Page 95 of Lights, Camera, Love

Yeah, a fuck ton, I thought to myself. Enough for most of a social media manager’s salary.

Gia cocked a brow and just nodded with an unamused twist to her lips. “I see.”

It was fascinating to watch them interact within the group. So often, the two of them were off on their own, and because they were so steady and had nary a hiccup between them, it was easy to forget they were here sometimes.

“Oh, come on, the game is about trust!” Daniel turned for support and found an ally in Diego.

“He’s right. This is psychological, and I can’t believe I’m about to sound like Oliver right now, but it’s a herd mentality versus individual, incorporating trust into the mix.”

The screen flickered, showing Zander and Nicoletta at a beautifully laid table with candles, rose petals, and chairs positioned very close together.

“Oh, fuck,” Viv whispered. “Why are they sitting together like that?”

“It could be how the chairs were set up when they arrived. Maybe there was a spider in Zander’s original spot. You know how he hates those,” I said with hope in my soul.

Viv took deep breaths, shoved a handful of popcorn into her mouth, and chewed like the mere act would make Nicoletta explode.

The footage faded out until the screen went black again.

No one spoke after that. We just watched and waited, more than one person keeping a wary eye on Viv if she bolted for the phone.

It was my turn to be tested when the screen flashed again.

Oliver and Julie were at another table, the two of them laughing hysterically about something. Julie was wiping tears of laughter from her eyes while Oliver clutched his stomach. Julie reached over and rested a hand on his shoulder to steady herself, and my ears started ringing.

A trick. It was all a trick by the producers. Oliver probably said something on a tangent or whatever, and Julie had to cut him off before he talked the poor waitress’s ear off, and once she was gone, Julie must have lost it. That was a reasonable explanation for two friends to be engaged in raucous laughter. And touching.

It wasn’t sexual, but it was comfortable. It was a level of trust and understanding Oliver and I hadn’t reached yet. But we were on our way to that, and I wouldn’t let this stunt ruin that.

Aaron lifted his hand and rested it on my ankle, giving the joint a little squeeze. “You okay, Sophie girl?”

“I’m good. That was nothing.”It was something.

But I wasn’t the only one they had to look out for. Ryan was staring at the now blank screen as if willing it to show him more. Julie had been right when she said he’d been sniffing around her. He didn’t like the look of them together any more than I did.

Time passed until the following clip showed Nicoletta and Zander in an empty room, salsa dancing. They were holding each other close, and Zander, who was shockingly light on his feet, twirled and dipped Nicoletta, who had all the grace in the world.

Viv moved to stand, and I threw my body over her. “Think about what you’re about to do. If you end the date, does it change anything that’s already happened? These could be just advantageous shots. They want you to end the date and save them some money.”

“But he had his hands all over her!” she cried.

“So what?” Aaron asked from below us. He had reclined fully and was lying on the floor with his head propped up on one arm while the other ran lazy lines up and down my calf. “They’re exes, so he’s done that before. I’m with Sophie on this one. The producers are fucking with you.”

Not helpful, Aaron!

I pinned him with a withering glare, and he visibly shrunk. He apologized to Viv, but she brushed him off with a “It’s fine.”

It took a will of iron, but Viv stayed in her seat. “Maybe you’re right. Do I really want to ‘save’ someone who would do something shady in the first place?”

“Atta girl,” I said, patting her cheek. “We got this.”

We did not “got this.”

Twenty minutes later, the screen flickered to life again, and all the camera showed was wavy, beachy, blonde hair with a hand threaded through the locks. The fingers tightened, tilting Julie’s head just so, maneuvering her the way Oliver had done to me during some particularly passionate and memorable kisses.

“No,” I murmured. My brain switched off, and instinct took over as I watched a man I had come to think of as mine lip-locked with someone else.

My reaction was visceral. All emotion and intuition rather than thinking things through. I let my shoulders hang in defeat as my jaw ached with tension. I let out a long, shuddering sigh and pressed the heels of my hands to my eyes in my pitiful attempt to stave back the prickling of tears and the painful ache in my chest.

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