AllFreeNovel
Share Us
What the hell?
A crowd of this size would be expected if this were the premiere of the next Marvel movie, but not for a mid-budget romantic comedy.
No offense to Nyla.
Dani struggled to keep the shock from showing on her face,knowing that at least one camera was probably trained on the arrivals.
“I thought we’d kept our attendance on the DL?” she muttered to the tall woman who’d materialized at her side.
Dani had wanted to make an appearance at the premiere of her best friend Nyla Patterson’s movie,Boy, Bye!, but Dani hadn’t wanted to do anything to steal her thunder. She knew showing up with Jameson would cause a stir—she and Jameson, individually, together, and the hashtag #RoyalSwirlLove had been trending on Twitter, both Stateside and in the U.K., for the past few weeks—so she’d planned for this, keeping the press in the dark about their presence and arriving at the tail end of the red carpet.
It seemed all their planning had been for shit.
“You know how that goes,” Vicky said, professional and blend-in-able in a tailored black suit, her relaxed hair cut into a sharp bob that brushed her jawline. “Nobody could keep a secretbeforethe two of you became the most famous couple in the world.”
The need for good press was what had sent Dani to the U.K. and it was how she’d met Jameson. Dani’s agent had hired the in-demand publicist to deal with what they thought would be the negative fallout of the world finding out about their relationship. But if the feedback she and her agent had received from the executives at Genesis was any indication, her European adventure had worked. What no one had anticipated was that the news of her relationship with Prince Jameson, seventh in line to the throne, would capture the world’s attention and increase her goodwill and notoriety a hundredfold. She knew it was a thing people in her business did—use relationships, real or not, for publicity. But not her. She wanted to get ahead on her own merits, based on the work she’d done.
Not who she was screwing.
Of course, once the contract was signed on the dotted line, none of that would matter. She could focus on her life and her business, calling her own shots the way she’d worked so hard to do.
“Don’t worry. Whatever happens, Nyla knows you didn’t do this on purpose. And any extra attention you bring will only help her and the movie,” Vicky said.
“It’ll be fine,” Jay said, squeezing her hand.
She stared up at her British boo and smiled. Of course it would be.
As they stepped onto the red carpet, Jameson shifted their positions until he was the one nearer the throng of press. Irritation threatened to bubble to the surface but Dani quashed it with a quickness. If any of her other boyfriends had pulled that shit, she’d have called it out for the attention grab it was. Not Jameson. His instinctive protectiveness toward her would take getting used to.
“Duchess! Prince Jameson!”
“Look right here, Duchess!”
“Who are you wearing?”
The flashes and clicks were blinding and loud but she and Jameson ran the media gauntlet. The atmosphere was frenetic, the noise deafening and disorienting. There was no safe place for her gaze to land, nowhere to hide from the relentless scrutiny. Everywhere she looked there were screaming fans holding up cellphones or signs, arms outstretched as if to reach for them or hand them something. Bright lights muddled her vision. And questions. So many questions, shouted and pelted at them in a never-ending torrent.
“How did you snag yourself a prince?”
“Over your shoulder! Are you two going to get married?”
“To your left, Duchess. All the way to your left!”
“Kiss her again, Your Majesty!”
They’d paused at the step-and-repeat to take pictures, whenDani felt the muscles in Jameson’s arm tense where it rested around her waist. She couldn’t tell if it was due to the stress of being before the press or because they’d mistakenly addressed him as Your Majesty, something that never would’ve happened back in the U.K.
They continued moving and while the sensation of being overwhelmed never left Dani, at least one thing was made clear: the negative coverage from Samantha Banks attempting to grab her coattails and run her into the ground had finally been left in the past.
Which meant a contract with Genesis, who was willing to bring Mela-Skin into the fold and make Dani one of the richest women in hip-hop, was in her future.
So, two things were clear.
Those beliefs buoyed her, turning the fake-as-fuck smile on her face real and making it easier to wave to the fans and blow them kisses. “I love you! Thank you!”
Finally, Vicky stopped at the news outlet where they’d agreed to grant a brief interview. The host, Sandra Carlton, was wrapped in a shimmery coral dress, her honey blond hair styled in carefully tousled waves.
“Duchess and Prince Jameson! Welcome!” Sandra projected her voice to be heard. “Our viewers will be thrilled to hear from you.”
