Page 7 of Her Billion Dollar Groom

“Of course,” she scoffs, though I see the way she swallows, the way her hands tighten on her purse. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

CHAPTER 6

ELIZA

The weird guy mumbles awkwardly some more, and I can’t help feeling a bit sorry for him. He’s clearly just trying to be nice. At least he’s more aligned with fans than journalists. I’d rather listen to some nervous guy who thinks I’m pretty stammer away at me than get asked questions by someone looking to publish sordid gossip in their newspaper.

I don’t love that he’s figured out that I’m putting on an act, though. I had thought I was better at pretending than this. I checked one hundred times - there’s nothing wrong with my makeup. My eyes aren’t even that red. He shouldn’t have been able to see through me at all.

Not unless he was paying a lot of attention.

I should be creeped out, but it’s hard to find a guy blushing this hard creepy. I’m pretty good at telling the difference between a slimy creep and a genuine compliment by now. And this guy is genuinely trying to be nice. I guess I should feel flattered.

Then I squint at him a bit harder and realize he’s vaguely familiar to me. I blink when it hits me. He’s the guy from earlier, the scrawny one with the glasses.

It feels a bit cruel to call him scrawny. He has a kind smile, warm brown eyes and chestnut hair that’s been neatly styled. His suits have been tailored to perfection, but he holds himself with the demeanor of someone who wants to sink back into the shadows, to go unseen, unnoticed.

He’s almost cute, in a way.

I shake my head, trying to dismiss that thought, and the awkward stream of consciousness coming out of his mouth grinds to a halt.

“You’re the CEO of Handshake, aren’t you?”

His mouth drops open, and he snaps it shut again quickly. “Yes, I am. You recognized me?”

“I’m good with faces,” I say. I’m half expecting him to reply to that by saying,Well, yours is a lovely one, but he doesn’t.

Instead, he says, “It’s okay if the press upset you. You know, I would have gone to pieces. I don’t know how you can let them say all that crap to you and still smile.”

“Practice, babe,” I say, hearing my voice tremor. “The truth is, I’ve just learned to smile through it all.”

“You shouldn’t have to do that,” he frowns, and I smile again at how naive he is. I wish I could be that innocent about how journalism works.

“Maybe not, but my job relies on it. Even when it does upset me, I can’t let it show. I don’t want them to eat me alive.”

“It seems cruel,” he says. “I don’t understand why everyone has to be in everyone else’s business.”

“Too true,” I scoff.

“I wish I didn’t have to be here,” he says. “But my company made me.”

“They want you to be the new star in the limelight?” I grin.

When he grins back at me, I can’t help but notice how crooked his smile is, how his teeth aren’t in perfect alignment. They don’t look awful, but it’s definitely the sort of thing you can get fixed. It suits him, though, in a way. It makes him seem human.

“I really don’t know how you do it,” he says. “I’m sure they would be awful in a different way to me, but I could never be as brave as you are.”

“You’re such a flatterer.” I giggle. “If only everyone I spoke to was as nice as you.” His face falls, and I try to bounce back. “It’s okay, really. They don’t care if they upset you. They just want to write their story. I’ll get over it in a few days. I always do.”

“I’m sorry there is something you have to get over,” he says sincerely, his smile fading again. There’s an intensity behind his eyes that I can’t look away from. Nothing bad, just something I hardly ever see in people anymore. A real concern. Someone who wants to see me for the person I am, rather than the celebrity they think they know.

“It’s the life of a star,” I say. “You know how it is. Well, maybe you don’t.”

He chuckles at that. “I really hate events like this,” he says.

“Me too, if I’m honest,” I say leaning in slightly and lowering my voice as if I’m conspiring with him. “There’s always so much drama.”

“I tell you what,” he says, a funny glint entering his eyes like he’s just had an idea. “If you hate this place as much as I do, then why don’t we get out of here?”

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