to Julie.
“Well, Meggie?”
You could start by not calling me Meggie. It caused another one of those heartbeat stutters and brought back memories she was doing her damnedest to suppress. But the question did deflate the last bit of the outrage that had sent her storming downtown to confront him. She sighed and dropped her shoulders in defeat. “I don’t know. I guess that’s all you can do. Eventually my fifteen minutes will be up, right?”
Biting her lip, she reached deep inside for a bit of the professional behavior she’d lost in her tirade. Without the anger and indignation fueling her, she felt foolish. And Dev’s proximity was just too much. “I apologize. I shouldn’t have come here in the first place, so I’ll go now.” A small laugh at the absurdity of the situation escaped her. “I won’t say it was nice seeing you again, but at least I can offer you my congratulations on your success in person.” There. She could end on a less embarrassing and slightly more mature note.
Dev nodded, but he had the oddest look on his face—rather as if he was concerned she wasn’t all there mentally. She couldn’t really blame him for that. “Bye, Dev. And good luck.” She held out her hand.
Seeming surprised and not bothering to hide it, Devin took her offered hand. Damn it. His touch caused her fingers to tingle, and it took all she had not to jerk her hand away.
“You, too, Meggie.”
Pulling herself together by force of will, she released his hand and refused to look back as she walked away. She pushed the door with a little too much force, causing it to swing wide. That annoying agent jumped back to avoid being hit.
“Eavesdropping? Really? Lovely.”
Manny had the sense to look a little abashed at being caught, but then he shrugged and grinned. It was a fake, practiced grin, and she wasn’t the least bit fooled by it. Or by the false friendliness that followed. “You know, you really shouldn’t take any of this personally. It’s just showbiz.”
She pretended to think about that statement. “Showbiz. Yeah. Well, for those of us who didn’t sign up for it, it sucks.”
Much like her life at the moment.
CHAPTER TWO
TWENTY-FOUR HOURS under the covers and more ice cream than any adult should ever eat hadn’t solved anything. Megan didn’t feel better about any of it. And now her stomach hurt, as well.
She was tired of hiding in her apartment, mainly because seeing Devin had awakened every old repressed memory, causing her to relive their entire history. She was a complete mess now, thanks to him.
When the phone rang, again, she flipped back the quilt to check the number. No name. Damn. Not answering wasn’t an option, since it could be a client calling. They all had her cell-phone number in case of an emergency. She mentally crossed her fingers, then immediately felt bad for hoping one of her clients was having an emergency.
“Dr. Lowe?”
“Speaking.”
“My name is Kate Wilson. I’m a producer—”
She sighed. “No comment. Goodbye.” The press was driving her crazy.
“Wait! Don’t hang up, please.” Something in the woman’s voice caused her to pause. “I’m Devin Kenney’s producer for Cover Your Assets.”
That’s why the voice sounded vaguely familiar. She’d heard it on the radio the once or twice she’d tuned in to Devin’s show—strictly for research purposes, of course. “And I still have no comment.”
It wasn’t for lack of trying, though. She’d spent hours trying to come up with the perfect comment. One that would be pithy and quotable yet shut down any further questions. Sadly, such a comment did not exist.
“I understand your reluctance, but please hear me out. I’m not looking for a quote or a story.” The woman laughed. “That’s not my job.”
Megan focused on the water stain on the ceiling and prayed for patience. “Ms. Wilson, I’m extremely busy today, so—”
“So I’ll get to the point. I understand you’re getting a lot of unwelcome attention from the media right now.”
That was an understatement.
“I don’t know how much you’ve dealt with the media in the past, but I do know one way to get this circus under control.”
That would be too much to ask, especially since this woman worked for the media—and Devin. Therefore her offer to help sounded suspicious at best. “And that would be …?”
“You beat them to it. Put yourself out there in a way you can control.”
“Ms. Wilson—”
“Call me Kate.”
“Kate, I’m really not interested in doing interviews or anything of that nature.”
“Exactly. That’s why I think you should come on Devin’s show.”
What part of “no interviews “does this Kate not understand? “I’m sorry, what?”
Excitement oozed out of the woman’s words. “You could tell your side with Devin right there to corroborate the truth of the stories. You could take questions, even, and end the speculation. If you show that you and Devin aren’t on opposite sides—and that you two think it’s a nonissue—that issue will no longer be interesting. Problem solved.”
That sounded way too good to be true. Too easy. “What makes you think anyone would—”
“Dr. Lowe, you have to know the fact you’re a marriage counselor and Devin is a divorce attorney is the stuff blogs eat up. It just feeds on itself, and the more that’s not said about it just gives rise to more speculation.”
“I am aware of that.” Blindingly aware, she thought as her eye began to twitch again.
Kate seemed to miss the sarcasm. “Then come on the show tomorrow night. You and Devin can address this issue head-on. Get the truth out there and end everyone’s curiosity.”
It couldn’t be that easy. Plus … “I’ve never done anything on the radio before.”
“Don’t worry about that. You have a great voice, and Devin and I can walk you through the specifics.”
“I don’t know. Maybe I should talk to Devin first.” Oh, the thought made her stomach hurt again.
“It’ll be great for Devin’s ratings, too. I think a lot of folks will tune in to hear you two sort things out. And think, you could become the most popular marriage counselor in Chicago. It would probably increase your patient list.”
Something didn’t quite feel right. “Why didn’t Devin call me himself with this grand idea?”
“He’s in Atlanta today for a book signing and won’t be back until tomorrow
