Sizzling (21 page)

* * *

LORI HAD NEVER BEEN inside a television studio before. Reid's
Access Hollywood
interview was being held at a Seattle
station.
The set was used for a local morning show. Lori
didn't expect it to be so small, or so isolated in a sea of
backdrops, lights, cables and cameras.
She and Madeline stood
several feet behind the equipment and watched as a woman dabbed
Reid's face with a sponge.
"I'm nervous," Lori
admitted. "Nothing about this is going to be easy. They're going
to ask some awful questions. I know he says he's prepared, but I'm
not so sure."
"You think he's going to punch
anyone?" Madeline asked.
"No, but I hate to see him
humiliated."
"Imagine how I feel," Madeline
muttered. "He's putting himself in the spotlight because I have
a sick liver. I'm not even sleeping with him. That hardly seems
fair."
"The sex stays in the family," Lori
teased as she took her sister's hand. "That's what
matters."
"But you're the only one having a good
time."
"I'm not going to share," Lori told her
with a grin. "Just so we're clear on that."
"It
doesn't matter if you're willing or not. Reid is only interested in
you. I can see it every time he looks at you."
Lori's
insides got all warm. She desperately wanted Madeline's words to be
true, but wishing wasn't going to make that happen. Still, a woman
could dream.
The reporter, an incredibly beautiful blonde in a
tailored suit that emphasized her curves, walked over to Reid and
introduced herself. Lori couldn't hear them, but as she watched they
shook hands, then the woman leaned over and kissed Reid on the cheek
before indicating where he should take a seat.
A man walked
over and adjusted the microphone clipped to the front of Reid's
shirt, then someone yelled for quiet. Lori and Madeline both put on
the headphones they'd been given so they could hear the
interview.
"I'm here with Reid Buchanan, a bad-boy
baseball player who's been in the news these past few weeks. He's
here to talk about something important. Thanks for being with us
today, Reid."
"My pleasure."
The woman
smiled at him. "I know you have some interesting things going on
in your life, but first you know what we have to talk about."
Lori's
gaze locked onto Reid's face. Nothing about his expression changed,
but she sensed him bracing himself for the assault.
"That
last game against the Cubs?" he asked.
"Not exactly.
There was a rather insulting article about you in the Seattle paper a
few weeks ago. Apparently you and the reporter had a night together
and when it was over, she was not a happy camper. Care to comment on
that?"
"Are you really asking me a question?"
Reid smiled his charming smile— the one that made Lori's toes
curl.
"I'm going to be tough and demand an answer."
"She
didn't have as good a time as either of us would have liked," he
said with a shrug. "I can give you a lot of excuses, but I
won't."
The reporter looked disappointed. "That's
all? Don't you want to defend your reputation? Several women you've
been with have come forward to complain about your…performance,
shall we say."
"They didn't complain to me."
"Women
seldom do. Is what they say about the fragile male ego true? Do you
think your bed partners resisted saying anything because they didn't
want to hurt your feelings?"
"If that was the
reason, they've gotten over it now." He shifted in his seat. "I
love women. Always have. Despite popular opinion, the biggest rush
for a guy is pleasing the woman he's with." He held up his hand.
"For most guys. Certainly for me. If that didn't happen, I'm
sorry. It's always my intent."
"A lot of people,
women especially, believe that celebrities aren't very good in bed
because they don't have to be. Do you think that's part of your
problem?"
Lori groaned. She actually took a step forward,
then stopped. Reid didn't need her breaking into his interview so she
could tell the world that he was an amazing lover.
"I
hate this woman," Lori muttered to her sister.
"I'm
not real fond of her myself."
"I don't know what
happened with the reporter who started all this," Reid said.
"She never talked to me about anything. She came on to me in a
bar. For all I know, the whole thing was a setup. It's been
uncomfortable. This isn't anything any guy wants to deal with. As you
know, I've been avoiding the press."
