Chapter 15
ADRIAN
Elizabeth perched on the edge of the couch in our studio space, looking simultaneously nervous and excited.
The transformation from yesterday was remarkable.
She wasn’t looking at me like I might bite.
Instead, she kept sneaking glances at me with a small smile playing at her lips, like she hoped I would bite.
I was very inclined to give her what she wanted. But we had an appointment, and biting was off the table for now.
“Okay, we need to get you mic’d up,” I said, holding up the small microphone. “This is going to clip to your collar.”
“Let’s do it.” She tilted her chin up, giving me access. I tried to focus on the technical task at hand instead of the fact that I’d kissed that neck approximately six hours ago.
I reached for her collar, my fingers brushing against her skin as I positioned the mic. She shivered slightly, telling me she felt it, too. I couldn’t resist trailing my thumb along her collarbone.
“Adrian,” she whispered, a laugh in her voice. “You’re supposed to be putting the mic on.”
“I’m multitasking.” I leaned closer, adjusting the wire, letting my hand linger at her shoulder. “Is it working?”
She squirmed, biting her lip to suppress a giggle. “You’re going to make me mess up my hair.”
“Your hair looks perfect. And you look delectable. I want my tongue—”
“No!” She burst into laughter. “Stop teasing me.”
I hadn’t gone to her apartment last night planning for things to escalate the way they had. The wine, the photo album, the conversation—that was supposed to be the extent of it. Just two people getting to know each other.
But then she’d looked at me with those eyes, and everything had spiraled. I didn’t regret it. Not even a little.
If anything, standing here now, watching her relax into my touch instead of tensing up, I wanted nothing more than to cancel every interview, appearance, and obligation on our schedule.
I wanted to take her somewhere quiet. Private.
And then take her loud and hard until neither of us could remember why we’d thought this arrangement was supposed to be fake.
“Are you two about done?” Dash’s voice cut through my increasingly inappropriate thoughts. “We’re going live in five minutes and you look like you’re about to start making out on camera. Which is great for getting people talking but I doubt you kids want to broadcast that to the world.”
Elizabeth immediately straightened, clearing her throat and putting a few inches of space between us. A blush crept across her cheeks.
I shot Dash a murderous look.
He just grinned back, completely unrepentant. “You two are looking pretty convincing this morning,” he added, adjusting one of the ring lights. “But maybe save the PDA for after we wrap. Liza Pizza’s audience is family friendly.”
“I wasn’t—” Elizabeth started, then stopped, seeming to realize that protesting would only make it more obvious.
I finished clipping the mic pack to the back of her waistband, trying to ignore how the simple act of touching her made me want to forget all about the interview. “You’re all set. Just remember, be yourself. That’s what people respond to.”
“Be myself,” she repeated. I could hear the edge of nervousness creeping back. “Right. I can do that.”
The monitor flickered to life, and suddenly Liza Pizza’s face filled the screen.
She was eccentric, which her viewers loved.
She had bright pink hair, multiple ear piercings and was wearing what looked like a holographic jacket that caught the light every time she moved.
Her energy was palpable even through the screen.
Thank God we were doing the interview through video. She would be a little much in person and it certainly wouldn’t help Elizabeth relax.
“Hey, hey, party people!” She waved at the camera, then seemed to spot us on her own screen. “Adrian! Elizabeth! Can you guys see me okay?”
“We can see you,” I confirmed, settling onto the couch next to Elizabeth. Close enough to look like a couple, but not so close that Dash would have to give us another warning.
“Perfect, perfect. Okay, so we’re not live yet, just doing a sound check. How are you guys feeling? Nervous? Excited? Need anything before we start?”
“We’re good,” I said. Elizabeth nodded beside me.
She looked calm.
Well, calmer than she would have looked yesterday.
“Awesome. And just so you know, my chat can get a little wild. They’re going to be typing comments the whole time, and some of them might be… creative. Just ignore anything weird and focus on me, okay?”
“Nothing is off limits,” I said. “Ask whatever you want.”
“Oh, I like you already.” Liza grinned. “Okay, we’re going live in thirty seconds. Remember, just have fun with it. This is supposed to be a celebration, not an interrogation.”
Liza’s entire demeanor shifted as the camera went live, her energy somehow ramping up even higher.
“What’s up, Pizza Lovers! Your girl Liza here and do I have a treat for you today.
I’m talking about fashion royalty, people.
I’m talking about the engagement everyone is losing their minds over.
Please help me welcome Adrian Blackwell and his gorgeous fiancée, Elizabeth Laramie! ”
Comments started scrolling on the side of the screen, a rapid-fire stream of reactions from viewers.
“OMG IT’S REALLY THEM”
“Who is mister frownie face?”
