Smith smiled, the million-watt movie-star smile she’d seen a dozen times over the years at the theater. “Great to meet you.”
She opened her mouth to reply, but nothing came out. She’d met plenty of famous people over the past few years, but Smith had her star struck. “I’m such a big fan.” Ugh, she had promised herself she wasn’t going to be a goof, but she couldn’t help it. She couldn’t believe she’d ever thought Drake’s family was normal. Movie stars and billionaires and pro athletes were about as far from normal as it got.
“Valentina and I feel the same way about you.”
She was stunned. “How can that be?”
Smith laughed, a warm sound that reminded her of Drake’s laugh. Drake’s was sexier, of course, but boy, did the two men have a lot of overlap. “We’ve both watched your show over the years. When I’m out on the road and missing my own family, I enjoy living vicariously through yours for a little while.”
Rosa was beyond shocked. Not only that he’d watched her show, but that he’d actually enjoyed it. Her heart squeezed knowing that her family had touched him in some way.
“Thank you for saying that, and for even taking this call when I know how busy you are. I hate the thought of asking you for help—”
“Don’t be.” His expression shifted straight from friendly to intense. “What happened to you is just plain wrong. If any of the women I love were violated that way...” He scowled. “I want to help, Rosa. Valentina and I have been thinking about how we can. I was actually just about to get in touch with Drake to run our idea past him. It’s better to run it directly by you, though.”
Rosa felt so surrounded by unexpected kindness that she nearly dissolved into a big puddle of tears right there on the cabin floor with Drake flanking her on one side, Oscar on the other. “I’m sure anything you do would be really great.”
“I’m aiming for a whole lot better than great.”
Rosa had never acted or even wanted to, but she could see what a thrill it would be to work with Smith in any capacity. Like Drake, he was just so solid. So steady and confident, but without even the slightest cocky edge.
“I’d like to release a public statement stating that I won’t work with any press—both online and in print—that continues to print the pictures. I’ll follow it up, of course, with a personal call or note to the biggest, so that there can be no question about where I stand on the issue.”
“That would be—” Her throat had such a big lump in it that there was no way she could have spoken past it if Drake hadn’t been beside her holding her hand. “Absolutely amazing. But what about the movies you’re promoting? I’d hate for your stance on my behalf to put your business at risk.”
“I’m not worried about my business, Rosa. But I am worried about the daughter I hope to have one day. We’ve got to make this world safer for her. This is just one small step, but hopefully it will move us in the right direction.”
The lump in her throat finally won, tears spilling down her cheeks as she said, “Thank you.”
“I wish I could do more.” And she believed he truly did. “I’ll call you if I feel I need to check in again before making the statement, okay?”
She nodded, knowing better than to try to speak. After thanking his cousin, Drake disconnected, then focused on gently brushing her cheeks dry. When she had herself under slightly better control, she asked, “Is everyone in your family like Smith?”
“We’re all human and can have our bad days, but yeah, Sullivans tend to be pretty great all around.”
“He’s doing so much for me, going out on such a limb—it makes me realize that I need to start doing that too.” She was silent for a few moments as the realization of what her next step should be suddenly became clear. Her heart was pounding, but it wasn’t fear driving her pulse for once. “Instead of turning off your phone, do you mind if I use it? I’d like to do some research on cyber-attacks.”
His smile made her heart race even faster for an entirely different reason. Rosa knew that what she was going to find online wasn’t going to be fun, but if Drake was her reward at the end of the tunnel?
Well, then, she was starting to think she might be able to deal with just about anything that came her way.
*
An hour later, Drake took the phone from her and shut it down.
“Why did you do that?”
“Your expression has gotten grimmer and grimmer every five minutes. I can’t stand to see the light go out in your eyes.”
“There’s just so much bad stuff that happens. Cyber-stalking, hacking, private pictures people post out of revenge after a breakup...”
“Come here.” Drake took her hand and walked outside with her so that they were gazing at the ocean. He hoped she saw the way the light sparkled off the water, that she noticed the gulls swooping down to play in the surf and the squirrels chasing each other up and down tree trunks.
“There’s good stuff too,” she murmured. “Thanks for reminding me.”