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“What are people gonna say?” I said as we walked up the steps of the lobby.
“Nothing,” chuckled Alex. “Nobody reads these things anyway.”
“You think this is funny?” I said. “Alex, this is ridiculous. They think we’re engaged. How in the hell do they think we’reengaged.”
“Will you relax?” said Alex. “I told you, it’s nothing to worry about. They print stuff about me all the time. It’s just what happens when you’re in the public eye.”
I was nervous. Though I made a living from my modeling before I moved out to Hawaii, it wasn’t like I’d been in the public eye. Sure, I got snapped at a few press events, film premiers, and that kind of thing. I sure wasn’t an A-lister, or even a B or C-lister. I was just an anonymous swimsuit model, without a website or anything.
As we got to the front door of the hotel, the automatic locks slid open, and we stepped into the plush, marble lobby.
Then, I saw them.
Smiling faces, happy people.
Looking at me. Looking at Alex.
At the front of the crowd was Karen, Alex’s marketing lady. And Jim Callahan too. Jim was holding a bottle of champagne, and as I stepped into the hotel, I jumped as he popped the cork. A streaming trail of foam, as he quickly poured it into a set of glasses held on a silver platter by one of the smiling waiters from the restaurant.
“CONGRATULATIONS!” said a chorus of voices, and before I knew it, I was surrounded by happy people, slapping Alex on the back, shaking my hand, and giving me hugs.
The word was out now.
Alex and I were engaged.
Chapter Eighteen
Alex
Idon’tknowwhyI did what I did then, as we were suddenly thronged by my closest associates, my friends, and my business partners.
As they clapped and shook my hand and told me what a wonderful thing we’d done, that it was the highlight of the week.
I didn’t stop.
I didn’t explain what had gone wrong.
Instead, I smiled, and lifted my eyes to meet Jim’s, as he embraced me and offered me a glass of champagne.
“Thank you,” I said.
I looked at Lena, and she looked at me.What the hell are you doing?her eyes seemed to say.
“Speech! Speech!” said a couple of people, and Jim clinked a pair of glasses together, before pressing one into Lena’s hand.
“Speech!” they cried, and suddenly, words were coming out of my mouth that I didn’t mean to say, thoughts that I didn’t have.
Call it shock if you will.
“Thank you, everyone,” I said again, and the voices quieted down. They wanted to hear what I had to say.
“Thanks,” I said, smiling at the crowd. “This is great news. Great news for us, of course, and great news for the company. As some of you know, last night Lena and I were stranded out in the middle of the ocean—”
Roars of laughter. A few people cracking jokes.
“—And, uh, since we got back,” I said, looking uncertainly at Lena, “the press seems to have caught wind of our, uh … situation.”
“When’s the wedding?” said someone behind me, and I raised a hand.
