A buzz swept through the room. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lily glance at him and close her mouth. He was so relieved to have stopped her from whatever she had been about to do that he instantly calmed down.
“I knew you’d all want to discuss that scene from the show,” he continued smoothly, “and that’s understandable. It was a terrible misunderstanding between Keith and Sydney that we all wish had never happened. Keith said things he deeply regrets.”
“Then why isn’t he here saying so himself?” another reporter demanded.
“Because I asked him not to,” he repeated. “I have another plan for this special occasion and I didn’t want one moment from the early days in Keith and Sydney’s relationship to overshadow it. They’re great together. The band and I are happy they’ve put that incident behind them. They’ll issue a press release to clarify everything at a more appropriate time.”
He didn’t allow any of his rapid thoughts to show in his expression during the pause that followed. Had he done enough to divert the slathering press from their tastiest prey?
“What plan are you talking about?” a third reporter asked at last.
It was time to see this impromptu diversion through. Rather than bringing his nerves back, the realization made him smile.
“Well I wasn’t going to do this right now,” he said. “This press conference is supposed to be for everyone in the cast. The last thing I want to do is hijack it.”
“Yeah, right,” Brandon muttered behind him.
The microphones picked it up, prompting snickers from his bandmates. Archer, however, saw that the reporters were still focused intently on him. They sensed a big story and didn’t give a damn that he was departing from their prepared questions.
“I’ll take Brandon’s comment as permission to proceed,” Archer said, turning and looking at him. “In a way, you’re the reason for this even coming about. So thanks.”
Brandon glowered as some of the reporters laughed. Others spoke to each other behind their hands as they tried to figure out what was happening.
Archer turned back around and angled himself towards Lily. Her violet eyes widened as he reached for her hands and held both of them in his. Their audience faded into blurs in the background. When he spoke, he spoke only to her.
“Lily, I know you’re a private person, and I debated when and how to do this. The thing is, we met during my time with Suddenly Something. We became friends during the formation of The Void. And we fell in love on this tour during the first days of House of Archer. So this feels like the perfect night, in the perfect place, in the perfect way.”
He felt her hands tremble briefly beneath his. Her eyes shimmered with tears. When he lowered himself from his chair and knelt on one knee in front of her, he was pretty sure she stopped breathing.
“We met eight years ago on opposite sides of a locked door,” he said, “and on that day, we freed each other. You convinced me to take a chance and it changed my life. Tonight I’m asking you to do the same. Take a chance on a lifetime with me.”
He reached into his suit pocket and pulled out the engagement ring he had borrowed from Noelle. Lily’s lips parted in amazement. He was sure she never expected an actual ring.
All that remained was the ultimate question.
“Lily Montgomery, will you marry me?”
* * *
Is Dane really proposing right now? Lily thought in a daze. Or is he just going way, way overboard to protect Sydney and Keith from the press?
Regardless, she knew she had to give him an answer. If she could manage to choke back all of the emotion he had just evoked, she would offer him one.
Had it been the proposal of her dreams? No. They were not only in front of a room full of people, but in front of cameras broadcasting this around the world. The timing was also highly questionable considering they hadn’t even officially moved in together yet and they’d only been dating for a few weeks.
But Dane could have proposed a year from now in a private setting full of flowers and candles and it wouldn’t have had as much impact as this proposal just did. He knew that the way to her heart wasn’t through the trappings of romance...it was through words.
And he sure as hell knew how to use them.
“Of course I will,” she finally replied in a voice made raspy with emotion.
She heard the resulting shouts and applause but her attention remained on Dane as he slid Noelle’s ring on her finger. She was dying to know how he had managed to get it on such short notice. Her arms went around him as he pulled her so she was sitting on his bended knee. He gave her a brief but tender kiss.
Xander, Sage, and Noelle all jumped up and pulled Lily and Archer to their feet to congratulate them with back pats and hugs. Lily whispered the faintest thank you in Noelle’s ear. She grinned and winked in return. Aria ran up onto the stage from the crowd to share her congratulations, too.
Aside from that, there was no time for celebrating. They all had to return to their seats as the questions started flying.
Along with Suddenly Something, they fielded questions about the show, questions about the new engagement and Noelle’s impending wedding, questions about the upcoming release of “Not Mine,” and questions about the remainder of the tour. It was with great relief that any questions about Keith or Sydney were easily fielded by Dane with the repeated promise of a press release.
Thirty minutes flew by. Before Lily knew it, it was time for the party portion of the night. She waited until their microphones had been removed before she led Dane away from the activity and pulled him close in a hug that brought her lips close to his ear.
“That was some quick thinking,” she whispered.
“I know,” he said against her ear. Pleasant shivers coursed along her body as his lips brushed her sensitive earlobe. “You did a great job not freaking out. You can give Noelle her ring back later. We’ll go shopping for a real one when we’re back in L.A.”
“A real one? So you meant it?”
He leaned back to meet her gaze. “Of course I did. Lily, as disastrous as things might end up after that premiere, this is the happiest night of my life.”
