She joins the end of the line, piling her plate with cakes, muffins, pastries and fruit that the caterers have set up. As she gets to the end of the line she sees Ben. Immediately she feels her face flush red and her chest grow hot. She has to concentrate on her breathing as she thinks of Ben with his shirt off, his lips on hers, the way he’d grabbed her around the waist in her dream.

‘Are you okay?’

Bonnie shakes herself but doesn’t manage to answer.

‘You’re staring at me really weird.’

‘No, I’m not,’ she says, a little rushed. ‘Just caught up with everything that’s been going on in here.’ She feels like he’s going to know she’s lying, but he raises his eyebrows with interest.

‘Yeah? Anything good for me?’ The two of them naturally fall into step together, moving away from the rest of the crew.

She knows he’s after dirt, some exciting footage to film. ‘Oh, you know, just the usual—bitchy girls, who’s got the best bikini body, who Ty likes the most …’

He looks slightly thwarted when she doesn’t have any serious tips for him. ‘I think you’re pretty high on his list.’

‘Really?’ Bonnie’s plagued with self-doubt, not to mention paranoia. She likes talking to Ben, but can she really trust him?

Ben shrugs. ‘I’ve been doing this job for a couple of seasons now. You pick things up.’ He bites into his muffin, his beard catching crumbs like a spider web.

Bonnie knows he’s not supposed to talk about it so doesn’t push for more details, despite feeling a slight smugness. She usually only allows herself that luxury for those seconds after Ty’s called her name and handed her a key.

‘Do you like working on this?’ she asks. It seems a weird fit to her. She bites into a savoury scroll. Her tastebuds dance and she wishes she had grabbed a second.

He doesn’t answer straight away, and his face stays unnaturally neutral. ‘I got offered my dream job a couple of years ago—working outside broadcast on National Geographic. I had twenty-four hours to decide.’

‘Okay?’ Bonnie knows there must be more to the story.

‘My girlfriend didn’t want me to take it. It would have meant I’d be away for nine months of the year.’

‘Wow, big call,’ Bonnie says, unsure whether she could turn down a dream job for love. ‘You’re a romantic.’

Ben doesn’t let the compliment settle. ‘She’s not my girlfriend anymore.’

‘Oh.’

‘I was a total prick. I resented her, and we fought every day for the next nine months. Every single day I just kept thinking, I could be in Africa.’ He shakes his head, ashamed at how he’d behaved. ‘And she knew it. I was a bastard until she finally broke up with me.’