best not to flinch from the combination of the afternoon sun and the flashing bulbs of cameras. He raised his arm to give them a welcoming, friendly wave, just as Rob had coached him. A representative for the network wearing a brightly colored badge stood near a woman with a microphone, and he mentally prepared for a quick red carpet interview. He joined the two women, plastering to his face the most charming smile he could muster.
It was rather painless. The interviewer quickly asked him two basic questions about what it felt like to be a part of the show and to watch his costars be nominated for such prestigious awards. He could hear the cameras flashing all around him as he answered honestly. It was a tremendous honor for him to be a part of this evening, and a part of the show. He was looking forward to many more award shows to come.
“Great, thanks. We got it.” The interviewer raised her arm and gestured for him to continue on his way. The network rep gave him a quick thumbs-up, and Luke walked to the next interviewer to repeat the process, with the rep following close behind.
After six or seven (he’d lost count) short interviews on the carpet, Luke was feeling confident in the process. He knew how to handle anything they could throw at him. That is, until a pesky host from the E! network shoved a microphone in his face.
“Luke Kingston,” she said, waving her arms wildly as she approached. “We cannot even tell you how long we’ve been dying to talk to you,” she bellowed, her eyes seeming to bulge from their sockets. Luke resisted the urge to cringe at her overly assertive nature and brash speaking voice.
“Yes, well, thank you.” He gave her a forced smile, his lips pressed together.
“We’re just dying to know. Where is Gina? Shouldn’t she be on your arm?”
The Us Weekly interview was rearing its ugly head. After so many interviewers had skipped this prying personal question, he was dismayed to hear it asked at all.
He did his best to dodge the implication they were, in fact, a couple. “She’ll be arriving soon, I’m sure.”
“Ah, walking the red carpet separately. Sure, we see that all the time. So tell me . . . you have such great chemistry on the show, is that what led to your relationship offscreen?”
Luke cleared his throat and pondered the question. He could cooperate, go along with it, boost his career and Gina’s and give hot gossip to the E! network’s viewers. Or he could do the right thing, and publicly prove to Elle that he was hers and hers alone. He chose Elle.
“Thank you. Chemistry is a difficult thing, you know. And usually, when you have great on-screen chemistry, it doesn’t translate off the screen. That’s certainly the case with us. Gina and I are good friends and nothing more.”
The interviewer froze, her mouth agape. Quickly, she recovered and asked a follow-up question. Luke’s foot twitched. He was eager to escape this uncomfortable interrogation.
“So wait . . . you two aren’t a couple? Weeks ago, she gave an interview for Us Weekly saying she found love again, are you saying she made that up?”
Luke nodded, looked directly into the camera, and smiled with confidence. “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
The rep from the network glared at him from several feet away. She quickly dragged two fingers across her neck, insisting he wrap it up. He’d never been more grateful for a gesture in all of his life. Without batting an eye, he shook the interviewer’s hand, saying, “You have a good evening.”
When he walked to the network rep, he had no idea what to say. He knew he was in trouble.
“I don’t know what the hell you were doing back there, but let’s hope it works in our favor.”
That response confused him. “What do you mean?”
“Love stories are good, but scandals are even better. Let’s hope for some headlines.”
Luke shook his head, holding his hand out abruptly. “Wait. That’s not why I did it.”
The rep raised an eyebrow and looked over her glasses at Luke. “I know that. But my job is to find the silver lining whenever any of you screw things up—so that’s exactly what I plan to do. You can go inside now, you’re done behind the microphone for tonight.”
Taking a rather large sigh of relief, Luke followed a crowd of other actors, producers, and directors into the lobby of the large theater.