For the Love of Cake (25 page)

As she approached Hugh’s door, a familiar sick feeling started in her stomach—the same one she always got when a new tabloid story first broke. Shannon was already there pacing—well, if you could call three steps and a turn pacing. The photo was out. And she didn’t know how the hell she was going to do it, but she had to fix this.

“Did he call you, too?” Maya stopped in front of Hugh’s door, effectively putting an end to Shannon’s pacing in the cramped space.

“Yes. How much do you think he knows?”

“I’m not sure. But don’t cop to anything until he spells it out for us.”

Before either of them could say anything more, the door opened and Hugh waved them inside.

“Have a seat, ladies.”

“What’s going on?” Shannon asked as she took the chair next to Maya, across the desk from Hugh.

“See for yourself.” He turned his computer screen around to reveal a photo of two women standing very close. Even in the low light, Maya’s distinctive hairstyle was easily recognizable. Shannon wouldn’t be so easy to identify, but anyone who watched the show could figure it out. Despite knowing she was likely in some trouble, as Maya relived the moments in the shadows of the bar, her body reacted to the image of the two of them. Her heart pounded, and she curled her hands into fists to resist leaning in for a closer look.

“Where did you get that?” Maya asked.

“Urgent email from a reporter. It goes public tomorrow.” He leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest, obviously angry. “And please don’t insult me by telling me that’s not you.”

“Okay. But it’s not what it looks like.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Shannon whip her head around, but Maya didn’t look at her. Okay, maybe it was exactly what it looked like, but Hugh didn’t need to know that.

“Damn it, Maya, I know you have a reputation, but I expected you to know better than this. Couldn’t you have found someone anonymous to—”

“There are two people in the photo, Hugh,” Shannon said.

“Hugh, it’s not a big deal,” Maya said, as if Shannon hadn’t spoken. She needed to keep Hugh’s focus on her until she could figure out a way to make this okay.

“You’re looking very cozy with one of our contestants—whose success or failure in this show depends at least in part on you. How is that not a big deal?”

“You know how the press can make things look. A picture from the right angle. Okay, yes, we snuck out and went to a bar together but—”

“Hugh, let me—” When Shannon started to talk, Maya put her hand on her arm to silence her.

“Nothing more than that happened. It doesn’t affect the competition.” Uncertain how much he knew, she didn’t let on that they weren’t the only ones there.

“It only has to
look
like it could affect the show.” He looked pointedly at her hand still resting on Shannon’s forearm, and she pulled it back.

“Well, you did ask me for more drama,” Maya said.

“Not funny.” Hugh’s face turned red and, for a second, she worried about his blood pressure. “Even I can’t sell this one. The producers are already talking about how it would look to replace you this far into the season.”

“You took it to them without talking to me first?”

“Of course I did. We only have until tomorrow to figure out how to do damage control on this.”

“Get me a number for the reporter. I’ll take care of it. I’m used to doing
damage control.
”

“I used every threat I know. He’s not going to kill a story this juicy just because you ask him nicely.”

“He will if I promise him an even juicier one.”

“Maya—” Shannon jerked forward in her seat, her spine stiffened, and her eyes went dark with an emotion Maya hadn’t seen in them before.

“It’s okay.” Maya held her gaze, asking for trust, then looked back at Hugh. “I’ll give him an exclusive about what I went through last year. But he has to agree to never use that photo. And I won’t do it until after the show is over and has aired.”

Without waiting to be dismissed, she stood and headed for the door.

“What if he—”

“Make the call, Hugh. He’ll take the deal.”

Shannon caught up with her just as she entered her dressing room. She slammed her palm against the door before Maya could swing it shut.

“Maya, please don’t do this.” Shannon stepped inside the room and closed the door behind her.

Maya turned quickly, causing Shannon to stumble backward. “Why not? They already think the worst of me. The truth can only make me look better.”

“What do you mean?”

