A Good Chance
The Siren Island Series, Book Three
Tricia O’Malley
A Good Chance
The Siren Island Series
Book Three
Copyright © 2020 by Lovewrite Publishing
All Rights Reserved
Cover Design:
Damonza Book Covers
Editor:
Elayne Morgan
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any means without express permission of the author. This includes reprints, excerpts, photocopying, recording, or any future means of reproducing text.
If you would like to do any of the above, please seek permission first by contacting the author at: [email protected].
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Epilogue
Afterword
Stone Song
Chapter 1
The Isle of Destiny Series
The Mystic Cove Series
The Siren Island Series
The Althea Rose Series
The Stolen Dog
Acknowledgments
To my friend, Margaret. May you continue to bloom.
“It’s time, my little seed. The rain is here, the spring has come. Break your shell and sprout.”
– The Dark Knight
Chapter 1
“I’m sorry, but – you did what?”
“I signed up for a reality show on an island in the Caribbean. Well, like a competition, actually.”
“And why would you – or anyone – do such a thing?” Avery pushed her glasses up on her face and pinched the bridge of her nose, a dull ache beginning to pound in her head. It was inevitable, because her twin sister Ruby came with a side of headaches, Avery thought, and eyed her sister warily. She might as well have been looking in a mirror, aside from the fact that Ruby had recently added blond highlights to her auburn hair and sported a small beauty mark above her lip. Otherwise, they were identical twins, both strong, lean, and with a massive head of riotous curls that had encouraged more than one man to make lewd comments about the red-headed sisters.
“Oh, come on,” Ruby pouted, pushing her thick lower lip out and bracing her hands on her hips. “Where’s your sense of adventure?”
“Right where it should be – with reasonable things like ziplining in Costa Rica or discovering a new restaurant in Times Square.”
“Like you would ever zipline in Costa Rica.” Ruby rolled her eyes and crossed the bedroom to start rummaging through Avery’s closet, a habit that was long ingrained but had never ceased to put Avery on edge. It wasn’t that she minded sharing her clothes; it was that Ruby pulled them all out of order and staunchly refused to put them away, leaving a heap of discarded dresses and shirts on Avery’s pink tufted velvet chair, her one concession to whimsy in her bedroom.
“I might. You don’t know that. And if I do, it’s not going to be with a bunch of cameras trained on me so my terror can be publicized to the whole world.”
“The winner gets $100,000,” Ruby said, pulling a brilliant green shirtdress, spotted with white lilies, from the closet and holding it in front of her. Avery hadn’t even worn it yet, but she was so shocked by Ruby’s comment that she ignored Ruby when she tossed the dress over her tote bag.
“Are you kidding me? For going to a Caribbean island? Is this even a real show? That’s an insane amount of money.” Avery mentally calculated all the bills she could pay off – from student loans to her outstanding medical bills from a traumatic accident a few years ago.
“See? Not sounding so stupid now, is it?”
“But what do you know about this show? How did you even get on it? How do you win money? Do you really have to be on television?” Avery peppered her sister with questions, pushing her notebook aside and giving Ruby her full attention. Ruby flopped onto the bed, crossing legs clad in screaming yellow skinny jeans, and flipped her hair over her shoulder.
“The island is called Siren Island, and from what I’ve read they have a lot of mermaid myths on the island. How cool is that?” Ruby asked, avoiding the questions. Avery was well-versed with Ruby’s tactics, and just stared her down.
“Okay, fine, it’s called Swept Away, and I applied for it months and months ago. I actually totally forgot until, like, a month or so ago, when they called me in for casting and I went through more rounds of interviews. Then I signed all the contracts and it’s set to start soon. You win money if you and the bachelor choose each other, and you have to make it through certain challenges. It’s kind of like a dating game and an island survival game in one.”
“Island survival game.” Avery immediately pictured spiders and cockroaches crawling over her legs in a sandy tent.
“Yup. But like… posh, you know?” Ruby tilted her head and gave Avery a blinding smile, which immediately set off all of Avery’s internal warning signs. Ruby was about to ask Avery to do something for her. A very big something.
It had been like this their whole lives, Avery thought. She’d followed her dazzling sister through a series of adventures as they grew up. Well, more like she’d tried to stop Ruby from being so reckless, and had always been her clean-up crew and moral support when things went up in flames. Ruby was impulsive, and dove head-first into any fleeting whim she had, while Avery made lists of pros and cons and consulted others for advice before making a big decision. It suited her well as an engineer, but was often cause for arguments between the sisters. Mainly, Ruby arguing that Avery needed to lighten up a bit.
