A striking woman with long black cornrows walked towards the pool. She scanned the line of boys, and when her eyes fell on Declan, she smiled in recognition.
‘Well, Declan, it looks like you have a fangirl,’ Darcy said. ‘Which is perfect, because you two have been matched up!’
Declan smiled wide, knowing the cameras were capturing his every movement. He could only hope that Lara’s ecstatic expression was because she wanted to be attached to his fanbase when the audience’s votes came in at the end of the week and had nothing to do with him as a person.
Lara came over and he obediently put an arm around her shoulder, turning to the closest camera.
‘Here we go, everyone!’ Darcy said, with renewed energy. ‘Let’s meet our last girl, Zoë!’
A petite woman in a sporty swim set stepped out, her long, dark ponytail bouncing as she walked. Declan recognised her as an influencer, though he couldn’t quite place her, and knew instantly she was exactly who he was looking for. He also knew it would make for a much better storyline to not be paired up with her from the beginning – the producers had given him the perfect opportunity to pursue her, to have to fight for her. The viewers loved that crap.
‘Everyone’s favourite fitness girl!’ Darcy announced. ‘Zoë, you’ll have loads to chat about with Oliver over here, since he’s a ballet dancer.’
Declan suppressed a snort. Here was the most damning piece of evidence that matchmakers had been nowhere to be found when the contestants had been coupled up. There couldn’t be a worse match than an influencer and a guy like Oliver, who looked like he’d wandered off the set ofBake Offhaving just bungled the technical challenge.
As Zoë dutifully walked to Oliver’s side, Darcy turned back to the camera, looking as relieved as Declan felt to be done with this part of the proceedings. ‘Fantastic!’ Darcy said. She reintroduced the couples to the cameras, then turned back to the contestants. ‘Over the next eight weeks, we’ll see hook-ups, breakdowns and heartbreaks as our Lovers try to navigate their way into the couple of their dreams… and the hearts of our viewers.’ She turned to look directly at the camera. ‘Tune in nightly to vote for your favourites and send others sailing home in defeat, on this season ofSummer of Love!’
Paige immediately dissolved the scene, shuffling the girls upstairs to get ready for the first night party and instructing the boys to chat by the pool.
‘So,’ Jack said, once the boys had settled into a circle. ‘Let’s have it, what do we think of the girls?’
‘I think Oliver’s got the best of the lot,’ Callum said, shooting Oliver a sour look.
‘Zoëisquite talented,’ Niall said, frowning at Callum. ‘My sister loves her videos; she does the workouts every morning. But I think all the women seem like wonderful people.’
‘Oh,’ Declan said, finally placing her. ‘She’s Zoë Park!’
He regretted having said anything when Oliver caught his eye, his forehead wrinkling in confusion. ‘Who?’
‘She’s got like half a million followers on YouTube,’ Jack said, and Declan was relieved when Oliver’s attention shifted away from him.
‘Huh,’ Oliver said. ‘I’m not really online, but that sounds cool.’
Declan stared at him. Zoë couldn’t possibly be on the show to find love, and someone like Oliver couldn’t be there for any other reason. There was no way they would last, which made her perfect for his plans.
‘Well, Maeve is a catch too,’ Jack said to Callum. ‘I recognise her… didn’t she date the Prince of Jordan?’
‘She can’t be that well-connected,’ Callum said dismissively. ‘She didn’t even knowThe High-Value Man.’
Declan snorted – Callum didn’t seem to realise his podcast hadn’t made the mainstream. He noticed Oliver’s lips twitch as though he was trying to hide a grin, but his face shuttered when their eyes met.
Callum rounded on Declan. ‘Why are you even here?’ he asked. ‘I thought you already had a girl. The hot one, Georgia something.’
‘Hastings,’ Declan supplied. ‘And we’re just mates.’
The line came out reflexively, but where he’d usually try to inject it with a note of coyness, this time it fell flat. Callum had hit on the confusing part of his friendship with Georgia: through strategic public appearances, social media posts and brand deals, they had been suggesting to the public for years that theywere romantically involved. The truth was they never had been, since Georgia was the one person outside of his family who knew Declan King, the man half the English population worshipped for his skills in the ring, was gay.
‘Sure,’ Callum said, smirking. ‘I’d love to have a mate like that.’
He elbowed Declan’s side and laughed as if they were sharing an inside joke. Declan gritted his teeth, keeping his face relaxed. The last thing he wanted was to give the tabloids something to say about his temper; they would have a field day with that one.
The drawback of trying to make people believe you were dating your best friend, even if you never explicitly confirmed it, was that it was impossible to get them to stop. He and Georgia had always been careful to play it on the right side of deniability, but that hadn’t been enough to stop rampant rumours. What had started as a lark to keep the press off his back had turned into something with real-world consequences.
‘Don’t be crass,’ Jack said, side-eyeing Callum.
‘And Holly?’ Niall asked Jack, clearly trying to tactfully change the subject. ‘What do you make of her?’
Jack clapped his hands together. ‘Not sure yet, mate. She seems like a cool bird, maybe too cool for me. But I think I can crack her tough exterior with my lovable charm.’ He threw his head back with forced laughter. ‘I do believe she and I will just be in it for a laugh. But who knows? The night is young and the women are lush.’
