“No offense, obviously. You’re stunning, Calla. And so nice. I just?—”
I choked on a laugh, cutting him off. “Arnie, you need to relax. I’m not offended at all. I know we just met, but I think we could be friends. Like, actual friends.”
His foot tapped against the wood floor. “Me too. I’m glad we’re partners.”
Sipping my drink, I noticed Trace huddled in a corner with Danny. A rare smile broke out on his face at something she said. Watching the sparks fly between the two of them was a gentle reminder that romance could actually happen for some of the people here.
“Are you sure?” I asked. “Because I know we already established there probably isn’t any romantic interest between us. But I don’t want to choose you if you’re interested in someone else.”
Arnie pinched the bridge of his nose, like just the idea of a romantic connection was giving him a headache. “Let’s not worry about all that right now. There’s no one I’d rather be partnered with than you.”
Loud footsteps signaled Shay’s arrival in the lounge. Shecrossed the large room with intention. She breezed past the couches and walked through the doorway to the dining room.
“She scares me,” Arnie whispered.
“Me too,” I admitted. “I’m glad I’ve only had Brady for my interviews so far.”
“Lucky. I’ve had Shay for every one of them. She almost made me cry on the first day.”
“I’m pretty sure Brady is hoping I cry every time he gets me alone in one of those rooms,” I said.
As if on cue, Brady entered the room and made a beeline for Rachel. He bent down and whispered something in her ear, before turning around and moving over to the corner where Danny and Trace were sitting.
Rachel groaned so loudly it echoed across the room as she dragged herself out of her seat and walked to the main exit.
“Time for my dream date with Danny,” she said. “Can’t wait.”
“Have fun,” I called, giggling at how tortured she sounded.
Danny and Rachel were so obviously wrong for each other that it was almost funny. They were too alike—too competitive. At least they’d figured it out quickly and could move on to other partners.
“What do you think of Danny and Trace?” I asked Arnie.
He assessed the perky blonde who now sat alone. “I suppose they could have sort of an opposites-attract thing going on. Maybe Trace is just sweet enough to tame him.”
I nodded. “Maybe.”
“This is ridiculous,” Sofia barked as she followed Shay into the lounge. “I spent two hours in an interview already. I’m going to suffocate if you stick me in that room again.”
Shay glared at her and showed no sign of apology. “I’msorry, princess, but the audio on your interview is bad. We need more footage.”
“Just use everyone else’s footage. It’s not like we won’t be doing another interview tomorrow.”
Shay just kept moving forward. “This is what you signed up for. If you don’t do another interview, you’ll hardly get any screen time this episode. Is that really what you want?”
Sofia let out a frustrated sigh but gave in. “This is unreal. I can’t believe someone could be so incompetent.”
“That’s reality TV for you.”
“Sofia looks pissed,” Arnie said, taking a sip of his beer.
“She kind of always looks a little...displeased,” I said.
“Hasn’t warmed up to you yet?”
“Has she warmed up to anyone, aside from him?” I tilted my glass toward Eli as he stepped out of the dining room through the same door Sofia had just been dragged through. A knot formed in my throat when I noticed him heading straight for Arnie and me, his expression determined.
“He’s going to ask you to talk,” Arnie whispered.
