Chapter Nine
Olivia
“Your first task as husband and wife is obvious….you must spend the night together!”
Chase addressed the twenty contestants standing in the reception hall, including me and Dec, and then he turned his blindingly-white smile to the main camera. “In tonight’s episode of Wed At First Sight, we’ll see our twelve couples begin their honeymoons. How will they adjust to their brand new partners? How will they react to sharing a room with what is essentially a stranger? Catch all the action right here on Channel 9!”
I shivered and rubbed my arms as goosebumps cropped up. It was getting late on the island, and a cool sea breeze was blowing in. I was still stuck in my wedding dress which bared my shoulders and arms, so I was freezing.
The live shooting of the premiere episode had finished a while ago, but we had to film the beginning of episode two right away. As soon as the godawful reception finished, anyway. That was all part of the first episode—food, flowing champagne, drama between some of the cattier contestants already. Two women, Yvonne and Hayley, had gotten at each other’s throats about one of them allegedly checking out the other’s new husband, and the producers were loving the tears and fighting. I overheard one of them saying to my mom that it was the best premiere episode of the show in its history.
Good for them.
Even though it was getting late, the sun still hadn’t set yet—apparently that didn’t happen till quite late in the islands. The sky was turning a lovely shade of gold, orange and pink, though, and I marveled at the tranquil views in the distance, trying to remember why I came here in the first place. Free vacation, I told myself. This place is amazing. You can put up with the cameras for a few hours a week just for that.
“Time to go, wifey.”
I glanced up to see Dec staring down at me, impish smile on his face. “I told you not to call me that.”
“Whatever. We have to go. Apparently we’re taking boats to our honeymoon paradise.”
I raised my eyebrows. “I assumed we’d all just get rooms together in the resort.”
“Not for the first night.”
“I swear to god, if they’re making us camp on the first night, I’ll…”
I didn’t have time to finish that sentence, because a junior producer got in my face a second later. “Let’s go. Down to the water. We need to get everyone to their huts.”
I breathed a sigh of relief, remembering the smaller island close-by to this one, which I’d seen from the seaplane before my arrival. On one side of it, there was an array of gorgeous thatch-roofed resort huts which stood out on the water, connected by wooden walkways. That must be where they were putting us all tonight. One couple in each hut.
Too bad I had to share with Dec. I groaned at the thought.
Mom pulled me aside before I could get on the little boat that would drop me and Dec off at our private pier. “Sorry, Miss Esposito, there’s an emergency phone call for you,” she said by way of explanation when a few of the married couples shot us questioning glances.
When we were a safe distance away, Mom resumed her normal ‘mother’ personality. Half control-freak, half fretting over me. “Are you handling everything okay? You know you don’t actually have to sleep with him in the bed. Those luxury huts are huge. You can put him on the floor or the sofa.”
“Way ahead of you, Mom. You didn’t think I’d sleep in the same bed as your husband, did you?”
She rolled her eyes. “You know we aren’t in that sort of relationship. I wouldn’t mind if you did it for the cameras. So long as nothing actually happened between the two of you, of course. Then things could get a little too weird, couldn’t they?”
My face softened as I looked up at hers. The years had worn her down a bit, but it only made her look wiser. Not older. At least not in a bad way. “Mom, you know you didn’t need to marry him, right? People still think you’re beautiful. You don’t need a thirty-five-year-old husband to prove it.”
“Thirty-six.”
“Whatever. My point stands.”
She gave me a long look, her eyes shrewdly assessing my face and body. “One day you’ll understand, Olivia. When you’re older. You’ll start to realize that people aren’t noticing you as often. That they aren’t being as nice to you as they once were. You’ll get it then.”
“Maybe, maybe not. But you’re going the wrong way about it, Mom. You should want niceness and attention from the right people. There are plenty of men out there who you wouldn’t have to pay to be with you. And they’d want to really be with you, too.” I paused. “How much are you giving Dec to do it, anyway?”
“You better get back to the crew. Your boat will be leaving shortly.”
I sighed at her evasive response. “Just think about what I said, Mom,” I insisted. Then I turned on my heel and trudged back down to the pier where all the little speedboats were leaving from, one couple aboard each boat.
It only took a few minutes for our boat to scoot around to our pier, and the islander driving it helped us onto it with our overnight bags, which we’d been told to pack first thing this morning, long before the weddings and other associated events. That was at six o’clock A.M, and it was almost eight-thirty P.M. now—filming days were full-on. I couldn’t wait for a rest day, when I could read a good book on the beach or lazily trudge around with a pair of binoculars, searching for unique birds flitting about the palm trees.
“Thank you,” I said, flashing the islander a friendly smile.
“They told me to tell you that you have fifteen minutes to settle in. Then a camera crew is arriving to film a few things for the night,” he said as he started up the boat again.
