Page 110 of Lovers' Dance

The limo was inching forward slowly. We would have to get out soon. I could do this. Oh, God, please don’t let me fall on my ass in front the press.

“Love you,” I whispered to Matt and the smile that stretched across his face made my heart go into overdrive. If this relationship between us was going to work, I would have to take the good with the bad.

“It will be fine, poppet,” he reassured me.

The limo stopped and some guy opened the door for us. Matt went first. I remembered to exit the limo properly. I’d watched enough award shows on TV to know how. Matt took my hand immediately, an aloof smile on his face as I was temporarily blinded by flashlights.

Oh, God, please don’t let me fall on my face.

Nathan exited with his beautiful girlfriend behind him, all smiling politely. I probably looked like a deer in the headlights.

“Mr Bradley,” someone shouted. I stiffened at once, gripping Matt’s hand like my life depended on it.

“Rumours have it your company’s planned takeover of Hydroworld has run into snags. Care to comment?”

Matt’s smile widened. It was as empty as a light bulb and as bright. “I’m here to enjoy a night of fundraising for a worthy cause, not talk business.”

“What about you, Mr Walthamstow? Would you care to comment?” the man shouted.

Damn. He was tenacious. Matt was walking us towards the entrance. There were a few people in front of us. I wished they would move their asses quicker, and I sincerely hoped my panty lines weren’t showing.

“As Matt explained,” Nathan replied smoothly as more lights flashed around us, “tonight we, like every other guest attending, are focused on fundraising for a noble cause. Raising funds to help treat and hopefully one day cure cancer, is something every nation, every person, should be involved in. It is a disease that unfortunately touches too many lives. Holding events like the one tonight,” He smiled widely and tightened his grip on Bella’s hand. “Allows many of us in the corporate world to play our part in the fight to defeat this terrible disease.”

“Ms DuMont,” someone shouted. My heart skipped a beat.Oh, shit. Oh shit, shit, shit.Matt tried to move us along quicker, but those damned people in front of us weren’t moving forward. What were they doing?

“Ms DuMont,” that strident voice came again. “What’s it like dating a billionaire?”

There was a pause in the jostling of the reporters, and I could feel sweat beading across my forehead. Must remember to touch up my face powder when I got inside…if we ever got inside.

I felt my mouth open before I’d thought of what to say. That was a recipe for disaster.Think.

“I don’t look at Matt in terms of his monetary worth.” I tilted my head up to send Matt an eye SOS. “He’s a normal guy who’s exceptionally hot.”

Oh, shit. Did I say that? Did I freaking say that?

The sound of cameras clicking almost covered the laughter from the reporters, almost. Matt bit his lower lip and tried his best not to laugh. Bella bent her head. I could see her cheeks turning red as her shoulders started to shake slightly.

Nathan stepped forward, killer smile in place. “I think that’s quite enough—”

“Come on, Ms DuMont,” someone else shouted. “You don’t expect us to believe that you don’t see a large pay cheque when you—”

The man stopped abruptly. I couldn’t see his face anymore on account of Matt stepping in front of me, shielding me from the blast of flash bulbs. Whatever the expression on Matt’s face was, it made that journalist shut the hell up and I was eternally grateful for it. Matt was bristling. I could physically feel the waves of fury pouring off him. I think everyone else could see how angry he was, because no other questions were lobbied at us for a few seconds. Then it was as if a dam broke and they came at us from all sides. It was deafening.

Matt turned around, slipping an arm around my waist. Nathan glanced at him and jerked his head forward. Bella and I were marched through the group of people in front of us, who had stopped to witness the media frenzy.Assholes.

“Are you all right, poppet?” Matt asked once we were inside after the men flashed their respective invitations. His arm was still around my waist and he turned me into the warmth of his body.

I nodded. “Yeah, I think so.”

“It won’t always be like this,” he murmured, trying to reassure me.

“I despise the media,” Bella said forcefully, her voice that I had thought soft, now hard and filled with venom. “You should do something about that reporter, Nathan.”

Nathan gave her a feeble smile. “Darling, I—”

“Nathan.” She dragged out his name so slowly I swear there were invisible syllables dripping from her ruby lips.

“Of course,” Nathan agreed. “I’ll speak to Dad when he returns from his trip.”

---