I grab my little rose gold satin clutch and walk to the door. Opening it, I stand here looking at him. He is wearing a black on black tux, making his green blue eyes stand out even more. His hair is combed back, but what I really like the most is the scruff on his face. I smile, reaching out and touching it. “This is going to give me razor burn,” I joke with him, but his eyes are bright and blue, and he doesn’t say anything. “What’s the matter?”
“You,” he says softly. “You take my breath away each time.” He comes close to me and puts his hand on my hip. He does that often to bring me closer to him. “I don’t want to leave this house.” He comes down, rubbing his nose on my cheek. “I don’t want anything to touch what we have.”
“Carter,” I whisper, “we have to go.”
“Will you be by my side the whole night?” he asks me. “I don’t know how to explain it, but when you’re there, I feel like everything is aligned. My heart beats normally, I can breathe, and I can smile, and it not hurt.”
“I’ll be right by your side the whole night,” I tell him. “I promise.” Holding out my hand, he grabs it and links our fingers together. We walk down the stairs, and I stop. “We should take a picture.”
He grabs his phone and raises his hand, taking one of the both of us smiling at the camera. “Okay, now one for us,” he says and puts his arm around my waist, bringing me to him. One of my hands go around his waist and the other one goes on his chest. Our smiles match, and you can tell from the picture that we are together. “That one is for me,” he says as he looks at the picture. I watch him walk ahead of me and call his name. He turns and looks over his shoulder where he winks with his smirk on full display. “I want you to caption that with “his eye is always on the prize.””
I shake my head and let out a huge laugh. “Will do,” I say, walking out, and I’m surprised that he has a driver waiting for us. “I thought you were driving us?”
“No, it’s easier to have a driver so we can just walk out and leave,” he says, getting into the car, and I try not to worry. “Baby, we are going to leave out the back once we do the obligatory amount of time. I already have everything planned.”
“Do you?” I ask, surprised.
“I do.” He comes over and kisses me, and I let him. My heartbeat races a touch, and I could kiss him forever. I slowly look away just in case he sees something in my eyes. I think I’m falling in love with him, but I’m just not sure he’s with me. And the worst thing in the world has to be when you love someone and they don’t feel the same way. Talk about awkward.
“Just so we stick to the story. I’m your PR rep,” I tell him, and he shakes his head.
“Baby, no one is even going to know what that is,” he says, and I shake my head.
“Also mention how great filming is going and how excited you are,” I tell him. “And under no circumstances do you mention dating.”
“I wasn’t that bad before,” he tells me. The car comes to a stop, and I roll my eyes. “Watch it, those will get stuck in the sockets.” I burst out laughing, and he continues, “Okay, but I’m not that bad now.”
“Just think about the questions before you answer,” I tell him, and he leans in quickly and kisses me. “Lip gloss,” I say to him right before he gets out of the car. It’s a red carpet, so even though no fans are here, reporters are lined up behind a barricade. He walks the carpet, and the paps yell his name. He stands in front of the white backdrop with one hand in his pocket. Smiling and smirking, he plays the part of Carter Johnson.
“Carter, look here!” they all yell at different times. “Carter.” I walk slowly behind him, trying to stay in the shadows and not get my picture taken. I keep my head down, but someone spots me. “Carter, is that your girlfriend?” My head snaps up, and I smile, shaking my head. He looks over at me and waits for me with his hand held out to me.
“I’m his PR rep,” I tell them and go to stand next to him. “See those three reporters at the end? You have to stop and give them interviews,” I tell him, and he just looks at me, and I can see the mischief in his eyes as he leans forward.