Chapter 4

They'd barely finished their champagne when someone shouted from inside the house.

"Ladies! Are you ready to have a hot summer?"

The whole table fell quiet for a flash of a moment before the excited whispering began.

"Is that..."

"Mila?"

"Oh my god."

The first person round the corner, though, was not Mila Sexton, the longtime host of Hot Summer, but a cameraperson. Then, barely visible behind the camera, Mila herself.

Even over all the whispering, Cas could hear the sound of Mila's heels on the stone tiles, her solid, sure footsteps a death knell that they'd amp up a hundred decibels and synchronize with a steamy dance track in the final edit. The moment Mila stepped to the top of the stairs, her long brown hair blowing gently in a breeze that Cas would've sworn wasn't there a second before, everyone at the table started screaming.

"Oh my god, Mila! You're gorgeous!" Lexi, predictably, was the first one off her stool, and she ran screaming to the bottom of the stairs to watch Mila descend.

Mila was immaculate—her cheeks were a soft, perfect rose, her skin glowing with summer bronze, and her cherry red lips were shining with gloss that perfectly matched her tiny bodycon dress.

"Come on, girls." Mila's Scouse accent was extra thick, a kind of performance in itself. "Let's get you some men!"

She held her pose at the top of the stairs for a long beat before the cameraperson stepped back and Mila made her way carefully down the stairs, making sure not to spike her stiletto through the decking.

"Okay." Mila's voice softened as she approached the table, her smile present but not quite reaching her eyes as the cameras turned away. "Here's the deal. There are bits of tape hidden in the grass." Mila pointed to the stretch of lawn between the pool deck and the fire pit. "Doesn't matter what order you're in, just find a mark and stand on it. You're not to move from that mark unless you're going to step forward, and then you only move one full step"—Mila demonstrated, exaggerating for effect—"to show interest. Then move back to your mark."

Mila paused for a moment as though she was expecting questions before she clapped her hands. "Okay, great. So get to your marks, we're going to film some close-ups, and then the boys will start to arrive!"

And this was the moment. The first big test.

Cas had been thinking a lot about this initial partnering, trying to sort through as many of the details as she could without knowing any of the people she was going to be in the villa with.

She had long since decided that she didn't want to get romantically involved with anyone this summer. It was too messy, too emotional, and a riskier bet, tying yourself to someone that the public might not like. Once you were in a couple, you were either saved or eliminated as a couple. And Cas would not get her heart tied to a sinking ship.

If she wanted to make it to the finals, she knew she would need to find a "romantic" connection at some point, but the real way to get herself through the summer?

A solid friendship couple.

It didn't matter what kind of friendship couple you were talking—it could be a will they / won't they, a pair of unlucky-in-love chronic singles, anything. A friendship couple was almost always the safest route if you wanted to make it to at least week five without any real difficulty.

Her concentration broke when Sienna grabbed Ada's hand and pulled her along as they walked out from behind the table.

"Come on, babes," Sienna said, smile warm. "Let's get some boys."

One by one, they lined up on the tiny dots of yellow tape. Cas stood at the far end, Ada on her right side. Sienna, Lexi, and Maddison, respectively, across the rest of the row on the small section of grass.

The cameraperson—Omer, apparently—took his time getting close-up shots of each of them. They didn't have to move much, just stand on their marks, look off into the distance, and smile, but Cas was certain she looked less glamorous and more pained.

A great way to make an audience impression if there ever was one.

As soon as he finished filming, Omer ran to the top of the stairs, and Cas felt the butterflies start up in her stomach again. She only had to wait two seconds, though, before Mila plastered on her bright grin, waved her arm toward the stairs, and said, "This is Jayden."

Cas knew that the Hot Summer producers spent the year scouring the country for the hottest people imaginable, but seeing Jayden make his way down the stairs was like something out of a film about, like, gods. Jayden was wearing bright blue trunks that popped beautifully against his light brown skin, and he had tattoos that danced along his arms and across his chest, a few of which seemed to match the tattoos Cas had down her own right arm. Even from here, Cas could see the muscles that cut into his skin—his biceps alone were probably bigger than her head. He was wearing simple white high-top trainers and he bounced on his toes in excitement as he came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs, his gaze lingering over the line of women opposite him before he turned to smile at Mila.

