“Welcome toLA. Tonight,”he said, his features accentuated by makeup much less subtle than Marshall wore on the air.
“Thank you,” the three of them murmured in unison. Tania Marie only moved her lips, the way she did when forced to say the Lord’s Prayer, or worse, sing the National Anthem.
Then Crosby’s eyes, magnified by his glasses, sought her face. Of course. What else was new? “Tania Marie, the honey bee. How the hell are you?”
She started to tell him to take a flying one. She started to dissolve into tears, the way she usually did. Then she felt a gentle elbow prodding her. She flashed him the Tania Marie smile.
“Very well, John. And how are you?”
Lucas
On the sofa beside him in the back studio, Lucas felt Rikki stiffen when John Crosby referred to Tania Marie by Marshall Cameron’s pet name for her. But the kid had bounced back. She was gracious, the one trait that worked, and the only one that could melt a tough guy like Crosby.
Obviously derailed, the bespectacled announcer turned his attention to the princess.
“So, Gabby. You talked to His Highness lately?”
“Not as frequently as I’d like, but Alain and I are in touch.”
The close-up of the princess stopped Lucas. The sixties bandanna, the new millennium hair, the eyes for all time.
“She deserves it,” Rikki said. “But she won’t get it, will she?”
He wanted to lie but couldn’t, not with Rikki this close to him. To pretend otherwise would only insult her, push her farther away from him, when he—okay, admit it—wanted her closer.
“It’s difficult to say,” he began.
Then, before Rikki could explain, anger exploded on the monitor.
Crosby had turned to Rochelle, who was beginning to explain her long commitment to fitness, in general, and Killer Body, in particular.
“I just like helping people reach their goals,” Rochelle recited.
“Excuse me, John. Could I respond to that?”
The camera shot to Tania Marie’s delicate features, which played better on television than they did in person.
“Sure,” Crosby said. “You got a gripe, Tania Marie?”
She started to spring up, to shout, then just settled back in her chair. “Not a gripe,” she said, her voice calm. “Just a question. I’d like to ask why Rochelle’s husband, Jesse McArthur, offered to be my agent if I’d drop out of the competition for Killer Body spokesmodel.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Rochelle said.
Lucas watched the flush spread across Rochelle’s face like a guilty cloud.
Rikki jerked to attention beside him. “Is that true?”
“I don’t know.” He concentrated on the screen, still on Tania Marie’s face. The camera had fallen in love with her, accentuating her cheekbones, reducing the flesh beneath them.
“Maybe the princess could clarify,” Tania Marie said.
The camera shot to the princess’s face, a composed face, head held high, bright eyes like a cat ready to pounce. Gabby had been waiting for this, he could tell.
“Tania Marie makes an excellent point.” Princess Gabby lifted her head, patted her sprinkle of curls. “Jesse McArthur contacted me, as well, offering me representation and a sum of cash if I would drop out of consideration for Killer Body spokesmodel.”
The camera froze on Rochelle, her finely chiseled jaw, her prominent collarbone.
“I can’t believe that’s true,” she said.
