‘At ease, soldier,’ Jack said, immediately taking to the bit. He turned a solemn face towards Niall. ‘And you, Private O’Connell?’
‘Yes, the girls are fit, sir!’ Niall said, with equal commitment. Declan could see Paige roll her eyes in the corner of his vision.
‘Permission to engage, sir,’ Oliver cut in, sitting at attention.
‘Hold tight, Sergeant, we still need to determine a plan of attack,’ Jack said, throwing a look back at the villa.
Niall let out an offended huff. ‘Why does he get to be a sergeant and I’m relegated to private?’ he complained, dropping the charade.
‘Can it! No backtalking to your superiors,’ Jack said. ‘We move out in five minutes. Ready, men?’
‘Aye, aye, Captain!’ the boys said sarcastically.
Paige sighed. ‘Very funny. But give these girls a real chance; they may surprise you.’ She gave Oliver a pointed look, and the two seemed to share a silent conversation.
The night progressed like all the others, with too-loud music and too little alcohol to cope with the awkwardness of having to dance in such a small group. Declan was tiring of the endless parties, even with new girls around to keep the conversation fresh.
Without Zoë to distract him, Declan found his gaze wandering to Oliver, and saw the same exhaustion reflected on his face. He inclined his head slightly and the two peeled off from the others, heading towards the pool.
As they sat, Declan struggled with what to say. It had been difficult to be around Oliver recently. Declan had avoided him since the night of the fireworks and found things noticeably easier when he concentrated on Zoë. He didn’t have to worry about forgetting the cameras, and he could focus on what the audience wanted from him. But despite all that, he missed Oliver.
‘So,’ Declan said, reverting to the mechanics of the show to keep them in neutral territory, ‘what do you think of the girls?’
Oliver didn’t meet his eye. ‘Well… Eavie is pretty.’
It wasn’t much, but Declan could work with it. ‘She is, mate,’ he agreed. ‘What’s the plan?’
Oliver finally looked at him, his expression blank. ‘I suppose I’ll have a chat with her and see what happens?’
Declan already regretted bringing the girls up. He’d thought it would be a safe topic, but he detected a hint of irritation in Oliver’s tone. ‘Do you know what you’re going to say?’
‘Not really,’ Oliver said lightly, ‘but I’m sure I can manage on my own.’
Declan couldn’t stand his affected cheer. ‘Is everything all right?’
‘Why wouldn’t it be?’ Oliver asked, not dropping the painfully polite tone.
‘I don’t know,’ Declan said, wanting to goad him into a real response, ‘there are four beautiful women for you to choose from and you don’t seem excited at all.’
Oliver’s eyes flashed to his, regarding him coolly.
‘I mean, this isn’t about the other night, is it?’
Oliver stiffened beside him. ‘What do you mean?’
‘With me kissing Zoë.’
Oliver gave him an odd look.
‘I know you liked her before.’
‘No,’ Oliver sighed. He pinched his nose under his glasses and scrubbed at his eyes, looking like himself again. ‘I don’t know – I guess I’m just feeling a bit adrift. I haven’t connected with any of the girls.’ He looked at Declan, his green eyes glowing in the soft light. ‘I’m not sure I will.’
‘Of course you will!’ Declan said, wanting to wipe away his lost look. ‘Just get out of that head of yours and focus on how she makes you feel. It should feel good to be with her. She should make you happy.’ He leaned towards Oliver without thinking and their bare shoulders grazed.
Oliver stared at him for a few more moments before nodding slowly. ‘Focus on what makes me happy?’ he said with a wry smile. ‘Not exactly what I’m used to.’ He stood, stretching his arms over his head, the muscles along his stomach fluttering at the movement. ‘Wish me luck.’
Declan stared at him. ‘Always,’ he said, his throat dry.
