Summer of Love

Chapter 6

Oliver

Six and a Half Weeks Until Finale

Neil Steel: Here’s what you missed last week: Oliver and Zoe’s romance was a tropical paradise, before Hurricane Declan swept in to shake things up.

And he has something to say about Oliver…

Declan King: ‘He’s not the typical guy to come on here.

A bit awkward and shy.’

Neil Steel: Can our shipwrecked lovers find their way back to each other, or will Oliver stay lost at sea?

Two days after the recoupling, Oliver lay wedged between Niall and Stella on a daybed, looking out across the garden at where Maeve sat by the pool with Holly and Jack.

He had continuously entertained the idea of joining the three of them throughout the morning, but found he much preferred the position of relative safety that the fortress of Niall and Stella provided.

‘Oliver,’ Niall said, ‘what do you think?’

‘Hmm?’ Oliver asked.

‘I was asking,’ Stella said, gazing serenely at the cloudless sky, ‘if you’re going to talk to Maeve.’

Oliver sighed, tipping his head back and letting the sun overwhelm his vision.

‘I’ve talked to her,’ he said softly.

Niall cleared his throat, and Oliver could feel him exchanging a look with Stella.

‘You do know that you signed up for a dating show, right? Dating usually involves talking to people for more than two minutes. Getting to know them, their soul .’

Oliver had committed himself to doing anything he could to win the prize money.

Anything, apparently, except for talking to a girl.

Or knowing her soul, whatever that meant.

He had prepared for the show, to some extent.

In the month between being cast and flying to Mallorca, he had watched a highlight reel of Summer of Love content curated by his reality TV-obsessed mate Will every moment he wasn’t working.

He had been so happy Oliver was finally responding to his texts that he’d even prepared presentations on the tactics of previous winners.

Unfortunately, Oliver hadn’t practised basic social skills, and he definitely hadn’t practised flirting.

It didn’t help that he couldn’t turn off the part of his brain that constantly reminded him he was being watched by millions of people, including his mates, his family and Sophie.

His feelings bottled up without release, making everything seem like the most important decision of his life, making him feel intense feelings about people he hardly knew.

He glanced over at Declan and Zoe.

They had been in the weights area for hours now.

A cameraman was trained on the two of them, and Declan had to keep pausing and resetting his reps at Brian’s direction.

Oliver could only imagine how annoying that would be to someone like Declan, who probably had a specific routine to keep himself looking so fit.

He wasn’t sure what to make of Declan choosing Zoe at the recoupling.

He hadn’t seen it coming, but he didn’t fool himself into thinking he could understand someone like Declan King, someone so different from anyone he had ever met.

Oliver couldn’t tell if choosing Zoe had been because of genuine feelings or a continuation of his one-sided feud.

He watched as Declan took a break from the workout to grab a towel and wipe off his sweat, starting with his face and trailing down the expanse of his chest and abs, putting on a good show – for Zoe or the cameras, Oliver could only guess.

‘Oliver?’

Oliver started, tearing his eyes away from the squat rack and meeting Niall’s intense gaze.

‘Er, yeah. I’m sure Maeve’s soul is lovely, and I’ll speak with her…

soon.’

‘I know you two will hit it off,’ Stella said, looking at him now.

Oliver suddenly felt claustrophobic between the two of them.

‘You’re astrologically very compatible.’

Stella was only being nice, but Oliver had no delusions that the stars would align in his favour ever again.

‘This is the perfect opportunity,’ Niall said.

Oliver grimaced at him, grateful to have such well-meaning people to spend this strange period of time with.

‘Yeah, all right,’ he said, pushing himself up and heading towards the pool.

As he approached, Maeve looked up, smiling slightly.

He took that as encouragement.

‘Could we have a chat?’ he asked, forcing his hands to stay at his sides rather than jump nervously to his hair.

She stood. ‘Sure.’

‘How are you liking the villa?’ he asked stiffly as they walked towards the closest pair of lounge chairs.

She looked sideways at him, her brown eyes sincere.

‘It’s beautiful here.’

‘Yeah?’ He sat, wondering how on earth she could be enjoying this experience.

She nodded, sitting across from him and pulling her knees towards her chest. ‘I know it’s mad, but this is the first time I’ve taken off work since uni.

I’m starting at a new job soon.’