Her heart felt ten times lighter in her chest. “Mine, too.”
“All right, you two lovebirds,” Christopher interrupted as he approached with a grin. Trey and Ryan parted to let him through so he could pull Lily into a hug. “You sure know how to throw a press conference on its ear. I think Elijah is having a complete meltdown over this engagement not taking place on the show.”
“That’s fine with me,” Dane said. “Let him try complaining after that shit he pulled with Keith and Sydney.”
Christopher’s expression fell into more serious lines. “Yeah. I’ve been doing some investigating. From what I’ve learned so far, the camera in the parking lot was being operated by a House of Archer film crew member the producers had stationed there while we were in town. The cameras and microphones outside Keith’s apartment were placed in common areas under the purview of the apartment complex’s property manager, who gave signed consent for the electronics to be there. Paired with Keith and Sydney’s signed releases, it was all on the up-and-up.”
“The hell it was,” Dane said before Lily could. “They knew that footage was damning and they didn’t give any of us a heads up.”
“Nor did they have any obligation to,” Christopher pointed out. He held up his hands when Dane and Lily both started to argue. “I’m not saying I support what they did. I’m just saying that legally they’re within their means to air the footage they captured.”
“Well morally and humanely, they’re a bunch of assholes,” Lily muttered.
Dane issued a grunt of agreement and pulled her against his side. “That’s an understatement. If Keith and Sydney want to try and pursue legal action, I’ll make sure they’re covered.”
She smiled. He was so thoughtful and generous. It comforted her to know that Keith and Sydney could do something about what they had
been put through that evening if they wanted to.
It occurred to her that when Dane had made a similar offer to cover her legal expenses, she had been distraught enough to leave him, even if only to gain some perspective. She hadn’t looked at it as generosity so much as her being a burden to him. There was a distinction between the two that she wasn’t sure she could identify.
No wonder he was so baffled by her attitude towards his money.
“I want to check on Sydney,” she said.
“You can’t leave yet.”
She turned at the sound of Elijah’s voice. The producer stopped a few feet away from her and Dane, not trying to push past the broad shoulders of Trey and Ryan. He looked like he had just chewed glass.
“Everyone in this room is here to see the two of you,” Elijah said. “Especially now. We’ll discuss the repercussions of tonight’s events later.”
“We sure will,” Dane said with dark promise.
Elijah’s irritation shifted quickly enough into unease that Lily almost smiled. She was sure he was remembering the last time Dane had gotten pissed at him because of what had aired on the show. He took a step back.
“Yes, well...” he said, pausing to clear his throat. “There are a number of people who want to meet you, so start mingling.”
He marched off, mopping his sweaty brow as he went. Lily felt Dane’s hand tighten briefly on her shoulder and then release. Ryan looked at them over his shoulder.
“Want me to drag him back here so you can generate some real compelling footage for the evening?”
Dane surprised Lily by chuckling. He hadn’t yet warmed up to Ryan...probably because he didn’t like Lily being under the protection of another guy—a hot guy, at that. She figured Ryan would wear him down eventually. They were more alike than either would probably admit.
“Nah,” Dane said, putting his arm around Lily’s shoulders. “I want to show off my beautiful new fiancée anyway.”
Her heart stumbled in her chest over the new title. Fiancée.
Wow.
She heard the word rather frequently over the next ninety minutes. She and Dane met more of the House of Archer team, most of whom were far more excited than upset over their engagement. They also met executives from the network that had taken the chance on carrying the show. She was the most nervous around them, knowing how much hinged on the show bringing in strong ratings if it was going to survive. Dane handled every introduction in his calm, charming way, making it easier to get through the evening.
There were numerous requests to see her ring and just as many responses from her and Dane explaining that the ring was a placeholder and they would be shopping for another one when they returned to L.A. She decided that the ring shopping could be turned into another scene where it looked like she was marrying Dane for his money. Just like everything else in her life right now, this had to be put into the perspective of how it would further the show.
There was something incredibly depressing about that, so she pushed it from her mind. She didn’t want it overshadowing her engagement night, as unplanned as it was.
By the time she and Dane were able to slip away, she was ready to peel off her spectacular high heels and leave them where they landed. Only the knowledge of how much the shoes had cost kept her from doing so.
“Are your feet bothering you?” Dane asked as they followed Trey and Ryan towards the transpo.
She glared at him. “Men should have to wear high heels just once so they know better than to ask such ridiculous—”
The last word was nothing but a gasp as he swept her up in his arms. Her first thought was to censure him. There were people watching, for heaven’s sake. Her feet were too grateful for her to say a word, though.
He flashed his dimples at her. He always seemed to know what she was thinking.
Barney met them with one of the SUVs the security team was using for the return trip to the hotel. Lily had been disappointed to learn that Sydney and Keith had already gone back. She was anxious to meet up with them to see how Sydney was doing. She decided to give her a call on the drive.
“Hi, Lily,” she answered.
Lily thought she sounded weary. “Hey. I’m so sorry I couldn’t get away sooner than this. We’re heading to the hotel now.”
