Donovan hopped up and frantically grabbed a box of tissues from the counter beneath the makeup mirror, plucking them out one by one like a terrible magician pulling scarves out of his sleeve. He started dabbing at the stain, pressing into her breast with the side of his hand and poking at the rest of her chest. “Maybe we can get this out.”
“How, exactly? It’s coffee and chocolate. This will never come out. We have to find somebody to help us.”
A knock came at the door. Donovan lunged across the room and flung it open. A woman wearing a headset was calmly standing there, staring at her clipboard. “Ms. Bennett, you’re on in fifteen…” She looked up. Her face fell. “Oh, my God, what happened?”
“Coffee accident. It’s my fault,” Donovan said.
“I appreciate that you want to be chivalrous by taking the blame, but who cares? I need a dress.” Lela knew she was screeching, but she didn’t know what else to do.
“One minute. I’ll grab a wardrobe person.” The woman disappeared down the hall.
“Come on, let’s get you out of this thing.” Giving her zero notice, Donovan drew down the zipper.
“What are you doing?”
“Saving time.”
“But I’m going to be standing here in my underwear.”
“I’m seen you naked. More than once.”
“So? That doesn’t give you a lifetime pass, buddy.”
Another woman appeared in the doorway with a rack of clothing in tow. “What size are you?”
“Depends,” Lela said. “A ten sometimes, but a twelve is probably safer. Or maybe a fourteen because I don’t want it to be too tight.”
The woman looked at Lela like she was the candy-crazed squirrel Donovan had accused her of being earlier. “Let’s go with this. It’s stretchy.” She handed over a royal blue dress with a similar silhouette to the white one. “Get it on as quickly as possible. And try not to mess up your hair. It’s half of the reason you’re on the show.”
Donovan grabbed the dress and closed the door. Lela wanted to cry, and she let out a whimper, but she wasn’t going to give herself the luxury. She had to soldier on.
“It’s going to be okay. I promise. Let’s just get you into this,” Donovan said calmly. “Everything will be fine. You’re going to be great.”
“Funny, but you reassuring me that everything will be okay is just reminding me that everything is not, in fact, okay.” She kicked off her shoes and slipped the stained dress from her shoulders.
“And you told me that I’m the only person who can keep you calm. So that’s what I’m doing.” Donovan was being a perfect gentleman, holding the borrowed dress open as she stepped into it while also averting his eyes. She appreciated that he wasn’t taking anything for granted. She pulled on the dress and turned her back to him. As he drew the zipper up, she became more aware of his physical presence, the way his body gave off warmth and his fingers brushed her spine as he traveled north. “I promise it’s going to be okay. You look incredible in blue. It makes your eyes even more stunning.”
“Thank you. That’s so kind.” She turned and fell prey to his handsome face—the straight line of his nose and those lips she loved to kiss. She’d been at his mercy when they danced at Echo’s wedding, and she’d tried to play it off, but she wasn’t sure she’d done a great job. He’d said a lot of sweet things to her that day. He’d even said he wanted to kiss her. If no one else had been around, and if it hadn’t felt like a big chunk of her future was hanging in the balance, she would’ve said yes. Just to close her eyes, draw in his smell, and have his lips on hers one more time.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
She took a deep breath and turned to study herself in the mirror. “I think so.” Examining the state of her hair, it seemed to be all good—she’d used more than enough hairspray.
Donovan gripped her shoulders from behind, making eye contact with her through the mirror. The reflection of his face was right next to hers, and she tried to ignore how good they looked together. “Everything from here on out is going to go perfectly. The dress was the hiccup and now it’s over. Just go out there and let America fall in love with Lela, exactly like everyone else who meets you.”
“Not everyone loves me.”
“Sure they do.”
You don’t.She knew he wasn’t talking about L-O-V-E, but she still bristled at his use of the word.
There was a knock at the door, and the woman with the headset told her it was time to go. As they walked down the winding hall and stepped onto the set, Lela once again felt that her life was about to change. A tech hooked up her microphone while Lela spotted two of the Good Day USA hosts, Tilly Ann Bostwick and Renata Herrera. They were the two matriarchs of the show, true TV veterans. As soon as they cut away for commercial, the set director called the all clear, and Lela was swept up on to the set.
Tilly Ann reached out to shake Lela’s hand. “I’m Tilly Ann. This is Renata. You’re going to do great.”
“By the way, love the hair,” Renata said.
“Thanks,” Lela said, getting settled in her chair. The next thing she knew the cameras were on.
