Asher couldn’t stop smiling.
When the noise died away, Meredith turned back to him and leaned forward, her expression becoming sober, intense. “I want to get serious for just a minute. Mitchell Faraday.” The studio quieted instantly, everyone holding their collective breaths. “The trial made national headlines, and the details were just heartbreaking. Would you mind telling us a little bit about that time in your life?”
Asher tensed, but it wasn’t anything he hadn’t expected. It was largely the point of the interview after all, and he knew he’d have to talk about it at some point. Even with all the preparation, though, reopening old wounds wasn’t easy.
“I was living on the streets in New York City when I met Mitchell.”
“You were just a teenager, correct?”
Asher dipped his head. “I was sixteen at the time, but I’d been on my own for a couple of years before I met him.”Stick to the facts. Don’t share too much.Talon’s words played in the back on his mind on repeat. “Mitchell fed me, gave me a place to stay. For a kid with nothing, it was like a dream come true. At least, it was at first.”
“But it didn’t last.”
It was a statement, not a question, but Asher shook his head anyway. “It didn’t last.”
“Did you ever think about leaving? About contacting your parents and going home?”
He was relieved she hadn’t wanted more painful details about those years of his life, but talking about his parents wasn’t any easier. “Not even once.”
“Why is that, Asher?”
He coughed to clear the knot that had formed in his throat, then pitched his voice very carefully. “Because no matter how bad things got, what I had left behind wasn’t any better.”
Reaching across the short distance, Meredith squeezed his arm, her smile kind and her eyes a little glossy. “Thank you.” Visibly shaking herself, she sat up straight and turned to look directly into the camera. “Okay, folks, we’re going to take a little break, but we’ll be right back with more from Asher Dare, so stick around.”
Asher released a long breath through his nose and slumped down in his seat. So far, it wasn’t as bad as he’d feared, but that had also been the easiest part of the interview. Once they brought his parents out onto the stage with him, the next twenty or so minutes would be tense at best and an unequivocal disaster at worst.
As if she had plucked the thought right from his mind, Meredith leaned closer to him, speaking slightly below aregular, conversational volume. “They’re going to bring your parents out now before we come back from break. Once we’re back, I’ll say a few words, introduce everyone again, then we’ll pick up where we left off with another round of questions.”
He didn’t know why she was telling him this, but he nodded that he understood.
“Don’t be nervous.”
“I’m not,” he lied.
Her smile said she didn’t believe him. “If you get stuck, look down like you’re overcome with emotion, and I’ll get things moving in the right direction.”
Asher didn’t think it would come to that, but he dipped his head again and thanked her for the advice.
A couple of stagehands hustled toward them, bringing two identical chairs to place on the other side of Meredith and across from Asher. No sooner had they disappeared behind the curtains again than a young woman wearing a headset and carrying a clipboard led Suzanne and Lawrence Derringer out onto the stage.
Asher tensed when his mother pinned him with her small, hazel eyes. Trying to remember what Talon had told him, he remained seated and turned his head, pretending to be very interested in the lights and baubles on a nearby Christmas tree.
Whoever had decorated the stage really had done a wonderful job. Lengths of pine garland and holly drapedover the faux fireplace behind where he sat. A large wreath with shimmering ribbons hung in the center of the mantle. The four Christmas trees that dotted the set had been beautifully and expertly decorated in golds and silvers with splashes of red and green.
But even the thousands of tiny lights that twinkled like stars weren’t enough to distract him.
From the corner of his eye, he saw his mother’s steps falter, but her hesitation lasted only briefly. Pulling her shoulders back, she continued toward him, her mouth forming into something that might be considered a smile but was really little more than a baring of teeth.
His breath caught in his throat, and his heart seized. The very idea of her touching him made his skin crawl, but he didn’t know how to get out of it without making a scene.
Luckily, three feet from him, Meredith Tripoli slid smoothly into his mother’s path and caught her by the hand. “Thank you again for being here,” she said, greeting Suzanne like an old friend as she gestured toward the empty chairs. “Have a seat, and we’ll get started in just a minute.”
Releasing the breath he’d been holding and trying to calm his racing pulse, Asher looked out into the audience, his eyes going straight to the center of the front row. Maybe Cameron had been watching him the entire time, or maybe it was just a coincidence that he’d glanced up at thatexact moment. When their eyes met, he lowered his head a fraction and smiled so sweetly Asher forgot to breathe all over again.
Cameron moved his lips in a slow, exaggerated way as he mouthed, “I love you,” then curved his hands together into a heart over his chest.
A bark of surprised laughter exploded from Asher’s throat, drawing the attention of pretty much everyone around him. He didn’t care. It had been exactly what he’d needed. God, he was one lucky bastard, and no matter what happened next, that wouldn’t change.
