Chapter 3
One month later
Ben was lying on the beach, under an umbrella, the gentle breeze from the sea helping to keep his body at that perfect temperature where all of his muscles felt loose and languid. Similar to after sex, he thought, though he could barely remember that far back.
Speaking of sex, there was a woman in a hot red bikini with her back to him, walking down towards the sea, long red hair cascading down her back. Hips swaying seductively. She halted at the water’s edge. Was she going to turn around? Give him a chance to see if that perfect behind was matched by a knock out face?
Wait, didn’t he recognise that bum? The hair…
The shrill ringing of his doorbell catapulted him out of his dream and he sat up with a start, looking around him. Not on the beach then. He’d fallen asleep on his damn sofa.
‘Ben.’ The annoying voice of his sister sounded through the door. ‘I know you’re in there. I called your assistant and she said you’d gone home. Something about you being tired, you sad git.’
He rubbed his sleep-blurred eyes with the heels of his hands. ‘Go away.’
‘You know that won’t work with me. Get off your backside and let me in.’
He could argue – he usually did. But these last few months had sucked all the energy out of him. With a deep sigh he heaved himself to his feet and padded over to open the door.
Rachel studied him from head to foot. ‘Bloody hell, you look like shit.’
‘And you look beautiful as always.’ He bent to kiss her cheek.
‘Don’t think flattery is going to get you back into my good books.’ She swept inside and went straight through to the kitchen where she started to make herself a drink. ‘I phoned you twice yesterday. And messaged you so much my fingers ached.’
‘Tea.’
She swirled round to stare at him. ‘What?’
‘Presume you weren’t just making yourself a drink.’
She huffed, but dug into the jar for a teabag. ‘A please wouldn’t hurt.’
‘You woke me up. I’m feeling cranky.’
‘You’re always cranky.’
Because that was probably true – and certainly had been of the last few months – he walked over and planted a kiss on the top of her head. ‘But you love me anyway.’
‘I suppose.’
She twisted her head to glance at him, and something flashed in her eyes that sent alarm bells ringing. ‘What’s with that look?’
‘What look?’ She gave him a breezy smile and handed over a steaming mug of tea.
‘You know what I mean. It was…’ – he snapped his fingers together as the word struck him – ‘calculating. Like you know something I don’t. Something I probably don’t even want to know.’
She let out a dismissive sound and went to sit on his huge – and apparently comfortable enough to fall asleep on – grey sofa. ‘Shouldn’t we be drinking champagne now instead of tea?’
It took him a moment to realise what she meant. ‘I’ll save the celebration for when I’m not so knackered. I’d be felled like a daisy after one glass.’
‘But you’re rich now.’ She gave him another careful study. ‘And passably handsome, when you’ve not gone without sleep for months.’
He exhaled heavily, knowing her too well. ‘Just say what you came here to say.’
‘Right, okay. No small talk, straight down to business. Got it.’ He knew it was bad when she pushed to her feet. ‘I was thinking, now you’ve finally sold your company, you have some time on your hands for a change.’
He narrowed his eyes. ‘After I’ve tied up the remaining loose ends I’m looking forward to a break from what has been an exhausting period of my life, yes.’ Setting up the company, running it, then selling it. The last few years had been full on, the last couple of months totally manic.
Rachel nodded enthusiastically. ‘A break, that’s exactly what you need. Time away from here in new surroundings. The chance to do something different.’
He decided it was time to cut the obvious bullshit. ‘What do you want?’
‘God, why do you always fast forward to the end. I’m trying to lure you in gently.’
‘And I’m trying to end this conversation so I can get back to the part where I’m asleep.’
She rolled her big brown eyes and came to sit next to him. ‘When was the last time you went out on a date?’
‘A date. Christ.’ He hung his head, rubbing at the tension in the back of his neck. ‘Is that what this is about? You want to set me up?’ He suddenly remembered what she’d asked him to do a few days ago. ‘Is this why you got me to fill in that questionnaire? The one you told me was a prototype that you needed to validate?’
‘Not exactly.’ She prodded him. ‘Back to the question. Can you even remember the last woman you properly dated?’
‘You know damn well who it was,’ he retorted. ‘And why I haven’t dated since.’