"I'm aware of
that," the reporter purred. "Of all the reporters around,
you chose me." She put her hand on Reid's arm. "Are you
trying to tell me something?"
Reid looked directly at the
camera. "Yes, I am. I'm putting up with these questions because
they don't matter to me. Say what you want— I don't care.
What's a hell of a lot more important than what anyone thinks about
my love life is the fact that every day people are dying when they
don't need to be."
The woman sighed, as if aware the
juicy portion of the interview was over. "You're talking about
those waiting for an organ donation."
"Right. In
other countries, organ donation is the norm."
He went on
with his pitch, but Lori wasn't listening. She pulled off her
headphones and turned to her sister.
"He did it. He got
through. I can't believe it. He was great. You saw that. Right?"
"He
was a god," Madeline said, then sighed. "Seriously, he was
terrific. I'm really grateful."
Lori hugged her. "Me,
too. I still can't believe he was willing to go through that for
you."
Madeline smiled at her. "No, Lori. He didn't
do it for me. Don't you get it? He did it for you."

CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN

"BERNARDO IS A GOOD MAN," Mama Giuseppe said as she
ladled more pasta sauce onto Dani's plate. "His father started
the restaurant nearly fifty years ago. We were so young then, with
foolish dreams."
The tiny woman, dressed all in black
glanced around the gleaming restaurant kitchen. "Maybe not so
foolish." She looked back at Dani's plate. "Eat.
Eat!"
Dani cheerfully tasted another forkful of the
perfect pasta. The sauce was delicious enough to make her wonder how
rude it would be to lick the plate when she was finished. But as she
hadn't technically started her interview, she'd probably better
remember her table manners.
She'd arrived at three and had
immediately been ushered into the kitchen. The prep chefs were hard
at work, yelling and insulting each other in Italian. At least she
assumed it was Italian. But judging from their expressions and the
laughter, she had a good idea what they were saying. Some things
about the back of a restaurant were all the same.
Although
she'd met Bernardo, the owner of Bella Roma, he'd been called away to
take a phone call, leaving Dani alone with his mother. As Mama
Giuseppe had been offering incredible food, Dani wasn't
complaining.
"I've asked around," Mama said. "I
know you are a Buchanan, like the restaurants. Your grandmother,
she's not a nice woman."
Dani wasn't sure what to say to
that. "Gloria can be a challenge," she admitted.
Mama
sniffed. "Is that what we call it? Still, you didn't pick her
for family. What can you do? I have four boys. Four. God was good to
us. And of the four, only Bernardo wants to go in the family
business. One is enough, right? So now my grandchildren are growing
up. This one wants to be a lawyer, that one a doctor. Nicholas wants
to do hair." She shook her head. "A man who wants to do
hair. But he's family, so I love him. The restaurant? Not so much.
Alicia, she loved working here, but now she's moving to New York to
get married. What? We can't have a wedding in Seattle?"
Mama
sighed. "What can you do?" She looked at Dani. "You're
not married?"
"Ah, no. I was. My husband and I…He,
ah— "
Mama Giuseppe nodded. "I understand.
Some men are good men. Some, not so good. My Bernardo, he's a good
man. His wife died." She paused, considering. "You're a
little young for him. Too bad."
Dani nearly choked on her
pasta. Bernie, as he'd asked her to call him, had to be close to
fifty.
Just then the man in question hurried into the
room.
"Sorry about that," he told Dani. "My
daughter's getting married in a month. We're averaging about one
crisis every four hours. Has my mother been torturing you?"
Dani
glanced at her empty plate. "Not at all. She's been keeping me
well fed. I love everything here."
"A girl who
eats," Mama said. "Good."
Bernie sighed. "I'm
going to take Dani to my office, Mama. We're going to talk business.
You'll want to leave us alone for a while."
"I'm an
old woman. What do I know about business? I wouldn't want to get in
the way of something important. Did I start this place with your
father? Did I work all hours of the day while raising four
children?"
