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Without waiting for a response, he stands up and stalks off-stage, returning a few seconds later with my glasses in hand.
“Here,” he slides them up my nose, settling them in place with gentle hands. “That’s better.”
I stare back at him, his beautiful face now in focus and lose all sense of time and space. His every word and gesture shows his goodness, and I’m losing the battle not to fall for him completely. Again.
“Ahem,” Johnny clears his throat and I startle. Oh yes, we’re on live TV. “Now that’s sorted, why don’t you tell the country how the two of you met?”
I freeze. We haven’t prepared a backstory.
“We went to high school together,” Matthew speaks up smoothly. Ah, he’s going with the truth. Good one. “She was the girl all the boys were interested in but were too scared to do anything about it.”
I snort and cover it with a cough. Right, so a made-up story. Fine.
“And were you one of those boys?” Johnny asks with a grin.
Matthew looks at me. “I was. She’s always been this beautiful.” The audience sighs along with me. “But she was always so focused and determined. A combination of smart and gorgeous that had the male population turn into bumbling idiots around her.”
My cheeks are flaming. Matthew needs to rein this in, or no one will believe a word of his story.
Johnny looks at me. “Is this how you remember it?”
My head shakes wildly. “Not at all. He was the star athlete, the one who had a legion of fans follow him around the school. He didn’t notice me at all.”
“That’s not true.” Matthew turns to face the host, his voice deadly serious. “I noticed her. On most days, she’d be wearing a shade of blue that brought out her eyes, though I don’t think it was deliberate. She was the captain of the debate club and was proud of it. And, when she was only sixteen, while the other girls in her class were shopping and gossiping, she spent her lunchtimes trying to get people to sign a petition, asking the school to donate our lunch leftovers to the local homeless shelter.” He turns to face me; I greet him with my jaw on the floor. “See? I noticed you.”
I need oxygen.
“And how did you get her to notice you?” Johnny asks, riveted by our ‘story.’
Matthew’s smile grows, causing his eyes to crinkle in the way that I adore. “I made up a scenario where I needed her to help me study.”
My head swivels to stare at him.
“And did it work?”
He strokes his jaw, sending me a contemplative look. “It did for a time. I got to know her, got to see how incredible she really was…”
“And?”
He sighs, picking up my hand and pressing a kiss to it. “We went our separate ways at the end of my senior year, only to be reunited a few weeks ago. I saw her in the ER and I knew I wasn’t making that mistake again. This grown-up version of Natalie? She’s everything she was in high school and more. I’m not letting her go this time.”
The audience explodes with applause and I don’t know what to do, what to say, what to think. What he’s saying sounds like a threat and a promise and I’m not hating it. But is this all part of the fake relationship agreement? Because my heart is struggling to keep up.
“And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what I call a true love story.” Johnny wraps up the segment like the professional he is, while I sit like a lump of human clay. Contributing nothing. “I know I speak on behalf of the entire country when I say I wish you both a lifetime of happiness together.”
And just like that, the lights shut down and there’s another flurry of activity. Johnny comes over and shakes our hands and then it’s done. Matthew and I are quickly ushered backstage, where we stand awkwardly, neither one knowing what to do next.
“So,” Matthew starts. “That was…”
“A lot?”
He chuckles. That delightful sound again. “Yes. I’m sorry you got dragged up here.”
I turn to face him. “Was any of that real?”
“Any of what?”
“That story, what you said about me, you, us in high school. Was it all just a fanciful cover story for our fake relationship?”
