Page 62 of Hot Summer

“I’m sure you will,” Mila said. She smiled before flicking her gaze to the villa cast. She didn’t even bother scanning for someone, just let her eyes land squarely on Cas.

“Cas, what do you think of Freddie?”

She knew it.

“He seems great.” She was looking at Mila, but she could feel Freddie’s eyes on her as she spoke. “I’m sure we’ll get to know each other.” Gradually, her eyes were drawn back to Freddie’s.

Even in Cas’s periphery, she could see that Mila’s grin was wicked and satisfied.

“I’m sure you will.”

Mila introduced the last bombshell—a gorgeous, dark-skinned girl named Rita—before clapping her hands together and beaming at them.

“Now, prior to arriving, each of the bombshells chose one of the lovers they’d like to have a date with. If your name is not called for a bombshell date, you must go onto the balcony off the change room. You can observe the dates, but you cannot interact with the lovers or the bombshells!”

Great. Nothing like a little bit of torture for all involved.

“Freddie, you’re up first—who would you like to have a date with this afternoon?”

Freddie ran his hand through his hair again as he stepped forward. The gesture was so annoyingly endearing, and though she wanted to write it off as a performance, a way to make himself seem soft to the audience, there was a vibe about him that made it seem entirely genuine.

Freddie looked up, his green eyes landing immediately on Cas. And she knew it, knew it before he even said it, but the thrill still ran through her all the same when—

“Cas.”

21

Only Ada, Delilah, and Femi were dateless after the bombshells announced their selections, and they were quickly sequestered on the balcony overlooking the back garden as the couples made their way to six small tables dotted along the pool deck for their dates.

They weren’t much—just small, square plastic tables with two plastic chairs on either side, but the producers had put a drinks tray in the center with a small pitcher of sangria and two plastic wineglasses, so they’d at least thought to treat them to something.

There was about a meter’s worth of space between each of the tables, but it wasn’t enough that there would be any actual privacy while they were chatting with the new arrivals. Freddie grinned at her as they took their seats at a table at the far end, the farthest away from the people listening on the balcony.

Cas might have thought that that was the best-case scenario, but she didn’t like being that far away. Didn’t like how easy it would be for Ada to start inventing all kinds of things in her head about what Cas and Freddie were up to.

“They really rolled out all the stops for this date,” Freddie said.

Cas immediately reached for the pitcher. “Oh, you’ll be overwhelmed by luxury on this show, believe me.”

She poured them each a glass of sangria, careful to avoid brushing Freddie’s fingers as she passed him his drink.

“Thanks. What should we cheers to?”

“Uh—”

Freddie waited a beat, maybe hoping she would come up with something, but when she said nothing, he smiled. “What about new beginnings?”

“Yeah, sure.” Cas tipped her glass toward his. “To new beginnings.”

There was a lightness to the way Freddie was looking at her, an ease that was not at all reflected in Cas’s own feelings about the situation.

“To new beginnings.”

Cas touched her glass to his and swiftly took a drink.

Freddie leaned back in his seat, and his legs were so long that, reclined, his knees nearly touched her own under the table. “So what’s it been like in here so far? I’ve only seen what they put on telly, but I’m sure that’s not the whole story.”

That brought Cas up short. “You’ve been watching the series?”

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