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But as if Superman heard my silent plea for help, someone swoops in and wraps a strong, masculine arm around my waist and steadies me before I meet a tragic fate.
Up and to the side, I look into the vibrant leafy eyes I’m starting to know like the back of my hand. They’re soft and apologetic yet resolute at the same time.
Holy shit, Harrison.
“I got you,” he whispers, and his strong, raspy voice is a salve to my already shot nerves.
And all I can do is just stare up at him, seeking temporary solace in the strength of his gaze.
Photographers yell for my attention, scrapping to get some kind of answer about the man who’s suddenly taken Ben’s place at my side, but I don’t have even a squeak of voice to contribute. Not a yell of protest or a cry of elation—I am a big ball of silence.
Thankfully, I do find it within myself to seal my lips into a smile and put a hand to Harrison’s warm, steady one at my waist.
He looks to the crowd, his charmingly confident smile growing by the minute and taking over his face.
I sigh as Heidi’s anger shoots almost visibly from her ears in front of us, but by and large, I ignore it.
The good thing about Harrison’s timing is that even Heidi wouldn’t dare to make a scene about his decision to fuck up her entire plan here.
No, she’ll save that for a private, audio-secure facility where she can really let every batshit crazy bit of her hysteria fly.
God save us all.
I almost laugh at the morbidity of my thinking, and the flashes explode again like a meteor shower in a clear, dark sky.
I can barely see ten inches in front of my face anymore, but Harrison’s arm stays around the saddle of my hips to guide me as we step away from our marks and head toward the entrance to the theater.
We don’t waste time to step inside, and once the doors shut behind us, my ears buzz from the sudden change from constant noise to otherwise softened silence.
I turn to look at him, not even sure of the words I’ll say, when he beats me to the punch.
“I know. God, I know.” He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry for messing everything up, but I saw you trip, and I…I just moved. All I could think about was catching you before you fell, and then…” He shrugs with a tiny self-deprecating laugh. “It was the damnedest thing, Rock—I couldn’t let you go.”
“Harrison,” I whisper, a knot of emotion immediately making an attempt to clog my throat, and I reach out to take his big, strong hands in mine.
“I don’t want anyone else standing beside you anymore,” he says earnestly and squeezes my fingers. “I want to stand up as the father of our baby, and I want to do it beside you. If you need a fiancé for your image or whatever bullshit your people think is important, I want it to be me.”
My breath catches and holds in my chest as I try to make sense of what he’s saying.
“I want to be your fiancé,” he says, and my heart damn near jumps into my throat. My eyes hop on the surprise train and go wider than my pregnant hips.
Wait…what? Is he saying he wants to marry—
“What I mean is…” Harrison pauses for the briefest of seconds, searching my gaze before continuing with, “What I’m trying to say is I can be just as good of a fake fiancé as that guy. Hell, I can be better.”
Oh.
My chest pops and deflates with laughable swiftness.
Unable to come up with anything other than the bumble of an overwhelmed idiot, I nod. I don’t know if I’m agreeing or confirming or what; all I know is that, in this current moment, it’s all I can seem to do.
A flash of heat runs from my head to my toes and back up again to the obvious pressure of his fingers against my own. What felt fantastic only a moment ago feels claustrophobic now, and I have no choice but to separate my hands from his as politely as possible.
Forcing a gulp of fresh air down my throat, I avoid the enchanted forest of his gaze as he apologizes again.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to… I’m sorry I—”
“It’s fine,” I cut him off. “Really. I’m just hot.” I turn one hand into a fan to illustrate my point and wave feverishly at my face. His features melt into a pile of concern.
“You okay? You want to sit down?”
“No,” I refuse. “I just…I need a drink of water, I think.”
He nods, turning around swiftly and stealing a bottle of water out of the hand of the first person he comes to.
“Hey,” the stranger shouts, but Harrison pays him no mind as he comes back to me with the bottle, cracks the seal, and hands it to me to take a drink.
