Before I could answer Laney, a helpful sounding voice yelled out, “Hey, Morgan! Your Oscar is on the floor!”
My stomach dropped as I looked down and realized they were right. I was really batting a thousand. Gage kept his eyes on mine as he bent down and grabbed the Oscar.
“Are you two dating?” Laney whispered.
Gage gave me a reassuring look as he stood and handed me the statue.
“Hello, Lemon,” he said kindly. I wasn’t too surprised that he knew her. She seemed to know everyone.
Without hesitating, he continued, “Yes, Morgan and I are dating,” he answered.
Laney was a blur of movement as she pushed me aside and pulled the door to the pressroom shut behind her.
“You’re dating Gage Ryan, and you never told me?” she shrieked. “The first rule of Hollywood is that you tell your publicist everything. I can’t represent you to the best of my abilities if you’re too stupid to give me the details! I asked you fifty-seven trillion times why you were in Georgia and never once in all the times you evaded the question did I ever guess that you were seeing him!”
My stomach clenched uncomfortably as I gaped at her. “I’m, um— ”
“Don’t talk to her like that,” Gage snapped as he put his arm around my waist and pulled me into his side protectively. “All it would take is one series of phone calls, and you’re no longer employable in this town.”
At fifty-eight, Laney was all personality. She’d survived four marriages to mega Hollywood movers and shakers and had come out on top each time. She didn’t take any shit, and she damn sure didn’t back down to threats.
“Save full alpha mode for someone who deserves it,” she said dryly. “I’m not insulting her—I’m making a point. It’s my job to protect her, and you two just landed yourselves dead center on the gossip dartboard.”
Gage sighed, lifting a hand to his forehead so he could rub at the center of it.
“I see your point,” he conceded, “but I don’t want her being called stupid.”
Laney turned to address me. “I’m sorry for using the word stupid, sweet cheeks.”
I leaned into Gage as I nodded.
“Meanwhile,” she continued, “we have about ten seconds before that door opens again. My advice is to stand up straight, sashay your little ass to the microphone and say no comment to every question you get about Gage. I’ll deal with the fallout and put out a statement tomorrow after we’ve had time to talk out all the angles.”
“Fuck the angles,” Gage said. “They saw what they saw, Lemon. Giving them no comment is only going to make it worse.”
His voice was firm as he spoke to Laney, but when he looked down at me, his eyes softened, and he smiled. “Tell them we’re dating. We knew this was coming, beautiful. We’re public now, and I have no intention of pretending that this isn’t serious. If they get wild, don’t worry. I’ve got your back.”
My eyes widened as I stared up at him in shock. “Are you sure?”
“I’m positive,” he said firmly.
“Are you sure that’s how we want to let the news out? I could say nothi—”
Before I could say anything else, the door was wrenched open. An official looking man was holding a clipboard and wearing a headset. He also looked officially annoyed, and that was directed at me.
“I just got word that the best picture people are now three or four minutes out. You need to get in here before you screw up the flow any more than it already is.”
When Gage stiffened at my side, I knew he wasn’t happy about the tone that man used with me. I ran my hand up and down his back soothingly as I smiled and nodded.
“I’m ready,” I assured him.
I expected Gage to remain in the hall. Instead, as I stepped forward, he let go of his hold around my waist and joined our hands. My skin broke out in goose bumps, and I thanked God for nipple tape as we took those first steps together, hundreds of flashbulbs going off to ensure the moment was captured forever. Gage helped me walk the two steps up to the elevated platform before retreating. He didn’t go far—instead choosing to stand against the wall, next to the position Laney had taken. He nodded at me encouragingly just before I turned and faced the mass of assembled press.
A voice over the loudspeaker instructed everyone to adhere to the press conference rules. The crowd quieted down as the voice spoke again. “We’ll go to 145 and follow that with a question from 98.”
My eyebrows went up before I schooled my expression. I’d had no idea that the press were assigned individual numbers.
“Miss Kelly, can you clarify your relationship with Gage Ryan for us?”
I’d known the first question was going to be about Gage, but I still felt like I’d been blindsided. “We, um, I mean, like, so the thing is, like—”