‘The surfer dude?’
‘Yes, he’s very nice, I think. We get on well.’
‘Yeah, I liked him too. We agreed to buy each other a friends-drink when this is all over. Are you going to ask for a third date?’
She wriggles in her seat. ‘Not sure. Maybe? I kind of panicked last night and put an X by too many names because I felt… I suppose bad missing people off who had been nice to me?’
‘I think the key question is do you want to marry him?’
She taps her fingers on the hard cover of her book. ‘I’m still working on that.’
‘That’s fair,’ I sigh. ‘I suppose the other way to think about it is do you want tostopseeing them, and if not, then you keep going and try not to worry about the wedding part.’
She’s quiet for a second. ‘You just went on your date with Patrick?’
I’m relieved she’s brought it up. I twist in my seat to face her. ‘Hey, I just want you to know, I’m not interested in Patrick. I just wanted to get to know him, that’s all.’
‘Really? You don’t have to pretend if youdolike him.’
‘No, he’s very nice, but –’ I try not to sayclearly hung up on someone else‘– nothing more than a friend for me. I was just checking out my friend’s possible future husband and making sure he’s good enough for her.’
I feel a smidge of guilt when a beaming smile breaks across her face. ‘You’re the sweetest.’
‘I just wanted to be explicit, so you didn’t get the wrong idea.’
There’s nothing I can do about how this storyline will be edited eventually, but I’ve said my truth and Carys knows it, and that will have to be good enough.
When she shakes her head, her pinned-up curls start to come loose, bouncing around her cherubic face. ‘Never. You’ve a good heart. And, umm,’ her tone changes suddenly, ‘I have to admit I went on a second date with Warren this morning.’
‘Right,’ I say as neutrally as possible. ‘How was that?’
‘He’s a nice man but the same for me as you. I mean, with Patrick.’ She groans. ‘I’m getting my words mixed up. I mean we’re just friends.’
‘Thanks for telling me,’ I say. ‘Maybe we can go on double dates when we’re married and out of here?’
‘I’d like that.’
Carys is suddenly called away by her handler, Reb, a woman I’ve never seen below a nine out of ten on the stress scale.
That went better than I thought it would, at least. And now that I’ve got Carys out of my head, maybe I can focus on what my marriage to Warren will bring. Stability, I hope. The marriages aren’t legal (though they were on that failed Australian series of the show) but if we felt it would protect our families more, perhaps we could.
A few years of fake marriage so that we can absolutely rinse everything we can possibly get out of our flash in the pan fame, use that to establish our own careers, pool our resources to be most effective, and then, finally, we’ll have a mutual amicable divorce. Or, well, fake divorce. Real breakup. Or a fake breakup? God, even I’m getting tangled in it.
I think that’s a good basis for a partnership, going old school, marriage as a business arrangement. It’s a tried and tested method that’s worked for centuries. I wonder if it’s still technically a lavender marriage if he’s straight?
Once tomorrow is over, hopefully I can just date Warren. I am clearly not going to find a better match than him. But I can’t help but worry thathemight.
I will absolutely have to tell him, at some point, that I’m one hundred per cent only interested in the girls. I’m not ashe plays footballs on Saturdaysbisexual, or even someone who could be tempted to fall in love with a man, even as nice as one as he seems to be. I’m not so conceited to think that he might fall for me, but I’m just realistic about how jeopardy, stress and close proximity can change things for two people even only mildly attracted to each other. I hope if he goes along with this, he’s not breaking his own heart.
That’s one of the many things Mum objected to, the idea that I might break hearts just to secure a future.
I think I’ll know for sure when we see each other on our third date. He’ll be able to see it in me. After all, it’s not like we can outright sayhey, let’s pretend to be together to beat all these saps and win the money for the people we loveout loud, not least because this show drops couples they don’t believe in.
I just have to hope I’m right, that we have an understanding, and that things are smooth sailing.
Chapter NineCarys
Malachi Campbell, 29, Liverpool
