Hell yes, he was perfect. The Romeo was a gorgeous South Asian man: tall and broad-shouldered, with perfectly coiffed dark hair, filling out his grey suit like nobody’s business. He was exactly the kind of clean-cut handsome that Jac hated.
‘Hi!’ I replied. ‘I’m Amanda. Lovely to meet you!’
‘Lovely to meet you too,’ he replied, taking my hands and kissing me on both cheeks. ‘I’m Dylan.’
I blinked. ‘Dylan? Like—’
‘– like the last contestant, yes,’ he said. ‘Let’s hope it doesn’t get too confusing. But tell me about you, Amanda. What do you do?’
‘I’m a mechanic.’
He smiled, one of those wide-eyed, genuinely excited smiles some people have. I liked him instantly. ‘No way! Really?’
‘Really,’ I replied. ‘You don’t want to look too hard at my manicure. There’s definitely still grease under my nails.’
‘I’ll make you a deal,’ he said. ‘I won’t look at your nails if you don’t look at my calluses.’
I immediately turned his hands over in mine. ‘Oh my God, those are some beauties!’ I said, tracing one with a fingertip. ‘How did you get those?’
‘I’m a sailor.’
‘What, like in the navy?’
‘No, not like that,’ he replied. ‘As a sport. I went to the Olympics.’
‘Sorry. That was probably a stupid question. I don’t know much about sailing.’
‘I don’t expect you to, don’t worry,’ he said, smiling again. ‘But I do expect you to keep up your end of the bargain, and I can’t help but notice you broke our dealimmediately.So show me those nails, girl.’
I laughed and held out my hands for him. He made a production of studying them. ‘No,’ he said. ‘No grease here.’
‘I don’t think you’re looking hard enough.’
‘Look, you might be right,’ he said. ‘I can’t see shit without my glasses.’
I pictured him with glasses and went a little weak at the knees. Oh, I coulddefinitelywork with this handsome man in glasses.
‘Dylan!’ the director called. ‘No swearing!’
‘Fuck,’ Romeo-Dylan said. ‘Sorry, Amanda.’
‘I’m a mechanic,’ I replied. ‘I work around men all day. I promise you that I’ve heard it before.’
‘Take it back,’ the director said. ‘Say the thing about your glasses and then wrap it up. We’ve got thirteen more girls to get through, and we’re on a schedule.’
‘You good?’ he asked me.
I nodded.
‘I can’t see anything without my glasses,’ he replied. ‘But I promise I’ll see you inside the Villa, all right, Amanda?’
‘It’s a deal,’ I replied. ‘I hope you’re better at holding up your end of bargains than I am.’
His chuckle followed me as I floated away from him towards the door to the Villa, light as air.
This might work. This might actuallywork. Romeo-Dylan was gorgeous and non-threatening and easy to talk to, and Jac would hate his enthusiastic lovelinessso muchand it would beso good, and—
‘He’s a hottie, right?’ Dylan said, her sea witch dress trailing behind her as she swept over to me, a glass of champagne in each hand.
