Page 84 of Flame True

“Yes,” Mulberry grabbed his arm. “Thanks for getting me out of that dinner.”

The look in his eyes, full of heat and simmering protectiveness, made her pussy clench.

“Il n’y a pas de quoi,” he smiled, his face losing the sternness for a moment.

Mulberry squirmed in the seat, willing him to drive quickly. She needed space.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN – NICK

Nick frowned, crossing his arms. He didn’t move, even though the woman beside him shot daggers at him.

Considering he’d dragged Mulberry to that Insider Tech interview, he had no reason to tell her no. Given the fake dating plan, he couldn’t think of anything to persuade her not to do this interview when she got the call from the director of Growing Threads.

Stuck with women eager for the newest handbag, the overpowering obnoxious scents of perfumes, he wanted to grab her from the set and get out of here.

He stood across the tiny studio, right behind the camera.

“Mulberry! It’s great to have you back again. Thank you so much for doing this,” a Black woman with short hair and gold earrings hugged Mulberry on set.

Even though Mulberry smiled, Nick could tell in the slight stiffness of her shoulders how she didn’t quite meet eye contact with the director of Growing Threads.

“You’re welcome. It’s my pleasure.”

Someone pushed into Nick, and he stared at the woman until she moved back.

“Sorry,” she said.

Behind him, a crowd of onlookers were gathered around the monitors to watch this interview.

He was as close as he could get to Mulberry, and he wasn’t going to let the crowd of women, who had won backstage passes to this taping, move him.

“You said last time you were here that the Hyacinthe was your favourite bag. I would like to show you our new bag for this winter collection. Meet the Holly,” Veronica passed her a dark red bag trimmed in green.

“Wow. It’s gorgeous,” Mulberry examined the bag, keeping it towards the camera the whole time.

She was a natural under the lights. Seeing her do this job at the moment made Nick’s skin crawl, though he couldn’t say why.

But as another woman with grey hair and thick glasses brushed his arm, he understood and bit his cheek hard to keep from swearing.

Mulberry was perfect for him.

She’s the kind of woman his family wanted him to be with.

One who had aligned interests or at least didn’t detract from Laurent Industries, someone who was beautiful and could manage crowds and media and show up at a product launch.

Someone who could do the red carpet walk. Hadn’t they proven to his family that Mulberry had that charisma?

Nick shoved his hands in his pockets, wishing fervently that he was with the Bandit Brothers back in the Baltic sea.

His phone vibrated, and he frowned, pulling it from his inside pocket.

He stepped out of the crowd, knowing he’d given up his spot, but he had to return Finn’s call.

“What’s going on?”

“Nick, Janette and I are ninety percent sure the guy we have footage of being on Cynthia’s property has circled the Growing Threads building. We’re calling for two more teams to get here in place and block him off. There are media here, waiting, and I don’t know if they are waiting for the Growing Threads people or Mulberry.”

“I’ll get her out the back.” Nick pushed through the crowd, ignoring cries of “Hey!” and “Watch it.”

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