"I didn't realize."
"It's okay. Really. I'm glad you found each other. You're a great couple. You need someone who can keep you in line."
"Right...uh, thanks." He glanced at the phone, trying to convince himself that this was, indeed, Debbie Bowhart he was talking to. But there it was. He name in big white letters on his screen.
"You're welcome," she said.
"I still feel bad. Do you want me to set you up with our company?"
She hummed over the phone, but then said, "You know, I'll think it over. But thanks. Hey, have a good night."
"Yeah, you too." He clicked off the phone, then pulled into his driveway.
So, it was unanimous. He was supposed to be with Natalie Gains.
According to everyone except Natalie herself.
He stumbled from the car and made his way to his apartment, thinking over the things Garret had said. And Debbie. And even Natalie.
By the time he got to his bedroom, he knew one thing for absolutely certain.
He was the world's most colossal idiot.
But he was going to fix that.
He just had to figure out how.
Chapter Thirteen
"So, Miss. Gains--"
"Natalie is fine." The studio lights were brighter than she'd expected and her make-up lady had coated her with so much powder that she'd be shocked if a little cloud of smoke didn't follow her everywhere she went. Still, she couldn't back down now.
She'd already told this story once, after all. What was one more time?
"Natalie, then. I don't even know where to begin." The brunette placed a goblet-sized glass of wine in front of her, and then took a swig from her own wine trough.
"I know," the blonde co-anchor said, "Tell us what happened that night."
"At the Charity gala?" Natalie asked.
Both women nodded.
"Well, before I talk about that, I think it's important know why I have a restraining order against my ex-husband, Dominic Del Rossi."
"Ex-husband?" The nasally brunette interrupted her, but the blonde woman pinched her beneath the counter and they both fell silent, sipping their wine and listening.
Natalie told the story as simply as she could, without embellishments, but with all the facts. About how lovely the Del Rossi family had been to her. About how Franco had saved her.
And about Dominic.
"I'm ashamed to say I kept what happened to me a secret and that I never pressed charges. I thought a person like me against someone so powerful could never win." She swallowed. It was almost over. She just had to get through this last part. This one last part. "But that's over now. I'm going to tell my story for women like me. And it's not a sob story, it's just a story. It's something that happened and it's something that should never, ever be acceptable to anyone. Ever. I can't live with the secrets anymore, and I hope the women carrying that weight with them can join me in telling their stories."
A tear trickled down the brunette's cheek, then landed in her wine glass. "That's a beautiful sentiment."
"It certainly is." The blonde joined her, "And we'll hear even more from Natalie Gains after a word from our sponsors."
The studio lights dimmed and she breathed a sigh of relief. The hardest part was over. Or, at least, the start of the hardest part. Next would be everything that followed the charges and the restraining order. The inevitable media circus. But that was all small potatoes.