We both silently breathed into the phone, each unsure how to move forward. Until this point we’d always been perfectly in step, and I’d gotten spoiled by our yearslong united front. This was the first time we were at odds about something major.
I hated finally admitting to myself that she was right. I couldn’t risk an ounce of negative press. I needed to go into the Games like a phoenix, rising from the ashes of my dumpster fire performance four years ago.
“Can I get some control of the edit?” I asked. “And maybe get their questions in advance?”
“I can ask, but you know how these things flow. The sit-down portions will have set questions, but I can totally see Ben riffing when you two are doing the day-in-the-life stuff.”
“Did you ask if anyone else can do it?” I crossed my fingers.
My stomach twisted at the thought of giving him access to my world. I’d allowed it once and wound up getting scorched.
“I asked, but they want him because it makes sense with the whole Olympic angle. He’s going to be in Italy for the entire Games.”
Wonderful.
I flopped back against my couch, still trying to find an out. “Can anyone else on the team do it instead of me? Erica would be amazing.”
“They wantyou,” Melanie said softly.
In the old days I would’ve been given zero choice from the moment the offer came in. I recognized that now I could pull rank, put my foot down and refuse, but Mel’s quiet resistance was working on me. No threats or intimidation, just reminders about what was at stake and what I stood to gain by doing it.
Or lose by refusing.
I closed my eyes. Could I deal with Ben for a week?
Would I make it if I let charismatic, funny, charming, maddening Bennett Martino back into my life after what he did?
I took a gut check. It didn’t matter how much time had passed, I still wanted nothing to do with him. But if I was honest withmyself, I couldn’t ignore the tiny spark of hope buried deep inside me, an ember just waiting for the right gust of air to make it catch and burn.
Aftereverything. I hated that for me.
“Thoughts?” Melanie asked.
I stubbornly refused to answer her right away. She already knew what I was going to say.
“Fine.”
She knew better than to gloat. “Okay,thankyou. I’ll give you whatever support you need. You’re not going to regret this.”
“Too late,” I said under my breath.
Chapter Four
“I’m so sorry to bother you, but my daughter is a skater and she absolutely loves you. She’s too scared to come over and ask you herself. Would you mind...” The woman trailed off and held up her phone then pointed behind me.
I was a local celebrity around Woodspring, so getting recognized at the Eagle Diner wasn’t a surprise. Plus, I’d actually put some effort into the way I looked considering the reason why I was sitting in the diner instead of training during the rest of the world’s breakfast time. Most folks were more familiar with shined-up performance Quinn, which meant that my makeup-free practice persona could often go undetected.
I glanced over my shoulder and spotted a little girl with dark-blond space buns peeking over the top of a booth a few feet from where I was sitting. She ducked the second I caught her eye.
I smiled at the stranger. “Of course! What’s her name?”
“Addie. She’s shy.”
I turned completely around and the little girl dipped out of view again. “Hey, Addie, can you come over here for a sec? I need your help with a really big decision.”
It was like saying her name erased her fears. She practically sprinted over and climbed into the booth next to me.
“Hi,” she said. “I’m Addie and I’m six.”
