Page 67 of Unscripted

“Poppy,” Gemma Row said, looking across the stage at me with a gleam in her eye.

We had been taping After Amore for about ten minutes and so far, Jess had been right: it wasn’t too painful.

The “stage” they set up in the driveway was really just a large area rug that had been rolled out in front of the villa’s doors. A rounded bench—a direct copy of the one around the fire pit inside the villa—was set up in the middle of the rug. They even had a mini fire pit in front of it to set the scene. The “large studio audience” was made up of about fifteen people, most of whom looked like locals production had hired to be there. I had also clocked a few PAs and producers scattered about the audience, no doubt to fill the space. It was obvious the shoot would rely heavily on good lighting and a bit of production smoke and mirrors.

Callum and I were seated close to each other at the end of the bench, with Liam and Ella next to us and Gemma a bit farther down.

Gemma had been recapping what happened in the villa during the week and showing clips of scenes that hadn’t made it to air. We couldn’t see any of them as there weren’t any monitors to view them on, and it was all for the audience at home, so the whole show had consisted of us sitting there while Gemma announced different segments.

I hadn’t been asked a question yet and was starting to relax. Maybe we would run out of time, and I would be able to sneak out unscathed.

That was, of course, wishful, delusional thinking, as Gemma zeroed in on Callum and me the moment we were back from a commercial break.

“You two have had quite the week, haven’t you?” she asked, eyes bouncing between us.

A spotlight swung its way onto me, and I squinted against it, trying to get my bearings while also remembering the show was being broadcast all over the United Kingdom at that very moment.

“We have,” I replied, glancing over at Callum. “There have definitely been a lot of ups and downs, but I think we’ve gotten to a really good place now.”

That was nice and to the point, I thought to myself.

Gemma wasn’t satisfied.

“How did it feel when Sara took Callum on a date?” she pressed, not giving my previous fluff of an answer a second thought. I suddenly felt stupid for trying to keep things surface level. Of course I had to give her a better answer. If I had been a viewer, I’d want all the gory details and not something so generic.

I looked over at Callum, pretending to be lost in my feelings for him while trying to come up with something good. “Callum and I are still getting to know each other and settling into being together, so it was obviously not fun to watch him go on a date with another girl.”

Callum smiled at me, playing the role of supportive partner to a tee.

A small twinge in my chest thrummed as I thought about my feelings over the past few days. What I had just said wasn’t even a lie.

I quickly brushed the realization away, shoving that line of thought down deep. Sitting under a spotlight on live television was not the time to examine why, exactly, my feelings had been hurt.

I let out a breath and continued, giving Gemma what I knew she—and the producers and the viewers at home—wanted. “I’m really happy he chose me and that we get to continue on this journey together.”

I smiled up at Callum, leaning in toward him and trying to sell it.

“And Callum?” Gemma followed up. “How are you feeling?” she asked.

“Yeah, it was a crazy week, but I’m buzzing it’s moving in the right direction.” He paused then, considering something before continuing. “I’ve really liked getting to know Poppy and spending time with her, so it’ll be nice to focus just on her now.”

He looked down at me and despite my inner protests, something softened in my chest at his words. Staring back at him, I was struck by an overwhelming magnetism, sucking me into his gaze.

I blinked rapidly and looked away, trying to get a grip. I could not afford to get all wobbly over the man. I hadn’t even liked him very much up until a few days ago, for goodness’ sake.

We had a deal, and he was simply sticking to it, the same as I was.

I cleared my throat, hoping it would snap me out of the spiral my brain was suddenly teetering on the edge of.

It would have worked too, I was sure of it, had Callum not decided that exact moment was one in which he would try to turn up the romance for the cameras by reaching over and threading his fingers through mine.

I couldn’t help the tremor that jolted through my body. Eye contact was one thing, but to be physically connected to him felt like something else entirely. Trying to hide my reaction and appear calm and collected, I crossed and re-crossed my legs, making it seem like I was getting comfortable.

Gemma was still talking both to us and into the camera. “Well, even though you lot are taking it slow, the viewers are loving it. Here’s some chatter that’s been going around this week. Bella Amore super fan Becky says, ‘Callum and Poppy are endgame. I want more, more, more of them!’

“Cathy from Bath wrote, ‘I love 'Coppy' so much, they just seem so real to me. I hope they make it to the end!’”

She looked over at us, and I wondered if she could read the shock on my face.