There were three long couches in the Villa’s main living area, set out in a U-shape. Carrie and some of the PAs arranged us on them. ‘We can’t have all the blondes together, you look like Stepford Wives,’ Carrie said. ‘Amanda, you move over there. Belinda, you move over there.’
I moved onto the centre couch. Dylan sat down next tome, looking brighter than she had the whole time we’d been here. ‘Hey,’ I said. ‘You look like you’re feeling better.’
‘I am,’ she said. ‘Thanks for last night, babe. Really.’
‘What are friends for?’ I said, because I was making good choices, and I was in control of my own actions, and I was going to fake it until I made it. ‘Did talking to Noah this morning help?’
‘God, so much,’ she said. ‘Hearing his voice… it reminded me why I’m here. I had to make a change if I was going to be the kind of mum I want to be. If I was going to be there for him at all.’
She looked into the distance wistfully for a moment. I wondered whether she was also faking it until she made it.
But then her eyes refocused on me, and she relaxed. ‘You’ll have to meet him when we get out of here, Mandie. He’s such a great kid.’
‘I’d love that,’ I said. ‘I’m a very good aunt. I’ve got a reputation for spoiling my friends’ kids rotten.’
‘That doesn’t surprise me at all.’
Some of the crew adjusted the lighting. I couldn’t tell you what they did to it precisely, but I can tell you that it made Dylan look luminous. God, she was pretty.
… which was a fact I was simply noticing about my friend. Because it was true. I was attaching no further meaning of any kind to it.
I could stare at her for hours, though. Just drink her in. Bathe in how beautiful she was.
Or at least, I could if she wasn’t still looking at me. ‘What?’ I asked.
‘Oh, nothing,’ she said. ‘You’ve just got this little smile on your face, that’s all. Like you just had a really good meal, or a really nice glass of wine. Or really good sex.’
If I’d been drinking something, it would have gone up my nose. ‘God, I wish,’ I managed to choke out.
‘Tell me about it,’ she said.
She leaned a little closer. ‘You must really like lists, though, if they’re putting that kind of smile on your face.’
‘Dylan! Amanda!’ producer Carrie called. ‘Pay attention!’
‘Sorry,’ we both said at the same time, and then exchanged glances. Hers was amused. I desperately hoped mine hadn’t crossed over into aroused.
Carrie gave us a quick lecture about what was going to happen. ‘Z is going to come in with your first group date card,’ she said. ‘You need to keep the energy upbeat, all right? Remember: you want to be on this date card. Time with the Romeo is your most precious resource in this experience.’
‘We know,’ the woman on my other side said.
‘I know you know, Kanda, but there’s a difference between knowing and remembering,’ Carrie said. ‘This is reality TV, not real life. That means we might have to shoot your reactions several times, from several angles. You need to bring the same energy every single time, all right?’
No one said anything.
‘All right?’ Carrie demanded.
There was a chorus of agreement.
‘Good,’ she said, and touched a finger to her earpiece. ‘Bring in Z.’
We had to shoot Z’s entrance five times, but eventuallyhe/we/everyone finally got it right. ‘Good morning, Juliets!’ Z exclaimed. ‘How was your first night in the Villa?’
We all murmured various garbled versions of ‘yeah, good’. Next to me, I swear I heard Kanda literally say the words ‘mumble mumble’.
‘We’re diving right into the experience!’ Z announced. ‘Today is your first group date with our Romeo Dylan!’
We all did more excited semi-verbal murmurs.
