A Very Exclusive Engagement(17)

Liam pulled her chair out for her and saw that she was comfortably seated before taking his own seat.

“I’m starving,” he said, picking up the menu.

Francesca had to admit she wasn’t surprised. Liam seemed to be constantly hungry when she was around him. “No breakfast?”

He shook his head. “I really haven’t eaten much since I had dinner at my aunt’s house. Killed my appetite, you know?”

“I do,” she agreed. Nothing on the menu looked appealing, so she settled on a spinach salad with chicken. At the very least she was eating something figure-friendly.

She had a wedding dress to fit into, after all.

The thought crept into her brain, startling her upright in her seat. Where had that come from?

“Are you okay?” Liam asked.

“Yes,” she said dismissively. “I just remembered something I need to do when we get back to the office.”

Liam nodded and looked back at the menu. Francesca shook her head and closed her eyes. There would be no wedding and no wedding dress. It didn’t matter how real their kisses seemed or how quickly her whole body responded to Liam’s touch. It didn’t matter that she had a luxury condo’s worth of diamonds on her hand. Because she wasn’t really engaged. She was Liam’s fake fiancée. It was a business arrangement, nothing more, despite what she had to tell her friends and family.

The waiter took their orders and left with their menus. Feeling awkward, Francesca sipped her water and eyeballed her ring. She didn’t know what to say to her new fiancé.

“Now that all the engagement stuff is arranged, I wanted to talk to you about something else, too.”

She looked up at him with a sense of dread pooling in her stomach. She couldn’t take any more surprises today. “No, Liam, I will not have your baby to make your aunt happy.”

He laughed, shaking his head. “No babies, I promise. This is strictly work-related. I’ve been kicking around this idea for a few days, but the nonsense with my aunt sidetracked me. I wanted to ask…you’re friends with Ariella Winthrop, aren’t you?”

Francesca sighed. Her friend Ariella had been the media equivalent of the Holy Grail since the inaugural ball in January where it was revealed that the successful events planner was the newly elected president’s long-lost daughter. How many journalists and garden-variety busybodies had asked Francesca about her friend since the scandal hit? More than she could count. Yes, they were friends. They had been for several years. That didn’t mean she had anything useful to share with the press, even if she would tell—and she wouldn’t. Ariella was adopted. She hadn’t even known who her birth father was for sure until the DNA test results came back a little more than a month ago.

“I am,” she said, her tone cautious.

“I was wondering if you could talk to her for me. I’ve got an idea that I think she might be interested in, but I wanted to run it by you first. I know ANS reporters and old management were responsible for the whole mess with President Morrow and her. I was hoping we could make a sort of goodwill gesture to them both.”

“A fruit basket?” she suggested.

“A televised reunion show with Ariella and the president.”

Francesca groaned aloud. That was a horrible idea. “Go with the fruit basket. Really.”

Liam held up his hand. “Hear me out. I know lots of rumors and misinformation are swirling around on the other networks, especially because everyone involved isn’t talking to the press. ANS obviously has stayed out of the story after everything that happened. I want to offer them the opportunity to publically set the record straight. Give them a chance to meet and clear the air without any spin or dramatic angles.”

“That has ‘exploitive’ written all over it.”

“And that is why I would give you total control over the show. You’re her friend and she trusts you. You could work directly with the White House press secretary and see to it that no one is even remotely uncomfortable. No other network will offer them an opportunity like this, I guarantee it.”

Francesca couldn’t hold back her frown. She didn’t like the sound of this at all. If it went badly and ANS ended up with mud on its face, there would be no coming back from it and Ariella might never forgive her. “I don’t know, Liam.”

“This is a win-win for everyone involved. Ariella and the president get to tell their story, their way. ANS will get the exclusive on their interview and it will help us make amends for the hacking scandal. It can’t go wrong. You’ll see to it that it doesn’t turn into a circus. It’s perfect.”