HH01 - A Humble Heart (15 page)

arms over her chest, hoping the action would stop them from shaking.

“You can’t tell me you don’t miss me. I remember what my touch used to do to you,” he said, grinning the way he used to

when they first started dating. He reached out to take one of her arms. She pulled back out of reach.

“Jeff, the key word is used to. Like nine years ago. Things have changed, I’ve changed and you’ve changed. We haven’t so

much as kissed in four years so where is this all coming from?”

He dropped his hand. “Sweetheart, I screwed up. I’m so sorry. I cannot believe what I did. It was my fault. I didn’t

appreciate what I had until it was too late.”

“Jeff, where did this come from? You’ve been with Bea for the majority of our relationship and you just married her.

What are you doing? Are you even thinking?”

His face contorted into anger. “You cut me off. What the hell was I supposed to do?”

“I don’t know maybe try, you should have tried, damn it!” She covered her face with her hands and tried to calm down.

“Jeff, what we had wasn’t a marriage. We were two people legally stuck together. We weren’t in love, we weren’t even

friends. It was wrong to get married, but I’ll never regret it because I got two great kids out of the deal.”

“You wouldn’t have them without me. You owe it to me to try now,” Jeff stated.

“No,” she simply said.

Jeff gestured back to Edward. “Is it because of him? I can guarantee you if my screwing around upset you, this will damn

near kill you. The guy is world famous, thousands of women want him, models, actresses, women a hell of a lot better looking

than you! He’ll cheat on you, too!” he yelled.

Edward waited until Jeff stopped yelling before he spoke. “I would never cheat on her and she is without a doubt the most

beautiful woman I have ever met inside and out. So maybe you should keep me out of this and talk to her.”

“Jeff, your cheating on me didn’t hurt. I’m sorry, but I didn't feel betrayed, I feel beyond annoyed that you weren’t man

enough to duck out of our marriage before you did it. I didn’t feel that way about you. I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry? That's just great! I wasted eight years of my life on you, you bitch!” Jeff said.

Edward shot to his feet. “You raise your voice or call her that again and I’ll step in.”

Jeff ignored him, but Dana noted that he took several discreet steps away from Edward. “Dana, please I’m begging for our

kids’ sake to give us another chance.”

“No.”

“If he wasn’t in the picture would you give me a chance?”

“No, Jeff. I am saying no because it wouldn’t work. I don’t love you. I don’t like you. We are two completely different

people. You moved on a long time ago. You’re only pulling this nonsense now because you don’t want anyone else to have

what you can’t have, plain and simple.”

Jeff glared at her for another moment. Finally he left, slamming the door closed behind him.

Edward put his arms around her and kissed her forehead. “Damn you must be great in bed to make a man act like a

psycho,” he teased, hoping to ease some of her stress.

Dana laughed weakly against his chest and playfully smacked his arm. “Smart ass.” He held her tightly in his arms for

several minutes.

“I was wondering….,” Edward mussed.

“Yes?” she asked, pulling away from him.

“Well, I was wondering if you were free tonight,” he asked.

“You’ll have to check with one of my assistants,” she said, smiling.

“Hmm, going to play hard to get?” He gave her a half smile and stepped away from her. He opened the door and found

Amy standing five feet away from the trailer, chewing on her nails.

“Amy, is Dana free tonight?” he asked.

She took out her palm pilot. “No, she has a book signing today.”

“Oh, I forgot.” Dana winced. “What time?”

“Oh, you have one hour before you have to be there and then you’re booked until ten tonight,” Amy said.

Dana looked at Edward. “Sorry, I have to do this.”

He shrugged. “It’s okay. I’ll pick you up at ten?”

“Are you sure?” Dana asked, trying to suppress a smile.

“Yes, I want to see you tonight.”

“Actually, you can arrive at seven if you want. She needs a date to the dinner,” Amy said.

“Perfect,” Edward said, smiling warmly at her.

“Is this the open mic dinner?” Dana asked, hoping it wasn't.

