Page 7 of His Perfect Woman

I considered intervening. I could cut him off at his conclusion, before he had a chance to open the floor for questions, and change course. Redirect their focus to something else, but being so unfamiliar with the workings of Heartstring, I had no clue what that something else would be. I reminded myself I wasn’t technically on duty yet anyway. I was just supposed to be observing, and it would be useful to see how Lucas handled the pressure without my guidance so I could make notes for the future.

“We hope to see you all there. I’ll take your questions now,” he stated, smiling again...as if that would somehow save him.

Every hand in the room shot up, with a handful of them jumping to their feet impatiently. More cameras snapped. Lucas searched the crowd and picked a younger, mousy-looking girl in front. He probably thought she was the least intimidating, but I could have warned him otherwise.

“Mr. Meadows, I’m curious to know...if love is so important to you and your family...how is it that you and your three siblings have yet to find it for yourselves?”

I cringed inside. She went straight for it, holding nothing back.

Before he could answer, another reporter took their chance to speak without being called on. “And if you’re such experts on matchmaking, as your app claims, how is it that you can’t find your own matches?”

“Are the numbers for the successful matches on your site doctored?”

“Is it true that, statistically, people are using your site for hooking up rather than actually searching for love and marriage? That seems to be your MO, after all.”

That reporter started calling out a long list of names of Lucas’s more notorious flings—supermodels, actresses, and well-known wealthy socialites. It was long, and before he could get more than even a few names in, someone else was already speaking over him.

“Are you profiting from preying on people’s desperation for true love while you yourself don’t believe in it?”

Questions were firing off from every direction in rapid succession. They stopped waiting their turns and soon the whole crowd was talking over each other like an angry mob. Lucas was trying to remain calm and collected, but I could see the subtle hints of his horror hidden in his face. The kind of thing only a close friend, who also just so happened to be a PR expert, could notice.

Sure, I was only supposed to be taking notes, but then again, they were only supposed to be asking about the anniversary celebration, not Lucas’s love life. I had no choice but to run off track right along with them in order to save his ass.

After quickly mulling over my saving statement, I approached the podium. I was in the midst of shoving Lucas to the side and taking the whole thing over myself when I suddenly felt his hand slide across my back.

I froze and hissed at him through clenched teeth, “What are you doing?”

But his hand didn’t stop. It slid right across my back, around to my side, pulling me into him. Next thing I knew, I was standing there with Lucas’s arm wrapped tightly around me in the most unprofessional move I had ever seen anyone make under pressure in a while.

I leaned up to his ear. “I know you’re nervous, but do you have any idea how ridiculous this looks!? Get off of me!”

Despite my squirming, his strong hold didn’t let up. He leaned into the mic again.

“I know you all have a lot of questions and comments about some things about me that are currently going around on the internet. Which makes this as good a time as any to introduce you to…” He looked down at me with scattered, uncertain eyes. “My fiancé. Victoria Sloan.”

I choked on any possible words I could say, looking up at him with horrified, wide eyes. Did he just say fiancé!?

While I was frozen in shock, the crowd quieted for a moment and then erupted all over again—this time with questions about me and our relationship. Our engagement.

“How did you two meet?”

“When did you propose?”

“How did you propose?”

“When’s the wedding?”

One voice cut through the rest, silencing the room. “Victoria Sloan. You work in PR, correct? Can you tell us how you feel about all of these recent rumors? Was it hard to keep quiet about your relationship for this long?”

“Why hide it!?” someone else added.

I swallowed hard, staring out across them all. Public speaking never scared me. Yet suddenly my mouth was dry, my heart was pounding, and my brain was blank. I was still processing everything that had just happened...and I was in no shape to speak in complete, sensible sentences.

Thankfully, Lucas stepped in once again. I was only thankful because it gave me a chance to break free from the grip he had on me. Maybe with some space between me and his rock-hard chest, I might be able to wrap my head around what he had just done.

“Thank you—thank you for all of your questions. Victoria has been a close family friend since high school, and yes...recently, that friendship developed into something more.” He looked down at me again with a strange, dewy look in his eyes. “A lot more. She is the love of my life and the only woman I can imagine spending the rest of my life with.”

The sincerity in his voice was enthralling and terrifying. He was one hell of a convincing liar, I had to give him that much.

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