They paused as the cameraman who had been getting the shot of Holly and Jack by the pool adjusted his position to focus on the two of them.

‘So…’ Oliver started awkwardly, ‘how long ago did you graduate?’

Maeve tensed as soon as the camera was on her.

‘Four years ago now,’ she replied, eyes determinedly on his face.

He whistled. ‘That’s a long time without a holiday.

What did you study?’

‘Law,’ she replied drily.

‘This is quite the interrogation that you’ve prepared.

I’m impressed.’

‘Is it? I suppose I’m a bit nervous.’

It took most of his concentration for his gaze to not constantly flick to the camera in the corner of his vision.

Maeve put a hand on his shoulder gently.

‘It’s cute,’ she assured him.

‘But I don’t know anything about you yet.

You give me your life story, and I’ll give you mine.’

‘Oh, uh, okay.’ He thought for a moment and came up blank.

All he could think of was a list of topics he didn’t want to discuss.

‘This is more difficult than it seems.’

‘Where are you from?’ she asked patiently.

He hesitated for a moment – her question fell into the category of topics he would rather avoid.

‘Nottingham,’ he said, though he wasn’t sure why.

She raised her eyebrows.

‘Oh?’

‘I know, I don’t have the accent any more.

I moved to London when I was fourteen, to study ballet, and I’ve been there ever since.’

Sophie was the only one who could still discern his childhood lilt.

‘London is my home.’

He regretted it as soon as it was out, hoping it wouldn’t get back to his parents and upset them.

Oliver’s family held a detached bemusement towards his life choices; of him and his three siblings, he was the only one who had left Nottingham.

When he spoke with his parents – which wasn’t often – he could tell that they still had no idea how their eldest boy had ended up as a ballet dancer instead of taking up a trade like he’d been meant to.

Oliver had no words to explain his life choices to them.

To him, staying in his suffocating hometown had never been an option.

Maeve looked, if he wasn’t mistaken, impressed.

‘Wow. That’s a big decision.’

‘Best decision I ever made.’

He had got one of the few coveted scholarship spots at the Covent Garden Ballet Conservatory, and arriving in London had felt like the start of his new life.

He and Sophie had secured roles in the city after graduation, but the next step in his plan – their plan – had always been Manhattan Ballet.

She nodded. ‘That’s how I feel about studying law.’

‘You’re not one of those self-centred, soulless solicitors, then?’

he joked. ‘What, do you do child protection or something?’

‘International human rights, actually.’ Her tone was neutral, but her spine straightened as she said it, bracing for his reaction.

‘Right, well, conversation over. It was nice chatting,’ Oliver said, making to stand.

She grabbed his arm and tugged him back down.

‘Shove off,’ she said, rolling her eyes.

‘I think ballet dancing is grand.’

‘Sure you do.’

‘I do ,’ she insisted.

‘I couldn’t get up in front of people and perform.

I have terrible stage fright.’

That seemed a bit rich coming from someone currently in front of multiple cameras, even if she was tense.

‘Don’t you have to give speeches as a solicitor?’

She waved a hand dismissively.

‘Only to octogenarians. I pretend that they’re asleep, which they likely are.

It’s mostly writing and researching, all of the behind-the-scenes stuff.

I’m confident in what I do, so long as I don’t have to do it in front of a crowd of people.’

‘Okay,’ Oliver said.

‘I’ll accept your praise now that I understand your lowly career position.’

‘To be honest,’ she said, ignoring him, ‘the men I’ve dated have always been intimidated by my work.

But I don’t want to hide how smart and passionate I am in order to settle down.

I would rather be single.’

He nodded, appreciating how straightforward she was in comparison to most of the others he’d met.

He didn’t sense any hidden agenda behind her words.

‘That makes sense.’

Maeve studied his face for a moment, perhaps trying to determine whether he was taking her seriously.

‘I like you, Oliver,’ she said finally, ‘but I think we should keep our options open for now. It’s early days still.’

She added the last with a hint of irony.

He shrugged. ‘It would do terrible things to my ego if a girl like you wanted to be with me right away, and we wouldn’t want that, right?’

She smiled, flashing a dimple on her right cheek.

‘Something like that.’

Paige didn’t offer any greeting as Oliver entered the Love Shack the next morning, motioning for him to sit and flipping on the camera.

