All in the Game by Barbara Boswell Read Free Book Online

crew’s camp on the other side of the island and the secluded palm grove where she was now headed.
    Shannen’s heart began to thud heavily.
    She’d slipped away from camp tonight, wondering if Cortnee had heard her leave. But there was nothing questionable about someone getting up and heading off “to use the facilities,” Shannen reminded herself.
    Cortnee hadn’t been suspicious last night; plus, she wouldn’t know whether it was Lauren or Shannen who’d left on either night.
    Certainly the last thing anybody would suspect was that practical, logical, no-nonsense Shannen Cullen was sneaking off to meet the chief cameraman. Not even Lauren, the person who knew her best in the world, would ever fathom that.
    But then, there were some things that not even Lauren knew about her twin.
    Nine years ago, in the throes of rebellion and intense first love—she’d often wondered how much one had fueled the other—Shannen had stopped sharing every single thought and feeling with Lauren. Her wild passion for Tynan Howe had been the biggest secret she’d ever kept. Deliberately, she hadn’t even mentioned his name to her twin.
    And though she’d gloried in her secret love, when it was over—after he’d ended it—the price she had paid was enduring her heartbreak alone. For the first time in her young life, Shannen hadn’t had loyal Lauren to share her pain, thereby halfing it. Another grudge to hold against Tynan Howe, and she’d held fast to it.
    Yet now, though supposedly older and wiser, here she was repeating her mistakes—the rebellion against the rules, the secrecy from her sister—and with the same man!
    What was happening to that practical, logical and no-nonsense character she’d spent years honing? Why was shesneaking out at midnight, like the recalcitrant teenager she’d once been, to meet Tynan Howe? Again!
    Nine years ago he had insisted he was too old for her. In her calmer moments back then—and since—she might even have seen his point and agreed. She might’ve dreamed of a day when she was out of high school, out of her teens, and had reached whatever age Ty deemed “old enough.”
    But her age wasn’t the sole reason cited by Tynan as to why they couldn’t be together. It was those other, far more hurtful reasons he had supplied—the reasons she came to believe were his true reasons—that still resonated within her.
    Well, she was of legal age now, and thanks to the multiple Howe scandals, Tynan was not quite the “catch” he once had been. Not that she wanted to catch him, Shannen quickly assured herself.
    She didn’t for many reasons—the current, main one being this game they were playing, on opposite sides of the camera, making Tynan Howe off-limits to her.
    It was déjà-vu all over again, as the saying went.
    If their clandestine meetings were discovered, she would undoubtedly be kicked out of the game, in full camera view, of course. Clark Garrett and Slick Bobby would want to milk every dramatic possibility.
    Lauren would feel so betrayed by her twin’s secrecy, both past and present, and the cameras would record her reaction to it all. Shannen flinched at the thought of wounding her sister.
    Furthermore, if she were eliminated now, how long would Lauren last without her in the game? From the time they were little, Shannen had felt compelled to protect Lauren, to make sure no one took advantage of her more naive twin.
    Would Konrad, Rico and Cortnee gang up on Lauren if her more formidable sister were gone? Being legitimatelyvoted off the island was one thing, but foolishly getting herself kicked out of the game was unacceptable.
    Unexpectedly she and Lauren had come this far. Why throw away a possible chance to win?
    Though it would be wonderful to win the top prize, just making the final four would be okay, too, Shannen told herself. Being one of the final four