Sienna and Maddison immediately stepped forward and Mila laughed. "You're keen, aren't you?"

"Uh, yeah," Maddison said, her head tilting to the side so her ponytail swept over her shoulders.

Mila laughed again. "Well, Jayden, Sienna and Maddison have stepped forward for you. That must feel nice?"

Jayden smiled down at the grass for a moment. "Yeah, it definitely does."

"I'll bet. Sienna"—Mila pivoted on her heel to face them—"why did you step forward for Jayden?"

Sienna cocked an eyebrow and drew a short line in the air in front of her. "Look at him."

Jayden laughed and ducked his head, his right hand coming up automatically to skim over his close-cropped hair.

Mila grinned. "Well, of course. Did anything else draw you to him?"

"Not that I'm going to tell him right now," Sienna said. It was the perfect response—teasing and flirty, but still not giving anything away. The exact kind of quip Cas needed if she had any hopes of coming out of this first partnership ceremony as someone memorable. Sienna, definitely, was going to be a standout—between the comment and her expression, the slightest smirk tugging up the right corner of her mouth, her eyebrow still cocked in a challenge, she was a perfect picture.

If Jayden's expression was to be believed, he very much agreed.

"Now, Jayden." Mila paused for a long moment, first looking at Jayden then scanning across the women opposite. "You can choose to partner up with either of the girls who stepped forward for you, or you can choose someone who didn't step forward. The choice is down to you."

Jayden didn't even hesitate. "Maddison, you're lovely, but I'd like to partner up with Sienna."

Maddison shrugged a little before she stepped back in line, and the smile that spread across Sienna's face was immediate, impossible to miss for its brightness. Jayden made his way to her in a half dozen long strides, and after she greeted him with a kiss on the cheek, he wrapped her in a firm hug, crushing her to him.

"Uh." Even from this distance, Cas could hear the air being crushed out of Sienna's lungs. "Jayden, don't kill me, please."

The next few boys who trotted through were similarly attractive, though Cas hadn't yet felt pulled to step forward for any of them. They were fine—handsome, even—but if Cas was going to spend weeks sharing a bed with this guy, she at least wanted to feel something. Or be able to pretend that she felt something.

A young guy named Reece coupled up with Maddison, and a tall, admittedly lovely man, Femi, coupled up with Lexi (though there were a few glances from Sienna that suggested that she, too, had been thinking of stepping forward), until, finally, it was just Cas and Ada left to be coupled up.

"Cas and Ada!" Mila was smiling, but there was a slight frustration in her voice. "Why do you think you haven't stepped forward yet?"

Fuck. Did she look picky? Standoffish?

"I can't possibly compete with these girls," Ada said, gesturing down the line. "I want them to get their first choices, you know? Who am I to swoop in and steal someone off them?"

"Definitely," Cas agreed. She held Ada's gaze for a long beat before she turned to look at Mila. "It's over for Ada, though, if I'm into the next guy that comes down those stairs."

Ada laughed from beside her, and Cas was drawn back to her. Ada's smile took over her whole face, was shining in her eyes, and Cas couldn't help but match her expression.

"Well, then I hope this next lad is your type, Cas. Please welcome Brad to the villa!"

Brad was the traditional Hot Summer blond blockhead, in that he was blond and had a head shaped like a literal block of cement. He had an okay smile and a strong jawline, but it just...

It felt like a shrug, looking at Brad.

But maybe there was more to him underneath it all. There probably wasn't, but maybe Cas was just being... judgmental.

Until Ada stepped forward, the only one to do so, and Cas whipped her head round in incredulity.

She was going to step forward for Brad? Brad, of all people?

Mila beamed. "Ada! Brad tickled your fancy, huh?"

Ada nodded mutely, and Brad's smile widened.

"Well, Brad, as you can see, Ada has stepped forward—you're the only one she's stepped forward for. How does that make you feel?"

"Quite special, Mila."

Oh god. He was posh. His slicked-back hair and now this accent? He was probably, like, an estate agent or something, too. The worst people she'd ever met in her life were estate agents.