"Ignore her," Bernie murmured as
they left the kitchen and headed down a rear hall. "She can be
dramatic."
"I adore her," Dani said and meant
it.
"If you're not careful, she'll run your life."
Dani
figured she wasn't doing such a great job of it herself, so maybe
someone being in charge would be good.
They sat in Bernie's
crowded office. He looked at the stack of papers and files lying on
his desk and groaned. "I've got to get this organized," he
said. "I never have the time. That's why we're hiring a manager.
My daughter, Alicia, was working here, but she's moved to New York to
be with her fiancé. I was hoping one of the other kids or one
of my cousins would be interested, but they're not. They love to eat
here, of course, but the work? Not so much."
He sounded a
lot like his mother, Dani thought, holding in a grin. She was
impressed the two of them could work together day after day and not
kill each other.
"We're a close staff," he said.
"Most of my servers have worked here for years. Over half the
clients are regulars. You know what that means?"
Dani
knew he wasn't just making conversation. The interview had officially
begun.
"Regulars are a steady cash flow, so you want to
keep them happy," she said easily. "They like what they
like. Some resist change. They have higher expectations. They want to
be remembered and treated as special because they're giving something
money can't buy— loyalty."
"Exactly." He
sounded pleased. "For a while our customers were mostly older
family and retirees. Aging. Then the neighborhood began to change.
Suddenly we're hip. Or in. I can't keep up with the right term. Which
means I'm neither, right?"
Dani smiled at him. He was
terrific. For a second she wanted to agree with Mama Giuseppe—
it's too bad that Bernie wasn't closer to her age.
"So
now we're getting a younger crowd. I thought they'd clash with our
regulars, but they don't. It's nice to see newlyweds and college kids
around."
He passed her a menu. "We're traditional
here. Mama sees to that. Our head chef answers to her. Nick has been
here ten years and when he and Mama start screaming at each other,
it's better to duck and run." He chuckled. "Lucky for you,
they argue in Italian, so you'll miss most of it."
He
flipped through a couple of papers. "What else? No real staff
problems right now, but they come up. The older servers can resent
new staff, but they work it out. The restaurant runs fairly smoothly,
but there are always hassles."
He paused and Dani sensed
he was waiting for her to elaborate on what the hassles could
be.
"Late deliveries, missing linens, a batch of bad
wine, an off dish that everyone starts sending back," she said.
"The party of twenty that booked the private room changes their
mind about the menu a half hour before they show up. That sort of
thing?"
Bernie nodded. "Right. Good. Okay, then
let's talk about your experience."
Over the next hour,
she was grilled on everything from her college education to handling
the temporary head chef while Penny had been on maternity
leave.
When she'd finished, Bernie leaned back in his chair.
"We want someone to start right away," he said. "Are
you available?"
Dani nodded. "I've given my notice
at The Waterfront. I can leave anytime."
"You're
clear on the fact that my mother is a big part of the restaurant?
She's going to get involved and tell you what to do. She'll swear she
won't, but don't believe her for a second."
"I like
your mother," Dani admitted with a grin. "We'll work well
together."
"Then the job is yours, if you want it."
He named an impressive salary. "You'll get a cut of the profits.
I'd like you to start out during the day. It's not so crazy then and
you can feel your way. Once you're up to speed, we'll split shifts,
so neither of us is always working nights."
Dani stared
at him. "You're offering me the job? Just like that?"
"Just
like that. I go with my gut. You'll do well here, Dani. So what do
you think?"

* * *

LORI TRIED TO FOCUS on the fact that Reid had asked her out to
dinner— like a date. Because worrying about a date was far less
scary than thinking about meeting the board that would direct Reid's
new foundation.
Nothing was official. The lawyers were still
drawing up papers, but everyone was getting together to discuss
direction, purpose, a mission statement.
Lori had gone online
the previous evening to figure out what a mission statement was.
