Page 13 of The Phoenix (Spy Girl 6)
I laugh and look at the crowd. “You’ve all seen him shirtless, right?”
Daniel chuckles as the women in the audience hoot, holler, and yell for him to take his shirt off.
“Does that mean you only love me for my body?” Daniel pretend pouts.
I roll my eyes. “Fine. If you must know, we first met at a gala in DC. He wasn’t shirtless, unfortunately; he was dressed in a tuxedo and running late. When he got to our table, his hair was messed up, and he flashed that dimple at me. That’s pretty much all it took.”
“And, later that night, I invited her back to my place,” Daniel says, waggling his eyebrows.
“That is true. He told me we should get out of there and go get some real food. Of course, I thought that was just a ploy to get me back to his place, but the second we got there, he was ordering pizza, and I realized he really was hungry. His daily calorie intake is ridiculous.”
“What happened next?” the host asks while the whole audience seems to wait on bated breath.
“We played Battleground.”
“She kicked my ass,” Daniel adds, nodding.
“And we’ve been best friends ever since,” I say, causing the audience to collectively sigh. I’m not sure if it’s because they think it’s cute or they are disappointed I didn’t say something juicier.
“You were seen in Montrovia after that,” the host says to me. “Dating Prince Lorenzo.”
“I met Lorenzo through Daniel. Actually, that’s not true. I first met Lorenzo briefly at a tailor’s shop where my brother was trying on suits. Later, they crashed my party.”
“She owed me a pizza and a shirt,” Daniel says.
The host flashes another photo of me with Peter.
“That’s Peter Prescott. He was seated at our table with his friend, Allie, who is now engaged to my brother.”
“Making quick decisions about love must run in the family,” the host says, causing me not to like him so much anymore even though I keep a smile plastered on my face.
“Are we going to go through all the women both you and Daniel have dated in the past? Although”—I chuckle—“the show’s probably not long enough for that.”
“Daniel,” the host says, effectively ignoring my comment, “tell us about the proposal.”
“It was my birthday. We had a spectacular day, celebrating. The fireworks were going off. It felt right.”
“Everyone wants to know what he said to you, Huntley.”
“I think it’s obvious that he asked me to marry him,” I reply.
“Yet, on the video, it looked like he might have had to convince you,” the host counters.
I tilt my head and look at the audience. “It’s interesting how people try to dissect other people’s lives. The engagement was a surprise. What he said is private. I know we live in a world where everyone wants to share every second, every word, but what he said was for me alone.”
“Okay then,” the host says, not giving up, “based off our social media poll, the public would like to know what you were thinking when Daniel was down on one knee.”
“What I was thinking?” I smile broadly. “I was thinking he was crazy! We’d known each other for less than two months.”
The announcer looks at me like a shark ready to attack. “You were shaking your head in the video. It looked like you were going to say no.”
“Actually, I was shaking my head in disbelief because I knew I was going to say yes.”
“And she said yes before she saw the bling!” Daniel teases.
“Can you show us the ring?”
Daniel takes my hand in his, sweetly kisses it, and then holds it out for the crowd.
“It’s a very unusual ring. What did you think of it, Huntley? It’s very patriotic.”
“It is,” Daniel says before I can answer. “And it makes sense since I’m an Olympic athlete and often representing my country in red, white, and blue. But it’s more than that. When I met her at the gala, she was wearing a killer red gown. The shirt she stole from me was blue, which she said brought out the color of my eyes. When our family went through a difficult time after President Hillford passed away, she was by my side during my father’s swearing-in, wearing a navy dress. She drives a red Ferrari. We spent the better part of a week on the Royal Montrovian yacht where she wore a red bikini. There were fireworks of red, white, and blue between us long before the Fourth.”
I think I might have actually just blushed.
Until the announcer continues grilling us. “We’ve learned, Daniel, that you bought two engagement rings. Why didn’t you give her the first one?” A photo is flashed on the screen of the ring he bought for Lizzie.
He looks forlorn when he says, “Because it wasn’t for her.”
“You mean, you were going to ask someone else to marry you?” the host asks, smelling blood.
“It means, he decided on a different ring for me,” I say, covering for him and wondering if they will edit this scene out or if Lizzie will see it and know Daniel was planning to propose to her. “And we’re very excited to be leaving tonight for Montrovia. How many medals do you all think Daniel will win this year?” I say to the crowd, hoping to change the talk to something safer. I turn to Daniel. “I mean, no pressure.”
“Will you be seeing King Lorenzo in Montrovia?” the host asks, refusing to let it go.
“Of course,” I say. “He’s a good friend, and, well, when you are kidnapped together, it sort of bonds you. He will always be important in my life.”
“But he’s not as hot as I am, right?” Daniel jokes as our time onstage ends.
We go back to the hotel, have a celebratory dinner in their restaurant overlooking Central Park, and are just getting our bags unloaded at the airport when Lorenzo calls me. I glance at the time, noticing it’s nearly eleven, meaning it’s early morning in Montrovia.
“Have a safe flight,” he says.
“It’s awfully early there. Shouldn’t you be asleep in bed?”
“I am in bed. And I’m thinking of you.”
“That’s sweet,” I reply, moving away from Daniel as well as his coach, my brother, and Dr. Kate, who met us here.
“Not really. I’m up early to watch you on television.”
“You shouldn’t watch it,” I tell him.
“Why? Did you kiss?”
“No, the host asked questions about you.”
“I see. And how did you answer them?”
“As I should as Daniel’s fiancée. But Daniel slipped up. It will be interesting to see if they include it in the final cut and if Lizzie notices if they do.”
“What happened?”
“Somehow, they found out Daniel had had two engagement ri
ngs commissioned.”
“Are you telling me that one was for Lizzie?”
“Yes. He was going to propose when she came to Omaha for the Trials. She has no idea.”
“She will be deeply upset to learn that.”
“I know. Something to keep in mind though, Lorenzo. You don’t want her to break up with you.”
“Yes, I do.”
“No, you don’t. At least, not until the Olympics are over. It’s important that you look stable through whatever is going to happen. I have to go; we’re getting ready to take off. We’ll land around eleven your time, and I’m still planning to meet you at noon for our tour of the Olympic facilities.”
“I can’t wait to have you back home, Contessa.”
MISSION:DAY FOUR
I wake up to my alarm about ninety minutes before we are due to land in Montrovia. I shower and get ready for the day. I’m dressed appropriately in a conservative dress and sensible heels since I assume we’ll be doing a lot of walking.
Ellis picks us up at the airport, drops everyone but me off at the villa, and then takes me to the palace where Lorenzo and Juan are waiting at the entrance. I’m transferred to the royal limo, where I’m excited to find Admiral Philipe Lamonte, joint chief of the Montrovian armed forces, and covert agents William Gallagher and Gabriel Lavon.
“Is there a reason you’re all touring with me?” I ask.
“We thought it would be a good idea if we went together. General Agueda went out on his own earlier in the week. I didn’t mention the grain,” Admiral Lamonte says, “just asked for a report on any possible weaknesses in the plan versus a list of terroristic scenarios. He’s given his side of the military’s full backing, and he assures us that the security in place is foolproof. While the man does have a very strategic mind, he doesn’t think like a criminal.”
“Which is why the three of us are here,” Gabriel says with a hearty laugh. “Good you could join us, Huntley.”
“Thank you,” I say while trying to determine what, if anything, I should share with them about what I’ve learned since we were last together. “I assume William filled you in on everything we know to date?” I say instead, which isn’t all that much. And certainly doesn’t include anything about the treasure under the TerraSphere.
