Lyla's POV
For one terrifying second, my mind went completely blank. I forgot how to form words, let alone string them into a sentence.
The reporter's camera was already pointed straight at us, lens ready and waiting. She wasn't recording yet. Just holding that heavy silence between us like a weapon. That felt even worse than if she had started firing questions right away. She wanted us to fill the empty space, to give her something juicy she could twist later.
Before I could pull myself together, Declan moved. His tall frame stepped in close, and his hand settled lightly against the small of my back. The warmth of his palm seeped through my thin shirt, steady and sure. The gesture caught me off guard. Not because it felt too intimate for two people still figuring out the rules of this