This was the moment—Maya should sit Shannon down and tell her the whole story. She knew Shannon had heard the abortion rumors. She should tell her about the miscarriage. If nothing else, Shannon’s reaction would be a good gauge for how the rest of the public would receive the truth. Some, she suspected, wouldn’t believe it, would call it a publicity stunt. Others would pity her. And then there was the small faction of fine, upstanding Christians who would be so happy to point out that the miscarriage was God’s way of punishing her for being bisexual. Those would probably be her favorite.

What had she done? She’d promised to subject herself to all of that to keep Shannon’s reputation clean. And not only that, but by waiting until the show wrapped, she now had over eight weeks to anticipate the fallout.

“Why does everyone keep acting like this is your decision alone? I’m in that picture, Maya. I have a say in this.” Shannon closed the scant distance between them until they stood toe-to-toe, their breasts nearly brushing.

“I’m trying to protect you.”

“I’m a grown woman. I decided to sneak out and go to that bar with you—”

“I remember the moment in that photo quite vividly. I leaned in to you.” Maya raised her voice to speak over Shannon.

“You don’t have to do this. You don’t have to take this all on yourself. I’m here.”

Those last two words, spoken so tenderly, nearly undid Maya. She wanted to believe them. She wanted to shelter herself in Shannon’s embrace and pretend that nothing else existed. She wanted it so badly that, just then, she’d do anything to spend more time alone with Shannon.

But just then the production assistant knocked on her door and announced that her car was ready to take her back to the hotel. They didn’t know Shannon was in there and were most likely looking for her as well.

“Have dinner with me.”

“What?”

“Have dinner with me. Tonight.”

“Were you not in there just now? Us being in public together is what started this mess in the first place.” Shannon’s voice was high and tight with disbelief.

“Then come to my hotel room.” Before Shannon could protest, Maya held up a hand. “Just dinner. With no chance for photographers. I’ll behave.”

“Stop changing the subject. I want to talk to you about giving this interview, or rather
not
giving it. You shouldn’t have to—”

“We can discuss that over dinner.” She made sure her tone left no doubt that she wasn’t discussing it further right now.

“You’re impossible.”

“Is that a yes?”

Shannon sighed. She looked like she was about to give in when the dressing-room door flew open and Hugh entered. Though they had several feet between them, Shannon guiltily jumped back a step.

“What’s going on in here?”

“Nothing.” Shannon’s defensive tone came off as deceptive, and Hugh narrowed his eyes.

“She’s trying to talk me out of doing that interview.” Maya hoped an explanation would lower his suspicions.

“It’s already arranged. I just made the call. You were right. He practically salivated through the phone.”

She shrugged. “If there’s one thing I know, it’s how to handle reporters.”

Hugh turned to Shannon. “We just got a call. Your daughter’s gone into labor. She’s on her way to the hospital. I have a driver ready to take you there.”

“Oh, my God. Okay. Thank you.”

Shannon looked at Maya. She clearly wanted to say more, but Hugh wasn’t about to leave them alone again. So she hurried through the door he held open. He glared at Maya once more before following Shannon through it.

C
HAPTER
S
EVENTEEN

“No baby, yet?” Alice asked as soon as she answered the phone.

“Not yet. She’s being stubborn.” Shannon wedged the hospital-room phone between her cheek and her shoulder and handed Regan a cup of ice chips. When the night turned to early morning, then to late morning, she’d called Hugh to check in. He told her to stay as long as she needed to, but she sensed he did so out of obligation. Certainly any break in filming would cost the network money.

Her next call had been to her hotel room, where she caught Alice and filled her in on the progress, or lack thereof.

“Hugh gave us today off since they can’t shoot the next challenge without you. Well, we have to go in to do some interviews that they can cut in to the earlier stuff during editing. But after that, we’re free.”

“I’m glad I could get you guys a day off. I know I’m enjoying mine.”

Alice laughed. “Actually, at this point, we’re so close, I’m just ready to get it over with.”

“Me too. Both there and here.”

They finished the call and Shannon turned her attention back to her daughter. After ten hours of very slowly progressing labor, Regan’s frustration grew exponentially. Not having any experience to draw on, Shannon had to trust the doctors when they told them both to be patient.

