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Ahmed is stood next to our group, a tight smile on his face. His eyes are on Florie, who is blushing under his gaze.

'Um, sure,' she says nervously.

She stands up and he offers his hand to her. She takes it and he leads her away from our group.

I worriedly look around for Binah. She's sat alone, on one of the benches by the window. I thought for sure that they'd get along well, so why is she alone?

Before I realise it, I've stood up and I'm walking towards her.

I take a seat next to her and she looks up at me glumly.

'Hey, how was it?' I ask gently and she sighs.

'Awful. I got so nervous that I could barely talk! He was trying to make conversation and I was just stuttering like an idiot,' she mumbles.

She groans and puts her head in her hands. 'He probably thinks I'm an idiot. He eventually left because I was only giving him one word answers, I think he thinks that I don't like him, when it's the complete opposite!'

'Hey,' I reach for her hand and reassure her. 'It's okay. We have the whole evening. Just take a few deep breaths, collect yourself and then pull him for a chat again. You can win this back.'

She bites down harshly on her bottom lip. 'You think?'

'Hell yes! You've got this. Just maybe think about what you want to say first, so you don't get flustered.'

She gives me a small smile. 'Thank you, Amity.'

I stay with Binah a little longer, until she's calmed down. I watch, with my fingers crossed, as she approaches Ahmed and Florie.

Ahmed seems surprised at Binah's interruption, and Florie doesn't seem to mind it. Florie gives up her seat for Binah and returns to the girls.

Ahmed and Binah drop into conversation and I can't help but smile, seeing that she has found her confidence.

'Amity, right?' I turn at the sound of a seductive voice saying my name.

I look up and see Bain standing next to me, a smirk on his handsome face.

'Yes.'

I glance around for Helene, something tells me she wouldn't have given Bain up easily. I spot her sitting across the room, glaring at us.

'May I sit here?' Bain asks, gesturing at the spare space next to me on the loveseat.

'Sure, although I'm not sure Helene is going to be happy about it,' I respond, nodding my head in her direction.

Bain looks over and smirks. 'She'll get over it.'

He sits next to me and his cologne fills my nose. He leans back, looking relaxed and confident as he runs his thumb over his bottom lip.

'So, Amity, what made you enter this competition?' Bain asks, watching me with an intense gaze.

I shift to face him, feeling slightly unnerved by how much attention he's paying to me.

'My friend made me,' I tell him honestly. 'Saffron? Over there. She entered myself and Winnie and pretty much threatened us to complete all the stages.'

Bain bursts out laughing. 'Well, at least you're truthful.'

He eyes me, amusement still on his face. 'Didn't you want to enter?'

I frown at the question. 'It's not that I didn't want to, I just never would have thought to try dating this way. It's rather unconventional.'

Bain shrugs. 'Not in this day and age. That's why series like The Bachelor and Bachelorette are so popular, no?'

He has a point.

'Yeah, I guess. I just never thought I would be entering one.'

He smiles and my heart flutters. 'I'm glad you did.'

I don't know what to say to that, so I stay silent and blush like an idiot.

'So, your favourite food is tacos, huh?' He says and I giggle.

'Both soft and hard shell. I take it you read my questionnaire?' I question him.

My cheeks heat up as I realise that means he read all of my answers about guys and relationships.

Bain smirks. 'Yes, I did.'

He runs his thumb over his bottom lip, drawing my eyes to his mouth. I lick my suddenly dry lips and drag my eyes back up to his. The look on his face tells me he knows what I'm thinking about.

'I'll be honest, Amity-' The way he says my name makes me press my thighs together. 'After reading your answers, you are the woman I was most interested in meeting.'

I blink at him. 'Really? And why is that?'

My heart sinks as the dinner bell rings, and everyone starts getting up and leaving the room. Bain smiles and stands up. He offers out his hand to me and I take it gratefully. His skin is cool against mine, but oddly comforting.

Bain escorts me out of the room and into the dining hall next door. There are name cards on the table settings, indicating where everyone should sit.

Bain leans in close to me and I feel his breath on my neck. 'We will continue this conversation later, pisicuță.'

(Kitten in Romanian)

I have no idea what pisicuță means, but it sounds lovely coming out of his mouth with his faint accent. I hope it is a term of endearment, it would be funny if he was calling me a troll or something without me realising.

I take my seat at the table, in between Florie and Binah. Saffron and Winnie are opposite me on the table.

