I unclipped the water bottle from my utility belt, took a long swig, and swallowed the stone in my throat.
Lily was one of my contestants, so I had to run point on her chat with Romeo-Dylan. Our set design included several convo couches: strategically placed locations for conversations between the Romeo and the Juliets. Some were secluded to give the aura of intimacy and privacy, while others were more public, perfect for confrontations, dramatic moments and pointed exhibitionism.
Lily had towed Romeo-Dylan to the most public convo couch. It was bright white, excellent for showing off the brilliant yellow of her dress, situated on a raised deck near the pool, where she could see everyone and everyone could see her. The year away had clearly done nothing to curb her love of drama.
‘Don’t look so scared, darling,’ she said to Romeo-Dylan. ‘I’m not going to eat you.’
He rallied, flashing his Prince Charming smile. ‘I’m sorry. I’m just nervous. This is the first time in my life fifteen beautiful women have turned up on my doorstep and told me they wanted to date me. It’ll be the last time, too, so I don’t want to mess it up.’
There was a glint in her eye.Paragraphs,Lily Ong would have whispered.He can speak in wholeparagraphs,Murray!
She reached over and loosened his tie. ‘I wouldn’t mind messing you up a bit.’
‘What is it you have against my tie?’ Romeo-Dylan asked, trying but not entirely succeeding to keep the apprehension out of his expression. ‘I already had to fish it out of the begonias once. Are you going to throw it in the pool next time?’
‘I think the suit would look better without it.’
Then Lily used his tie to yank his face towards hers. ‘And I’m used to getting what I want.’
Romeo-Dylan laughed nervously. ‘Wow,’ he said, gently disentangling himself. ‘You are – uh – really something, Lily.’
‘Lily Fireball.’
‘What was that?’
‘LilyFireball. You can’t forget theFireball.’
‘WhyFireball?’ Romeo-Dylan asked, clearly glad to have something to latch onto that didn’t involve him being lightly choked.
‘Because,’ she said, reaching out and tracing his jawline with one finger, ‘a fireball can burn it all down.’
It took every ounce of professionalism I had not to cut the scene. Not to barge in, throw her over my shoulder, and run off into the night.
‘And it’ll be much better for social media searchability if you use my whole name,’ she said brightly, and we actually did have to stop the scene because the soundie dropped the boom mic in shock.
Thankfully for both mine and Romeo-Dylan’s blood pressure, the chat didn’t go too much longer. ‘Hi, Dylan,’ Juliet-Dylan said. ‘Can I steal you for a second?’
‘Not yet,’ Lily snapped. ‘This is my time with the Romeo.’
‘It’s been lovely to talk to you, Lily Fireball, but I need to make sure I speak to everyone tonight,’ Romeo-Dylan said. ‘I’ll see you later, all right?’
Lily paused for a moment – deliberate, dramatic – then pulled his tie off. ‘I’m right. The suit looks better without it.’
Her dress fell perfectly around her as she uncrossed her ankles and stood. The huge yellow skirts were ridiculous, but she made them look regal, a queen’s robe, as she fixed Juliet-Dylan with a penetrating stare.
Juliet-Dylan stared back. ‘What?’
‘Be careful. You don’t want to make an enemy of me.’
‘Oh no.’ Juliet-Dylan rolled her eyes. ‘I’m terrified.’
‘Good,’ Lily replied sweetly. ‘You should be.’
Then she turned on her heel and swept off in the direction of the rose garden.
I wanted to go after her, but Juliet-Dylan was already shaking her head and sitting down beside Romeo-Dylan. ‘Fucking hell,’ she said. ‘All she needs is a moustache to twirl and the cartoon villain look would be complete.’
Romeo-Dylan spluttered with laughter.