Despite Regan pleading that she needed to be distracted, Shannon refused to tell her anything about the show. She didn’t realize how little else she had to talk about until she had to sit in a chair next to her bedridden daughter for hours on end. A couple of times she had to cut herself off just when she was about to mention Maya. She typically didn’t discuss her love life with Regan, but she desperately wanted to talk to someone about what was happening with Maya and the threat of the photo getting out. She’d purposely avoided calling Jori so she wouldn’t slip up and say something. Instead, she borrowed Regan’s cell phone and texted Jori that Regan had gone into labor. Jori replied that they would come up to visit once the baby was born, and Shannon resolved to be gone before they arrived.

Regan’s husband, a contractor, had been back and forth between the hospital and his job site, which was luckily only ten minutes away. He’d been busy making all the preparations so he could be there as soon as the delivery was imminent. Every time he left, Regan soothed his guilt by assuring him that since Shannon was there, she wasn’t alone, and that she wouldn’t have the baby without him. However, the nurses didn’t think much of her plan to try to hold the baby in so he could make it back in time if need be.

He arrived by late afternoon, when she finally delivered. He had tears in his eyes when the doctor handed the baby to Regan. Shannon stepped back and watched her daughter’s first moments with her family. She swallowed hard and took a deep breath, determined not to lose control of her emotions. Regan had a tough childhood before Shannon took her in, and seeing her today, Shannon swelled with pride. That her once-distrustful child had opened her heart and found a wonderful man to share her life with made Shannon believe in the redeeming power of love. Not only that, but Regan was a smart, accomplished young woman and would now be a great mother and example to this baby girl.

Similar emotions still swamped her later, when mother and baby had been cleaned up and had rested. She sat once more in the uncomfortable chair at Regan’s bedside.

“Mom, do you want to hold her?”

Shannon nodded and took the little bundle. Her eyes burned with happy tears as she stared at her granddaughter. The birthmark in the center of her forehead looked nearly purple against the rest of her blotchy skin. A shock of hair, as black as her father’s, had been smoothed down against her head, and Shannon wondered how much of it she would lose in the coming weeks.

“Hello there, little Annabelle, I’m your grandma,” Shannon whispered as she bent to kiss her head. As she touched one tiny fist with her finger, Annabelle grabbed on and held for a second.

“Mom, don’t cry. If you do, I will, and I’m so exhausted, once I start blubbering I may not be able to stop.”

“She’s so beautiful.”

“I know. I did pretty good,” Regan said, and when her husband cleared his throat from across the room, she said, “
we
did good.”

“I’m so glad you waited until I was almost done with the show to have her. I only have to be away from this sweet face for a couple of days.”

“Yeah, but you still have to be secretive for several weeks yet.”

“Until the show catches up with the live finale.”

“Any idea what role you might be playing in said finale?” Regan asked coyly.

“Not yet.”

“Ha. So that means you’re still in the running, at least. And this late there can only be one more elimination.”

“Damn it.” She’d tried to stay evasive in her answers.

She turned the conversation back to the baby in her arms, not relinquishing her until her other grandparents arrived to visit. She stayed for another hour, then called Hugh to check in and let him know she’d be returning to the hotel. He refused her offer to take a cab and insisted that he’d send a car to pick her up. He also said they were done filming for the day and told her what time to be ready in the morning.

She made one more call before she left Regan’s room. When the phone picked up she said, “Do you still want that dinner?” When the answer was affirmative, she added, “I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

*

Maya paced near the door of her hotel room, straining to listen for a knock from the other side. She’d decided that Shannon had happily taken Regan’s labor as an out to avoid dinner and maybe even would see it as a sign that they shouldn’t try to sneak in this visit. So she’d been pleasantly surprised to get a call thirty minutes ago asking if she wanted to see Shannon. She hadn’t hesitated to answer, giving no thought to what was prudent, only what she selfishly wanted.

Now, she told herself that, even though Shannon’s twenty minutes had come and gone, she hadn’t changed her mind but simply underestimated her time of arrival. When, a couple minutes later, the knock came, she reached for the doorknob, then pulled back. She smoothed a hand over her shirt and tucked it more neatly into her jeans. She didn’t want to seem like she’d been waiting on the other side of the door, even though she had.