Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
A nna reminded herself that she was used to being filmed for the many videos she made and uploaded on social media. So, a reality show shouldn’t be all that different. But with her own content, she was always in complete control. She could redo a video a million times if she wasn’t happy with it and she often filmed multiple times before she captured the feel she was going for.
Having cameras following her every move was definitely strange to get used to. Especially when she’d glance over and see one of the camera guys shifting position to better capture what they were doing. It made her somewhat self-conscious because she didn’t want to say anything stupid and look bad on TV.
Lauren and Eloise, the show’s producers, had introduced themselves and encouraged them to try to act normally, to forget that the cameras were there.
“Don’t worry about looking ridiculous. We’ll be editing out any bloopers and we want you all to look as good as possible,” Lauren assured them.
Anna knew that only went so far, though. If she got too comfortable and said something that didn’t come across well, it could be used.
“You’re getting in your head too much,” Katy whispered to her. “Just try to have fun. Let’s refill our wine glasses. We’re both running low.” She went to the kitchen to get the bottle of La Crema chardonnay and topped off both of their glasses.
The others had all arrived by then. Even Billy, who apparently missed his earlier flight. Suzanne got everyone into the party mood with her shots. Anna and Katy both had one, but Anna refused a second. She mostly stuck to wine and didn’t want to be hung over on her first full day on Nantucket.
Smith had already settled in nicely. He was a typical Maltese, which meant he was a small, fluffy, adorable white dog and everyone immediately loved him and gave him tons of attention. Which he adored. He made the rounds, going from person to person, sitting on laps and lifting his head for behind the ear scratches.
She knew of most of the influencers already, just from seeing them online. And in the past week, she’d spent time looking over all of their social media to try to get to know them better. She was already a follower of Brett and Honey and their cat, Simon. Like many of their followers, she was fascinated by what seemed like the perfect relationship. Brett was successful, handsome, and thought his wife was the most beautiful woman in the world. It was sweet to see how crazy he was about her.
And Honey was likable too and such a foodie. Anna often got hungry watching what she was making or eating at a restaurant. She made delicious-sounding dishes and somehow made it look easy. Anna wasn’t much of a cook, but she had tried one of Honey’s recipes, a lemon chicken pasta dish and it really had been easy.
Brett and Honey brought their cat, Simon, to the house. Anna had been a little concerned at first, when Smith ran right up to Simon, but after a tense moment where both animals stared at each other, Simon made the first move and sniffed Smith, then turned and walked off, completely unbothered. It left Smith perplexed, and he ran back to Anna, looking for reassurance.
“Sorry about that,” Anna said.
Honey just laughed. “Oh, it’s fine. We have two dogs at home and Simon is used to it. They all get along fine. My sister is staying with them while we’re here. I’m sure he and Smith will be fast friends in another day or two.”
As the night went on, and more cocktails were consumed, everyone, even Anna, relaxed and pretty much forgot about the cameras or at least weren’t as bothered by them.
“So, are you a football fan?” Jason asked her at one point. They were all standing around the kitchen island and Anna had just reached for a few grapes from a big bowl. Jason had just opened a new beer and stood nearby, watching her curiously. Anna knew that Jason had been a star player before his career-ending injury.
She smiled. “I am. I’m a Patriots fan though. Are you sure you still want to talk to me?” she teased. He’d played for the Jets, one of the main rivals in the league.
He laughed. “Where are you from, Boston?”
She nodded. “Just outside the city, Arlington. I moved to Manhattan years ago, though. I consider myself a New Yorker now. What about you?”
“Grew up in Brooklyn, and am still there. Just moved into a new condo, though. Great skyline and river views. I can’t imagine living anywhere else. I keep trying to talk Noah into moving there, but he’s a West Coaster. Someday, maybe.”
“I did have fun the last time I visited,” Noah said. “New York is growing on me. But it doesn’t hold a candle to San Diego. You gotta come my way and I’ll show you around. Then you’ll understand.”
