His... what?! Emily couldn’t be sure whether Byron said this for the sake of their fake relationship, which was probably a moot point now that she had told her story in the newspaper... but he had never called her ‘his girlfriend’ before. She nearly tuned out the rest of the speech as her mind whirled, trying to understand this sudden turn of events.

To her surprise, she felt a blush of happiness infusing her face with fresh color. Meanwhile, Byron announced the opening of ...