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During the entire hour's drive to the convention center, I sat on the opposite side of him in a stretch limo with a chilled glass of Rozay in my hand. I desperately tried not to think about what the night would specifically entail. We’d have to play the perfect couple, which I already dreaded. This would be our first outing together as an officially engaged couple in front of the press and me as a publicist.
Thank goodness, I knew how to perform for the crowd, and this was no different.
For the last week, Elias let me have my space and respected my distance from him. He didn’t try to push me in any way, shape, or form. Every night, I fell asleep on the couch and still found myself alone in the bed of whatever hotel we were in the following morning.
Although, we did spend time together outside of his press tour. Most evenings, we went to dinner and talked about nothing in particular. When we had coffee together in the mornings, we discussed random things and kept it light. We mainly spoke about his demanding schedule. Even after all these years and all his success, Elias was very much 110 percent involved with all his businesses and investments.
It was quite crazy to see how much he worked his ass off, reminding me a lot of my father, and for some reason, that made me smile. For the most part, we kept our space from anything too intense. I think we were both recovering from the truths we confessed, not thinking about the consequences, and we still had to spend a few more weeks together.
“How’s your drink?” Elias asked out of nowhere.
I took a sip. “It’s good.”
“Have I told you how stunning you look?”
My red silk gown had a high slit up the left side of my leg. My hair was tied up, and a few pieces draped down the sides of my face. Gold heels with red platforms finished off my stylish outfit. My makeup was flawless, but I wasn’t wearing a lot of foundation, and I even asked the makeup artist to make sure you could see my freckles.
I wasn’t particularly a fan of them to begin with, so it was definitely something I subconsciously did for Elias. The truth was the silence between us and the fact that we were fighting with emotions neither were prepared were knocking us both on our asses.
“You don’t look so bad yourself,” I remarked, trying to lighten the stiff mood in the small distance between us.
I focused on how handsome he looked in his tuxedo instead of my anxiety about having to play the perfect fiancée.
As if he sensed my hesitation, he ordered, “Come here, my wife.”
I shook my head.
“Beauty…”
“Elias…” I replied in the same stern tone.
He grinned, amused with my sassy banter.
“I can’t have you ruin my hair and dress.”
“And you think I’d be the cause of that?”
“I don’t think. I know.”
He scoffed out a chuckle. “When did you become so feisty?”
“When you decided to lie to the world that we were getting married.”
“Is that right?”
I nodded, smiling wide. “We need to discuss our game plan once we walk in there.”
“There’s a game plan?”
“Absolutely.”
He zeroed in on me, cocking his head to the side. “We both know I don’t get told what to do.”
“No shit. This is why we need to discuss it and develop a boundary we’re both comfortable with.”
“I have no boundaries when it comes to you.”
“I’m fully aware,” I bit. “But I have a ton, and just because we’re in front of your colleagues doesn’t mean you have free rein to touch and kiss me whenever you feel like it.”