She'd looked at other charities to find out what they were trying to
do with their money. In a way it was good she was so scared about the
board meeting because it distracted her from what her sister had said
a couple of days ago, when they'd watched Reid taping his interview.
That he'd put himself in the public eye and had endured humiliation
for her. She couldn't seem to get her mind around that.
While
it didn't rank as high as Kyle Reese's "I crossed time for you,
Sarah Connor" in the first
Terminator
movie, it was damn
close. A guy like Reid having to defend his sexual performance on
national television was way worse than any punishment she could come
up with— and yet he'd done it willingly. It had even been his
idea.
Had he really done it for her? Because he cared about
her? The possibility made her chest tighten and her eyes burn. She
was afraid to believe, because if she believed, she would have to
admit she'd fallen in love with him.
They parked in the lot of
the Doubletree Hotel in Bellevue and walked into the foyer. Reid took
her hand in his and led the way to the conference room he'd rented
for the meeting.
"I'm nervous," she admitted.
"Then
we can be nervous together."
She looked at him. "Why
are you worried? You're doing an incredible thing."
"I'm
some dumb jock who's been front page gossip. I picked a hell of a
board. Why will important people with expertise in what I want to do
take me seriously?"
"Because you have the
checkbook."
"I want to be more than just the name on
the building," he told her. "I'd rather not use my name at
all, but I know I'll be a good front man." He shrugged.
She
put her hand on his chest. "You're doing the right thing. I
swear you are. I'm impressed. Seriously."
His gaze locked
with hers. "That means a lot to me."
"I'm glad,
because it's true."
They smiled at each other, then Reid
squared his shoulders. "Ready?"
She nodded even
though she wasn't and they walked into the conference room.
Eight
people already sat there. Five men and three women. They were all
over forty, well-dressed and chatting as if they knew each
other.
Lori instantly felt out of place. It wasn't her
clothes— she'd had Madeline help her pick out a conservative
but attractive skirt and jacket, and her shoes were new and more
expensive than she wanted to admit. It was that these people were
some of the richest and most successful in the country and she was a
girl who had grown up in a double-wide.
Reid introduced
everyone. There were two CEOs, a founding executive from Microsoft, a
woman whose family owned banks and other people who professionally
gave away millions.
When they were seated, Reid began.
"I
appreciate each of you agreeing to serve on my board. I don't know
most of you— my business manager gave me a list of names and I
started asking around. You're the best at what you do and I'm going
to need that. I have no experience with philanthropy, but that's
about to change. I want to improve the world, one kid at a time,
through sports. That's my mission statement. It may be as simple as
new cleats for football season or as complex as designing and
building a stadium after a hurricane. Let the other charities take on
diseases, I want us to figure out ways to improve kids' lives through
sports of all kinds."
"We have a good financial
start," one of the men said.
"I agree." Reid
leaned forward. "I'm hoping we'll have more. I've never been one
for endorsement deals, but I'm willing to do them now. All the money
I earn for speaking for companies willing to pay will go back into
the foundation. I'm going to use my name and my former career to get
into places most people can't. I want to bring attention to where
it's needed. If that means taking a couple of hits from the press,
I'm willing to do it."
He stood. "Each of you brings
expertise to the table. For some of you, it's managing money. Others
have a gift for finding out where that money should go. If you're
wondering about Lori's job." He nodded at her. "She's here
to keep us grounded. Her professional background is in nursing. She
knows how to deal with people going through a rough time. She'll keep
us on track."
He smiled at her.
It was one of
those melt-your-socks kind of smiles that made her pulse rate double.
The woman sitting next to her leaned close.
"Okay, now
I'm
breathing hard and I'm happily married."
"Tell
me about it," Lori whispered back.
Reid continued to talk
about what he wanted them to accomplish. As she listened she wondered
if this was a dream. All her life she'd been too afraid to go for the
happy ending. This time she wanted it enough to try. Enough to risk
her heart and the possible fall that waited just out of reach.