“Lukas, I’m so—” I try to whisper an apology, but Lukas flattens his hand at the small of my back. The heat from his palm sears my skin through the soft cashmere and sends shivers down my spine.

“Everything’s going to be fine.” His thick voice brushes against my earlobe.

There’s already a fire burning in the sitting area of my office, but I’m blazing inside like an inferno all on my own. I knew I’d be nervous during this meeting, but I never expected I’d feel so much, watching a newly engaged couple with Lukas by my side.

I take another deep breath and try to focus on my presentation instead. We’ve set up a projector screen to discuss some of our ideas. As soon as our guests take a seat on one of the couches, I sit on the opposite one and Lukas perches next to me.

“How did you two meet?” Maya asks.

God, we need to start talking about their wedding.

I suppress the low growl ready to erupt, and thankfully, Lukas turns to Maya. “As you’ll be leaving this afternoon, I guess we should try to focus on the wedding preparations, Ms. Castellanos.”

Maya tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and says, “Please call me Maya, and you’re absolutely right. But I can’t stop my curiosity of what seems like an amazingly beautiful love story.”

My roaring heartbeat thrums in my ears, and for a second, I can’t hear anything else. Amazingly beautiful love story?

The expression on Maya’s face is of pure joy, as if she’s already imagining scenarios of how Lukas and I would have possibly met. And because I’m a true fan of hers and hate to disappoint her, I answer, “We started exchanging letters and emails when I was sixteen.”

“So you were like pen pals?” Her smile widens.

“S-something like that.” My voice breaks.

“Wow!” The dreamy look on Maya’s face has me believing for a second in the fairy tale she’s probably casting inside her head. “Your love story sounds so special. We can write a song about it.” She finally rests back in her seat.

“Ours wasn’t bad either, babe.” Andy pulls Maya’s attention away from us, giving me a chance to take a breath and calm my racing heart.

“Of course. I can never forget the image of you on that stage, waiting for me to say yes,” Maya whispers.

I take the opportunity to turn on the projector. Meanwhile, Chiara has placed a delicious spread of coffee, cookies, and cakes on the table.

“None of your fans can forget that scene.” I point toward the image of said moment. “I think it would be an amazing idea to include this in the wedding decor somehow.” I show them the next slide, with ideas on using that image on the invitation cards, table setting, and gift packaging.