29. 29
The Sunday before the start of week three brought with it the After Amore Live Show—a weekly show that aired live after every Sunday night episode and featured a few cast members sitting in front of a studio audience, answering questions about the week’s events.
The whole thing was shot in the villa's driveway and who was selected to be on the show varied each week.
I had managed to stay out of the spotlight for the first live show, but now production was calling me off the bench.
Callum and I were sitting on the daybeds with Chiara and Hugh, debating the merits of ketchup or no ketchup on a cheese toastie, when a producer’s voice called out through the speakers in the bushes behind us.
“Callum and Poppy, Ella and Liam, please head into the villa to get ready for the evening. You’ll be on the live show tonight,” it said.
My stomach tightened with anxiety. I knew why they wanted us on the show; we had been in a love triangle and chose to stick with each other. It was prime-time drama, and I was sure the viewers had questions they wanted answered.
Still, knowing that we were being used as a narrative device for the show didn’t do anything to calm my frayed nerves.
Callum and I had just decided to move forward and put last week’s events behind us.
It all felt new and fragile, and I was afraid that having to rehash everything would set us back.
I tried to shake off the feeling of impending doom as I headed into the glam room to get ready for the evening.
The other girls trailed after us, everyone sitting around and chatting while Ella and I got ready.
Jess must have picked up that I wasn’t coping well with the situation because she sat down next to me at my vanity and put her hand over mine.
“It’ll be fine. I was on it last week; it really wasn’t that bad, and it’s over before you know it. Just remember to sit up straight and don’t look into the stage lights. I made that mistake and was seeing spots for days after.”
I nodded along, trying to soak up her reassurance. I took a breath and wiggled my bare toes in the dressing room’s thick carpet, grounding myself in the moment.
There was no escaping the live show.
All I could do was hope Callum and I would come out the other side unscathed.
***
“Poppy,” Gemma Row said, looking across the stage at me with a gleam in her eye.
We had been taping After Amore for about ten minutes and so far, Jess had been right: it wasn’t too painful.
The “stage” they set up in the driveway was really just a large area rug that had been rolled out in front of the villa’s doors.
A rounded bench—a direct copy of the one around the fire pit inside the villa—was set up in the middle of the rug.
They even had a mini fire pit in front of it to set the scene.
The “large studio audience” was made up of about fifteen people, most of whom looked like locals production had hired to be there.
I had also clocked a few PAs and producers scattered about the audience, no doubt to fill the space.
It was obvious the shoot would rely heavily on good lighting and a bit of production smoke and mirrors.
Callum and I were seated close to each other at the end of the bench, with Liam and Ella next to us and Gemma a bit farther down.
Gemma had been recapping what happened in the villa during the week and showing clips of scenes that hadn’t made it to air.
We couldn’t see any of them as there weren’t any monitors to view them on, and it was all for the audience at home, so the whole show had consisted of us sitting there while Gemma announced different segments.
I hadn’t been asked a question yet and was starting to relax. Maybe we would run out of time, and I would be able to sneak out unscathed.
That was, of course, wishful, delusional thinking, as Gemma zeroed in on Callum and me the moment we were back from a commercial break.
“You two have had quite the week, haven’t you?” she asked, eyes bouncing between us.
A spotlight swung its way onto me, and I squinted against it, trying to get my bearings while also remembering the show was being broadcast all over the United Kingdom at that very moment.
“We have,” I replied, glancing over at Callum. “There have definitely been a lot of ups and downs, but I think we’ve gotten to a really good place now.”
That was nice and to the point, I thought to myself.
Gemma wasn’t satisfied.
“How did it feel when Sara took Callum on a date?” she pressed, not giving my previous fluff of an answer a second thought.
I suddenly felt stupid for trying to keep things surface level.
Of course I had to give her a better answer.
If I had been a viewer, I’d want all the gory details and not something so generic.
I looked over at Callum, pretending to be lost in my feelings for him while trying to come up with something good. “Callum and I are still getting to know each other and settling into being together, so it was obviously not fun to watch him go on a date with another girl.”
Callum smiled at me, playing the role of supportive partner to a tee.
A small twinge in my chest thrummed as I thought about my feelings over the past few days. What I had just said wasn’t even a lie.
I quickly brushed the realization away, shoving that line of thought down deep. Sitting under a spotlight on live television was not the time to examine why, exactly, my feelings had been hurt.
I let out a breath and continued, giving Gemma what I knew she—and the producers and the viewers at home—wanted. “I’m really happy he chose me and that we get to continue on this journey together.”
I smiled up at Callum, leaning in toward him and trying to sell it.
“And Callum?” Gemma followed up. “How are you feeling?” she asked.
“Yeah, it was a crazy week, but I’m buzzing it’s moving in the right direction.” He paused then, considering something before continuing. “I’ve really liked getting to know Poppy and spending time with her, so it’ll be nice to focus just on her now.”
He looked down at me and despite my inner protests, something softened in my chest at his words. Staring back at him, I was struck by an overwhelming magnetism, sucking me into his gaze.
I blinked rapidly and looked away, trying to get a grip. I could not afford to get all wobbly over the man. I hadn’t even liked him very much up until a few days ago, for goodness’ sake.
