Say Yes, Senator
Merritt raised his eyebrows. “Yes?”
“I just wanted to apologize to Camilla. It’s just that our public relations team thought it would be best for Merritt to break up with you, but we were wrong. I’m sorry for being rude to you this morning.”
The astonishment on Merritt’s face told me that he hadn’t expected something like this from her.
“That’s okay, Marissa,” I told her. “You were just doing what you thought was best for Merritt. I understand that.”
“Yeah. Well, okay then. Talk to you later, Merritt.”
“Bye, Marissa.”
“Bye,” I added before Merritt ended the call and looked at me.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yeah. Sometimes it feels overwhelming thinking about the pressure that the famous people feel, but I guess that’s just a part of the baggage they have to carry as celebrities.”
“Which is why I will ask you this one more time. Are you sure you’re ready to be with me? To go through every storm and endure every obstacle?”
I returned his smile. “Of course. I’m ready to be with you no matter what. Because, after all, I fell in love with you. So I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
He beamed. “You fell in love with me?”
“Yes. Irrevocably,” I repeated his words.
“My Camilla.” He grabbed my cheeks. “You have no idea how happy I am with you.”
His lips were passionate on mine, taking all of me, just like I took all of him. All the worries from this day melted away, and joy spread through me. This mess was over, and we had each other. Now, more than ever, I wanted to fight for him and our happiness. We could do it. Together.
“Sir?” we heard the driver’s voice coming from the speaker. “We arrived at the police station.”
“Well, since they found the hacker, we don’t need to be here anymore,” he told me. “What do you think about some time alone?” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, and I erupted into a fit of chuckles.
“Sure. How about my place?”
He nodded. “William, turn the car and take Camilla and I back to her apartment.” He told him my address.
“Yes, sir.”
His lips landed on mine again, his hands tracing my waist. “Now this is just a prelude of what will happen later in your place,” he whispered into my ear and kissed it, his hand going under my skirt and cupping my pussy over my panties.
21
Camilla
On our way to my place, Merritt spoke with my boss and managed to explain the situation to him. Thankfully, my boss said he wouldn’t fire me, and the relief I felt was immense. We could stay together and our careers wouldn’t suffer. My mind was blown. How had we gotten so lucky?
After he ended the call, I borrowed his phone to call my mother, hoping I could get to explain the situation to her before she came across the article. I had no such luck because she had already seen it.
“Hey, Mom. It’s me,” I said when she answered the call.
“Oh my God! Please, tell me what on earth is going on? Kelly just showed me that tabloid, and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing! Is it true? Those photos… Are they real?”
I needed a few moments to recover from the torrent of her words, glancing at Merritt for support. As if he sensed what I needed, he took my hand and left a kiss on my skin. His eyes said, It’s going to be alright.
“Yes. They are real. And yes. I’m dating Merritt Dawson.”
“I told Kelly that couldn’t be true… Wow. Just wow. Why didn’t you tell me anything? I mean I wasn’t his biggest fan, but your father always liked him. And oh dear God, Carter. Have you spoken to him?”