Yes they do.

The staff entrance at the rear of the supermarket was plain and functional—grey doors, a small intercom panel, the faint smell of cardboard and cleaning solution drifting from inside. Mike pressed the button and waited.

Maya stood close against his side, closer than the situation strictly required. One of her hands rested lightly on his forearm; the other had found the back of his shirt near his waist. The solid warmth of his body and the easy contact kept the unfinished heat from the afternoon quietly alive in her core. Every small shift of his arm, every breath she took against his shoulder, fed the restless need he had deliberately left hanging. She told herself the clinginess was just the practice showing—exactly what they had prepared for—but the truth sat warmer and more complicated beneath that excuse.

Mike spoke into the intercom when it crackled to life.

“We’re here for a meeting with David. Mike and Maya.”

A moment later the door buzzed open. They stepped into a narrow back corridor lined with staff lockers and stacked delivery crates. David appeared almost immediately, flanked by two older board members in open-collared shirts. Behind them came Sarah, sharp in her tailored blazer, along with two members of her agency team carrying slim folders and tablets.

David’s face broke into a wide, genuine smile.

“There they are,” he said, stepping forward to shake Mike’s hand firmly and then Maya’s. “Right on time. Come through—we’ve got a room set up.”

Sarah moved in beside him, eyes bright with professional energy as she took in the way Maya stayed pressed close to Mike’s side, her hand still resting possessively on his arm.

“You two look exactly as we remembered,” Sarah said with a pleased smile. “That natural closeness is what caught our eye in the first place.”

They were led into a modest meeting room just off the corridor—rectangular table, a few bottled waters, a wall screen already glowing with campaign mock-ups. Mike pulled out a chair for Maya and sat beside her. She immediately angled her body toward him, knee resting against his, one hand finding his under the table and holding on. The contact kept the low flame in her core flickering steadily.

Sarah took the lead once everyone was seated.

“I’ll be honest with you both,” she began, opening a folder and glancing between them. “We’re speaking with a few other couples across the country this week. Regional pairs, different looks, different energies. But what David and I saw the other day in the supermarket aisle—your contrast, the way you moved together, the easy affection—got us genuinely excited. More than any of the others so far.”

She tapped the screen, bringing up a series of polished mock-ups: large billboard images, television storyboard frames, short social-media verticals.

“The campaign is multi-platform. Television spots—thirty and fifteen seconds. Major billboards in key cities. In-store displays across the chain. And a series of short social-media mini-stories following the two of you in everyday moments. Real, warm, touchy-feely. The kind of content that makes people stop scrolling because it feels authentic.”

Sarah’s voice picked up speed and warmth as she continued, clearly energised by the vision.

“We’re talking lifestyle fragments—walking the aisles together, sharing a quiet coffee, the small protective touches, the way you look at each other. Nothing overly polished. Just the sense that this is a real couple who belong together. And from what we saw the other day, and from the way you’re sitting right now…” She gestured lightly toward the way Maya was leaning into Mike. “You already have it.”

Maya kept her hand in Mike’s, her shoulder resting against his arm, the residual heat from their interrupted practice still quietly pulsing through her. She listened, nodded at the right moments, and let the closeness do the work they had spent the afternoon building. The unfinished need made every point of contact feel sharper, more necessary. The cover of the campaign still made it easier to stay there.

Sarah smiled again, eyes bright.

“We’re very hopeful about the two of you. Let’s talk through the next steps…”