“Yup, that would be the one,” Amy said, grinning wickedly.

“What does that mean?” Edward asked. He was quite amused with Dana’s reaction. It was cute to see her pouting.

“I have to stand in front of everyone and do a Q & A session,” she mumbled unhappily.

“I’m definitely going then.”

Rick walked over with Eleanor. “If you guys are all set, we need to start our meetings now.”

Dana reluctantly nodded.

“I have to go do a scene. I’ll see you later.” Edward pulled her into his arms and kissed her. When he pulled back he saw

dozens of cameras pointed their way and nearly groaned.

Just great.

********

Dana followed Rick to a black stretch limo. Eleanor, Amy, and three men were already inside. One of the men was Eric,

the head of Rascal Productions. He gave her a pleasant smile. “How are you, Dana?”

“I’m fine, Eric, thank you. How are you?”

“Good, actually better than good. I have a proposal for you. Well, several in fact,” Eric said.

“Okay, I’m listening,” she said cautiously. After twenty phones calls from porn companies over the weekend describing in

detail what they wanted her to do, she found herself a bit wary when someone uttered the word “proposal.”

“Well, after talking to Amy we sent Hustler, Playboy and several other seedier magazines away. We would however

appreciate it if you would consider doing a spread for Maxim magazine,” Eric said.

Dana’s mouth dropped. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Dana, it would be good for you. I’ve talked to them and they’ve agreed to keep it clean, a bathing suit is a must. They are

going to go for the single mother who got her life back together angle. They’ve agreed to run the article by you before they put it

to print. Anything you don’t want to talk about is off limits. They’ve offered a sizeable amount for this interview and pictures. I

think it would be worth it if it inspired even one woman,” Amy explained in a professional tone.

Dana studied the young woman for a long moment. Amy always went above and beyond the call of an assistant. She

researched everything instead of merely taking a message and handing it to her. She was always on top of everything and knew

the business inside and out.

“Hmm, interesting. Amy?”

“Yes?”

“You’re fired,” Dana said.

Amy’s face crumbled. Eleanor looked horrified and the men stared shocked. “You’re no longer my assistant. You’re my

representative. Come up with a figure you find reasonable and give it to me later. You’re too good to stay an assistant, Amy. I

want you to help handle these deals. Do you want the job?”

Amy was practically jumping in her seat. Eleanor had to put her arm around her daughter to hold her down. “Yes, I’ll

accept it.” She tried to sound casual, but failed. The men chuckled.

“Good. What else should I know about this offer?” Dana asked.

“It has a time limit on it,” Amy said after taking a deep breath to calm her nerves.

“Do you think I should accept?”

“Yes, I do,” Amy said without any hesitation.

“Okay, let them know,” Dana said slowly. She felt nervous in an excited way. This was a new step. She looked at Eric.

“What’s next?”

He smiled. “Well, I talked to Amy about several possible roles for you. We would like you to try your hand at acting.”

“I’ve never acted a day in my life,” Dana said uneasily.

“Dana, I’ve looked over several of the scripts and I think I've found the perfect role for you. It’s an action-adventure

romance. The story line is great. The plot revolves around a history professor who goes to do research in New York only to get

caught up with an FBI agent after she witnesses a murder. I think it would be perfect for you.”

“Who’s the male lead?” she asked nervously.

“Lucas James,” Amy said.

“He’s a good actor. I guess if I messed up he would be strong enough to help me,” she said more to herself than anyone.

“It starts shooting in one week. They’re all set. I think it would be a good experience for you,” Amy said.

Dana looked at Rick. “I’m almost done with my own book, and Edward and I are a little more than halfway done with our

book.”

“That’s fine. The deadline isn’t for four months. I think you should do it, Dana. It might be fun,” Rick said encouragingly.

She looked at Eric who waited patiently. Her eyes went back to Amy. “I’ll try it.”

“Good,” Eric said approvingly.

“Send the contracts to my office for both agreements by the end of the day, gentlemen, so I can go over them,” Eleanor

said, giving Dana a wink.