We had a deal, and he was simply sticking to it, the same as I was.
I cleared my throat, hoping it would snap me out of the spiral my brain was suddenly teetering on the edge of.
It would have worked too, I was sure of it, had Callum not decided that exact moment was one in which he would try to turn up the romance for the cameras by reaching over and threading his fingers through mine.
I couldn’t help the tremor that jolted through my body. Eye contact was one thing, but to be physically connected to him felt like something else entirely. Trying to hide my reaction and appear calm and collected, I crossed and re-crossed my legs, making it seem like I was getting comfortable.
Gemma was still talking both to us and into the camera. “Well, even though you lot are taking it slow, the viewers are loving it. Here’s some chatter that’s been going around this week. Bella Amore super fan Becky says, ‘Callum and Poppy are endgame. I want more, more, more of them!’
“Cathy from Bath wrote, ‘I love 'Coppy' so much, they just seem so real to me. I hope they make it to the end!’”
She looked over at us, and I wondered if she could read the shock on my face.
People thought that?
Real life people expressed those emotions on the internet. I knew it was the entire point of our plan—to get people to root for us as a couple—but to hear it was working, that someone out there believed it, still came as quite the surprise.
“Poppy,” Gemma continued, “how does that support make you feel?”
“It’s incredible. When you’re in the villa, it’s easy to forget about the outside world, so I’m just glad that people are being so kind.”
Callum squeezed my hand in support, and I found myself leaning into him, into his warmth. Damn, does he smell good.
He always smelled nice, but had it always been this good?
Get it together, Poppy, I chided myself. I needed to knock it off and focus on the here and now, not let my mind wander down the path it was poised to follow.
Shaking my head, I tried to lock back in. The lights and cameras were still focused on us, so I knew we weren’t out of the hot seat just yet.
“Poppy,” Gemma cooed, smirking at me from across the way.
My gut tightened as I looked back at her.
“You got a particularly large reaction online when you kissed Callum,” she said.
If I had been blushing at all before, it was surely nothing compared to the beet-red flush I felt creeping up my neck now.
Our kiss, the very one I had been trying not to think about for the better part of the last few days, was something Callum and I had resolutely ignored.
It felt too real, had been too raw of a moment for me, that the thought of discussing it with him felt like the worst form of emotional torture.
Gemma was relishing the subject.
“Let’s take another look at it,” she said to the camera, tossing to the footage of us kissing.
I was dying; melting on the inside with embarrassment and anxiety.
What had it looked like on TV? Was it horribly awkward?
It couldn’t be any more awkward than what was currently happening.
Callum had gone still at the mention of the kiss, and so there we were, pressed up against each other and holding hands, yet both stiff as boards.
To know the whole United Kingdom was watching us making out at that exact moment was some kind of meta experience I’d pay money never to experience again.
After what felt like the world’s longest stretch of silence, the clip must have come to an end because Gemma turned back to face us. “I have to say, as a fan, that was one of the top five most dramatic gestures I’ve been witness to on this show.”
All I could do was nod at her and let out a breathy laugh. What was there to even say in a moment like this?
Callum had come back to life at some point in the last few seconds and saved me from having to respond. “It was definitely a highlight of the week.”
It was?
No, of course it wasn’t. That was an act. The deal talking. He was selling our story.
I seriously needed to get it together.
By some miracle, or simply the need to keep the show on schedule, Gemma moved on to talk to Ella about her connection with Liam.
I let out a breath, relieved that our time in the hot seat was over, and let myself get caught up in the discussion of someone else’s relationship. Soon enough, the show wrapped, and we were all ushered back into the villa and away from the outside world.
Getting ready for bed that night, I was leaning against the bathroom sink applying moisturizer to my face when Callum entered the communal bathroom.
“Hey,” he said softly.
“Hi,” I said back.
“You were good tonight,” he said as he started to brush his teeth.
“So were you,” I replied. I felt oddly calm around him, the tension surrounding talk of our kiss having dissipated. Maybe we were both too tired to hold on to it any longer than necessary.
“We’re really doing it,” I said, amazed that the viewing public was actually buying us as a couple. That we were really getting away with it.
Callum nodded as he finished brushing his teeth and leaned against his own sink, turning toward me. I was done getting ready for bed but didn’t move to leave the bathroom. Instead, I stood where I was, rooted to the spot and facing him.
“I told you we’d work,” he said, keeping his voice low even though no one could have guessed what he really meant. To anyone else, to the production crew listening in or the other cast members, he could have simply been talking about our relationship.
I let his words settle around us. The moment of calm felt oddly fragile, and I didn’t want to ruin it by saying the wrong thing.
So, we stood there, simply looking at each other.
The weight of worry that had been resting on my shoulders since I’d entered the villa had been lifted, and in the agreeable space we had slipped into with each other, it was nice just to be. Not to stress over what we were doing or how we were going to do it.
The only thing we had to focus on now was maintaining the charade.
In the quiet of the bathroom, looking across at Callum’s unguarded face and relaxed stance, I thought that might not be so hard after all.