That wasn’t quite true. He’d had a few glorious weeks of madness when he’d dated a woman he shouldn’t have done. Someone he hadn’t told Rachel about at the time because he’d known she’d worry, say it was too soon. Yet when this woman had literally almost fallen into his lap, he’d been unable to resist her. What harm a little slice of heaven, he’d told himself. A respite from the hell he’d been living through? He could still picture the wide smile, long red hair, emerald green eyes. The quirky clothes, the way she wore jewellery to match her mood. Still remember her ability to say in a hundred words what he could say in five. Her unfiltered talking without thinking. The way she’d made him laugh, turning the dullest day into one so bright, he’d never wanted it to end.
But of course it had to.
‘God, Ben, Helena was three years ago.’ Rachel’s voice broke through his trip down memory lane. ‘I’d assumed you were just doing your usual trick of not telling me all the juicy stuff. I never for one minute thought there wasn’t any juicy stuff.’
‘What’s your point?’ he asked abruptly, anxious to move the conversation on.
‘My point is you’ve buried yourself in work the last few years. But now you’ve sold the company, and it’s time to put your head back above the parapet. Start thinking about what you want out of life.’
‘Let me guess. That includes a partner.’
‘You’re trying to tell me you don’t want that?’
Feeling restless, he got to his feet. ‘If I do, I’m quite capable of finding myself one.’
‘Of course you are.’ The soothing tone made him suspicious. Rachel was never compliant; she was as stubborn as he was.
‘Then we’re in agreement. So if that’s all you came to say...’
‘Okay, okay.’ She looked up at him, an entreaty in the hazel eyes that were so similar to his. ‘I’m in a bind, and I need you to help me out of it.’
Warily he sat back on the sofa. ‘What sort of bind?’
‘A work bind.’
Relief washed through him. Work, he could handle. He might not be an expert on producing TV shows, but business was business. ‘You need me to go through a report? Write you a strategy document? Test out another questionnaire?’
She swallowed. ‘I need you to take part in the next series of The One.’
‘You … what?’
‘We’re all ready to go live next week. The contestants have been paired up, we’ve filmed their intros and, well…’ – her eyes shone with enthusiasm – ‘you get a real sense of how it’s going to go down when you start to get to know the people taking part and I’m so excited about this one. I think it’s going to be the best series yet. At least I did, until one of the guys pulled out two days ago, leaving us, and the gorgeous woman we’d picked for him, high and dry.’
He’d only taken in every other word, but it was enough. More than enough. ‘No.’
Her face fell, all that shining enthusiasm suddenly extinguished. ‘I’m desperate, Ben. We don’t have time to go through the whole matchmaking process again, and though we have a few people on reserve, none of them are right for this lovely lady. Then I realised the guy who pulled out was similar to you in terms of personality so I got you to fill in our profiling questionnaire?—’
‘That was what I was doing?’
A hint of pink tinged her cheeks. ‘Okay, okay, so I cheated a bit but you’d never have done it if I’d told you the truth. And guess what, my gut feel was right. Felix and Stephanie agree you’re a perfect match for her. Even more so than the other guy.’
‘Who the hell are Felix and Stephanie?’
‘You remember, you met them at the Christmas bash. They’re the relationship experts. And when I say experts, I mean it; so you should be thrilled that they think your pairing is the most likely to be successful.’ Her eyes pleaded with him. ‘Honestly, this woman is so excited to be going on the show, there’s no way we can let her down. She wants to find her soulmate, like they all do, and The One is also her favourite TV show. Can you believe that?’
He didn’t have the energy for this. With a sigh, Ben slumped back against the sofa. ‘What I’m struggling to believe is that you think a perfect match for me is someone who loves to watch a bunch of publicity seeking airheads take part in a dubious dating experience under the guise of finding true love.’ It was too harsh. He realised the moment he saw her expression harden.
‘That’s not fair. I didn’t tell you how stupid your idea was to start a business renting private spaces out for events.’
‘My bank balance suggests it wasn’t stupid,’ he countered dryly. Because he saw the tension behind her annoyance, he reached to squeeze her hand. ‘I’m sorry, that was an asinine comment.’
‘It was.’ She sniffed. ‘I’m proud of our track record. We’ve had ten couples marry each other on the show since we started, and three more who married afterwards.’
