It’s Valentine’s week, and love is definitely in the air!
As part of the “We Love Romance” Valentine’s event, participating UK Carina/Harlequin authors are each interviewing a character from their book. We might put the mega-hot hero on the spot, or the feisty heroine, or maybe we’ll interview the heroine’s best friend. (After all, the BFF’s always got plenty of dirt on her pal!)
I’ve chosen to interview Alex Barrington, proper British solicitor and the leading man in my latest Carina UK ebook, “Love and Liability.” Here’s how it went. Enjoy.
“Hello, Mr. Barrington.” I smile politely as I enter the solicitor’s office and extend my hand. “I’m Katie Oliver. I’m here to interview you.”
He encloses my hand in a firm grip. “Yes, so my secretary told me. It’s very nice to meet you, Ms Oliver. Please, sit down.”
As I take a seat before his desk, I can’t help but notice Alex Barrington’s British accent, or his dark hair and brief, but disarming, smile.
“Thank you.” I take out a voice recorder and eye him inquiringly. “May we begin?”
He nods. “What magazine did you say you’re with? Not BritTEEN, one hopes.”
“BritTEEN?” I look at him in puzzlement. “No. I’m a freelancer. I write on spec.”
“I see. Very good. Well, fire away, Ms Oliver.”
I settle back in my chair and cross my legs. “Is it true you plan to run for Parliament in the near future?”
“Yes. Yes, absolutely, that’s my intention. I want to effect change on the local level. You know,” he says, and frowns as he leans back in his chair, “my last interviewer was quite vexing. Her name was Holly James. Do you know her, by chance?”
I shake my head.
“No, I don’t expect you do. You’re very professional, after all, whereas she…” his voice trails off. “Ms James arrived completely unprepared. And she asked the most ridiculous questions.”
I pause. “Oh? Such as?”
“Well, she wanted to know-“ he reddens slightly “she wanted to know if I approved of sex on the first date. I ask you, what kind of a question is that to pose to a member of the legal profession…and for an audience of spotty-faced teenage girls? Shocking.” He shakes his head. “I’m sorry. Go ahead.”
“Thank you. Now, then, in your capacity as a solicitor, tell me what a typical day is like for you-“
“And she was quite put out when she realised that the handkerchief in my breast pocket was actually a thong.”
It’s my turn to redden. “A…thong? You had a thong in your breast pocket?”
“Yes, a woman’s thong. Red silk. It was just a silly wager,” Alex Barrington says with a shrug. “I had a bet with the chaps in my office, you see.”
At my plainly disapproving glance, he adds, “I admit, the wager was a bit…ungentlemanly. I bet that I could land Camilla Shawcross, the new female MP, in bed within two days.”
I press my lips together in a tight, thin line. “Mr Barrington, really-“
“I know,” he interjects, “it was sexist, reprehensible, and puerile. Please understand that such behavior isn’t normally my style. Nor did I have any intention of closing the deal, so to speak, with Ms Shawcross. No, I only wanted the boys to think I’d done the deed. So I could win the wager.”
I raise my brow. “And is winning so very important to you?”
He considers. “Yes,” he says after a moment. “Yes, I suppose it is. I don’t like to lose, you see. So I bought the thong at Agent Provocateur, to prove to the lads that I’d…” he hesitates.
“Closed the deal?” I supply, my expression forbidding.
“Well, er…yes.”
“So, let me get this straight,” I say, and lean forward, my eyes locked on his. “You found Ms James’s question – ‘do you condone sex on the first date’ – offensive, yet you were flaunting a thong in your breast pocket the entire time?”
He bristles. “I wasn’t ‘flaunting’ it, Ms Oliver. I put in in my pocket without thinking, and I got busy – as one does – and I forgot it was even there.”
“I see.” But truly, I don’t. Mr Barrington may be the most breath-takingly handsome man in a suit I’ve ever seen – and with a British accent, no less – but he’s a poster boy for bad male behaviour. I stand up. “I think I’ve heard enough. Thank you for your time.”
He rises as well, a startled look on his face. “But…you barely asked me three questions! Surely you can’t mean to leave already. You haven’t enough for an interview.”
“On the contrary, Mr Barrington,” I say crisply as I gather my things to leave, “I have exactly what I need.”
“I don’t understand. You can’t possibly have enough material. We barely scratched the surface of my intention to stand for MP, and my plans for improvement-”
“Yes,” I point out, “because you were determined to talk about Holly James’s interview, and your-” I curl my lip in distain “red thong, instead.” I slide the strap of my handbag over my shoulder and turn to go.
“Wait!” He follows me with long strides to the door. “Where did you say this piece would be published, Ms Oliver?”
“I didn’t,” I reply coolly. “But since you ask…you can expect to see a story in the London Probe. Tomorrow, I should think. Good day.“
His face, so devastatingly handsome, turns as red as the infamous thong. “But – the Probe is a bloody tabloid! You didn’t tell me that, or I’d never have agreed to this interview!”
“You didn’t ask.” My smile is polite. “I’m sorry, but I do believe that red thong has rattled your brain. Goodbye.”
I turn the doorknob and go, leaving Alex Barrington red-faced and, for the moment at least, quite at a loss for words.
Love and Liability is available now!
Amazon US; Amazon UK; OmniLit; Sainsbury’s
Kobo; Kobo UK; Nook US; Nook UK; Apple; Apple UK