He took off, spraying salty water over the wooden boards below my feet, and I rolled my eyes at the thought of more cameras. Great. Just when I thought it was finally over…
“You know there’s cameras in the hut, too, right?” Dec said. “Heard Ellen mention it earlier.”
“Even more reason for you to not bother trying any funny business,” I said, opening the hut door.
“Wait!” he called out, dropping the bags.
“What? Why?” Before I could say anything else, he picked me up so that I was facing him like a baby in his arms, back and legs supported in his strong grip. “Hey! Put me down!”
He grinned down at me. “I have to carry my new wife over the threshold, right?” he said, taking a few steps forward into the hut.
I bit back a witty response and squirmed out of his arms before taking a glance at our place for the night. For a second, I forgot I wasn’t a huge fan of Dec, and I looked back at him with wide eyes and addressed him like I would any of my friends. “Oh my god! Check this place out!”
The hut’s interior was pure luxury. It looked much bigger on the inside than it did from the outside, and I almost felt giddy from all the perfection as I looked around. Every window showcased a different yet equally perfect view of the scenery around us, currently framed by the setting sun. The floors were polished wood, and directly ahead of me was an expansive living area with a dove-grey chaise lounge, dark-lacquered coffee table with fresh flowers, and a wide-screen TV. To the right of that was a kitchenette with a chrome refrigerator, bench, and dining table for two. I was willing to bet the fridge was stocked with the finest-quality food.
Beyond the main living space was a bedroom, half-hidden behind sliding wooden doors. As I pulled the doors apart and stepped through, I saw that there was a gorgeous bouquet of red roses next to the enormous king-sized bed along with a bucket of ice, champagne, and two boxes of expensive chocolate. There was also a bathroom just off from the bedroom, and that had the usual toilet, shower, basin and cabinets, along with a spa bath.
“Holy hell.” Dec let out a low whistle as he followed me through the hut. “Nice digs.”
“Even nicer than the resort rooms,” I said with a nod. “I love it here already.”
He opened a window, letting the crisp ocean breeze in. I sighed and flopped down on the bed. “I could get used to this.”
Dec arched an eyebrow. “Growing up with parents as wealthy as yours, I would’ve assumed you were already used to this.”
I snorted. “Not exactly. Yeah, we had a big house when I was growing up, but you should see the apartment I’ve lived in since I moved out. It’s cheap. Simple. Size of a shoebox. A child’s shoebox, more like it. I haven’t been in a luxurious place like this in ages.”
A frown knitted his eyebrows. “Don’t you have some sort of inheritance?”
I shrugged. “Yeah. I don’t want it, though. Not now, anyway.”
“That’s a bit dumb,” Dec said. “You have all this money that you could use to help yourself with, and you choose to ignore it?”
I sat up, my face heated. “A bit dumb? Actually, it’s important to me that I make my own way in the world without relying on my parents’ money,” I said, eyes narrowed. “And besides, I’m not technically allowed to touch that money till I turn twenty-one, anyway. Until then it’s kept in an investment account that donates the dividends to an animal charity. Which I chose, by the way.”
Dec held his hands up. “All right, sorry. I didn’t think about it that way. Thought maybe you were just being one of those edgy rich kids who pretends to be poor, but really they can just go running home whenever they want, or get a loan from the Bank of Dad whenever they want.”
“My dad’s dead.” I sighed, then went on. “But I know what you mean. I went to school with lots of people who turned out like that.”
Dec hesitated. “Again, I didn’t mean to offend. I guess money is a hot topic for people. Shouldn’t have said anything. That’s my bad.”
“Yeah, well, why don’t we talk about something different?” I said, gesturing to the cameras strategically placed around the room. “Unless you want them to air us arguing all night on our honeymoon.” I rolled my eyes and put air quotes on ‘honeymoon’.
Dec grinned. “Fair enough. So which side of the bed do you want?”
I tossed a pillow at him. “Hmm…does neither work for you?”
“Afraid not. How about I take the left?”
“Left side of the couch? Sure, but it’s not that big. You might need all of it,” I said, springing to my feet as I felt a familiar and most unwelcome twinge in my lower belly. I tried to push on his chest so that he’d leave the room, but he refused to budge.
“You looked a little cold earlier, and this breeze isn’t exactly blowing hot. Sure you don’t need me to keep you warm tonight?”
“Out!” I said. “I’m going to take a shower. I have…um…” I lowered my eyes, embarrassed.
“Have what?” Dec raised his brows. “Diarrhea from all the island food at the reception dinner?”
“No!” I glared at him. “It’s just…never mind, okay?”
He nodded slowly. “Oh. I think I get it. You’ve fallen to the Communists.”
“Huh?”
