Big Bad Boys A Romance Collection - Penny Wylder Page 0,163

Sylvia takes it first, then I shake. “So glad you're both here, this is great. I've been hoping to get the first chance to sit down with you two. Pick your brains a little, give our audience a taste of Sylade.” She giggles and waggles her brows.

Sylvia thins her lips. “Sylade?” she asks, cocking a brow high.

“Yeah, you know, Brangelina, TomCat, we thought Sylade could be the start of something. It's catchy, your fans will adore it.” Smiling, she clasps her hands together. “All right, we're about to go on, so why don't you two go have a seat on the couch. Sylvia you'll be on the outside, Phade you're next to me.”

We don't get a chance to walk on our own, again we're whisked away like cardboard cutouts. More hands grab my arm, pulling in the direction Kerri, the host of Sun Daily, told us to go.

Someone pushes down on my shoulders, sitting me down. I look over to my right, and see a team of people fluffing Sylvia's hair, and touching up her makeup. Bright lights pop on behind the scenes, blinding me momentarily.

Blinking wildly, I reach over and take her hand. The past few days it feels like she's been avoiding me. I call and she doesn't answer, or she gives me some lame excuse for not being able to see each other.

I've let her have this space she obviously needs but is afraid to ask for. She's probably nervous, maybe afraid about what she's feeling. I know I am.

I'm trying to get her attention, hoping she'll look at me, but she doesn't. Her eyes move over the people surrounding her, poking her face with sponges, and running a comb through her hair.

But she squeezes my hand, and that's enough to let me know she's there with me.

As quickly as all the noise sprouted to life, it dissipates just as fast. The room falls quiet as music plays from the speakers and the teleprompter pops on. I can see the words on the screen as they begin to roll slowly.

“Good morning, I'm Kerri Lonogin, and this is Sun Daily.” She goes through a burst of unimportant news, from a car accident on the freeway, to a local woman who donated four cakes to the animal shelter for the unwanted pets.

Turning her attention to me, she smiles and dances her eyes between the camera and me. “I've got a very special guest this morning, Phade—Brass Knuckles—Manson and his fiancée, Sylvia Fontain. Hello and welcome,” she says, turning to face us straight on.

“Hello,” Sylvia and I both say at the same time.

“Awe! How you cute you two are, answering together.” Kerri gives a huge, exaggerated grin that shows all her bright white teeth. “So, Phade, you had a big win this weekend, how do you feel?”

A red light pops on above the camera to my left, and there's a man behind it rolling his arm to let me know that's the camera to look into.

I can see Daniel in my peripheral vision, arms crossed over his chest, chin resting on a fist. He's carefully and methodically there. Watching, observing, making sure we do this exactly how he wants it.

“I feel like it's deserved. I work hard, I train hard, and that shows when I get a win.”

Kerri holds a small stack of papers in her hands, looking down at her predetermined list of questions. “You sure do train hard. I think every woman in this city knows how hard you train.” She winks at the camera and lets out a joking laugh. “Your abs aside, I think what every woman really wants to know is how did you two meet?” Her eyes move to Sylvia, the question now directed at her.

“Well,” Sylvia says, her voice shaky, “we, uh, we met. . .” Pausing, she forces a smile as her hand comes up to pluck at her bottom lip. “We met a few months back, it was, uh, well, it was—”

“It was a nice accident, that's what it was.” Answering for her, I squeeze her hand harder, letting her know I'm here. “We met at a dance club one night.”

That wasn't a lie. It wasn't how Sylvia had it laid out in her binder, but it was the truth. That was the first time we hooked up.

“A nightclub, huh?” Kerri's eyes veer slyly. “You and nightclubs don't usually mix according to People Magazine and every other newspaper out there. Didn't you run into some legal trouble because of partying?”

I can