… rather than telling her the truth: that I was having an attack of ‘Why would he like me when he could have her?’. Dylan might already know plenty about my regular crises of self-confidence, but some things were too embarrassingly teenager-y to say out loud, even to your new best friend.You wereintimidatedby me?she’d say, raising a perfect eyebrow.Oh, babe, you’re deeper in the quicksand than I thought.
‘How dare you wear my colour?’ Lily snapped at another woman, who’d had the audacity to also wear a yellow dress. ‘Yellow is mine. Don’t ever do it again.’
Dylan rolled her eyes. ‘Lily, stop being ridiculous. You can’t claim a colour.’
‘Please address me by my full name. Lily Fireball.’
‘I am not fucking calling you Lily Fireball. What kind of influencer bullshit is that?’
Dylan had probably never been intimidated by another person in her life.
I wondered if that was a skill that could be taught. If Dylan could write me some kind of instruction manual.How to Stand Tall, Stand Your Ground, and Stand Up For Yourself (For Dummies).
‘– cheer,’ the director was saying. ‘We need to keep the energy high.’
‘Wait, what?’ I whispered to Dylan. ‘I zoned out. What are we cheering about?’
‘Hello, Juliets!’
‘That,’ Dylan whispered back, as Tom Zelig walked in and everyone went absolutely nuts.
I’m not going to lie: I also went absolutely nuts, even though it was about two seconds after everyone else. You don’t watch as muchMarry Me, Julietas I have andnothave a special little place in your heart for Z.
Dylan laughed beside me. ‘You’re adorable,’ she said in my ear.
‘Welcome toMarry Me, Juliet,’ Z said. ‘I’m your host Tom Zelig, and it’s my absolute honour to be here right now with all of you on your journey to find true love.’
I think that’s what he said, anyway. I was a bit busy rolling the wordadorablearound in my mind.
‘Obviously, we’re all living in tough times right now,’ Z said. ‘The pandemic has changed everything, and it’s made it a lot harder to look for love. But we hope that here, onMarry Me, Juliet, we can help two people find their forever love story, one that will bring hope to the nation at a time when we need hope more than anything.’
Oh, thank you!I’d said once to Jac, when she gave me a vase she’d blown herself in her glassblowing class.This is so nice. You’re adorable.
Don’t call me adorable,she said.Adorable is a word for puppies and small children. I’m a grown woman.
I spent the rest of the night apologising, the vase forgotten on our coffee table.
‘So, here he is!’ Z announced. ‘Olympic gold medallist in sailing, founder and spokesperson for Ties Out For The Boys day, your Romeo, Dylan Jayasinghe Mellor!’
There was more cheering and applauding as Romeo-Dylan walked in. I applauded too, but even though he was definitely still extremely hot, my heart wasn’t all the way in it.
Adorable.
What was it that Dylan had said to Murray in the limo?Don’t call us girls – we’re grown women.
Would you call a grown womanadorable?
‘Hi everyone,’ Romeo-Dylan said.
‘Dylan, you’ve got to call them Juliets,’ the director said. ‘Let’s go again.’
‘Hi, Juliets,’ he said obediently. ‘It’s so lovely to meet you all.’
Yet more applause, yet more cheering. Romeo-Dylan smiled sheepishly and ran his hand through his hair.
I glanced sideways at Dylan.You’re adorable.
What did thatmean?