The last time she’d taken that advice, however, she’d gone kayaking with her then-boyfriend, Mr. Outdoors Colorado Man, who had inadvertently taken her down a Class V rapids. Avery had been rewarded with several broken bones, a month-long stay at the hospital, a week in a medically-induced coma, more medical bills than she cared to think about, and a now ex-boyfriend. If she’d just followed her gut and taken the less risky approach, she’d have enjoyed having a picnic by the river and watching the birds fly by above. Instead, with Ruby’s words in the back of her head, she’d broken out of her comfort zone – and had broken her body in doing so.
“What do you want?” Avery said, reaching back to massage the tightness from her neck.
“Well, you see, when I signed up for the show, I hadn’t met Zane yet.” Ruby pouted once more, and Avery almost rolled her eyes. Zane was Ruby’s latest fling, an Australian surf instructor. She’d heard all the details about him, including his infamous moves in the bedroom, for two months now.
“Right, and he probably won’t like you going on a show to hook up with some dude,” Avery said, shrugging a shoulder. “Simple. Don’t go on the show.”
“Erm… not that simple,”
Ruby said, smiling that bright smile at Avery again. “They’ve already got my picture up, social media profile, website…all the stuff. And I signed contracts.”
“So? Go on the show then. I’m sure Zane will understand. He seems pretty adventurous.”
“Yeah… about that.” Ruby bit down on her lip again and Avery wanted to scream.
“Just say it. I know you’re easing me into it, but I swear to god, Ruby, I’ve told you a million times – it’s easier to just rip the Band-Aid off. What do you need?”
“See… that’s the other part. Zane and I just bought a world ticket.”
Avery just looked at her sister blankly.
“A…”
“A world ticket. It’s this open-ended plane ticket where you can travel the world in one direction and hit a bunch of countries so long as you use it in six months.”
“Okay, and? So go after the show.”
“I leave next week,” Ruby said, the look on her face both sheepish and excited.
“Wait… what? You’re leaving next week to travel the entire world? For months and months? And you’re just telling me now?” Avery shrieked, “What about rent? What about our apartment? What about your houseplants?”
“You pay most of the rent, because I’m never here,” Ruby pointed out. “And I always kill the houseplants anyway.”
“What about your job?”
“I can always pick up another marketing gig, Avery, it’s fine.” Ruby shrugged.
“But… what about me? You’re just going to leave me?” Avery asked, her eyes round in her face. Despite their differences, the sisters had an unbreakable bond and as much as Ruby annoyed Avery, she’d still miss the hell out of her sister.
“I’ll be back. It’s okay – this is good for you, Avery. You need to break out of your comfort zone. I’m worried for you… ever since you got hurt –” Ruby’s eyes filled at the mere mention of the accident – “you’ve gone all hermitville on me. You were bad before, but now it’s just work, gym, and watching Netflix. You need to be out, experiencing life. You’re twenty-seven, not retired. You need to break out of this rut.”
“I’m not traveling the world with you, Ruby. I have a job. One that I quite like, actually,” Avery said, pushing aside Ruby’s comments about her being a hermit.
“I didn’t ask you to travel the world with me. Even I know I can’t get you that far out of your comfort zone. But you are owed a vacation. You haven’t taken one since you started at the firm three years ago,” Ruby said, raising an eyebrow at Avery.
“So? I’ll take one. Soon. I promise.”
“Great! I’m glad you said that, because I need you to take my place on the show,” Ruby said, smiling her con-artist smile at her sister. Avery, for once, was left without words, and she stared at her sister with a mixture of panic and anger.
“No. Nope. No way. Never, ever, happening,” Avery finally said when she could breathe again. “A love show? On an island?” She might as well have said – Smoking crack? With a side of acid?
“You have to, Avery. They can sue me if I don’t go on. The contract says so.”
“What kind of contract did you sign, Ruby? That sounds like slave labor. Tell them you’re sick. That’s life. I’m so not doing this.”
“Please? Just think, you’ll be a perfect shoe-in for me. And you could win $100,000. That’s enough to pay off all those bills and put you in the clear for your future.”
“I think you and I both know the likelihood of me winning an adventure challenge – and a man’s heart – on a game show are slim to none.”
“You’d be surprised. It’s always the unexpected one who wins.”
“No, Ruby. A hard no.”
“Just think about it. All that money. A vacation in the sun. Cute guys…” Ruby smiled at her.
“Not happening.”
“But you never take risks anymore. Is this what you want from your life?”
Avery’s mouth dropped open. She was about to protest when she realized Ruby was right. She’d been cautious even before the accident, but after? It had spun her into a life of taking very few chances. Unless, of course, Ruby dragged her into something.
But either way, a reality show was not happening. Going out of her comfort zone was more along the lines of trying online dating or eating at a new fusion restaurant. Going on television? So. Not. Happening.