Almost like her thoughts summoned him, Brad's eyes flicked to Cas. His head tilted just slightly, his left eye narrowing as his gaze swept over Cas.

It took everything Cas had to keep the scowl off her face.

"You can choose to partner up with Ada or you can choose any of the other girls in front of you, even if they're already coupled up." Mila paused for a long moment before she continued, and Brad's eyes finally snapped away from Cas. "So, Brad, who do you think you're going to choose?"

Brad pointed at Ada floundering in the middle of the grass. "Beautiful Ada, of course."

Mila looked delighted, beaming at him as if Brad had just revealed he'd cured cancer. "Get on over there, then! Introducing your fourth couple, Brad and Ada!"

Brad seemed to be walking in slow motion as he made his way over to her, like he was intentionally slowing his pace so the cameras had to linger on him for as long as humanly possible. He ran his hand through his hair as he walked across the grass, an almost shy smile on his face as he looked at Ada from underneath his lashes.

There was no way that softness was genuine.

Brad touched his fingers to the outside of Ada's arm before leaning down to kiss her cheek. "Nice to meet you."

Ada pressed up onto her toes and, before he could pull back, kissed his cheek. "Nice to meet you, too."

A wave of nerves—quite different from before—swept low in Cas's belly.

Charlie was last down the stairs, and though Cas already knew she was going to have to step up for him, Lexi practically threw herself forward the moment Charlie stopped walking. Charlie, apparently unable to resist that kind of enthusiasm, decided to go with her, sending her former partner, Femi, over to Cas's side to round out the final couples.

Femi smiled as he approached, his expression bright despite the incredibly brutal way Lexi had just cast him off.

"Rejects club, eh?" He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her cheek, and Cas laughed, her hands landing on his firm biceps.

"My usual club, to be fair."

"Please." Femi settled beside her, close but not so close that he was crowding her. "I bet you're fighting people off twenty-four seven."

Cas grinned, something a little mischievous in her smile. "Well, people don't tend to keep me around for long."

Or, rather, she didn't stick around.

Mila clapped her hands together, an enormous smile on her bright red lips. "We now have five gorgeous couples. Sienna and Jayden, Maddison and Reece, Lexi and Charlie, Cas and Femi, and Ada and Brad. You're all going to spend time as couples, getting to know one another, competing in challenges, sharing a bed..." Mila waggled her eyebrows because apparently her suggestive tone wasn't enough to communicate her meaning.

"And as you spend the summer together, the public is going to make their judgments on your relationships and you'll have to decide: Is true love worth more than public opinion?"

Cas tilted her head, her brows pinching together slightly as she processed Mila's words. They were vague—probably intentionally so—but they were also new. In all her summers spent watching this show, Cas had never heard anything like it before.

Her thoughts started racing. There were always moments in past years when the public was able to influence the dumpings, or a challenge pulled in social media reactions. But the public was never acknowledged so outright before.

This... sounded like something different.

And it was going to profoundly fuck Cas's plan if she couldn't figure out what it was.

"In eight weeks, the public will vote for their favorite couple, and that couple stands to win a huge hundred-thousand-pound prize. But remember..." Mila let that sit heavily in the air for a moment, taking the time to look at each of them in turn. "This is Hot Summer, and the path to true love rarely goes the way you expect."

Ada shifted beside her and Cas glanced her way. Ada's arm was wrapped loosely around Brad's waist, and though her expression seemed carefully blank, Ada's smile brightened as their eyes caught and she flashed Cas a wink.

Cas straightened her shoulders, tipping her chin up just a bit before turning and meeting Femi's eyes. Neither of them had chosen the other, but that could be exactly the recipe for success.

Two scorned lovers, united by friendship. Perpetual wing-people.

"I'm going to leave you to get to know each other, but I'll be back very soon."

The words were innocent, but there was something threatening about the way Mila said them.

Omer took a few close-up shots of each of the couples before he left and then, finally, they were on their own.

They all stood stock-still for a full minute, staring round at one another, before Femi clapped his hands together in a way that was scarily reminiscent of Mila.

"Well, lovers, shall we get to know each other?"