Page 63 of Home Grown Talent
“Our last guest today wrote her first cookery book when she was just nineteen. Six years on…”
Lewis switched the TV off.
Mason turned warily to the others. Lewis was grinning from ear to ear. Aaron was his usual composed and friendly self. And Owen… Owen looked like Mason felt. Unsure, like he needed time to process.
“That was so good,” Aaron said, with every appearance of sincerity. “You two work really well on-screen together, and Owen! My God, you were so natural.” He gave a soft laugh, then added, “I have to admit to being a little surprised. I mean, you’ve never been in front of a camera before.”
Owen cleared his throat. “That’s down to Mason. He put me at ease so much I forgot the cameras were there.”
“Who’d have thought?” Lewis said, grinning in obvious delight. “My big brother, a TV star.”
Owen huffed, shaking his head. “Hardly that…”
“Why not? Aaron’s right—you’re a natural. I’m proud of you.”
“Thanks,” Owen said, but the stitch between his brows deepened. “Mason did most of it, though.” Nudging him with his shoulder, he said, “You were fantastic.”
“You think?” Hiding his pleasure at the comment, Mason mock-pouted and said, “I didn’t come across as too ‘flaky’?”
He’d been aiming for a light-hearted tone, but Owen didn’t smile. Instead, he said, frowning faintly, “They’re certainly playing that up—among other things—but I suppose it’s part of your public persona, right?”
Was it? Maybe it was now. It hadn’t really been until he appeared on Weekend Wellness, but now he thought about it, it was certainly in line with the ‘dumb model’ dynamic Misty had been pushing from the first time he’d been on the show. Mason hadn’t objected, not once. After all, Misty knew what she was doing; she knew how to engage an audience.
Realising that Owen was still waiting for an answer, Mason forced himself to smile. “I suppose,” he said lightly. But he didn’t feel light. His stomach felt sour and queasy.
A brief silence fell, into which Aaron carefully said, “Were you guys expecting them to focus so much on your relationship? I know Mason’s been posting things on social media, but I didn’t think it would be such a big part of the slot.”
Owen scrubbed a hand through his hair, leaving it standing up in spikes that Mason felt a silly desire to smooth down. As if by doing so he might soothe the unease he sensed in Owen.
“To be honest, I am a bit surprised,” Owen admitted, glancing at Mason. “They made us look so…” Colour rose in his face. “I didn’t realise I was being so bloody obvious.”
A pang of guilt speared Mason, but he said, “That was the idea, though. Misty said from the start that we should play it up for the camera, right?”
“Well, yeah,” Owen said slowly. “I mean, she wanted us to flirt, but that was…” He trailed off, apparently at a loss. “I suppose I’m not as good at acting as you. It all looked way more real than I was expecting.”
Mason felt an odd lurch in his stomach, as though he was standing on the deck of a storm-tossed ship. Owen was right: it had looked real. Owen’s smiles had been fond and unguarded, his feelings blazing through the TV screen. Mason felt a prickling unease that the world had seen the tender shoots of something genuine between him and Owen. Something that was growing in ways he’d never imagined when this whole thing began. Something he shouldn’t allow.
And to see it play out like that, cleverly edited to accentuate every flirtatious glance and teasing smile, made it even worse. He was starting to feel… slightly sick.
Over the last few years, Mason had put his whole life online, posting news of his lovers and break-ups with as little thought as he posted pictures of his breakfast or his latest clothing purchase. So, why should this be any different?
But it was.
Somehow, having this relationship out there for everyone to see, comment and speculate on, felt different. Far more uncomfortable than he’d expected. And he knew that this was only the start…
Weakly, and more to reassure Owen than because he believed it, he said, “Don’t worry. Everyone will know it was just for the camera. It’s entertainment, that’s all.”
Aaron gave a noncommittal hum in response to that assertion, his slightly raised eyebrows a little judgy, and Mason felt his hackles rise.
“The thing about stuff like this,” Aaron said, “is that once it gets some traction, the lines between what’s real and what’s for the camera tend to blur. So… maybe be a little careful? Misty Watson-King is—” He trailed off, uncertainly.
“Fucking ruthless?” Lewis supplied. “I wouldn’t trust her as far as I could throw her.”
“I was going to say ‘focused’,” Aaron said, “but yeah. Misty won’t hesitate to use your relationship to build her audience.”
“Well, that is kind of the point?” Mason said shortly, his unease morphing into defensiveness. “We are actually trying to build an audience.”
Lewis was a fucking dinosaur when it came to social media, and for all Mason knew, Aaron was just as bad. He didn’t need their advice about how to build a platform, thank you very much, and opened his mouth to say as much, only to be distracted by an insistent buzzing from his phone.