OLIVIA
I am doing the right thing, I told myself as I stared into the bright light in front of me, while the interviewer gestured that I could begin speaking.
It was simple.
I was about to explain the picture they had seen of myself and Enrique at the courthouse.
I cleared my throat and took in a deep breath, wondering if it had been a good idea to decide that Enrique remain anonymous for a little while until I had this all sorted out.
"Miss Baker, are you ready to answer some questions that have plagued the mind of the public since visuals of an alleged wedding of yours broke out?" she asked.
"I am glad I have been given this opportunity to clear the air," I began, clasping my hands together. "As you are all well aware, I was engaged to Liam Anderson, but he is not the man I am married to at the moment."
The interviewer blinked at this but asked me to continue, and so I did.
"Liam and I decided to call it quits hours before our wedding due to certain sensitive information I found out about him."
"What sort of sensitive information, if I may ask?" the woman prodded.
"I would rather not talk about it on here, if you do not mind," I said, casting her an apologetic smile.
I wanted nothing to happen to my father's business, and this was my way of protecting him…by not telling the world that his son-in-law and manager had cheated on his daughter with her best friend merely hours before their wedding.
"So who is the mystery man?" she asked.
I was just about to launch into a monologue about privacy before we were interrupted.
There was someone trying to get into the interview room, and with the light shining in my face, I could only make out a figure.
It wasn't until he approached that I saw who it was. So did the reporter, and I was sure everyone in the world.
"Mi amor," Enrique smiled, placing a quick kiss on my cheek.
The interviewer gaped at him.
"Mr. Garcia, it is an honor to have you grace our show. I was not informed you would be attending, and I... I will immediately set up an interview if you would like to be—"
I watched her grapple for something to say, her words tumbling against one another.
"I am here with Mrs. Garcia," he stopped her.
The interviewer froze while the camera kept recording us live.
"Mrs. Garcia?" she rasped.
"Yes," Enrique responded, flashing her a smile.
I watched the woman swoon under his charm and almost rolled my eyes at this.
It wasn't even that deep, I thought.
I ignored the fact that I was also feeling hot at the moment and completely affected by him.
"This is surprising information," the interviewer cleared her throat, turning to the camera.
"Do you mind if I ask how this happened and why?" she said.
Enrique pretended to think about this for a while before he said,
"Olivia and I would like to say it was love at first sight."
"But you are her father's direct competitor, and one would think the last thing anyone would do is frolick with the enemy," the interviewer cast me a pointed stare at this.
Enrique reached for my hand, taking his time to kiss my knuckles, all the while maintaining eye contact while I grappled for air like a drowning fish.
"It is not frolicking when it is love, is it?" he asked.
If I wasn't directly involved in the situation, I would tell you, dear readers, that he could have fooled me too.
Heat spread from my palm to the back of my neck.
He did not release my hand.
He merely turned to the interviewer and asked,
"Have you ever been in love…?"
"Maria," she supplied.
"Tell me, Maria; have you ever met that one person, and you are for sure that this is the one you want to spend the rest of your days with? And it doesn't matter if you have only met for just an hour or minutes—you know it is destined, and you are sure of it to your bones."
Maria inhaled, her pupils dilated.
He was charming her, I thought.
He was charming all of them, and it was scary to say that this included me.
"Yes," she breathed.
"Then you cannot say this is not what is happening between Olivia and me, no?"
She nodded at this.
I watched Enrique smile again, this time around facing the camera.
"I love Olivia Baker… she is now my wife, and I hope this interview clears the air as much as it can."
He turned to me, who was still tongue-tied by everything happening.
"I love you, Olivia," he muttered in that absolutely beguiling voice of his.
I tried to get my throat to work, to repeat that I loved him too, because surely this was an act, and we had to put in our best. But try as I might, I could not.
He saw me struggling, and he did the one thing he could to salvage the situation.
Enrique leaned in and kissed me!
The buzz in my ears stopped… no, I was pretty sure the whole world had stopped moving and were watching us.
I felt his palm caress the side of my face and his thumb trace my chin.
My toes curled in my heels, and my nipples hardened to tiny buds.
When Enrique released me, gazing lovingly into my face, I knew I had made a big fucking mistake with him.
He was dangerous, and I was at risk of losing my heart to this man.
"I believe we have our answer, folks, and we wish the married couple the best there is," Maria applauded, and the recording cut.
She turned to Enrique.
"I was wondering if you might want to give another interview about yourself and your family? We have been trying to reach you for this for the longest time."
"Of course, Maria… please call my office and set up a date," he told her.
She was about to protest before he turned to me, shutting her down completely.
"I know we agreed I shouldn't show up, but I could not help myself," he told me.
He helped me up, and with a hand to the small of my back, guided me away from the office and out of the building.
I heaved a breath as we climbed into his car, my heart still racing from the kiss.
"It is fine. You handled it quite well," I answered.
Of course he did—he fucking kissed you in front of a million people, and you liked it!
That revelation shocked me more than I cared to admit.
I was glad when the thrill of my phone jolted me.
It was an unknown number.
I stared at it until it stopped ringing, and then, just as I was about to put my phone back in my bag, a text ping came in.
"I am going to ruin your fucking marriage, you bitch. Do not think things are over between us."
My fingers shook as I reread the message.
It had to be Liam.
"Are you okay?" Enrique asked, glancing at the phone in my hand.
"I am fine," I told him.