In many ways, Lucas had proven himself no different to Joey. He was happy to hang her out to dry with the media for his own purposes. For her, it signified the end of their relationship.
He’d refused to tell her the details of the accident that killed his brother. He’d been so angry she’d spoken to his mother, and he was only here now to get what he wanted from her and her father. She’d been wrong when she thought he had feelings for her. If he understood her at all, he wouldn’t be letting her go backwards, he’d be celebrating the person she’d become right alongside her.
#
The auction of Frankie’s clothing had been set up to begin as soon as the interview had finished. Lucas stood off to the side as the makeup people gave Frankie a last minute once over. Her smile stretched wide and he could almost hear her teeth clenching together. She didn’t want to do this.
If only he had the guts to admit he desperately needed her to do this, to help him set up the charity. Perhaps then, when he’d achieved his goal, his guilt over Lewis’s death would diminish and he’d feel ready to love another person. Maybe.
He watched her fiddle with the microphone attached to her top. She shot him a look that showed him exactly how nervous she was before her face lost every bit of emotion. Frankie looked at the interviewer as music played and someone began a countdown to signify the programme was about to begin.
“Welcome, Frankie,” the interviewer began, voice conciliatory and friendly. Lucas relaxed. Everything was going to be fine. “I thought we’d begin by reading out some of the Tweets we’ve received in the run up to this programme.”
Lucas remembered the hatred he’d read in the messages he’d seen on Frankie’s phone. His brow became clammy and his palms started sweating.
“Okay,” Frankie said brightly, smiling directly into the camera.
Each Tweet was worse than the last. They attacked her as being a publicity seeking nobody, claimed she’d gone to Astoria only for herself, and that the only reason she was appearing on TV now was because there was something else she wanted. Lucas swallowed past the lump of guilt in his throat.
They were right.
Although she wasn’t starting her own clothing line or releasing an exercise DVD, there was something that she wanted.
And he’d put her out there to ask for it.
The interview went from bad to worse. Frankie wasn’t even asked about how her relationship with Joey ended. They focused on her past, the things she’d done on their reality show, and their party lifestyle. When she managed to let them know about the charity and the auction, the interviewer went in for the kill.
“So you’re auctioning off things that Joey bought you? Shouldn’t you just give those back?”
Frankie’s head turned slightly as though she was going to look at Lucas for reassurance. She resisted the urge and met the interviewer’s accusatory look head on. “They were gifts. I’m hoping that by buying something I’ve worn on a TV show, children in a war-torn or disaster-struck country will be fed, or they will receive the immunisations they require.”
“Aren’t there charities that look after those sorts of things? Why does it require you to sell things that are not yours?”
“You’re right, there are charities. Very good ones. Like the one I worked with when I was out in Astoria. But sometimes, they lack the equipment they need. The new charity I’m raising money for will be run by a disaster relief veteran who knows what people in need require.”
“Why isn’t he here instead of you, then? Because the public seem to believe the only reason you’re here is to deflect attention away from the affair you’ve been having that’s broken Joey’s heart.”
Lucas’s breath stuck in his throat at the blunt question. Frankie took a deep breath and smoothed her skirt over her knees before answering. “I’ve agreed to be the face of the charity, and so appearing on shows such as this one to talk about the work we’ve done and the things we’d like to achieve is my job.”
The interviewer was not to be put off her mission. She leaned forward, reminding Lucas of a big cat about to pounce on its prey. “And you’d have me, the audience, and the public at large trust you and hand over their hard-earned cash?”
“Absolutely not.” The interviewer sat back at Frankie’s words, her eyebrows shooting up into her fringe. “I am helping to raise awareness. I have no affiliation with the charity at all. I’m not a director, and I most certainly wouldn’t control the finances. No one would need to trust me at all.”
The interview wrapped up quickly after that point. Lucas waited outside the dressing room Frankie rushed into, not knowing which part of herself she’d show when she exited. Would he get confident, in-control Frankie who hid her insecurities behind an enormous smile? Or would it be tearful, beaten-down Frankie who was emotionally wrung out?