“I can’t believe she just did that,” Viv said.
“I can,” her mom said. “I brought an issue ofSlipper,in case you didn’t have one yet. I left it on the coffee table.”
“Okay, thanks.” She did have one, but she didn’t want to admit it. In fact, Viv’s issue was resting facedown on the floor at the other side of the bed. She’d spent hours torturing herself over all twelve of the photo spreads last night. Each picture reminded her of a new memory, conversation, or interaction she had with Duke. Memories that had her in a state of tears until she drifted to sleep.
Their time in Costa Rica had been like a dream. And it’d only gotten better when they’d come home and gotten to know one another’s families. She could barely remember why she’d felt the need to end things with him. Why had she thought it was the best choice?
“Grandma’s here,” Diego called from the hallway. The sound of his little voice brought the image back to her mind—the picture of the twins the vloggers had shown online.
”Luce dei miei occhi,light of my eyes.”Mom patted the bed. “Come on in.”
“Are we having a TV party on the bed?” Dante asked as he trailed into the room behind his brother. The two climbed onto the foot of the bed, crawled like dogs across the length of it, and settled into their grandma’s lap, one on each leg.
“We sure are,” her mom said. “They’re talking about your mother on TV this morning. Can you believe it?”
“Theyare?” Dante asked.
“Ibelieve it,” Diego said. “She’s a famous writer.”
Viv shot him a look. She’d always avoided using the wordfamousto describe herself. She was far from it, which was, in her mind, a very good thing.
She kept working to tell herself that very thing as the five well-known guests came onto Samantha’s morning show, via satellite.
Each took no more than five minutes or so to express their gratitude for the woman who’d graciously taken the time to get to know who they really were. A woman who, according to the man who once played Batman— knew how to relate traits that he himself struggled to believe.
Viv found herself shaking her head in wonder and wiping at emotional tears as they surfaced. “I never knew these guys felt this way,” she said in a whisper. “This is…incredible.”
“Yeah, Mom,” Diego said. “You’reincredible!”
“She sure is,” her mother agreed.
“And now to introduce the man who initiated today’s focus. A man who called me, his voice wrecked with concern, desperate to help the woman he loves. Would you welcome Veritå’s latest interview and very proud boyfriend, Mr. Duke Benton.”
“It’s Duke,” the twins shouted in unison. At once, they were off the bed and trotting across the floor before the wide screen.
Diego broke into his booty dance. “Woo-woo, woo-woo.”
Duke stepped onto the stage, flashing his winning grin at audience members as they cheered.
Viv’s breath hitched. Her heart sped. And if she didn’t know better, she’d say the vessel even bled a little. There was a massive cut there since she’d attempted to say goodbye to him. One that would likely never heal while they were apart.
“He called you his girlfriend,” Mom said as the whistles and cheers continued.
Viv couldn’t hold back a smile of her own. “You’re right.”
“Since the gala,” Samantha started, “the internet has been flooded with footage of a disgruntled woman who, rather than announce a Stanford Alumni award as she was asked to do, chose to slander the woman you love.”
Duke nodded. “Yes.”
“He just said he loved you on live TV,” Mom added.
Viv’s bleeding heart wanted to respond with a booty dance of its own. “I know…” Sure, she sounded like a swooning schoolgirl, but she could hardly help it.
Admitting that he loved her on live TV—it was definitely satisfying that part of her that wished he’d have spoken up the night of the gala. As small as she thought that part was, it swelled with such satisfaction her body couldn’t contain it. The joy seemed to lift parts of her very soul.
Beyond that, Duke had arranged all of this for her. Moments that allowed Viv to hear words of appreciation, adoration, and gratitude she’d had otherwise never known. And he’d arranged it so that all of America could tune in as well.
“Before we go along with the theme of our day which is, essentially, sharing the way Veritå has touched our lives, I wanted to give you the chance to tell all of America why this was important to you.”
