It would go in the episode.
People would be sitting on their couches at home watchingMarry Me, Julietlike Flick and Ayo and I always did. Watching him. Watching him say this to me. Watching me.
That’s what you want, I reminded myself. Screen time is good!
But my body wouldn’t agree with my brain. It was too busy trying to disappear into the armchair.
‘Good, you agree with me,’ Dylan said firmly. ‘You are great, and there will be no further discussion on the subject.’
His voice cut right through my fuck-this-up-and-you’re-fucked spiral as cleanly as if it had been a ribbon he’d snipped with some scissors.
‘Now, back to my twelve girlfriends,’ he said, a little don’t-worry-I’ve-got-you smile playing across his lips. ‘You met Amanda, right?’
I managed to nod.
‘She’s a mechanic,’ he said. ‘Cute as a button too. I like her a lot.’
He launched into a monologue about the remaining Juliets, barely pausing for breath, only stopping ever so briefly to take a bite of toast.
‘Thank you,’ I mouthed to him.
He winked at me. ‘Have we covered Marija? I don’t know too much about her yet, but…’
He’d talked about enough of his girlfriends that I’d lost count when Samantha came stumbling down the stairs. ‘Whoa,’ she said, stopping in her tracks at the sight of me and Dylan.
‘Good morning,’ Dylan said.
‘Good morning,’ she replied, clearly stunned to see him. ‘Um, what’s happening here?’
Understandably, Samantha and Rani were extremely,extremelyunhappy about my arrangement with Dylan.
‘I’m sorry, but this is ridiculous,’ Rani said. ‘Why should she get all this extra screen time?’
‘It’s not going to be that much,’ Dylan said. ‘The main story of the show is still up at the Villa. This’ll only be a couple of minutes each episode. Max.’
‘That’s still more than we’re getting,’ Rani said. ‘Or are you going to sit down and chat to us too?’
‘I wish I could, but I don’t have time.’
His right hand was resting on his knee. I noticed him start to tap his middle finger against his thumb.
‘It would be lovely to take the time to get to know both of you, and I’m sorry we got so little time at the First Night Party, but I’m on such an intense filming schedule that it just wouldn’t be possible.’
‘Why’s she so special then?’ Samantha demanded.
Dylan’s tapping fingers got faster.
‘Is this some kind of set-up?’ she said. ‘Is it rigged? Is this some second-chance romance story where you bring her back into the show halfway through?’
Even faster. His whole hand was shaking with how hard his fingers were tapping.
‘Back off,’ I said.
‘Excuse me?’ Samantha said.
‘You heard me.’
Samantha folded her arms.
