by Katie Price
She was struggling to process her feelings about Luke. Until she’d gotten things straight in her own mind, how could she possibly know what to say to him? No text, email or Hangout message seemed appropriate for talking seriously about things. She’d been so decisive when she broke it off. It was what she wanted, wasn’t it? Why, then, did her mind so often wander back to being in his arms? Jas tried to find faults in Luke, to justify them not being together. Lila had jokingly said that one time he was boring – could she hang on to that? Nope, it just wasn’t true. Luke was one of the most engaging men Jas had ever met. There was always the fact he was seeing that brunette girl. Obviously, he wasn’t lying awake obsessing over Jas. She sighed, realising that she had made her bed and must lie in it.
And besides, she was settled in Ibiza now and staying in a villa with Monica and the rest of the film crew, close to the contestants. The crew’s accommodation wasn’t as luxurious as where the fifteen women were living with Dylan, but it had a swimming pool and gorgeous views of the Ibizan scenery and that was enough for Jas. She loved her colleagues and when they weren’t filming or having meetings about the show they sat around the pool together, toes dipped in the water, drinking beer. Jas hadn’t forgotten that she’d also got half a dozen gorgeous party dresses hanging in her holiday wardrobe, primed and ready to make their debut.
Her priority now had to be making Mr Right a success. Any feelings she thought she had for Luke needed to be ignored until they were pushed out of her mind entirely. That was the only thing for it.
There was also the small matter of her ongoing divorce battle. How Richard could have changed so much, be so totally different now from the man she’d fallen in love with six years ago, still shocked her. Truth be told, there had been so much pain, so many lies in the last couple of years, she’d never had a chance to mourn the man she’d lost. Wherever the old Richard was, he certainly wasn’t coming back.
After weeks of gathering what evidence she could against him, she was still waiting for a date for the court hearing. The process certainly was dragging out and there was still a possibility that the statements from friends and her handful of text messages and emails to them, divulging that Richard had admitted cheating on her, still wasn’t enough evidence to convince a judge. She’d tried to phone Richard to ask him to reconsider and avoid all this huge expense on both sides. Couldn’t they just end this amicably and get on with their lives? But he pointedly refused to answer her. She had no idea what he was up to.
Jas’s phone rang, breaking her train of thought. Meg’s smiling face flashed up.
‘I told you FaceTime was the best app,’ Jas laughed as she answered. Nothing made her feel better than hearing her sister’s voice. And since Meg had finally caught up with the twenty-first century and installed FaceTime, Jas had been regularly seeing her face, too.
‘What’s going on in Manchester then, missy? How’s the big makeover coming along?’
Meg and Oscar were renovating their entire house, turning it into a real family home. Meg went into a monologue about paint swatches and the merits of track lights as opposed to spotlights. Then she casually dropped in, ‘Oh, and you know Mum and Dad want Lila to move back home?’
Jas did not know this. It was so frustrating how they tried to coddle Lila all the time. ‘Honestly, she’s twenty-five. She is big enough to look after herself. She not only has her own place to live but she’s currently got my whole flat to herself for eight weeks while I’m in Ibiza and she’s house-sitting.’
‘You know what they’re like. They think she goes out too much, drinks too much.’
‘Only ’cos she’s the youngest,’ said Jas, crossly. ‘They didn’t give two shits about us staying out all night when we were teenagers. We were a lot younger. God! I’ve barely heard from Mum and Dad since I’ve been out here. I’m the one with the personal life in tatters!’
‘How’s it going on that front anyway? You heard from Luke yet?’
Jas sighed. ‘No. I think I need to accept that one is well and truly over. It’s what I wanted. Want, I mean. It’s what I want.’
‘Aw, honey, you sound down. What happened to my fun-loving, bubbly sister, eh? You’re in Ibiza, Jas. Ibiza, of all places! You’re being paid to be there. Go out and let your hair down. Have some fun. You’re young, gorgeous and single.’
‘That last one definitely isn’t true!’
