Cam smiles.
‘What?’
‘Thanks,’ he says simply. ‘I appreciate it.’
‘Appreciate what?’
‘What you’re doing. It’s very kind. Making me laugh to take my mind off the stress.’
I gulp, heat rising from my neck. I’d hate to embarrass him with another unrequited crush situation. ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about.’
‘Well, let’s just say I’m not like this around everyone.’
My cheeks are on fire. ‘You best return this to Porscha before she has time to come back in her stripper basque and peephole bra.’
If he thinks Porscha leaving objects in his trailer might be obvious and tacky, it’s nothing compared to me flying six thousand miles across the planet just to see if there’s a spark of interest in those glorious eyes of his. The shame.
‘I’ll drop it with her assistant. Then I need to swing by the main villa to drop some kit off and check in with the technicians. You’ll be stuck with me for another few hours. Is that okay?’
I’d like nothing more.
* * *
While Cam has gone into theLove on the Islandvilla, I have remained hidden in the car behind a section of trees. I’ve tried peeking, but the villa itself is hidden behind a massive purpose-built wall and ironclad gate. They are obviously leaving nothing to chance, and security is disappointingly rock solid. He has left me with a plethora of things to schedule. I need to work out the driving times from each of the ten villas housing the contestants, so that I can co-ordinate the drivers and entry times and match those with camera operators and runners. And according to the notes, I need to cross-reference those with the timings of kitchen and housekeeping crew who need to be in, set up, cook the food, do the final sweep to check all the cameras and microphones are working and then disappear before the Islanders gather by the firepit for the first big welcome to the show. It’s very exciting. I have goosebumps. I’m much better suited to behind the scenes. Before I know it, Cam is climbing back into the car.
‘How did you get on?’ he asks, looking at my clipboard.
‘All done,’ I say, turning it round to show him. He makes a big ‘O’ with his mouth. ‘You’re welcome, Cam. Least I could do after such an awesome morning.’
‘I really appreciate it, thank you. And you were right. There’s a blind spot exactly where you said it would be.’
‘What are you going to do?’
Cam shrugs. ‘Not sure yet. Every day we are set back costs roughly four hundred thousand dollars at this point, plus penalties from sponsors if we don’t air on time. It’s a shitshow, all right. I’m tempted to let Graeme get away with it. If you were on the show, would you go looking for blind spots, or would you just assume there are cameras everywhere and there would be no point?’
I want to reassure him. ‘I’d assume the worst, cameras everywhere. Did you know that they have microphones in the toilet and cameras in the shower?’
Cam looks uncomfortable. ‘Just for the record, I never agreed with that. It’s disgusting, but what Porscha wants, Porscha gets.’
‘Hmm. I got that impression. She looks the forceful type, that’s for sure.’
‘How do you know what Porscha looks like?’
‘Erm, well, I kind of saw you two together outside your trailer before she came barging inside. And those two workmen had plenty of things to say about her that weren’t entirely complimentary.’
‘She is kind of a ball-breaker, I’ll give her that. But then you have to be, on a show like this.’
‘How long have you worked on this show?’
‘Just since the last season. It’s a stepping stone to what I’d ideally like to do.’ Cam leans an arm across my seat while he twists around to reverse expertly out of the tight spot we are in.
‘Which is?’
‘You ask a lot of questions, don’t you?’ he says, turning back around and jamming the gear into first. He pulls on the steering wheel to navigate the rough terrain.
‘Like I said. I’m a teacher. Being nosy is a huge part of who I am professionally.’
Cam starts chuckling as he swings onto the road. ‘Okay. Why don’t I show you instead? Do you have one more spontaneous surprise left in you?’