Page 37 of Lights, Camera, Love

CHAPTERELEVEN

Sophie

My head snapped up,disbelief coursing through my body.

“What the fuck, Aaron?” Kayla snapped. Her words were icy, simmering with anger and resentment. I looked over at her, my eyes wide and hands shaking. Kayla’s fists were balled in rage as she rounded on me.

“I-I—” I stammered, trying to put words together and failing spectacularly.

“Congratulations to Aaron and Sophie! You’ve won a romantic dinner for two this evening! You guys have the rest of the day for yourselves, and we’ll catch up with you later.” Troy delivered his speech, then yelled cut to the cameraman like he was a director on a movie set before stalking off, away from the drama he’d just dropped at our feet. The cameras, of course, did not cut. Instead, they were panning around the pool, catching everyone’s reactions.

If only real life worked that way and my most recent ex wasn’t standing across a pool I wished was an ocean, seething at the turn of events. But what did he expect? That I would roll over and take him back on live TV? Bitch, please. I may fake my confidence a lot of the time, but I wasn’t faking a damn thing when I said those words to him.

I twisted my hands in front of my body, sending my nervous energy there instead of letting it show on my face. Ryan wasn’t the guy for me, and it took me far too long to realize it when we were together. Not letting me go when it ended was the icing on the shitty cake.

Sure, he was hot. It all started out sweet and, yeah, a little dangerous. What girl hasn’t read a motorcycle club romance with a growly dude who was only soft for the heroine and thought,Hey, that sounds like it’s for me!

The reality turned out to be far different.

I tore my eyes away from his ice-blue gaze and looked toward my housemates. The guys stood in solidarity, their chests puffed as if readying for a fight. Diego looked pissed. Those dark-brown depths drew me in and held my attention for three heartbeats. I certainly hadn’t asked Aaron to pick me, nor was I expecting it. But after last night, it was easy for me to put myself in Diego’s shoes and follow his thoughts.

Oliver, sweet and nerdy Oliver, joined us in what Diego had probably hoped would be a private moment for the two of us. And here we were, Aaron deciding to take me on a date, adding a third—and uninvited—man into the mix. Diego’s expression softened when he saw the pleading in my eyes, and he nodded that he understood this was just as shocking to me as it was to him.

Jess, Tobias, and another crew member we hadn’t formally met, helped to round up the exes and led them away from the pool. I watched Ryan try to veer off toward us. Jess, the tiny spitfire that she was, grabbed his arm just above his elbow and yanked him back in line with the others. I wanted to shout that she was putting herself in harm’s way with the anger I felt radiating off of Ryan, but then her arm flexed, and she pinched the skin above his elbow, eliciting a yelp from my ex.

Ryan glared at her, finally tearing his eyes away from mine and letting her lead him away. Trey, Viv’s ex-fiancé, took hold of Ryan’s other arm and whispered hurriedly into his ear. The cameras were still trained on them as they left, following the procession down to the beach, where, hopefully, they would get on a boat and go far, far away.

With them gone, I had two choices. I could turn and look at Oliver, hoping for understanding, or I could face a seething Kayla. One option sounded infinitely better than the other.

Oliver had an arm slung over Aaron’s shoulders, and a gentle smile played across his lips. Not only were bonds being made romantically between a few of us, but it seemed the guys had also developed a friendship, smoothing the worry etched on my brow.

Kayla huffed and spun on her heel, stomping off toward the villa. Cheryl followed her, but not before turning to me with a withering gaze. Okay, so not everyone here was making friends.

“Hey,” Viv said, her hand resting on my tense arm. “Are you…?”

I let out a mirthless laugh. “Okay? Yes? No? A mixture of both.”

“Well, I’m here if you need to talk.”

“I know. Thanks, girl. But if I’m going to talk to anyone about it, it should probably be them… first.” I tilted my head toward Oliver and Diego, who looked like they were playing rock paper scissors as I collected myself. “I’ll likely need some girl time when the dust settles.”

“That’s fair, but you don’t have to defend yourself about Aaron choosing you—which, hello, left fucking field—or dating that asshole. We’ve all been with idiots like that in the past, or at least I have. Rehashing all of that sounds worse than a root canal.” Viv sighed, looking toward the beach where her ex-fiancé had disappeared. “But like I said, if you ever need a non-judgmental ear, or an ear attached to someone you’re not sleeping with, you’ve got me. It’s the least I could do after you took care of me the first night here.”

“Thanks, Viv.” I hugged her and turned back toward the guys.

Oliver exchanged a few words with Diego, clapped Aaron on the back, and broke away from the group to round the pool.

“Fancy a chat, love?” he asked, his accent making me want that very much indeed, even though I knew the talk was going to be uncomfortable.

I took the hand he extended toward me, and we headed toward the house. We reached the villa and veered left, finding the patio set where I’d had my chats with the guys yesterday. He tugged on my hand, gently pulling me down until I settled sideways on the couch, one knee propped up on the cushion and the other bouncing restlessly.

“How are you?” he asked, his words gentle and caressing as they washed over me.

“Fine, I think.” This certainly wasn’t how I’d expected today to go. I had stood across from a man who had mentally and emotionally drained me for most of our relationship. After a while, he’d made me question absolutely everything while we were dating. When we broke up, it was as if I’d shoved those memories into a box and left it locked up tight. But seeing him today brought it all up again.

“You were bloody brilliant, love.”

I laughed at his praise. “To be honest, I’ve wanted to say those words to his face since we broke up and he refused to get the message. It didn’t end in some flashy blowup fight. That’s never been my style. Instead, I gathered my things from his apartment while he was at work, told him it was over when he got home, gave him back his key, and blocked him. The big issue was that he didn’t respect the space I’d put between us when it ended.”

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