Page 70 of Heart Match

‘Papa,’ says Luc, clearing his throat.

I see Jules smirking from behind his dad.

‘I’m Dominique,’ says his father, now looking me in the eyes. ‘But call me Dom, chérie,’ he winks at me.

I don’t know where to put my hands. This is so awkward and unexpected I feel a bit overwhelmed.

I’m used to being introduced to a lot of people in a room. I’m good at remembering names and faces, and most of the time I know exactly what to say. I also can tell when someone likes me or not. Maurice doesn’t, I can tell by the sceptical look he’s giving me, and the lack of interest in offering me a friendly smile. I guess he sees me as the worst distraction Luc could have right now. As for Margot, I can’t tell because she seems neutral, like nude colours and Switzerland. She chooses to shake hands, no hugs, no kisses on the cheeks like the French normally do. Once we’re done with the introductions, Luc’s mum grabs her purse and plants a kiss on his cheek.

‘We’ll leave you to it then. Jules’s taking us to explore London a bit,’ says Annette, in her strong accent, pronouncing beat, not bit. She then kisses my cheek too.

Luc’s eyes meet mine and he gives me a half-smile. I’m not sure what to do now. If I smile back would it mean I’m telling him I’m ok with all the mess going on? Or just that I find his mum the sweetest? I smile, but only after I leave his gaze.

‘I hope to see you sometime soon, chérie,’ says Dom.

Once his parents and brother are gone, Maurice and Luc exchange glances and he too leaves us alone with Margot, who goes straight to the point.

‘Olivia, I’m Luc’s media advisor, I guess you know what that is,’ she says.

I nod.

‘Good, I’m here to provide support and suggest a few options on how to deal with the media, and what can be said and done, at least for the time being.’ She glances at Luc, some words unspoken between the two of them.

She suggests we sit. I pick one of the big chairs facing the couch, where Luc and Margot are. Luc holds my gaze for a moment, he looks serious, focused, but worried. I fidget with my fingers, my index running along the thumb.

‘Luc tells me you want to preserve your privacy,’ says Margot.

Obviously.

I nod.

Luc moves forward and props his elbows on his legs and interlace his fingers as he watches me attentively.

‘Of course, now it’s too late to undo the damage already done. There’s no way we can make the media delete all the images and make people forget your name. Well, they might eventually, but not now.’ She clears her throat before continuing. ‘Before deciding which approach we’re going to take to deal with the media, it’s important you two define the level of your relationship.’

I’m sorry, what?

She looks at Luc, then at me, and continues, ‘As I said to Luc a few days ago, when the paparazzi contacted me about seeing you together last week—’

‘What? Did you know about this?’ I interrupt Margot and stare at Luc.

‘Olivia—’ he seems to reconsider, guiltily, and says, ‘Yes, I knew, I’m sorry.’

Margot’s looking between me and Luc, then rushes to intervene before we get into a different kind of discussion.

‘As I was saying, if this is just a fling and you’ll lead your separate ways, or if you’re still not sure to which level you’re taking your relationship, you can’t be seen together in public anymore, unless that’s what you want. But unless we communicate that you two are officially a couple, they’ll keep speculating and they won’t leave you alone, Olivia.’

Margot is incredibly professional, not because she’s wearing a suit and looks busy with an iPad and two different phones on top of each other on her lap, but because of the way she talks about our affair as if it were a business deal. To me, she seems more like a lawyer than a media advisor.

‘If you decide to commit to each other and pursue this relationship, you still need to find a common ground and choose whether you want to make it public or not,’ she says this so calmly and impartial it makes me want to crawl out of my skin. ‘And that’s where our plan comes in.’

The idea of pursuing a relationship hasn’t crossed my mind, so when I hear her saying that, my eyes involuntarily search for Luc’s, and they have a gleam of … hope? I believe he’s had a debrief with Margot before I got here, it’s as if he already knows what she’s going to say.

I don’t say anything, I let her finish her speech and avoid meeting Luc’s eyes.

‘If you decide to make a relationship public, the media will harass you for a few months, but eventually they will tire. You’ll then be able to have a public relationship, but at the same time, private, giving them what info when you want to.’

Silence. I stare at anything but him. I know my face is flushed just at the thought of being his girlfriend. So much for enjoying not having to label what was going on between us.

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