Darcy’s heart sinks. Ty had been in the midst of some good one-on-one time with Bonnie when he abruptly ended things to talk to her instead. They’ve gone to one of the production rooms in the house for privacy. He hasn’t said it yet, but she already knows he’s talking about his ex.

‘I didn’t think to ask her at the time, but it seems so obvious now. I’ve always wanted kids, so maybe she thought it’d be a deal-breaker, like Bonnie said.’

Darcy feels weary. The night is supposed to be wrapping up. The rest of the crew are set up and ready to film the key ceremony. She really doesn’t feel like she has the energy to talk Ty down off the ledge of ‘what-ifs’ about his ex. She promised Drew they would have a long talk on the phone when she got home tonight but who knows how long this is going to take? She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. ‘I don’t think that’s what we should be talking about right now.’

Sadness tugs at Ty’s face.

‘Do you know who you want to send home tonight?’

But he ignores her question. ‘If I could just contact her. Just ask if that’s why she broke up with me.’

Darcy quickly shakes her head. ‘That’s not going to happen.’

‘Please, Darcy.’

She meets his gaze and her heart aches for him as she sees the desperation etched into his face. Despite this, she forces herself to remain firm. ‘I can’t let you contact your ex-girlfriend, Ty. I could lose my job.’

‘She’s not just an ex-girlfriend, she was my fiancée. I wanted to marry her, I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.’ He’s not afraid to plead.

Swear words fly through Darcy’s head. This isn’t a normal suitor freak-out, this is something she should be calling Alice in to deal with, but asking for help seems to only make it less likely that she’ll get promoted. Step up, she tells herself. Deal with this problem and prove to Alice how invaluable you are.

‘I could just use your phone to call her and ask if that’s what it is.’

Darcy does the only thing that she knows might get Ty to focus on the girls in the house instead of the girl who dumped him. ‘Okay, Ty. I’ll make a deal with you. I’ll let you make one phone call. You’ve got five minutes to talk, to sort out whatever you want with your ex.’

Ty’s face lights up, relief almost choking his breath.