On the other side of Binah is Ahmed. Fidel is in between Marybeth and Winnie. Bain is sat diagonally from me on my left, Helene and Lula are on either side of him.

Dinner is served and I'm grateful that I wasn't sat next to one of the men. My entire focus is on the delicious food. Three courses are placed in front of me and I happily devour them all.

I chat to Florie as we eat. She tells me about her two little brothers at home and her resentment at still living with her parents at twenty-one.

She is funny and very sweet, I think we're going to get on well.

I try to keep my eyes off Bain, but I can feel his gaze on me a lot. Each time I look up, I catch him watching me and we smile at each other. Most of the time, Helene is talking to Bain, but he seems less than interested in what she is saying.

After dessert has been finished and taken away, Spencer ushers us back to the large room. I watch as he lingers behind, talking with Saffron.

From the way she flicks her hair and laughs at almost everything he says, I know she really fancies him.

Helene corners Bain, no surprise there. I sit with Florie and we talk some more, Winnie joins us. Marybeth takes Ahmed for a chat. Fidel and Niki talk on one of the loveseats.

'I had a look at our itineraries earlier,' Florie informs me. 'All it says for tomorrow is group date, I assume that means all of us.'

'Do you think it'll be just like tonight? Us all having to pull each other for conversations?' I muse and Florie shrugs.

'I don't know, I hope not.'

Lula goes over to Helene and Bain and interrupts their conversation. I haven't asked, but it seems quite a few of the woman are interested in Bain already. I don't blame them, he's so handsome.

Half an hour passes and I sigh in boredom.

Florie is now with Ahmed and Winnie and Saffron are talking heatedly with Fidel. I look over at Bain and Lula, who are talking at the other end of the room.

I feel a little reassured when I notice how far away from her he is sitting. Our thighs were touching when he sat down, and he was gazing deeply into my eyes, he isn't doing that with Lula.

Hopefully, he doesn't fancy her.

Bain catches my eye and smiles, I quickly look down at my drink.

'I wonder what we'll be doing on the group date tomorrow,' Marybeth wonders aloud.

I shrug. 'Hopefully something fun, I can't imagine they'll make us wait until the evening for a night like this again.'

Dress shoes sounding on the tiled floor draws my attention. I look up as Bain approaches me.

'Amity, want to carry on our conversation from earlier?' Bain asks charmingly.

I nod and stand up. 'Sure.'

I've finished my drink and Bain doesn't have one in his hand. We stop by the table filled with drinks and he pours us each a glass.

Bain places his free hand on my lower back and ushers me over to a set of double doors. He opens one and steps out, I follow him onto the balcony.

It's chilly outside, but the view is incredible. High up in the castle, you can see the snowy peaks stretched across the landscape, even in the dark night.

'Wow,' I whisper, unable to tear my gaze away.

Bain opens up a wooden trunk and pulls out a fluffy, faux-fur blanket. He shakes it out and drapes it over my shoulders, sheltering me from the chill.

'Thank you. Do you not want one?'

Bain smirks. 'I don't really feel the cold.'

'How Else of you,' I muse and he chuckles.

'Was that a Frozen reference?' He asks teasingly and takes a seat on one of the benches.

I sit down next to him. 'Was that you recognising a Frozen reference?' I reply, my voice equally as teasing.

He shrugs. 'I have a younger brother and sister, both of whom are obsessed with Frozen. They think they're Anna and Elsa.'

'They sound great.'

Bain grins. 'Yeah, they are. They're a pain in the ass at times, but I can't stay mad at them for too long.'

Bain tells me more about his younger siblings. I tell him a little about my mother, he already knows that my father has passed from my questionnaire.

Just as we're getting into childhood memories, Kira comes out.

'Hey, guys,' she says hesitantly. 'Amity, do you mind if I steal Bain for a little bit?'

I can see how nervous she is to ask, so I smile at her.

'No problem, take my seat.' I stand up and shrug the blanket from my shoulders. 'You'll need this, it's chilly out here.'

'Thank you,' Kira replies gratefully. She wraps the blanket around her shoulders and sits down.

I go back into the large room, shivering happily at the feeling of the heating.

Fidel is standing by the drinks table and he approaches me as I come in. He takes me to one side and we get to know one another.

An hour passes before Spencer comes and calls it a night. The bachelors bid us goodnight and Spencer escorts us back up to our rooms. The girls talk animatedly about our bachelors as we go upstairs.

I fall asleep feeling a lot more excited about this holiday than I did the night before.

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