“Talk about HAWT”
“She’s so pretty!”
“I want her dress”
I felt Elizabeth tense slightly beside me as she noticed the comments. I squeezed her hand gently. “Breathe,” I said with a smile.
“Let’s jump right in,” Liza said. “Everyone is DYING to know how you two met. I mean, Adrian Blackwell, confirmed bachelor, suddenly engaged? Give us the story!”
I prepared for this question. We already had the story ready. “We met at a fashion show. It was one of those industry events where everyone’s there to see and be seen, but I saw Elizabeth across the room and everything else just faded away into the background.”
“He’s exaggerating,” Elizabeth interjected. I glanced at her in surprise. She was smiling, playing along naturally. “I was standing in the corner trying not to spill champagne on myself.”
“But you were watching the collection,” I added, building on her improvisation. “Really watching. I thought, here’s someone who actually cares about the craft, not just the celebrity.”
“So, you went over and talked to her?” Liza prompted.
“I did. Turns out Elizabeth is a designer herself. A brilliant one. We started talking about design theory and construction techniques, and three hours later we were the last ones in the venue.”
“Elizabeth, what was your first impression of Adrian?” Liza asked.
She looked up at me. “Honestly? I thought he was going to be intimidating. His reputation precedes him.” Elizabeth’s smile turned slightly mischievous. “But then he started geeking out about dart placements and I realized he was just as much of a design nerd as I am.”
Liza clapped her hands together. “I love this! So it was love at first sight!”
“Just look at her. Who wouldn’t fall in love?”
The chat exploded with heart emojis and comments about relationship goals.
Liza asked a few more softball questions. Elizabeth handled them beautifully, her nerves barely showing.
Then Liza leaned forward with a gleam in her eye. “Okay, Elizabeth, I have a question for you. Tell the world something no one knows about Adrian Blackwell. Give us that Liza Pizza exclusive.”
I froze.
We hadn’t prepared for this. I had no idea what she’d say. Would she panic? Make something up that didn’t make sense? Or worse, accidentally reveal something that would expose the fake nature of our relationship?
Elizabeth turned to the camera with a confident smile. “Well, I’m glad you asked that. I think the world would be shocked to know Adrian Blackwell loves models.”
My stomach dropped. What was she doing?
“Girl, everyone knows that,” Liza said, waving a dismissive hand. “The Blackwell brothers and models? That’s old news. Give me something juicy!”
“Model airplanes, Liza.” Elizabeth’s smile widened. “Mostly World War Two era. He’s got a room full of them.”
For a second, genuine shock rendered me speechless.
Liza practically jumped out of her chair. “Adrian Blackwell, fashion icon, builds model airplanes? Now that’s a Liza Pizza exclusive!”
I felt heat creep up my neck—actual embarrassment, something I hadn’t experienced in years. “It’s not that interesting, Liza.”
“Are you kidding? This is adorable. You heard it here first, Pizza Lovers. Adrian Blackwell is secretly a history nerd!”
The chat went absolutely insane.
“NERD ALERT”
“Aww that’s actually so cute”
“She knows him so well!”
“SOULMATES”
“He’s good with his hands”
“Relationship goals.”
“I love this, men with hobbies!”
Liza was eating it up, bouncing in her seat. “Okay, okay, I need to know more. What kind of planes? Does Elizabeth help you build them?”
“We actually haven’t built one together yet,” Elizabeth said before I could answer. “But soon. When we’re together, there’s not a lot of time to build models.”
She said it with just enough innuendo to get the message across.
“That’s so sweet!” Liza clutched her heart dramatically.
The interview continued for another ten minutes, but the model airplane revelation had become the highlight.
By the time we wrapped, I’d gone from mortified to actually enjoying the conversation. Elizabeth had taken what could have been an embarrassing revelation and turned it into something humanizing. It made me seem more accessible and real.
As soon as Liza logged off, the studio door burst open. Sebastian, Briggs, and Dash all piled in.
“We’re already trending,” Dash said. “I couldn’t keep up with all the comments. They were blowing up all over social media.”
“You’re joking,” I said.
“Not even a little,” Dash said. “You two killed it.”
Briggs was reading something on his own phone. “The engagement from this interview is through the roof. Everyone’s talking about how genuine you two seem. The women are impressed with how Elizabeth clearly knows the real you. This is exactly the narrative we needed. Well done.”
“People love it,” Dash added, scrolling through comments. “They’re calling you relationship goals. They think Elizabeth is the best thing that ever happened to you. They want to know where she got her dress.”
Sebastian was still grinning. “I have to say, I had my doubts after Friday’s photoshoot disaster. But whatever you two did to fix things, keep doing it. You’re magic together now.”