PrologueMurray
‘Okay, Brett,’ I said. ‘It’s all come down to today. How are you feeling?’
Brett shifted uncomfortably on the stool in front of the green screen. ‘Good. I think.’
‘You think?’ Lily said. ‘This is one of the last times you have to see this guy’s ugly face—’ she jabbed me with her elbow ‘—and you onlythinkyou feel good?’
He cracked a smile and relaxed, just a little. ‘Okay, I definitely feel good.’
‘As you should.’ Lily smiled sunnily at him. ‘You’re about to ride off into the sunset with the love of your life. You should feel great.’
‘Exactly,’ I said, in my most reassuring voice. ‘Now, there’s nothing to worry about, okay, mate? This interview is going to work just the same as all the others. Look at me and Lily, not at the camera. Remember to answer in full sentences, because the audience isn’t going to hear our questions, just your answers.’
I’d given him the exact same spiel every single time we’d sat down to record an interview during Season Ten ofMarry Me, Juliet. Every single time Brett had either looked directly down the lens, given one-word answers, or both. Brett wasn’t the worst Romeo that Lily and I had ever worked with, but he was certainly one of the most frustrating.
‘The only special thing you need to remember is that at this point in the episode, the audience won’t know who you’ve chosen,’ Lily said. ‘So instead of “I’ve fallen in love with Mary-Ellen”, say something like “I’ve fallen in love with this woman, and I can’t wait to tell her”. That way we can make the fact you’ve picked her a big reveal.’
‘CJ.’
‘Hmmm?’
‘I’ve fallen in love with CJ,’ Brett said. ‘Not Mary-Ellen.’
‘What?’ Lily and I said at the same time.
Brett shrugged. ‘Mary-Ellen’s hot, but CJ’ll fit into my life better. We’re more compatible.’
Lily and I exchanged glances.
We were experts at this. Literal experts. We’d been working on the Romeo and Juliet shows for eight years. We could tell when two people were into each other. Usually long before they could.
But it didn’t take an expert to see how Brett felt about Mary-Ellen. You could be an alien from another galaxy where they didn’t have a concept of attraction and you’d be able to tell.
‘Love isn’t just about compatibility, mate,’ I said. ‘Take it from someone who’s divorced. You can be compatible as hell and it still might fall apart.’
‘And take it from someone who’s happily married.’ Lily waved the hand with her wedding ring at him. ‘Compatibility is great, sure, but you can be compatible with lots of people. Chemistry is rare. A real connection – that’s even rarer.’
‘We don’t want to influence you or sway you,’ I said.
I was lying through my teeth. Our entire story plan revolved around Brett and Mary-Ellen being soulmates. If we couldn’t talk him into picking her, we were going to have to go back to square one and re-craft the whole damn season.
‘But Lily and I have been with you every step of this journey. We’ve watched you with all the Juliets. It’s obvious that what you have with Mary-Ellen is special.’
‘Absolutely,’ Lily said. ‘It takes a lot for two cynics like us to get invested in a love story, but we’ve been all-in on you and Mary-Ellen for weeks now.’
Brett folded his arms defensively, his massive shoulders rippling.
‘This is your decision, mate.’ I emphasisedyouras much as I could without getting cartoonish. ‘We’d never dream of standing in your way.’
‘But we also don’t want to see you make a terrible mistake,’ Lily said, injecting a soothing tone into her voice. ‘So many people stumble at this last hurdle. They get scared. They start thinking about what’s good for them on paper instead of what they actuallywant.’
She leaned forward. ‘Going after what you want is the bravest thing you can do,’ she said. ‘So tell me, Brett: are you ready to be brave?’
‘I can’t believe that didn’t work,’ I said.
‘I don’t understand how it didn’t work,’ Lily said. ‘?“Are you ready to be brave?”alwaysworks.’
I held the production office door open for her and she walked through, dumping her folder and her tablet on our desk. At the beginning of the season, it had been two distinct desks, hers and mine, but, as usual, it hadn’t taken long for it to turn into one communal mess.
