‘I read a bit about what happened,’ Bonnie admits. Her heart had ached for Ty when she learned that Penny was dying. That the love of his life was soon going to leave him. ‘It’s really sad.’

‘Yeah.’ Ben nods. ‘I think it affected a lot of people.’

Bonnie feels at ease in this conversation with him; she’d forgotten how much she enjoyed being in Ben’s company. She gestures to her studio. ‘Have you got time to come in?’

‘Yeah, sure.’

She unlocks the door and they move inside to the lounge. Ben puts some bags down at his feet.

‘It’s a great space,’ he comments, as though it’s not the first time he’s told her. She tries to think back to the day they filmed her hometown date with Ty. Ben had been here, he’d filmed the whole thing, but the whole day seems blurred. Had Ben told her back then that he liked it? She can’t remember.

‘So,’ Ben begins, drawing out the ‘o’ sound. ‘I need to be honest with you about something.’

She turns, giving him her full attention as she settles against the lounge. She gets a sinking feeling, wondering what’s happened behind the scenes on the show. Maybe he was the one who leaked the photo of her and Oliver to the media. She’s always liked Ben, but has she misjudged him? Or maybe it’s something else—what if The One team has sent him up here to do a follow-up story on her? Her body tenses, waiting for Darcy to spring out with more confidentiality forms.

‘I’ve kind of had a massive crush on you from the first day I saw you.’

Bonnie’s so startled by this that she’s momentarily winded. She tries to think back to the first time she met Ben. ‘In the limousine?’ Her mouth is dry, her cheeks warming like someone is flaming them with a blowtorch. How on earth could he have a crush on someone who had been practically hyperventilating? But their conversation comes crashing back to her. He’d made a joke, or so she’d thought. He’d said he had a good personality; he’d implied she should date him. She shakes her head, bemused. Had he really liked her back then?

‘That was the second time,’ he tells her steadily. ‘I first met you at the casting day.’

It takes her a second but then an image of Ben standing alongside his camera pops back into her head. She remembers their eyes locking, and even though the bottom half of his face had been hidden by the camera she’d known he was smiling. Had he spoken to her that day? Surely she’d remember? But maybe she wouldn’t …

‘There was something about you.’ He shakes his head. ‘You were just so different to everyone else.’