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“Peachy,” I return dryly, not bothering to look back at him. I’m not hiding, not really—I just need a moment.
“Hmph.” He says, “Let go over today’s agenda. Are you listening, Nikki?”
“Yep.” I nod, trying to keep it together.GOLD DIGGERkeeps ringing in my mind like a litany.
Out of nowhere his strong grasp covers mine. After a moment, Mathias’s fingers interlace with mine. He gives me a gentle squeeze, then just holds my hand.
I half listen thanks to Mathias. He brought me back from the brink of a complete collapse. I’m pretty sure he just did it so I won’t ruin this interview we have coming up. Still, I can’t help the way my heart swells at his touch or the comfort it gives me.
We pull up the Shelby Country Club, where the interview is supposed to take place. The same place where he asked Natalie to marry him after he met me, giving her his mom’s ring, which she’s still wearing. None of this is lost on me as we pull up to a place I’d never be invited to if I weren’t married to him.
“Can y’all give us a minute?” Mathias asks them.
They both nod.
“We’ll meet you guys inside,” Natalie says indulgently. My breakfast curdles, though she’s done nothing wrong, other than offer me her granny’s clothes. I’d say it’s insecurity, but I’ve never been intimidated by her before. Something about this whole situation doesn’t sit right. She made us focus on the big picture, and I admired her for her eyes-on-the-prize mentality—then this morning happened.
My daddy’s teachings are never far from my mind:Don’t let a snake bite you twice.The entire situation with the stylists felt like a setup. She’s conservative in her dress, but she is always in the height of fashion, so having them try and dress me so dowdy doesn’t add up if she meant well.
“You don’t have to do this. This interview was supposed to just be me, but the campaign thought it would be a good idea to get in front of the story by having us both sit down and talk about our relationship.”
“Which relationship is that?” I snap. “The one where we fell in love at first sight at my graduation, then met for lunch at your gran’s house the next day and you nearly fucked me on your car? That story?” Sucking my teeth, I wave him away, regurgitating the story he gave me earlier. “Nobody is going to believe that, Mathias.”
“Look at me.” Taking my face in a firm grip, he says in a clear controlled voice, “The public believes whatever we tell them if we stick to it.”
“Really?” I raise a skeptical brow.
“Bet.” He winks. Then: “They already love you — love us. LL sent me apoll from on of those gossip sites. I can always tell them you’re resting after yesterday’s excitement.”
“Uh-uh, no sir. You’re not about to have these people out here saying you railed me within an inch of my life.” I shake my head, pressing the intercom. ‘I’m ready,” I tell the driver.
Mathias laughs before getting out, then jogging around to my side, waving the driver away, and opening my door.
Holding his shoulders when he takes me by the waist and sets me down, I notice the paparazzi is being kept back to the edge of the country club’s property line.
“I’ll make sure the logistics are better going forward,” he tells me, following my gaze. “What happened earlier with them getting so close to you shouting all those won’t happen again. Promise.”
I can’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. “Okay.”
“Now,Mr. and Mrs. Shelby, congratulations again. Some say it was a bit hasty, but Mathias, you say it’s fate. Yet fate at Natalie Spencer’s expense? Does that seem fair, sir?” I watch the once-bubbly host of a national news outlet turn adversarial against my husband and do my best to remain calm.
“Well, Dana,” he starts smoothly. “When you come from a family like mine, there are certain expectations you have to meet. When we were sixteen, Natalie and I were told what those expectations were. She and I were to marry. We are good friends, and I’ve seen enough high-society marriages to know what a blessing that is. Then I met Nicolette.” He smiles with practiced ease, taking my hand in his, then looks at me with such unfettered adoration, I almost believe him. “And everything, and I mean every damn thing, changed in my life. I tried to make it work. I went along with the marriage plans. But even Natalie knew something was amiss. She was the one to tell me a love like this was too rare to pass up.” Taking my hand and kissing my knuckles, his gaze snags mine, and there’s something in his gaze—it could be a trick of the light, but I see for a split second the striped-bare, raw hurt of what he thinks I did to him there.
My nose stings, and a tear slips free. Shocked embarrassment pummels me like an F-5 tornado.
“Ah, darling,” he mutters, wiping away my tear. I know it’s just for me even though we are doing a live interview.
“I think I need a break.” I smile at the woman whose eyes are alight with the sheer joy of capturing this very private moment and the number of views she’s likely to get.
“Sure. We’ll be right back,” she says to the cameraman.
The feed fills with a commercial.
“We just have a few more questions.” She beams at us.
“One,” Mathias says with deadly finality.
“It was agreedthe interview would be an hour.” The interviewer bristles, looking like a chicken about to squeak. He is unimpressed. “If I have to choose between your show and Nikki’s comfort, no matter how many viewers you have, I will choose my wife every time.”
