‘Not if we get a proper plan together,’ says Cam. ‘I’m not a producer for nothing. Being creative with the truth is what I do.’
‘We have approximately three minutes,’ I say. ‘There’s no time to come up with a plan.’
‘Okay. How about this?’ Lois says to Cam, wiping some mud onto her cheeks and hair. ‘I swap with Libby for one night to buy you and her some time to figure all this out?’
‘That is a terrible idea,’ I say.
Oh, how the tables have turned.
‘Cam, will I get to meet Destiny?’ Lois says, ignoring me completely. ‘Is she as awesome as she comes across on screen? Is she really that orange in real life?’
‘Lois, you can’t pretend to be me just to go on the show.’
We all take a beat to let the irony sink in.
‘Libby, let me do this. I swear nobody will notice.’
‘I suppose it would be good to have the night to think about what to do,’ I say, looking at Cam. ‘What do you think?’
It appears Cam doesn’t need to think twice about it.
‘Hide under that blanket while I drop Lois off with the others. I can see them just up ahead. When all the trucks pull up outside the villa, Lois, you jump out.’
‘Don’t worry, sis. I’ve got this. Cam has told me about the blind spot and the secret meetings.’ She waggles her eyebrows at me. ‘Cam, meet me tomorrow morning. Oh, my God. I’m so excited. I’m going to be on telly!’
‘That was such a fast emotional turnaround even for you, Lois. Rage to excited in less than a minute.’
‘It’s my trauma training. We learn to move on quickly. I never dwell on the past.’
Within minutes, we have pulled up outside the villa. I am safely hidden on the back seat of the jeep with a bag on top of me. I whisper to Lois, ‘On a scale of one to ten how nervous are you?’
‘About fifty-three,’ she giggles. ‘But I can’t wait! See you soon. Give my love to Ty!’ She slams the car door shut. A few seconds later, I hear Amber and Mimi yelling my name and, it all seemsso surreal, as I hear Lois yelling back to them. The voices fade and Cam drives away.
After a short while, the jeep pulls over to a stop. ‘The coast is clear. You can come out now. The hotel is in the opposite direction of the production village so we should be good.’
I climb into the front seat. Cam looks at me with those kind eyes of his. ‘Thank you. Thank you for trying to protect me, Libby. I really appreciate it. But honestly, you don’t have to. Porscha can do what she likes. I’m not threatened by her. I have a solid reputation as one of the good guys in this biz. Whereas she doesn’t.’
‘Oh. Right.’
‘The only thing that does bother me is that she could hurt your career… and you.’
‘Oh. Right.’ My face is on literal fire. My cheeks are burning again. He could fry an egg on them.
‘Listen,’ he says, looking down at his hands on the steering wheel. ‘I know I said that I wasn’t ready for anything. But… I’ve fallen for you.’
‘Oh.’ And there goes that invisible force pulling me towards him.
Where are my words? Where? Where?
‘I’ve never met anyone who makes me feel so… I just want to spend every minute of every single day with you.’ He dares to look at me. ‘I’m so excited when I’m around you.’ He twists in his seat and gently cups my face. He looks lovingly into my eyes. ‘I just feel like anything’s possible. I don’t care that we have an ocean between us.’
I can feel myself welling up. Tears are about to spill. I am so full of joy that I am going to burst.
‘But I’d need to take things real slow.’ He looks shyly at me.
He’s so cute. Incredibly cool and handsome but also so, so cute. How is that even possible?
‘Slowly,’ I say.