‘Well, it will be soon. In a few months, this divorce will be long behind you. I know it’s stressful, but you have to enjoy life where you can. I didn’t let you raid the rails of my boutique with a 50% discount for nothing.’
After the call ended Jas considered Meg’s words. It was out of character for her to be so stressed and preoccupied. The old Jas would have been out every night, work or no work! Meg was totally and utterly right.
Monica called out from the villa’s doorway. ‘Jas? It’s time for Dylan to give the At First Sight rose.’
‘Great,’ Jas replied. ‘Hey, Mon. How do you fancy going out tomorrow night?’
‘Ooh, fun! We’re filming throughout the day but there’s nothing going on in the evening that the pre-installed cameras won’t catch.’
‘How about I book a restaurant in the Old Town for us and the crew? And I know a guy from the club scene in London. He’s taken over the Hard Rock Café for the summer. I reckon I could wangle VIP tickets. How about it?’
Monica was practically giddy with anticipation. Jas knew she could count on her best work-friend for a good time. ‘Hell, yeah! Let’s do it. I’ve been waiting for the old Jas to come back.’
Jas smiled, suddenly feeling totally revitalised. She wasn’t about to let anything or anyone get her down.
The At First Sight rose was Jas’s idea. She knew it would up the drama. Even if Dylan liked several women, he only had one rose to give that night.
Jas took in the scene of gorgeous girls draped around this picture-perfect villa in their figure-hugging gowns. It looked as perfect as she’d imagined. She was already picturing how it would be edited and the dramatic music to go alongside the close-ups and sideways glances. Monica and Jas took each woman aside with a camera to video their first impressions of how the night was going. Jas took Charlotte to the fountain outside the house, guiding her from behind the camera.
‘Okay, Charlotte, look directly to camera, not at me, please. Tell me what you think of Dylan.’
Charlotte cleared her throat. Her eyes glistened. She really was incredibly beautiful, thought Jas. Sweet as well. Jas liked her and hoped she stayed in this contest for a while.
‘I honestly didn’t know what to expect, none of us did. We knew he’d be gorgeous and obviously he is, but he’s really nice, too.’
‘Uh-huh, and what did you two talk about?’
‘Fitness, mainly. He asked what I did for a living. He keeps in shape too, obviously, so we talked a bit about that. Then just general chit-chat about the island, whether we’d ever been to Ibiza before, that sort of thing.’
‘Mmm. And what about the other girls? Who do you see as your biggest competition?’ Charlotte might be sweet but this was still a reality show and Jas needed some dirt.
‘They’re all lovely!’
‘Really? What if you had to say just one name you weren’t quite so keen on?’
‘Honestly, it’s a little too early to tell. Everyone seems nice and a bit nervous so we’ll have to see how it plays out, I guess.’
‘Okay. Thanks, Charlotte. You can go back inside now. Can you send Gabriella out for her interview?’
Charlotte headed back inside. A couple of minutes later Gabriella emerged in her eye-catching red dress, her Julia Roberts-red locks cascading over one shoulder and lips pouting.
‘Look directly into the camera, please, Gabriella, not at me. Tell me, what are your first impressions of the other contestants? Made any friends yet? Or enemies?’ Jas asked her.
Gabriella smiled, knowing exactly how to ham it up for the camera.
�
�There was tension in the house the second I walked in. People looking me up and down, whispering. Some of the girls seem lovely, but that Alex … I don’t trust her at all. And Charlotte? Don’t let the butter-wouldn’t-melt persona fool you. She’s out to win.’
‘And what are your first impressions of Dylan?’
‘Oh, wow, we already have such a connection. I don’t mean to sound arrogant, but he really stared at me in there! I really think there is something between us.’
Chapter 14
The evening was in full swing. Gabriella, Mackenzie, the blonde publicist with fake boobs, and the talent show contestant Georgia were vying for the attention of Dylan and the cameras and barely left him alone, while some of the other, more restrained contestants like Alex and Charlotte were hanging back and playing it cool. Dylan made sure that he engaged with every woman there, though, striking up conversations and getting to know everyone as they mingled between each other.
