"Yes."
"You're asking me to go on television and announce that I'm pregnant with your child. To make myself an even bigger target than I already am."
"I'm asking you to let me stand beside you." I lean forward. "The only power they have over us comes from leverage. If we take that away, we take back control."
"You know your father will lose everything if you stand up on stage and admit that everything was true."
"He deserves to. There’s going to be fallout. I know that. It’s coming for my whole family, but it’s already torn us apart. My mother is a mess. She’s under so much stress. It’s not fair on her to make her keep these secrets. Kate has already decided she won’t. It’s time for me to do the same.”
Jamie opens his eyes. Studies me. I don't know what he sees, the rage still simmering beneath my skin or the desperate hope that he'll let me be part of his life.
"I need to make a call," I say. "If we're going to do this, we need a platform. Somewhere big enough that the story hits the headlines and fast."
“I can call my editor.”
“Yeah, do that, but we need more than that. We need prime time television. I want to be on tonight. In less than an hour, if we can.”
"That’s not possible.”
"It is if I call in a favor from Georgia."
Jamie's eyebrows rise. "Your ex-fiancée?"
"Her family owns one of the largest media empires in the country. If anyone can get us a slot on a major network tonight, it's her."
"And you think she'll help? After everything?"
"I think she'll want to." I pull out my phone. "Georgia hates bullies. And right now, Warren is the biggest bully in Washington."
Jamie doesn't object. I take that as permission.
Georgia answers on the third ring.
"Carter." Her voice is cautious, curious. "I wasn't expecting to hear from you."
"I need a favor, a really big one."
"That's quite an opening." A pause. “What do you need?”
"In person. Tonight, if possible." I look at Jamie. "I need a slot on a major network. Prime time. As soon as you can arrange it."
"For what?"
"An announcement."
"Carter, I can't just—"
"It's about me and Jamie Dean." I take a breath. "And about our daughter."
The silence on the other end is deafening.
"Your daughter," Georgia repeats carefully. "As in, yours and..."
"Jamie's. Yes."
Another pause. When she speaks again, she sounds amused.
"Well," she says. "That certainly explains a few things."
