Without warning, the camera panned to Rose and Darla who waved from the kitchen. Roper figured Amy must have bribed them but good to keep their mouths shut during the interview.
Buckley turned red in the face. “They invited me.”
“Not to worry,” Amy said, patting his hand. “I was happy to get in front of the camera.”
“You were?” Roper asked aloud.
“And why is that?” Buckley asked, clearly looking for a scoop.
“Go ahead, tell them you dumped the infamous John Roper and be done with it,” Roper muttered.
Beside him, Ben chuckled. “Come on, she isn’t going to diss you in front of your home crowd.”
“Thanks to me she’s bare-assed on the Internet.”
“It isn’t really her.”
“Like that matters?” Roper asked.
“As you can see, I come from an outgoing family.” Once again the camera angle widened to include Rose and Darla, who this time hammed it up for the television audience, blowing kisses and calling out the names of friends back in Florida.
Roper winced. He could only imagine Amy’s mortification. And yet she’d put this circus in motion by talking with Buckley. He leaned forward, wanting to hear more.
“But I’ve always shied away from being in the spotlight,” Amy went on to explain.
“Which must make your relationship with Roper an uncomfortable one.”
Roper didn’t miss the satisfaction in the bastard’s voice or the man’s obvious pleasure in knowing Roper was probably watching and squirming. Which he was.
“At first, yes.” Amy glanced down. “You see, I didn’t realize that I was afraid of disappointing someone very special in my life. Someone who’s no longer with us. My father.”
“But what about today? The photos?” Buckley prodded, obviously not willing to let Amy go off on a tangent, even one Roper sensed was of the utmost importance—to him.
“Oh, he’d hate those photos,” Amy said. “But he’d understand how they came into being. Just as I now understand that I idealized the man he was, the things I thought he expected of me. But I realize now my dad was just a man in love with my slightly eccentric mother.”
“That’s me! Darla, she’s talking about me!” Rose squealed.
The camera panned back to Amy’s mother, who blushed and blew kisses.
Roper grinned.
Buckley squirmed in his seat. “But those photos. Even if they aren’t you, which has yet to be proved, they must have made you pretty uncomfortable,” Buckley pushed.
Amy sat up straighter in her seat. “Yes, they did. Especially with my family in town, as you can imagine. But when you love someone, you can’t run away from your fears.”
“What did she just say?” Ben asked.
Roper wasn’t sure. “I need to hear it again.” He raised the volume another notch.
“So how do you like your job at the Hot Zone?” Buckley asked, changing the subject.
“I love my job, although I must admit, I wasn’t as prepared for the media hype as much as I thought. But I’m ready to handle it now, both in my professional and my personal life. In other words, if you’re watching, John, I was wrong. I’m sorry. And I’m ready to fight for us,” she said, grinning as widely as Buckley scowled.
Roper didn’t wait to hear any more. “Hold down the fort, brother. I have someplace important I need to go.”
AMY PACED HER APARTMENT as time passed. Surely Roper had seen the interview or someone had called to tell him about it. So why wasn’t he ban
ging down her door? She’d be breaking down his if she wasn’t afraid of them crossing in the night.