Later, it was time for Dylan to make his choice of who’d be the first woman to receive a rose. Gabriella, Mackenzie and Georgia were perched on a sofa out on the terrace. Charlotte could see they had struck up a friendship. But, with a rose in his hand and a cameraman behind him, Dylan merely smiled at the group and walked past, towards the pool where Charlotte was sitting on a sunlounger, sipping mojitos with Kat, Melody and Carmel.
‘Charlotte, could I borrow you for a moment, please?’ Like a perfect gentleman he stretched out his arm for Charlotte to take as he led her down to the Bali bed on the other side of the gigantic pool. She couldn’t believe it! Charlotte could feel the rest of the girls stare after her and noticed a few whispering to each other. Realising they couldn’t hear what Dylan and Charlotte were saying anyway, most went back to their own conversations, but not before Jas had motioned for the cameras to record their reactions. She had noticed Alex pursing her lips tighter and tighter as she saw Dylan and Charlotte walk away hand in hand.
‘Surprised?’ Dylan asked as they sat on the edge of the Bali bed, close enough that their arms brushed together. Dylan turned his body slightly so that he was facing Charlotte, his arm leaning on the bed behind her. Charlotte might not have known a whole lot about men, but she was sure she could read this body language – and it was positive.
‘To be honest, yes,’ she laughed, still not entirely comfortable with a camera tracking their date so closely. She took a sip of champagne for Dutch courage. ‘Don’t get me wrong, though. I’m very flattered.’ Charlotte thought about Alex’s jewel-like eyes and Mackenzie’s perfect figure, both surely catnip to any man?
‘Well, the first thing I noticed about you was how unbelievably beautiful you are,’ Dylan replied coolly. Charlotte pursed her lips to stop a huge smile from spreading across her face. Was this really happening?
‘And then we started talking,’ he continued. ‘We had a lot in common and I guess I just wanted to know more.’
‘Such as?’
‘Such as, how old are you? What do you like doing best? What made you decide to go on a show like this? What are your dreams and ambitions?’
‘Talk about diving straight in!’
‘Sorry, I don’t mean to sound so full on. I guess I’m nervous.’
Charlotte now turned her own body fully towards Dylan’s so they were facing each other, both of them smiling nervously. ‘I am too,’ she said. ‘Hopefully there will be plenty of time for us to get to know each other.’
‘Absolutely. Can I ask you one more question?’
‘Shoot.’
‘Do you have any kids? I have a four-year-old daughter, Ruby. I just want to be completely upfront with everyone in here that she’s the biggest part of my life, so anyone who wasn’t on board with that … well, I wouldn’t want to waste my time or theirs.’
This honesty and blatant devotion to his daughter was only a turn-on for Charlotte.
‘Thank you for being so honest. No, I haven’t got any kids but I’m hopelessly devoted to my Godson, Rafi. I’ve been best friends with his mum Maya since we were in school. She and her boyfriend Rob had him pretty young, at nineteen, but they’re such amazing parents.’
‘Wow, I love that. How old is Rafi?’
‘Five. He’s started school now, which is just too adorable for words!’
Dylan smiled and offered her the single red rose from his other hand. ‘Well, you light up when you talk about him so he’s clearly very special to you. If you’d accept it, I would really love to give you my first rose?’
‘I’d love to have it.’ She smiled back at him.
‘I really look forward to getting to know more about you, Charlotte.’
Charlotte went to bed that night feeling exhausted but elated. She liked Dylan. He seemed friendly and funny but, then again, she always liked the guy. They just never seemed to like her. But being given the At First Sight rose was a big deal. It was the first rose to be offered and no one could take that away from Charlotte. She woke the next morning feeling confident. Maybe she would get her happy ever after for real?
The contestants ate breakfast on their huge terrace. There was a platter of sliced strawberries, melon, grapes and apple, bowls of yoghurt, nuts and different kinds of bread, granola and pastries. Normally the girls would be expected to take it in turns to prepare the fruit plates for everyone each morning but today, as a special treat, a chef had come to prepare eggs, any style. It seemed like a terrible waste as every girl was watching her figure. Almost all the pastries were left untouched, most of the fruit merely picked at. Charlotte sat next to Alex, who was chomping on an apple.
