Valorous(43)

“I’ve been sick with worry. I’m just… I’m beside myself over it. If I spend another fifty years in this business, I’ll never understand how any media outlet could pay money for a story like this.”

Dad puts his arm around Mom. “Take it easy, Stel.”

Mom takes a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to ruin our time together by dwelling on things that are outside our control.”

“I want you to know that it means the world to me to have your support,” Natalie says, addressing both of them. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had parents to lean on, and your outrage is actually rather comforting.”

“You have parents now, love,” Mom says firmly. “We’ll be your parents. We’re actually rather good at it. Ask our kids.”

Natalie blinks repeatedly, which is how I know Mom’s kindness has touched her deeply. She hugs my mom. “Thank you so much.”

“How did the interview with Carolyn go?” Mom asks after they embrace for a long moment that has all of us dabbing at our eyes afterward.

“It was good,” Natalie says. “She was very nice and respectful.”

“I’m just glad it’s over,” I add.

“When is it scheduled to air?” Dad asks.

“Sometime next week. They’re going to let us know.”

“What can we get you to drink?” Dad asks, his jovial tone lightening the mood considerably.

We pass a relaxing hour with my parents, during which my dad tells me he heard there’s an underground plan afoot for celebrities on the red carpet at the SAG Awards to boycott the Hollywood Starz TV news magazine that broke the story about Natalie.

I tell her this on the way back to the beach house in Malibu. I’m driving so Natalie doesn’t have to take on LA’s notorious rush-hour traffic.

“Wow, so they’ll blow off those reporters because of what they did to me?”

“Yep, and when they do that on live TV, it’ll send a big message to the others that if you cross the line, you pay the price.”

She doesn’t reply, so I glance over to find her worrying her bottom lip.

“What’s wrong, Nat?”

“You’ll think it’s silly after I pitched such a fit about going to the SAGs.”

“What will I think is silly?”

“It’s just… You worked so hard on Camouflage, and everyone’s saying you’re going to win again.”

“Ack, don’t jinx me!”

She smiles, but I can tell she’s still troubled. “I don’t want that night to be about me. It needs to be about you and your amazing accomplishments.”

God, she’s so sweet and so perfect. I want to take her to bed and not let her up until I’ve managed to slake the burning need she inspires in me. “It’s about us, sweetheart. Everything is about us now. Whatever happens with the rest of the awards, all I care about is I get to go home with you after. The awards are a distant second place to that.”

“Do you ever wonder how something like this could’ve happened as fast as it did?”

“Something like this? You mean me falling flat on my ass in love with you and hopefully vice versa?”

“Yes,” she says, laughing, “that’s what I mean, and there’s no hopefully about it. I’m right there on my ass next to you.”

“I don’t wonder how it happened. I know exactly how it happened. You came barreling into me, your crazy dog bit me and infected me with love potion number something. The rest, as they say, is history.”

“Poor Fluff. She gets such a bad rap in all this.”

“She deserves every bit of bad publicity she gets.”

Her ringing cell phone interrupts our “argument.”

“Make sure you check the caller ID before you answer it.” I’m always on guard against the relentless paparazzi. I wouldn’t put it past them to have hunted down her phone number.

“It’s Leah. Hey, how’s it going?”

I can’t hear Leah’s side of the conversation, but Natalie is rapt, listening to whatever her roommate in New York is saying. “When do you think they’ll decide?” she asks. “Wow, well, keep me posted and tell Sue thanks for the info.” After another pause, “It’s great. Sunny and warm every day. Today, I’ve been learning to drive—and we did an interview with Carolyn Justice.”