Page 55 of Unscripted

Settling in, I looked over at him. He was staring into the fire, lost in his own thoughts as he watched the flames. I kept looking at him until he turned his head to look back at me.

We stared at each other, each of us searching for clarity in the other’s eyes. It made me oddly emotional, being close to him, and yet I couldn’t look away. I couldn’t tear my eyes from his. I wanted to know what he was thinking. I wanted to tell him I was sorry for being confused. That I didn’t expect to feel any kind of way about James.

Mostly, though, I wanted to reassure him that I was still in the game with him. How I felt about the kiss didn’t matter. I needed to stay here as long as possible. I needed to carry on with our deal. That was more important to me than anything else.

But I couldn’t say any of that. Not here and not on camera.

Maybe Callum saw the raw emotion in my eyes, or maybe he was simply as exhausted as I was. Whatever the cause, he shifted ever so slightly closer to me.

“Pop—”

What he was going to say next was quickly drowned out by two loud voices coming from across the yard.

“Hello, Bellas!” they sang out in unison.

I looked over, and my stomach dropped.

Walking across the lawn were two new contestants.

Two female contestants.

26

If I had learned anything in the short amount of time I had been on Bella Amore, it was that if I wanted to do something, I should have done it five minutes ago.

I felt like I had been playing catch-up since the moment I entered the villa. First in finding someone to match with and then again when it came to deciding between Callum and James. Somehow, I was always running out of time.

Looking at the two new girls, the two Showstoppers, I had the sinking feeling that I was yet again racing the clock. Callum and I were unsteady, and I could feel any grip I had on our situation slipping away. I needed to make it clear to him that I was in this with him.

Adding two new girls into the mix would only make it harder.

“Hiya, I’m Amy,” the shorter, brunette one said from the edge of the fire pit deck, giving a small wave.

“I’m Sara,” said the blonde, tall, legs-for-days one, giving not only a wave but somehow also a shimmy of her cleavage.

Amy and Sara started to tell everyone where they were from, but I tuned them out as I surreptitiously glanced around the circle at James and Callum, curious about their reactions to the two new Bellas.

Callum was looking at the pair with a neutral expression on his face, simply listening to what they were saying.

James, on the other hand, was staring directly at Sara’s chest. I immediately looked away, not wanting to be caught staring at him, but when I glanced back a few moments later, his eyes were still actively flitting between her face and her boobs.

I wanted to laugh. Watching his blatant ogling, the pieces of clarity clicked into place. I didn’t like James—of course I didn’t. Our kiss was, simply, a great kiss. Not confirmation of secret, hidden feelings.

I felt silly I ever thought it did.

Pulling my eyes away from James, I exhaled a breath I had been holding in. Something loosened in my chest as I brought my attention back to the fire pit. I had watched enough hours of the show to know that what I had just gone through was a classic case of “having my head scrambled,” as they said in here.

Every second of the day in the villa was focused on who you liked and who liked you. It was enough to drive a girl crazy, and in the case of James, that’s exactly what had happened. Whatever connection we might have had was simply a product of the environment.

I felt a sweeping wave of relief knowing that I was firmly on the other side of said scramble.

Now I just needed to get my other affairs in order.

I glanced over at Callum, taking him in. There was a long road ahead of us if we wanted to be successful. I needed to remember I was not the only one out of my comfort zone, and he needed to relax with the wall he was so quick to throw between us.

It would be work, but I knew we could do it. I’d seen a softness in him the night before when he talked about his sisters. It was the same kindness Jess had mentioned earlier.

Callum was all bark and no bite.