“I’m fine. This is aboutyou,” Ben replied. He heaved a sigh. “Your mom called Kim to tell her that the only time we can film with them is this week. For whatever reason, your parents are completely unavailable after that. More vacations, maybe?”
The tension between my shoulder blades released and I smiled reflexively. “Okay, this isgoodnews! Now we can skip the home visit.”
Ben still looked pained.
“I wish.” He shook his head. “Kim said the higher-ups still want it, because it’s an important part of your story.”
I knew that it only mattered to them because it was juicy. “Daughter fires momager” was exactly the kind of high drama that brought in viewers.
“But...how?” I demanded. “We’ve blocked out our schedule for the week, and there’s no way I’m sacrificing my training time to make this happen.”
Ben paused to let a few people pass by him.
“They’re literally checking flights right now.”
I stared at him for a beat, fuming, then speed-walked away, threading through the crowd with my eyes down so I wouldn’t have to greet anyone. The same burning anger I used to feel in my chest almost daily was back, like heartburn but worse.
It was just like her to gerrymander her way back into my life. It would’ve been hard enough dealing with her with my Italy departure date looming closer, but at least I would’ve had time to mentally prepare for it. Keeping me unstable was all part of her plan. Forcing me to come back was bad enough, but now I had to do it onherterms.
Ben caught up to me by a dark side exit that no one used. He grasped my arm, and I wrenched it away, glaring at him.
“Quinn, I’m sorry. I really am. I know how hard this is. I tried to beg off, I swear. I said we still had plenty we needed to film here, and the piece would be totally fine without the home visit, but they’re not having it.”
I fought to keep my eyes from welling. She didn’t deserve my tears.
I squared up in front of Ben. “Doesn’t anyone care that I don’t want to do it? Like, do my feelings not matter at all? Your goal is content by any means necessary?”
He flinched. “You know that’s not how I feel. I tried getting us out of it.”
Us. Like we were a united front.
“I’m not going. I’m not ready to see her. I need time to get in the right headspace and you guys dropping this on me and expecting me to be okay with it isn’t fair. So, no. Tell Kim it’s not happening.”
His expression tensed for a moment.
“I know this sucks. We’re putting you in a tough position. But—”
“But all you care about is the show,” I shot back at him. “And getting the job.”
“Quinn,no, not at all.” Ben’s voice was wounded. “I was going to say that I’ll be there for you. I know the backstory, so I think I know how to protect you.”
I softened a little at the idea of having Ben shield me from my Mom’s smiley jabs.
“No matter what, you have to go get your license, so won’t it be a little easier with me by your side?” Ben asked gently.
As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t argue with his logic. Mymom would be on her best behavior in front of an audience, and when she tried to slip in a zinger, maybe Ben would step up to deflect it?
He reached out to take my hands in his, and as much as I wanted to pull away, his warmth anchored me.
“I’ve got you, Quinn,” he said, staring into my eyes. “Okay?”
I couldn’t look away because it felt like he was peering into my soul, just like last time.
“Do you trust me?”
Damnit. It went against every primal instinct in my body, but I knew the answer was yes.
Chapter Twenty