Jason nodded. “Yeah, I do need to get out there one of these days.”
Billy walked over, grabbed a new beer, and added his two cents. “LA is pretty awesome. Always good weather. None of this cold you get back east.” He shivered dramatically and Anna laughed.
“I don’t mind the cold,” Jason said. “I kind of like the four seasons.” He glanced at Sami, who was leaning against the island, sipping a wine spritzer. “You’re down South, aren’t you? Georgia or Texas?” he asked.
She nodded. “Galveston. By the beach. Nice and warm.”
“You probably like doing your yoga outside, then?” Billy asked. Anna almost laughed at his expression. His eyes twinkled, and he made the simple question sound almost naughty.
“As a matter of fact, I do. We film outside often,” Sami said.
“Suzanne lives in Brooklyn, too,” Jason said. He glanced her way and Suzanne walked over. “Did I hear my name?”
“I was just saying you live near me.”
“Just a few streets away.” Suzanne confirmed. “Jason and I actually dated…for a minute. I think we went out for two or three weeks, if that.”
He nodded. “Until she dumped me.”
She laughed. “I didn’t dump you. We just realized we were better as friends. We hang out every so often. We like the same bars in Brooklyn.”
Anna thought that was interesting. There was a familiarity between Suzanne and Jason, but it seemed exactly as Suzanne said, a good friendship.
“Katy’s in New York too, right around the corner from me in the West Village,” Anna said.
“I’m from a tiny town in rural Kentucky, though. New York was a bit of a culture shock at first,” Katy said.
“Do you miss the South?” Honey asked. “We really love Charleston.”
Katy laughed. “I miss my family. But I get home for the holidays and a few times a year. I don’t miss that small town, though. It is very different from Charleston. That is a great city.”
Anna noticed that Katy seemed very interested in talking to Billy. She asked him a few questions, and he was excited to tell her all about what he was working on and he asked about her role as an influencer too. He was quite the charmer. But Anna had also seen the online breakup when the girl he’d been dating posted on TikTok and was furious that Billy hadn’t ended things with Lauren before he started love bombing her. She felt for Lauren, too. It couldn’t be easy having to work with him now, as the breakup was pretty recent. She wondered if Katy was aware of this.
She wasn’t sure that Billy was all that interested in Katy, not romantically. He flirted with her, but he also flirted with Anna and Sami and Suzanne and even Honey. It seemed as though it was just in his nature. It would be hard to take him seriously. She just hoped that Katy could see it.
Noah seemed nice enough, but he was so breathtakingly handsome that it was a little unsettling. His features were so chiseled, with a strong jaw, high cheekbones, piercing blue eyes, a cleft chin, full lips, and eyelashes that were so long and dark, it was just unfair. She knew that women regularly threw themselves at him and she could understand it. Noah was upfront with all of them, though, and made it clear he wasn’t looking for anything serious—which only made them all the more interested. They all wanted to be the one to change his mind about that. He would be much safer as a friend than any kind of romantic fling. Anna didn’t really do flings.
So that ruled out two of the guys immediately. And Jason seemed nice enough, but he definitely wasn’t her type. She’d never gone for the big jock guys. Anna was tall at almost five-eight and Jason towered over her. She guessed he was at least six-four, maybe six-five. She also knew he’d had his share of female attention. He was always being photographed with different women. But he’d had longer-term relationships, too. She’d read online that he’d been dumped earlier in the year by his girlfriend of four years. She’d reconnected with her high school boyfriend and they got engaged a month after she and Jason broke up.
Anna imagined that must have been rough. It seemed like he’d gone on a few dates recently—every time he was seen out with a woman, his picture ended up online. She guessed that he might welcome a relaxing summer on Nantucket, too. So, even though she didn’t see romantic potential with any of the guys in the house, they all seemed like people she could be friends with. Which could mean a fun summer.