“A certain scene from The Shining is currently happening in your…”
I shoved him again. “Okay, yes, that’s it! And I have cramps, okay? So I need a shower.”
He held his hands up. “Be my guest.”
I took my overnight bag and dragged it into the bathroom before closing the door, locking it and turning the shower on. I wanted the water scalding hot to help with the cramps that’d just begun to claw at my insides. I thought I had bloating this morning from eating too much breakfast, but as I’d discovered halfway through the reception dinner, it was actually just the usual ‘that time of the month’ bloating.
Sighing with relief as I stepped under the hot water and let it stream all over me while I soaped myself up, I thought back to everything that’d happened in the long, long day I just experienced. It still felt so surreal. Right now, people across the States (and people from abroad who liked American TV) who’d seen the live premiere very likely thought of me as that silly young girl who went on a show to get hitched to a stranger at the tender age of nineteen. At least I’d been able to mention my jewelry website on camera at some point, though—damn lucky I’d just finished the site, too. I wasn’t allowed to go on the internet or use my cell phone while I was a contestant on the show, but Audrey had promised to keep track of the website and call my mom if any major issues came up with it.
From outside the bathroom, I could hear thudding footsteps and other strange noises. Frowning, I grabbed a towel and dried myself off before wrapping myself in one of the fluffy white robes hanging on the door.
I stepped out to see two cameramen in the living room along with Dec, who was holding…er…I had no idea what it was, actually.
“What’s that?” I asked him, knowing we were supposed to act like the cameramen weren’t here. We were supposed to act ‘naturally’, as if every word and action wasn’t being tracked by the show.
Dec grinned beatifically. “You said you have cramps. I looked everywhere for a hot water bottle, but I couldn’t find one in any of the cupboards. So I emptied out a water bottle from the fridge, filled it with boiling water from the kettle, and wrapped it in a dishcloth. Temporary heat-pack. Think it’ll help?”
I widened my eyes and tilted my head to the side. “Oh. Uh, yeah, that’d be great. Thanks.” I took the makeshift hot water bottle from him and held it against my lower abdomen, letting out a low moan of satisfaction as it immediately had an effect on my cramps. “Wow. It’s even better than the hot shower. Thanks, Dec.”
“No worries. I also left all the chocolate for you. I know most women generally like to have something sweet lying around at this time.”
I was surprised by how cool he was being about it. Guys my age generally freaked out if you even said the word ‘period’ or ‘tampon’ but Dec was so much older and better than that. So much more mature. He was simply acting like it was just another part of life (which it was!). Not a big deal at all. He was also being very sweet with the way he was taking care of me, making the heat-pack for me and all. I couldn’t tell if he just hamming it up for the cameras to make himself look good, or if he was genuinely taking care of me.
Either way, it was sure nice of him to have done this.
“You must be pretty beat,” he said. “Gonna head to bed?”
I nodded. Now that he mentioned it, I was pretty exhausted.
He turned to one of the cameras and grinned. “I’m having the couch tonight. We figured it wasn’t a good idea to share a bed on our first night, seeing as we only just met today.”
Yes…only just met today. I stifled a giggle at that, and Dec turned to me and winked. For a second, I felt bad about making him sleep on the sofa. The bed was huge, so surely there was enough space for us to sleep together on separate sides without bothering each other.
“Hey, actually, Dec...”
I was about to offer him half the bed, but then I remembered the little money argument we’d had when we first arrived in the hut. It reminded me of why Dec was back in my life in the first place—married to my mother for cash—and it also made me wonder if he really intended on getting himself voted off the show anytime soon. I hoped he did, because there was no way I wanted to stay on it for too long, but there was a million dollar prize for the couple who made it to the end. For someone like Dec, who was obviously so easily tempted by money, it made sense that he might actually try to win despite the original plan. Maybe that was why he was suddenly being so nice to me in front of the cameras. If the viewers liked us, they’d vote to keep us on.
Suddenly I wasn’t in the mood for sharing a bed.
“What were you gonna say?” Dec asked, raising an inquisitive brow.
“Oh. Um…have a good sleep.”
“You too,” he said. For a second it looked like he wanted to say something else, but he simply squared his jaw and turned to the sofa instead.
I pulled the wooden sliding doors shut and climbed into bed, snuggling under the covers as I tried to warm myself up. I could hear Dec’s earlier words echoing in my mind. Sure you don’t need me to keep you warm tonight?
“Oh, shut up.” I didn’t realize I’d said the words out loud until I heard Dec calling out to me.
“Did you say something, Liv? Need me to bring you anything?”
Yeah, bring me your body, said a naughty part of my brain. I blushed furiously at the terribly inappropriate thought and buried my head under the blankets. “No, I’m fine!” I called out a second later. “Goodnight!”
I could hear a hint of amusement in his voice as he replied. “Night, Liv…”