I brought it to the judging stand and laid it flat to be judged. The judge pulled out his magnifying glass and began to pore over my finished painting. He took so long to study it that I was sure he was going to find fault, and my stomach dropped. Had I missed something? Had I dripped into the wrong box? I watched him, holding my breath.
He straightened, looked at me, and then nodded. "Good job." And he held out my disk.
I bounced with excitement and hugged him. "Thank you! Thank you!" I grabbed the disk and dashed to Liam, and on impulse, hugged him too.
Liam seemed surprised by that, but after a moment, he hugged me back. The other teams clapped politely, but I could tell they were nervous that we had already finished.
"Let's go outside and read this," Liam told me, whispering in my ear.
We grabbed our bags and headed outside, and I flipped over the clue. "Make your way to the Shelbourne Dublin. Bring all disks with you so you may cross the finish line." I looked up at Liam. "The Shelbourne Dublin? It sounds like a hotel."
"I know where that is," Liam told me. "I've stayed there before."
"You have?"
He nodded, slinging my backpack over his shoulder. "On tour. Come on."
We made it to the Shelbourne Dublin a short time later, though we had to stop and ask for directions twice. I nearly chewed my nails off in anxiety as Liam navigated the streets of Ireland, but he didn’t get lost once and listened intently to my directions.
In the front of the large building, I could see The World Races flag and the cameramen milling about. No teams waited outside - I didn't blame them. Why hang out on the street when you can take a break in the nice comfy hotel? And I was suddenly exhausted. We parked the car, and then Liam and I were racing for the finish line. The tape had been broken already, which meant we weren't first, but we didn't care.
We bounded past the finish and waited for Chip to announce our place.
"Black team," Chip said in a grave voice. "You are team….number five."
I gave a happy squeal of excitement, even though I'd known we were at least five, considering we'd left five teams back at the last challenge. And to my surprise, Liam reached down and grabbed me into a hug, lifting me into the air.
And I laughed. Today? We were safe.
CHAPTER FIVE
"I have to say…I'm not exactly unhappy to have Katy as a partner. She's a tough one, despite the pigtails. I think the others underestimate just how strong she is because she looks so small and cute. And she kisses like a fiend." — Liam Brogan, Paris Leg of The World Races
Everyone lingered in the lobby of the hotel. It wasn't that we particularly wanted to hang around. All the racers were exhausted from the constant flight-hopping and then heading straight to the challenges, not to mention the constant nerves when you thought you were in last place. I was wiped, Liam was wiped, everyone was wiped. And yet, we were all still in the lobby.
No one had the money for a hotel room.
Rooms were just a bit over two hundred a night, and we'd been given twenty dollars for the Greenland leg, and a hundred for the Ireland leg. Considering that we liked eating, we had to save some money for food and drink. Even two teams pooling their money together couldn't afford one room, as the price we’d been quoted was over two hundred and twenty a night. No one was quite willing - yet - to fork over most of their money to split one double room between six people. No one wanted to be that third couple that didn't get to sleep on a bed.
So we hung out in the lobby, our two bucket chairs scooted close together, and watched the others come in for the race. Brodie and Tesla had come in fourth, one spot ahead of us. They now sat in the bar of the hotel, eating dinner and flirting. It was like my brother hadn't even noticed I was there.
I glanced over at Liam to see if he was feeling the sting of Tesla's lack of attention, but he didn't seem to be bothered.
In fact, he was leaning in to my chair. He whispered, "Kissy and Rusty came in ninth, so they’re out."
I couldn't say I was surprised to hear that, since the Rednecks hadn’t proven themselves to be particularly good with the challenges. I was, however, surprised by the shiver that rocked through me at his breath against my ear. I squirmed in my chair and counted heads of the other contestants, loitering in the lobby. "Who does that leave?"
"Just Myrna and Fred, I think." Liam glanced around the room and nodded. "Yep. Just them."
"The two easiest teams," I mused. "It's going to get a lot harder after this. Who do you think will go next?"
He considered the others, then leaned in close to me again to whisper his response. "Depends on the kind of challenge. If it's a water challenge, I say Wendi and Rick, because Wendi's not athletic and Rick doesn't have the musculature."
The mother and son team. I could see that.
"If it's something athletic…maybe Steffi and Cristi. They don't run as fast as the others."
"And if it's an eating challenge?" I asked lightly.
"Then we'll win," he said. "If you do it, anyhow. If it's me, be prepared for the Loser Lodge."
"Sensitive stomach?"
He gave a small laugh. "Would you believe me if I said that my failure at that challenge had more to do with memories of a bad sushi experience than anything else?"
I chuckled. "I believe it. I don't think I can ever eat fish again after that challenge. And it wasn't even fish. It just smelled like it."
“It was a nightmare.”
“I’m shocked – you’re not a big fan of the raw, blubbery insides of marine wildlife?”
"Don't remind me," he said, clutching at his stomach as if in pain. "I'm still getting acid reflux flashbacks."
I laughed again, just as someone thumped into the chair next to me. It was Abby, with Dean hovering over her shoulder.
Liam immediately went quiet, glancing over at me.
Abby leaned in, a twinkle in her eye, and whispered, "How much money do you have?"
"Why?" I asked warily, glancing over at my partner. His face was a mask of indifference. Gone was the easy smile he'd worn, and I felt like our hard-won truce had just disappeared into smoke. Which kind of sucked.
"Because," Abby said, and then leaned in, glancing around at the crowded lobby. Her voice lowered. "Dean worked his magic and got us a discount on a room that was vacated."