“It’s fine. I think it was good for me and Keith to have some time alone to process everything. Tell Archer thanks for helping make that happen.”
“Sure.” Lily glanced at Dane, who nodded to let her know he had heard through her phone’s earpiece. “Is Keith still with you?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t he be?”
Lily didn’t say she had half-expected Sydney to dump him after having such a horrible scene aired to the world. “I wasn’t sure if he’d be talking to the PR team or anything.”
“Oh. He did that earlier.”
Lily would have to confer with them before she logged onto social media. “Good. So...have you been getting a lot of calls from your family?”
Sydney sighed. “You already know.”
“Have you spoken to them yet?”
“I talked to Benjamin. He promised to spread the word.”
Poor Sydney, she thought, exchanging another look with Dane. “Are you up to a visit? We should be there before too long. Dane will give us some girl time.”
“Honestly, I’m ready to crash. Can we talk tomorrow?”
“Of course. Get some rest.”
“I will, thanks. Good night.”
As she hung up the phone, Lily sat back so she rested against Dane. “She’s not all right.”
“Nope.”
“What are we going to do?”
“Whatever we have to.”
Chapter Forty-Four
The alarm went off way too early the following morning. Archer was used to operating on little sleep, but even he issued a low groan of complaint as his sleep was disrupted.
Ah, well. He supposed that was the price he paid for staying up into the wee hours of the morning having celebratory engagement sex with his irresistible fiancée.
“Make it stop,” Lily grumbled into her pillow.
Since her back was currently pressed against his front, he tipped his head and placed a kiss on her head. “You can sleep a little longer. I need to hit the gym.”
She made a groggy sound of agreement. “Yeah, you do. You’ve really let yourself go.”
He snorted and grabbed her in the side where he knew she was ticklish. She promptly squealed, bucked, and tried to elbow him away. He decided not to let her go back to sleep after all.
She was soon breathless with laughter and pinned beneath him, her hands twined with his above her head. He felt the ring on her left ring finger and ran his thumb over it, smiling over what it represented.
They had stopped at the hotel’s gift shop when they finally returned the night before. The manager had opened it just for them at Archer’s request. He had decided that he really wanted Lily to have a ring to wear until they could go shopping in L.A. He had seen the costume jewelry in the shop and figured it would serve just fine. Plus, it wouldn’t be priced so high that Lily would object.
Funny enough, she seemed to adore the inexpensive ring she had picked out. It was a round, one-carat cubic zirconia solitaire. Even Archer could admit that any larger stone would look unwieldy on her dainty finger. The silver band looked like two vines winding together to embrace the center stone. Four small, oval tanzanites were set on either side of the center stone like delicate leaves on the vine. He thought the purplish-blue stones suited Lily since they perfectly matched her eyes, but he worried the ring would turn her finger green within a day.
“You can smile all you want,” she said as she recovered her breath. “I’m still going to kill you when you let me go.”
“Then I guess I’d better hold onto you for a little while longer,” he said, leaning down to capture her mouth with his.
By the time he left with Trey for the gym, he was feeling a lot more chippe
r about having to be up so early and Lily had fallen back asleep with a satisfied smile on her face. Not surprisingly, Keith, Xander, Sage, and Noelle were already in the gym when he arrived.
“Nice of you to join us,” Xander greeted him between reps on the rowing machine.
“Good morning,” Archer said, ignoring the big man’s sarcasm.
“Looks like somebody already started the day with some cardio,” Noelle joked from the elliptical machine, winking at Archer when he glanced at her.
Sage rolled his eyes from the elliptical next to Noelle’s. Archer just grinned and started stretching. His gaze moved to Keith, who was in the middle of some punishing reps on the ab bench. It occurred to him that he hadn’t yet told his friend about the engagement. It seemed an awkward time to bring it up, but Archer didn’t want someone else saying something before he did.
Moving over to the bench, he said, “Hey there, Con Man. Did you hear the big news?”
Keith didn’t pause in his reps. “I’m at my limit with news, thanks.”
“Even if the news is that Lily and I are engaged?”
That stopped Keith in mid-rep. “Are you serious?”
“Yep.”
“Holy shit.” Keith unhooked his feet from the ankle bars and rose from the bench, grabbing a towel to wipe up his sweat. “When did this happen?”
Archer dropped onto the bench himself, figuring he’d get the hated ab work done first. “Last night.”
“Last night?” Keith paused as a look of realization crossed his face. “Jesus Christ. You proposed to keep the press off me and Sydney?”
“No,” Archer grunted as he raised and lowered himself. “I proposed because I love Lily and I want her to be my wife. I timed it last night to keep the press off you and Sydney.”
Keith just stood there without speaking. Archer focused on his exercises, giving his friend the time he needed to process the news. By the time Keith finally spoke, Archer’s abs were burning in protest.
“Congrats.”
Archer thought Keith sounded like he was congratulating him for getting through a painful surgical procedure. He completed one last rep and finally cut himself a break, releasing his ankles and returning to a sitting position.