ten feet from her blue backpack, she noticed a round zippered pouch with a globe imprinted on the front. Inside, she found fifty dollars, a small key on a chain, and a clue card.

“Make your way to Coit Tower,” Millie read for the camera’s sake. “You must travel via public transportation. Look for the green and blue flag. There you will find your next clue and something to take with you on the race.”

Take with her?

Her excitement swelled. A GPS unit would be great. Useful.

Millie reread the clue.

“Coit Tower?” She’d never been to San Francisco but had heard of the landmark. Heart pounding, she surveyed the surrounding buildings. High-end department stores, boutiques, and hotels. She saw a uniformed security guard and ran to him. “Could you please tell me where to catch the bus to Coit Tower?”

The guard led her to the bus stop. “Take the 30 or 45. Grab a transfer ticket when you board. Get off at Washington Square. Take the 39 to the top of Telegraph Hill. You can walk, if you’d rather, but it’s a steep climb.”

“Thank you,” she said as the 30 bus pulled to the curb with a squeal of brakes.

The bus passed through Chinatown and North Beach, also known as Little Italy. At Washington Square, she transferred to bus number 39 and rode to the top of Telegraph Hill. She exited. The camera crew followed her.

Tourists milled about the base of Coit Tower, snapping pictures. Not even the overcast skies detracted from the lovely view. Millie searched for a flag but came up empty. She hurried up the steps to the tower’s entrance.

Inside the circular lobby, she found colorful murals but no clue box. That meant she had to go up. Millie disliked—okay, hated—heights, but that didn’t stop her from purchasing three tickets from the gift store. With the camera crew and two students from Brazil, she crammed into a small elevator.

At the top, the doors opened. Everyone spilled out.

She climbed a winding staircase to the upper viewing area. A breathtaking panoramic view of jutting skyscrapers greeted her through arched windows, but she stayed far away from the edge.

For a moment, she felt very much like a small-town girl in the big city. And then Millie remembered...the race. Self-preservation kicked in. She located a blue and green banner flapping in the breeze.

“There’s the clue box.” A lock, however, kept her from opening it. “Good thing I have a key.”

Millie stuck her key in the hole, but the lock wouldn’t open. She tried again. “Why isn’t this working?”

She peered closer. “Two holes.”

Millie inserted her key in the other hole. No luck.

Fear pulsed through her veins. If she couldn’t open the box to get a clue, she would be eliminated. Over her dead body.

Leaving the key in the lock, she examined the clue box. “What am I missing?”

“This,” a male voice said from behind her.

She turned. A dangling silver key caught her attention. Millie focused on the man holding it.

Jace Westfall.

The air rushed from her lungs.

No

. He couldn’t be here. With her. Now.

Millie felt wobbly, off-kilter, as if she were standing on the top of a mountain or a tall tower which she was. She struggled to breathe but managed only a few gasps.

Falling.

That was all she could think about.

She was going to fall.

Fail.

Again.

Millie thought she had prepared for everything. But not for this.

For him.

“What are you doing here?” Her voice sounded ragged. Well, she felt ragged. But losing control would only give the show what they wanted. Drama. Obviously they had arranged for Jace to meet her here.

He waved the key. “Bet this opens the lock, Freckles.”

Millie winced at his use of the endearment. She couldn’t answer. She wanted nothing to do with him. If he were the last man on earth, she would gladly die a virgin. She gnawed on the inside of her mouth.

A second cameraman, one she didn’t recognize, moved closer.

She wrapped her arms around her stomach.

“You okay?” Jace asked quietly with a quick, concerned look.

Millie wished he’d stop pretending. His compassion was an act. He only cared about how the show portrayed him. She wouldn’t be taken in by his good looks and charm again.

Yes, she might have been heartbroken the night of

The Groom

finale, but she’d quickly realized everyone had gotten carried away on the show. Nothing, not even her feelings, had been real. “I’m fine.”

She stared at his jacket and his pants. They matched the ones she wore. Why would he be wearing...?

The answer hit her like a shot put to the head. The clue had said she would find something to take with her on the race. Jace wasn’t only here to give her the key.

Millie’s heart dropped to her tennis shoes and kept going over two hundred feet to the ground below.

Splat.

“You’re a contestant on

Cash Around the Globe?"

He nodded once, his mouth tight.

She cringed, feeling duped. Used. Manipulated. Again.

Just seeing Jace once made her nauseous. She couldn’t imagine seeing him day after day during the race. “I can’t believe you did this. You set me up.”

“This wasn’t my idea.” Jace inserted his key and unlocked the clue box. “The producer, Pete, mentioned game twists, but I never expected to see you again.”

Never wanted to see her again, he meant.

She felt a familiar sting.

“I didn’t expect you, either.” The words rushed from her mouth. Millie didn’t want him to think she played a part in this. She couldn’t bear him to suspect she might still harbor feelings for him. “I was hoping for a GPS unit.”

“Maybe we’re jumping to conclusions.”

Please, oh please, let them both be wrong. “Maybe.”

He opened the box. “There’s only one clue pouch in there.”

“So we’re in last place or...”

“They sent racers to different locations.” He finished the thought for her.

Once she’d taken his ability to complete her sentences as a sign of how close they were, how much in tune. She knew better now.

“What does the clue say?” she asked.

Jace pulled out a card from the pouch. “Congrats on teaming together to find your second clue. Working with each other will be the key to your continued success in the race. The two of you are now teammates known as the blue team, one of eight teams competing for the cash. Using public transportation, make your way to the Marina Green to find your next clue. You don’t want to come in last and go home empty-handed!”

So much for maybe.

“Teammates,” she said.

A vein twitched at his neck. He nodded. “Teammates.”

Just great

. Twelve months later, and Millie was right back where she started. Standing in front of Jace Westfall for the world to watch and critique. She bit back a sigh. Whining or moping wouldn’t change anything. Unfortunately.

“So what do we do now?” she asked.

He consulted the clue. “Find a bus.”

“No, I meant...” Millie struggled for words, aware of the cameras aimed at her face. She had to get over the intrusive cameras, the way she had on

The Groom,

or she wouldn’t survive long. At least the network hadn’t discovered a way to tap into her mind and broadcast her innermost thoughts. No, they just edited her actions and words so everyone watching assumed they knew everything about her. What she thought, how she felt, who she loved...

“What do we do about...us?” she asked.

Jace’s eyes were wary. “What do you want to do?”

Quit.

But she couldn’t. So many children needed her to win this race. She thought about Bonnie, the petite girl with Down syndrome who loved princesses and running the hundred-yard dash, and Samuel, the gentle eight-year-old boy with Autism who was also a math whiz and javelin thrower. Each of Millie’s students was a special, precious gift. She had learned so much from them, more than she’d taught them.

“I guess”—she straightened her shoulders—“I want to win a million dollars.”

As she climbed down the steps to the elevator, she told herself it was only for thirty days. She could survive anything for a month.

Even Jace Westfall.

And then she never wanted to see him again.