‘Is that all you’re having?’
Alex shrugged. ‘I never eat much in the mornings and I’m allergic to nuts and melon anyway. I’ll have a big lunch later.’
Gabriella sauntered past. ‘Big lunch? With those hips? I wouldn’t if I were you, babe.’
Alex stood up. ‘What was that?’ But Gabriella simply smiled sweetly and sat down at the other end of the table.
‘Ignore her,’ whispered Charlotte. ‘She just wants a reaction.’ Alex chomped furiously into the apple.
As the cameras rolled Dylan appeared, announcing that he would choose seven women to go on two group-dates with that day. Charlotte was delighted when he stated that she, Melody and the doctor, Nysha, would join him for a hike after breakfast. Gabriella was one of the four who got to have cocktails at sunset with him later on.
The hike was a lot of fun. Not only did Charlotte get to spend more time with Dylan, but she grew closer to Nysha and Melody. She really liked them both. Melody was incredibly funny and gorgeous with a curvaceous figure to die for, but totally down to earth. Thanks to Nysha’s Indian heritage, she had long black glossy hair, big eyes and beautiful skin. She was just as boisterous as Melody, with a wicked sense of humour. Dylan was in his element, flirting with all the girls and trying to show off by listing facts about the island. Nysha was too quick for him, though, and often pointed out things that he got wrong and then the group would laugh about them.
Charlotte was convinced that Dylan held her gaze longer than anyone else’s. When she slipped on a branch and fell over, he rushed to her side to see if she was okay and their eyes met for an electric second. However, when they returned to the house and Mackenzie was walking through the kitchen in her underwear, deeply tanned after sunbathing all day and her fake boobs barely contained by her bra, Dylan’s appreciative glance didn’t go unnoticed. Charlotte reminded herself that there were fourteen other hot women here. A single man, especially one as good-looking and charming as this one, certainly wasn’t going to commit to anyone this early. It felt so discouraging, knowing that everyone else would get alone time with Dylan at some point, but that was the game.
Over the next few days, more group-dates occurred and, when she wasn’t involved, Charlotte hung out with and got to know the friendlier girls in the group. They’d chill by the pool, go to the beach or the busy town, and cameras would record much of their conversation. Most nights they would
Skype friends and family back in England.
But beneath the dreamy atmosphere, tension was mounting. Gabriella and Alex, the two most outspoken and competitive of the group, were constantly bickering over anything from who ate the last yoghurt to who was hamming it up most for the cameras. There seemed to be cliques forming in the house. Gabriella, Mackenzie, Natalie and the singer, Georgia, had established a Mean Girls-style group and didn’t talk to anyone else unless it was to say something passive-aggressive. Alex led the opposing crew, which consisted of herself and two others, Fiona and Jillian, who were nice enough but had strong opinions and a hard side to them. Charlotte wouldn’t like to get on the wrong side of any of them. She, Kat, Melody, Nysha, Becca, Carmel and the final two, Delia and Hayley, tried to stay out of conflict entirely.
On the sixth night, Charlotte was busy putting on her blue pyjamas and scraping back her dark hair into a ponytail for a lazy movie night to be spent with Melody and a few others, when there was a knock on the bedroom door.
‘Oh, hi, Jas, come on in.’
‘Hiya, babe. I just wanted to check in on you to see how you’re doing.’ Jas plonked herself on one of the beds and flipped her phone so it was facing downwards. ‘These first few days have been mental. Sorry I’m only getting one-to-one time with you now.’
Charlotte was grateful Jas was looking after her. She sat down next to her on the bed. ‘I actually thought I’d be more homesick than this. I’ve never been away from home for more than a few days and we’re almost through our first week already.’
Jas raised an eyebrow at this. ‘Any of the girls giving you trouble? I hear Alex has been clashing with quite a few of the others.’
