Her sea witch dress got caught as she got out of the car. I unhooked it before it could rip (God, it would be a crime to rip a dress like that), and then she was gone.
‘You should have let it tear.’
It took me longer than it should have to realise Lily was talking to me. ‘What?’
‘Her dress,’ Lily said. ‘This is supposed to be a competition. We’re not here to make friends.’
A tougher person might have argued. Dylan certainly would have.
But I just said, ‘Whatever you say,’ and turned back to the window.
I was hoping I could watch Dylan meet the Romeo, but the door-opening person was standing in the way. It made sense. There must be rules about laying eyes on the magical man himself before it was your turn.
My throat was still dry. There were some tiny bottles of water wedged in the car door. I took one, cracked it open, poured nearly half of it down my throat, and tried to breathe slow and deep.
‘All of you need to be quiet now,’ Murray said. ‘I have to listen. We can’t have any background noise pick up in the intros, or we’ll have to refilm them.’
‘Get out of the way,’ Lily ordered Murray.
She’d had the same idea as me, clearly, because she basically climbed into his lap in her effort to see out the window. ‘I want to get a look at the Romeo.’
‘Lily, sit down!’ Murray said, jerking his body. ‘And for the love of God, shut up.’
The look Lily gave him was full of venom. ‘Don’t you dare tell me to shut up,’ she told him icily. ‘Don’t you dare.’
Murray tugged at his already scruffy hair, making it even scruffier. ‘I’m sorry. But – just – please, I need you to be quiet. All of you. I have to think.’
I sipped at my water. The door guy’s arse was still blocking my view of Dylan and the Romeo.
He was going to like her. Of course he was going to like her. How could he not?
‘Go. Now. Out,’ Murray said.
He was looking at me. My throat instantly went dry again.
I drained the dregs of my water and wedged the empty bottle back in the car door. ‘All right,’ I said. ‘Good luck, everyone.’
‘Do I look like I need it?’ Lily said, waving a hand dismissively.
Yikes again.
I stepped out of the car and into a fairy-tale.
I knew, on some level, what it was going to look like. I knew there were going to be fairy lights and lanterns and outdoor chandeliers and sparkles as far as the eye could see.
But there was a difference between watching it on TV and being there in real life. It lookedamazing.
‘Wow,’ I breathed.
It really hit me in that moment, what I’d done. I’d taken that little spark of an idea that had formed that Tuesday afternoon in the shop, and I’d followed it all the way through. I’d taken a step. It might be a step into a fantasy world, but it was still a step. A step thatI’dtaken. One foot out of the quicksand.
Jac was going to hate that I was here. She was going to absolutely fuckinghate it.
I smiled, and started walking up the driveway, camera crew in my wake.
Mandie doesn’t have an ounce of self-respect,Jac’d be saying to herself, but she’d be the one sitting there watching a show she swore she had zero interest in and that was actively bad for society.
‘Hi!’ the Romeo called to me.