‘How are things with Maeve?’ she asked, without preamble.

‘Well…’ he stalled. The interviews were getting easier, but they were still nerve-wracking.

‘We had a good chat yesterday, and I’m pleased with how we left things.

We’ve decided to keep our options open, get to know the others.

But right now, she’s the girl I’m most interested in.’

Paige frowned. ‘You’re giving up on Zoe?

You two had a good thing going before Declan stole her away.’

Oliver hesitated.

Being coupled up with Zoe would certainly make winning easier, but he hadn’t even considered trying to win her back.

‘Yeah, we did. But she’s coupled up with Declan now, so…’

He shrugged.

‘And you think Declan and Zoe make a good couple?’

‘Er – well,’ he said, looking helplessly at her impassive face, ‘I don’t know either of them, do I?’

Paige frowned again, and he knew immediately that the tepid response wouldn’t play well with the audience.

‘A guy you clearly dislike stole your girl, Oliver. The viewers will understand you being upset.’

Oliver was annoyed with Declan.

It couldn’t be too difficult to exaggerate his feelings for Zoe, especially if it would help his ratings.

He swallowed.

‘Okay. Er, I think what Declan did, picking Zoe, was underhanded. Zoe and I were great together, and now I feel like our chance at happiness was torn away from us because Declan thinks he’s entitled to anything he wants.’

Paige’s face lit up.

‘You think Declan’s entitled?’

Oliver thought Declan seemed like someone who had never been uncomfortable with himself a day in his life and resented anyone who had to work harder to keep up.

‘He wanted Zoe, so he took her. I’m not convinced that Zoe wants to be with him, or that he particularly likes her.

He only seemed interested once she and I got together.’

Never mind that that had been as soon as she’d walked into the garden – it sounded good when he said it out loud.

Paige nodded, scribbling notes.

‘Do you think Declan has it out for you in particular?’

Oliver found it hard to believe Declan thought about him at all, and yet, he couldn’t shake the feeling that it had all started when they had locked eyes on the plane.

‘It feels like it.’

‘Repeat that, but as a full sentence.’

Oliver ran a hand through his hair.

‘It feels like Declan has some sort of issue with me, but I’m not sure what I could have done wrong in his book.

Maybe he just doesn’t like the look of me, doesn’t think I could pull a girl like Zoe.’

‘And if Zoe wanted to get back together, would you be interested?’ Paige said, in an odd, conspiratorial tone.

Oliver studied Paige’s face.

‘What do you mean?’

Her expression remained carefully blank.

‘If she said she was still interested in pursuing things with you, would you want to try again?’

It was difficult to ignore the subtext: Zoe had told Paige she was still interested in him.

That was more than he had from Maeve at the moment, and any drama with Declan would get him more valuable screen time, even if every part of his body warned him to stay away.

‘Yes, I want to see where things go with Zoe.’ He paused, trying to think of something more dramatic to say.

‘We have so much potential as a couple that we haven’t been able to explore yet.

I hope we’ll find our way back to each other.’

Paige smiled, and Oliver felt the same satisfaction as walking off stage after a perfectly executed routine.

‘Great job – you’re a natural, like I knew you would be.

The audience is invested in this love triangle with Declan, so we’ll keep things moving.

Maybe you’ll get a date with Zoe soon.’

Oliver was relieved that someone was telling him what to do.

‘Thanks, Paige.’

When he exited the Love Shack and walked out onto the patio, two new contestants were being welcomed to the villa.

He went to stand by Maeve, who pointed at the redheaded man and muttered, ‘That’s Owen.’

Owen was friendly in greeting everyone, but his eyes hardly left Holly the whole time.

Maeve gestured to the woman.

‘And Imogen.’ Imogen was tall, with brown skin, prominent cheekbones and a mass of curls.

Her gaze flitted between the gathered contestants, and she quickly singled out Jack, batting her eyelashes up at him.

Oliver glanced sideways at Maeve, trying to gauge if she was interested in Owen.

To his surprise, she wasn’t looking at Owen at all, but studying Imogen with a frown.

‘Anything I’ve got to worry about?’

Oliver asked.

She arched an eyebrow at him.

‘Not in the slightest. Early days, remember?’

Oliver grinned, deciding he liked Maeve. ‘Yes, early days.’