And how many regretted it? He swallowed the words down, aware he’d already pissed his sister off. ‘Come on, Rach, I’m the last person you should be inviting onto your show. Especially if you’re pairing me with someone keen to find their soulmate.’ His fingers itched to mime quotation marks around the word. ‘There must be another solution.’
She sighed, and he knew he was in serious trouble when her eyes began to glisten. His sister didn’t cry. She straightened her back, took in a breath and got on with whatever life had thrown at her. ‘We could match her with someone clearly unsuitable, which goes against the heart of what we’re trying to do. The only other solution is for her to drop out and us to go ahead filming with one less couple, which would seriously limit the amount of decent footage we’d get. We’re committed to a TV schedule of daily episodes and though it’s not live, we only have a day to edit it down to a show, so we really need the right balance of people. Especially as we’ve got a month of air time to fill?—’
‘A month?’ He repeated numbly. ‘I’d have to commit to this for four weeks? Can’t I duck out after the first few days and say we tried and it didn’t work?’
‘Have you ever watched the show your sister works on?’
He felt a prick of shame. She’d spent a lot of time talking to him about his business, yet he’d not bothered to show her the same courtesy. ‘Remind me.’
She gave him a shrewd look. ‘Okay, so you’ve probably forgotten that our top matched couples go to stay in Happily Ever After Towers…’
‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’
‘As I’m sure you remember,’ she continued, ignoring his mutterings, ‘HEA Towers is a luxurious stately home in the Chalfonts with a gym, swimming pool, tennis court … basically everything you could possibly want in five-star accommodation. And our couples live there for a month with nothing to do but take part in a few activities and enjoy their surroundings. It’s the perfect place for an exhausted single guy to take a break,’ she added pointedly.
‘Perfect except for the cameras and the enforced dating.’
‘We don’t have hidden cameras,’ she countered. ‘You’ll know when you’re being filmed because the camera will be obvious or you’ll see the crew.’
‘But there will be cameras. Plural. And I’ll have to date this woman in front of them.’ God help him, he wasn’t even sure he was ready to date again.
‘Yes.’ She let out a long, slow breath, her shoulders slumping. ‘Look, I know this isn’t you. I know you’ll hate talking in front of the cameras, hate the thought of anyone trying to pair you up, hate the group activities like cooking and quiz games, oh and giving up your phone?—’
‘You’re not helping your cause.’
‘I know.’ She gave him a tremulous smile. ‘Probably won’t help if I tell you that at the end of the month you have to plan your wedding.’
His eyes bulged. ‘My wedding?’
‘Yes, but obviously you can say no.’ She paused, swallowed. ‘When you’re both at the altar.’
He baulked. He couldn’t do this. It had everything he hated. Lack of privacy, forced social situations … planning a wedding, for fuck’s sake. She knew how he felt about marriage.
But then he looked at his sister. The tears she was valiantly keeping in check. ‘Is there anything I won’t hate about it?’
She let out a strangled laugh. ‘Let me see. I think you’ll really like the woman you’ll be paired with. If we’re wrong though and you don’t get on, you get the chance to ditch her for someone else after two weeks. And in the remaining two weeks the viewers are in charge. They can vote for you to swop partners. Or even vote you off the show.’
‘So, if I make a terrible partner, which we both know is highly probable, I could only be forfeiting two and a bit weeks of my life?’
‘Yes.’ Rachel burst out into laughter. ‘Oh God, I know this is your idea of hell but you’d be doing me such a huge favour. Not to mention getting me loads of brownie points with my boss. Plus, you never know, you might even enjoy it. Your match is loads of fun and it’s about time you had some of that.’
He couldn’t believe he was seriously contemplating this. ‘Do I get my own room?’
‘Yes.’
‘With no cameras in it?’
‘Absolutely. I told you, we don’t have hidden cameras. You’ll know when we’re filming you. The show isn’t about gossip and lurching from partner to partner. It’s about building real relationships that could end in marriage. Though obviously that’s totally down to the couples involved and absolutely not compulsory,’ she added quickly.
Okay. He took in a deep breath, let it out slowly. Repeated the exercise. The only things he had planned for the next month were to sleep, relax and think about what to do next. He could probably do all of that in the ridiculously named HEA Towers. ‘Fine. I’ll do it.’
The beaming smile on Rachel’s face, the joy, the gratitude … he made a mental note to record it in his databank and play it back the first time a camera was shoved in his face.