Bonnie swallows hard and nods. The prospect of a couple more days must still feel like a lifetime to her.

‘You’re the only one who hasn’t approached him tonight,’ Darcy says gently. ‘He’s choosing hometowns, Bonnie. You want one, don’t you?’

Bonnie stands straighter, turning a little to watch Addison, Hayley and Cassie sitting on the patio with their champagne flutes. ‘Yeah, I do.’

‘Well, the key ceremony is going to start soon. You better go make the most of the time you have left.’

Bonnie makes her way to Ty and Jodie, who are coupled up on a two-seater lounge. They look like they fit, like they should be together, but Ty smiles a welcome to Bonnie and she realises that maybe she still does have a chance.

‘Do you mind if I steal Ty away?’ she says to Jodie.

Jodie’s face drops, disappointed of course, but her voice remains pleasant, always pleasant in front of Ty. ‘Of course not.’

Ty gives Jodie a hug goodbye, forcing Bonnie to look away as she tries to give them some privacy in this unnatural situation.

Ty turns his back on Jodie and takes Bonnie’s hand, leading her towards another part of the garden. Bonnie feels the usual buzz whenever Ty touches her. She just wishes the large intruding camera wasn’t following them.

‘I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages.’

Bonnie wants to laugh at this. ‘Yeah, well, you’ve been pretty busy.’ He’s had a constant stream of dates while she’s had nothing but endless days in the house. Thank goodness he got rid of Imogen at the last ceremony. Bonnie had let out an audible sigh of relief when Imogen’s name wasn’t called out to receive a key. For a second Bonnie had thought she was about to get a punch to the face. Luckily one of the other girls had stepped in to give Imogen a goodbye hug. At least Bonnie’s endless days in the house had been Imogen-free.

‘I’ve been thinking about you, though,’ Ty offers as they slowly walk through the garden.

Bonnie feels herself smiling. It mightn’t be true, but she finds herself taking comfort in this and suddenly doesn’t know why she was so reluctant to spend time with him.

She notices Darcy approaching. Ty does too, and both of them pause, waiting to see if she’s about to give them an instruction or a conversation prompt.

‘Ty, can you ask Bonnie about her hometown, please?’

Bonnie’s body stiffens. She wishes their conversations could flow naturally rather than be directed by a producer.

‘Sure,’ Ty says. He seems to have gotten used to this process. He looks back to Bonnie and squeezes her hand before asking, ‘How do you feel about introducing me to your family?’