Chapter 2
Sweat trickled down the back of Avery’s neck, even though she’d turned the airplane’s air vent on full power. Her hands clutched the armrest as the pilot announced their descent. What had she been thinking to say yes to this? Avery craned her neck to look out the window, noting that she couldn’t see anything but turquoise water below. Where exactly was the pilot intending to land this little scrap of a plane?
“It’ll be fine. The landing is a bit rocky, but the pilots do this all the time.” A breezy blond woman sandwiched next to her on the twelve-seater plane offered her a reassuring smile.
“This is… not in my comfort zone,” Avery bit out. That seemed to be the theme ever since she found out about the show. Despite swearing up and down she would not take Ruby’s place on this stupid reality show, somehow Avery had found herself requesting time off from work and booking a plane ticket. She was powerless to stand up to her sister – what Ruby wanted, Ruby always got. Avery had resigned herself to the nature of their relationship years ago, but this particular escapade really was off the charts. And, as much as Avery hated to admit it, she did need to be pushed out of her comfort zone. The accident had shaken her so much that she’d become scared to put herself out there. Granted, putting herself out there had looked more like attending a book fair in a little village on the East Coast, not hopping into this death trap that was currently hurtling toward a speck of an island in the Caribbean. But in any event, she was here and there was nothing she could do about it.
“I doubt many people particularly enjoy flying in these tiny planes,” the blonde said, having pulled out her headphones and put away her iPad.
“Have you been to the island before?”
“Nope, first time. Though I have traveled a lot in the Caribbean. But I’m here to film a reality show, if you can believe that.”
“So am I! And, again, out of my comfort zone,” Avery said, and extended her hand. “I’m Ruby – but call me Avery. I go by my middle name.” Ruby hadn’t told the producers she had a twin sister, and they’d both decided it would be easier if Avery could use her real name; otherwise she’d just be confused the whole time they were filming.
“Hi, Avery, nice to meet you. I’m Cherylynn.” The deep drawl of southern Texas tinged her words.
“Nice to meet you. I have to be honest… I signed up for this on a dare. I have no idea what I’m in for.” Avery had decided to tell people she was doing this on a dare in order to explain why she seemed so reluctant. Try as she might, Avery just wasn’t one to exude bold confidence and sultry seduction techniques. Ruby had put her on a vicious schedule of watching hours of reality-show love challenges, and it had quickly become apparent that Avery had little in common with the women who signed up for these shows.
“Well, now, honey, you’re gonna have yourself a good ol’ time,” Cherylynn drawled. “Think of it this way – you get to hang out on an island and meet new people. Either way, you win.”
“I’ll try to keep that in mind,” Avery said, clenching the armrest tighter as the plane dipped like they were going over a bump on a rollercoaster. Her stomach rolled, but she forced herself to breathe through her nose.
“Almost there. See?” Cherylynn nodded to the front window where the pilot readied the plane for landing. The airport, with a runway that hardly looked long enough for them to land on, was nothing more than a little yellow box on the side of a dirt strip. Avery swallowed down her fear.
“Why are we doing this again?”
“Because it’s an adventure.”
“Why do we need adventures? I like being in my comfy p
ants and relaxing on my couch where I don’t have to worry if my plane will stop in time or go shooting off the side of the island into the ocean where sharks will probably immediately descend on us and rip us to shreds.”
“My, my. Someone’s been watching too much Shark Week.” Cherylynn pursed her lips. “In any event, we’d be dead once we hit the water so I wouldn’t fuss too much about sharks.”
“Not helping.”
“I’m just saying…”
The plane bumped onto the runway, making a surprisingly smooth landing, and zipped across the dirt strip before pulling to a stop in front of the brightly colored airport. Avery let out the breath she’d been holding. Reaching back, she pulled her hair into a messy bun on the top of her head, already knowing the heat and her hair were not going to mix. At least she’d taken her sister’s recommendations and dressed in light linen harem pants and a loose silk tank.
Packing for this trip had been a nightmare.
“No, no, and no,” Ruby had declared, diving deep into Avery’s suitcases and tossing clothes every which way. As per Avery’s usual protocol, she’d started packing as soon as she’d decided to go on the trip, making lists and ordering things like bug spray and first aid kits from Amazon Prime. Ruby had pounced as soon as she’d seen the luggage, and her last gift prior to going on her world tour was to pick Avery’s outfits and style her for every possibility. Knowing her sister, Ruby had even made a little notebook with drawings and outfit choices, so that Avery could easily pick what she should wear for each event. Normally, Avery would ignore Ruby and wear whatever she felt comfortable in. But knowing she’d be on national television had given her pause, and she’d relinquished the styling reins to her sister while compiling lists of survival gear she needed to have to last on the island.
A Good Chance (The Siren Island Series Book 3) Page 1
