Page 28 of Unscripted

And, finally, there was Callum, who said he was also from London even though I was of the belief that he was actually from Pricksylvania.

“They’re so hot!” Chiara whispered to me.

I nodded along, agreeing. They were all good looking, I’d give them that. Well done, Casting Director Harriet.

“Right—now it’s time for the fun part. Are you all ready to find your match?” Gemma asked excitedly.

A thrill of nerves had my spine straightening as everyone cheered.

“This year, we’re going to be doing things a little differently,” she continued.

I tilted my head to the side, sneaking a look over at Chiara.

“Different?” I whispered to her. “What does that mean?”

Chiara was smiling as brightly as ever, but I could detect a hint of confusion in her expression. “No idea,” she whispered back.

“A week ago, when you lot left to come to this beautiful island,” Gemma continued, “we let the public know who would be entering the villa.”

She looked around at all of us, smiling. The woman really knew how to draw things out for effect.

“But that’s not all we did. We also let them have a bit of a say in how things kicked off.” Her eyes twinkled with a knowing gleam, keeping us on edge for a heavy, prolonged beat.

Then she came right out with it. “The public has been voting over the last few days and have decided who will be matched together.”

I let out a small gasp of surprise. This was not what I had prepared for during my Bella Amore crash course. In every previous season of the show, the guys always chose which girl they wanted to be paired up with. The wildest change to this format was in season four when they let the girls pick first.

Letting the public decide who would be paired together was sure to have caused quite a bit of fervor back in the UK. I’d give it to the producers; it was a good move on their part to invigorate interest in the show and spike ratings. I understood why they would make the change.

That didn’t mean I had to love being part of it.

A pit formed in my stomach. Who would the UK think was my best match?

Callum’s cold eyes on the ferry flashed through my mind as I continued to avoid looking at him across the way. I could not be matched with someone who clearly didn’t like me. I was barely keeping it together as is. That would simply be too much.

“Do you want to know the results of that vote?” Gemma said, shimmying back and forth in glee over the bomb she just dropped.

Everyone else shouted out “Yes!” but all I could do was nod as I tried to focus on my breathing and do some mental math. There was a one in five chance I could be paired with Callum. That was an eighty percent chance of being with anyone else but him. Those weren’t horrible odds.

I would be fine. Totally and completely fine.

“Our first match is . . . ” Gemma drawled out, launching into it, “Olivia and Hugh!”

We all clapped as Olivia and Hugh stepped forward and walked toward each other. They hugged before taking a seat on the semicircle couch around the fire pit.

That’s alright. There were still three other guys that I would be happy to be matched with.

“Next . . . Jess and Bradley!” Gemma announced.

Part of me was relieved that I didn’t get matched with Mr. Veneers. I’m sure he was a lovely guy, but a line had to be drawn somewhere.

Gemma’s gaze scanned over the remaining contestants, taking her time to let us know our fates.

“Our next match is . . . ” she said, and time seemed to slow down as her gaze locked on to mine.

“Poppy and . . . ”

I could feel my heart beating through my skin, could hear it pounding in my ears.