“Here we are,” Rick said. “Let’s go, we have a long day ahead of us.” The door opened and Dana stepped out of the limo

to see a long line of screaming people extending from the Barnes and Noble all the way down the street.

Several officers walked up and down the line of people keeping them from running towards her. “It’s really going to be a

long day,” she sighed.

Amy and Rick walked her inside where she was greeted by the manager. She was set up at a table with a life-size cut out

of her book cover. She sat down and prepared herself for the long day ahead.

“I’m ready,” she said, taking a deep breath.

A young woman was first in line. “I am such a huge fan!”

“It’s very nice to meet you...,” she prompted.

“Jen,” she said, pushing a book towards Dana. She opened it and addressed it to Jen and signed it.

“Thank you so much! I just love you,” she said, stepping out of line so the next person could step up. Dana kept her smile

pleasant and casual and greeted each person hour after hour until Amy stepped forward.

“Ten more minutes and then we really have to go,” Amy said.

An angry looking woman stepped up to the table. “I stood in line for two hours to tell you how much I hate your books! I

cannot believe my son wasted his hard earned money on this filth!” She slammed several books on the table.

“I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy the books, ma’am. Is there anything in particular you didn’t like about them?” Dana asked. She

liked hearing what people liked about her books, but she found it more helpful when someone told her what they didn’t like.

“Everything. It was filthy and ridiculous,” the woman said, not giving Dana anything she could work with. Dana counted

the books and took two twenty dollar bills out of her pocket and handed them to the woman.

“Here, I’m buying the books back from you.”

“It’s the least you could do after wasting my time!” She snatched the money out of her hand and stormed out of the store.

Several people in line yelled at her in defense of Dana. She told them it was okay and went back to signing the books as if

nothing happened. She gave the books she just purchased to several fans who asked for them.

“We really have to go!” Rick said.

Dana nodded. She finished signing the last book a half hour later. Amy and Rick dragged her back to the limousine and

made her change into a black cocktail dress and high heels.

“You don’t have any time to sit down and catch your breath. We are very late. When you get in there you need to start the

question section of the evening,” Rick said.

“Okay,” Dana mumbled. She so did not want to do this.

Chapter 7

Dana took a deep breath and willed herself not to pass out. She hated public speaking, but it was a necessary evil. If she

didn’t do things like this she could kiss her publishing contract goodbye. Not to mention her fans. She stepped past the curtain

with Rick holding her arm.

She was met with a round of applause. Edward sat at one of the front tables, wearing a black suit with a black shirt. He

gave her a lopsided smile and a wink, making her blush.

“We would like to open the question portion of the night,” Rick announced and then backed up behind Dana, staying in

case she ran into trouble or tried to run away, probably the latter.

“Ms. Mathews?” a woman with curly black hair asked.

“Please, call me Dana,” she said warmly.

The woman smiled. “Dana, how many Christian and Bailey books can we expect?”

“I haven’t really thought about that, but I will probably keep writing about them for as long as I can write an enjoyable

story that doesn’t go stale.”

“Thank you.”

“Dana,” a man stood up next, “who, if anyone, inspired Christian?”

Her eyes of their own accord darted to Edward and back to the man. “I based him on my ideal man,” she said, trying to

keep it short and not give too much away. It was too embarrassing that she based him on a man she Googled every day for a

year that she was now romantically involved with. What a weird world.

“Hmm, I have a resource that says you based Christian on Edward Pierce.”

She saw Edward straighten up and look at the man. This wasn’t the time to faint or freak out. She forced herself to relax.

“I find that very interesting, sir. Considering I have never once mentioned any of my techniques or reasons behind the choices

of my characters even to my own children. I am curious who your source is,” Dana said, giving the man an innocent smile.

The man looked guilty and embarrassed. “I can’t reveal the name.”

“Ah, I will tell you this. Edward Pierce is an ideal man, charming, romantic, sweet, handsome, kind and honest, so I can