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I still looked like me, but all the concealer in the world couldn’t cover the dark circles under my eyes. And my tense shoulders were nearly touching my earlobes. I took a deep breath and tried to force them back down. They popped up again like fucking whack-a-moles.
Securing the towel better around my chest, I smiled at the mirror. It looked so goddamned fake. And a little like Aunt Mildred’s smile, to be honest.
“Hey, Sophie,” Aaron said, entering the bathroom behind me.
I looked past my reflection in the mirror and found his face matching my own. “You’re back. How was it?”
“A shitshow, honestly.” He breathed out a deep sigh. “It’s good to be back here with more buffers between us. We swung between not speaking to each other and shouting. Fucking awful.”
He grimaced. “I don’t like who I turn into around her.”
I could sympathize with that, and I said as much.
Aaron reached the sink next to me and bumped my shoulder with his. “How are you doing? You’re not looking as in love as I expected to find you.”
I made an undignified noise as my breath pushed past my lips, sounding halfway between a fart and a sigh.
“Oof, that bad, huh?” He turned on the faucet and lathered up some face wash in his hands.
“I just… I don’t know what to do,” I confessed. Aaron finished scrubbing his face, cursing some brand of sunscreen that smelled like cantaloupe, and wiped it dry. “I like them both. It’s fucked up, Aaron. I need to slow down and think things through.”
He dragged the towel down his face, revealing a hanging jaw. “Really?”
“Yeah.” I turned away from the cameras as best I could and used a washcloth to shield my face as I spoke, my words little more than a whisper. “Plus, Jess came by, and I guess the producers aren’t happy I’m sleeping with both of them.”
Aaron looked pissed but matched my quiet tone. “Sure, it’s unusual, but it’s dating. People date more than one person all the time before committing.”
“Not when they expect people to couple up on the island,” I countered. “To them, I’m hoarding them. It must make for shitty ratings or something.”
“And can you commit to one?”
I shook my head. The only alternative was letting them both go.
CHAPTERFIFTEEN
Sophie
Two deep voicesrang up the staircase and yelled for us, pulling Aaron and me away from a conversation I wasn’t ready to have.
I turned toward the door and rushed into the dressing room, desperate to avoid facing the questions on Aaron’s face about what the hell I was going to do. How was I supposed to know? I needed an adultier adult to tell me what to do.
Quickly dressing in a dark blue midi-dress and sandals, I made my way down the stairs a respectable distance behind Aaron so we couldn’t keep talking about my conundrum.
Everyone was gathered in the kitchen, along with Stephen, the producer I’d met at my on-camera introduction and another man I didn’t know. New dude looked pissed.
“Good,” Stephen announced, clapping his hands and sending a glare my way. “Now that we’re all here, we need to go over some highlights for next week. Grab some food, have a seat, and let’s get down to it.”
Feeling like a chastised child late to return from recess, I grabbed a plate of food from the kitchen island and slid into the last free seat around the table beside Diego.
I kept my head bent, but I felt two gazes on me. I couldn’t muster the courage to look either Oliver or Diego in the eye, so I stared at the roast chicken and salad on my plate instead.
Stephen started us off. “We hope you’re all having a good time here on the island. From your early interviews, some of you know me or my partner, Chris.” He motioned to the man beside him. “We are the two producers forLove on Display. It’s come to our attention that things are not going quite as we had planned, and we’re here to make some…” He paused as if searching for the correct word. “Corrections.”
Based on what Jess told me the other day, I had a feeling this was about me, Oliver, and Diego.
“Now that Kayla and Aaron have returned, we’re headed into week two, and that means that you’ll have both a workshop and a challenge in the coming days. Plus, opportunities to take your significant other on a date.”
Stephen looked over at Gia and Daniel when she sighed longingly. He laughed at her eager expression, but I found it adorable and endearing. They had clearly made the most of their time in the villa and were headed for a weekend away together. I just knew it. And honestly, they deserved it. They’d clearly put in the work and earned some fun away from all the prying eyes and expectations. Maybe they could get a taste of what life might be like after the show. Because at the rate they were going, I wouldn’t be surprised if they upgraded from ‘island dating’ to a steady relationship.
