Declan lunged at him, grabbing him and shaking him hard. It would have been comical, what with their height difference, but the unrestrained anger emanating from Declan put them on more even footing. Oliver felt sick, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away. He’d never seen Declan act this way before, had never even seen an inkling of the rage that had taken hold of him.
James laughed, carefully fixing a lock of hair that had fallen out of place. ‘Oh, that issoyou, Decs, trying to fight your way out of this. But let’s call it what it is: the better man finally winning the girl.’
‘You have no fucking clue what you’re talking about,’ Declan said, shoving James. ‘That was always your problem.’
‘Now, boys,’ Darcy said, trying to defuse the tension. It was clear she had wanted a fight when James entered the villa, but the situation had got out of hand. Oliver wanted to do something, anything, to help, but he felt rooted to the spot.
James looked down at Declan. ‘What’s this? Declan King can’t handle the taste of his own medicine? Maybe now you’ll learn not to touch other people’s thi—’
Declan didn’t let him finish, his fist flying out to meet the side of James’s jaw. James fell to the ground, Declan advancing on him before Brian and a cameraman rushed in and grabbed him by the shoulders, holding him back.
‘That’s enough!’ Darcy shrieked. ‘Get him out of here!’ The crew hauled Declan into the villa.
Oliver was left reeling. Declan had attacked James, had looked angrier than Oliver had ever seen him, all because of Zoë. It felt like a revelation, though he didn’t know why. Declan had made his feelings for Zoë explicit to Oliver at every opportunity, and Oliver had chosen to block it out. Whatever might have happened, or he had thought might have happened, between the two of them the night before had clearly been a misunderstanding. He took a deep breath, feeling an overwhelming sense of embarrassment.
Paige emerged from the villa, flushed, her hair falling out of its customary bun. She hurried to Darcy’s side, exchanged a few inaudible words with the host, then turned to the remaining group.
‘All right, everyone?’ she asked, her tense tone contrasting with her false smile. She seemed to genuinely expect an answer, eyes drifting between the contestants pleadingly. When she made eye contact with Oliver, he looked down.
‘Uh, no,’ Jack said. Maeve was clutching his arm so hard that her fingers made indentations in his skin, but he didn’t seem to notice, pressing on: ‘What’s happened to Declan?’
‘He’s taking some time to cool off.’ Paige glanced at Darcy. ‘I’d also like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that physical violence is absolutely prohibited. If conflict occurs, please feel free to take a moment off camera to collect yourself.’ She said the lines as though reciting out of the rule book.
‘Is he going to be kicked off the show, then?’ James asked gleefully.
Jack scowled at him, taking a step in his direction before heeding Paige’s warning look.
‘Let’s all mellow out.’ She stared pointedly at Jack. ‘No, Declan’s been given a warning. It won’t happen again, I can assure you of that. Your safety is our priority.’
Part of Oliver wanted to ask if he could talk to Declan, but he had just been reminded it wasn’t his place. He didn’t recognise Declan at the moment; the man who’d thrown that punch was a complete stranger to him, nothing like the man who had shared his bed the night before.
Darcy stepped forward. ‘I’m off. Let’s keep thingscivil, shall we?’ She gave them one final haughty look before walking out.
Paige sighed. ‘Why don’t you all sit back down?’
Oliver hesitated before sitting with Eavie. No one seemed to want to be the first one to break the silence. Usually Jack would be the one to make introductions, but he looked lost in his own world.
Finally, Zoë spoke, looking at Jack. ‘I didn’t mean for things to blow up,’ she said quietly. ‘I thought for sure he’d… I didn’t know he cared that much.’
Jack ignored her, though Oliver couldn’t tell if he’d even registered that she had been talking to him.
‘Zoë, you’re so lucky,’ Imogen sighed. ‘I would love to have two men fighting over me.’
There was a charged pause. ‘This is Owen,’ Holly joked, elbowing him in the side. She levelled a stern look at the men.‘He’s already been dropped once, so I expect you all to treat him nicely.’
‘Only the best behaviour for you, Holls,’ Jack said, recovering slightly.
‘I’ll try not to attack him,’ Oliver found himself saying. Without looking, he knew Paige was making a face at him.
‘Hey, no hard feelings,’ James said. ‘I know you all have known Decs for longer, but I swear I’m a solid, no-drama type of guy.’
Imogen raised an eyebrow. ‘How do you two know each other, anyway?’
James shrugged, giving her an easy smile. ‘He tried to steal my girlfriend.’ His tone was light, betraying no hint of deception. ‘He played nice, acted like we were friends, but I all but caught them in the act when I came back from tour.’
‘Right,’ Jack muttered, just loud enough for Oliver to hear.
Oliver would have liked to share Jack’s unflinching loyalty to Declan, but his feelings were more muddled. Hadn’t Declan stolen Zoë from him in the first week of the show? Hadn’t he insisted that they be friends? James’s story only added to Oliver’s sense that he had no idea who he was dealing with.
