“I think it would really make the difference.”
“I’d appreciate you doing it.” Lucas’s blue eyes fixed on hers and she was immediately transported back to Astoria where his eyes had matched the rolling ocean and she was unable to refuse him anything. “For me.”
“Okay, I’ll do it.” The moment the words were out of her mouth, she hated herself. Capitulation was Old Frankie. New Frankie would’ve refused and come up with a better idea, one that didn’t involve something that felt as though she were prostituting herself.
“As you can see—” Her father took over and spoke directly to Lucas, two men joined with a singular purpose, “—I’ve planned to do some local interviews with the newspapers and then, hopefully, a segment on the local television news. These should lead on to more, and hopefully national, coverage.”
“Why don’t we aim for the top straight away? Do you have an agent, Frankie?”
Bitterness made her heart heavy, her words pulled from so deep within her that she no longer knew their origin. “I have, but…”
“Maybe you could do an expose,” her father suggested. “An interview about your life with Joey and then they could ask you at the end what you intend to do with your life, going forward, and you could mention your work with the charity?”
“And your agent could easily set that up for you, with a chat show or something. I’m sure they would clamour to have you appear,” Lucas added.
They would. She was sure they would. But that meant delving back into the false world she had left behind. Not only that, but she was opening herself up for all sorts of ridicule going forward. Not only from the people who would never believe that Joey were capable of doing anything wrong, but also from people who’d always thought she was a talentless bimbo whose only main purpose in life was to get herself on television at every available opportunity.
“Frankie?” Her father turned to her. “Are you on board with this?”
“Think of the good things we can achieve,” Lucas said, leaning forward. “Not only for the people on Astoria we left behind, but also new disasters we…I…go to.”
Frankie sucked in a breath. She did want to do something useful. She needed to do something that helped her remember she was a good person and not the cheating, vacuous woman Joey had made her out to be.
She was already humiliated, what did it matter if it got worse? She wasn’t doing it for herself, she was doing it to help others.
She looked between her father and Lucas, but ultimately, it wasn’t either of the men in front of her who gave her the enormous shove she needed to agree to something that she desperately didn’t want to do.
It was thinking of baby Edward and the disasters that had not yet happened which would leave other children orphaned and their intention to make a coordinated aid effort a priority. She believed in Lucas’s idea, so she’d do it, despite the personal cost.
“I’ll do it, but I do have a condition.” She turned to her father. “Dad, maybe you could leave us for a bit. I think this is something Lucas and I need to agree on together.”
Her father nodded. As he moved towards the door, he stopped behind her and dropped a kiss onto the top of her head. “I’m so proud of you, darling.”
Lucas eyed her warily. “Name it.”
“After I’ve done this, after I’ve done what you want, despite my misgivings, you’ll leave me alone to get on with my life. You won’t bother or burden me again.”
“I thought you wanted to help the charity? Wanted to be involved?”
“I’ve already promised I’ll do an auction of my things. I’ll do one television interview, and that’s it. Enough. I’m a different person now, living a different life. You’ve seen how people think about me. I want to get a normal job with normal people. I agree an interview will benefit the charity, and hopefully when I explain what life on Astoria was and is like, people will be moved to action. But I don’t want to be a materialistic person anymore, and what you’re both asking me to do is going backwards. It’s reliving a life I want to leave behind.”
Lucas sat back and considered her. He’d never shown indecisiveness before, but he certainly did as he weighed up the options. “I’m grateful, Frankie, thank you.”
She wanted him to tell her he didn’t want to do it. That he understood how much her new life meant to her. But he didn’t. He was allowing her to do something for him that he knew was very difficult for her.